Old Testament - Genesis 2:4-7 (Garden for Man)

Genesis 2:4-7 - Garden for Man - CC Windward - Pastor Tim

Genesis 2:4-7 - Garden for Man - Calvary Chapel Windward - OAHU, HAWAII - Pastor Tim Newman - From Local Olelo / Oceanic / Time Warner Cable show "A View from Calvary" - Episode #: - Original Air Date: N/A.


PASTOR TIM's NOTES:

Gen 2:4-17
“The Garden for the Man”
1. There was a PRECISE area of creation for man.
Vs. 4-7
Here we have the Hebew word Toledot once again.
Another reason chapter 2 ought to begin at 2:4 is the telltale phrase
“These are the generations [Hebrew, toledot] of the heavens and the earth,”
which is used ten times in Genesis to introduce major divisions (cf. 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1;
11:10, 27; 25:12, 19; 36:1 and 9 repeated for emphasis; and 37:2).
“
4 This is the history* of the heavens and the earth when they were created or as the NIV
has it “These are the generations”
This is not a second creation account because it centers on a localized scene,
moving from the cosmos to “a garden in Eden, in the east” (v. 8).
1a. The PRECISE name of God for man is now given.
Yahweh-Elohim
Up to this point in the story, Moses has used only one designation for God, the name
Elohim.
The reason for this is that Yahweh is the personal covenant name of God
 who relates to
 and redeems his people (cf. 15:7 and Exodus 3:14, 15).
1b. The PRECISE area of the garden comes into view.
There was “no plant”—“no herb”—no “rain”—and “no man to work the ground.”
The absence of rain is accounted for in verse 6:
1c. The PRECISE conditions for man’s creation are given.
There are 3 of them.
1) Adam is God-formed.
Here it conveys divine intentionality.9
2) Adam is God-breathed.
Ezek 37:9-11
This man of dust is in the image of God!
3) Adam is a living being.
Man is immortal.
He has immense capacities.
Therefore, he has an immense responsibility.
2. There was the PLACING of man into the garden
Vs. 8-14
2a. Man is PLACED in the garden by God
God positioned Adam in Eden:
The designation “in Eden, in the east” is from the perspective of Moses, in the
Sinai.

9 Allen P. Ross, Creation and Blessing (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1998), p. 122.
So the garden was most probably in the area of Mesopotamia in modern Iraq as we
will see when we look at the rivers mentioned.
2b. Man is PLACED in a garden paradise.
Isaiah the prophet speaks of Eden. Isa 51:3
The common Hebrew meaning of Eden is “delight,””
18
2c. Man is PLACED so that he had access to two trees of importance.
Life was at the center of the garden, and eating fruit from “the tree of life” would
result in continued life.
Rev 2:7 22:2, 14, 19, Gen 3:24
2d. Man is PLACED in a garden with an abundant water source.
Pishon- Havilah was one of the sons of Cush, a grandson of Noah.
Gihon- Cush is the father of Nimrod whose Empire covered much of
Mesopotamia.
Hiddekel- The Hebrew word refers to the Tigris River upon which the city of
Nineveh is built.
In the Hebrew text of Daniel 10:4 he refers to the Tigris River as Hiddekel.
The Euphrates- It is mentioned many times in the Bible and is considered one of
the great rivers in the world.
3. There were specific PURPOSES for man being in the garden.
Vs. 15-17
3a. Man’s purpose included his responsibility to care for the garden.
Man was responsible to dress the garden (tend it) and keep it (guard it, suggesting the
presence of an enemy).
3b. Man’s purpose for being in the garden included a free will
choice.
1) God’s word to him was first permissive:
Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat
2) God’s permission was paired with his prohibition:
but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat,v. 17).
Kent Hughes,
The temptation to eat from “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”
was to seek wisdom without reference to the word of God.
God allows Adam and Eve a free will choice. Why? God has always wanted His creatures to
love and obey Him of their own free will and not out of compulsion or because of reward.

18 Mathews, Genesis 1–11:26, p. 201.


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