ORDER OF EDEN

“Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it” – Genesis 2:15

God’s creative Order was epitomized in the ORDER of EDEN – the Order in Human Creation: “Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it” (Gen.2:15). If Divine Order is the emblem of natural creation, it is even more central to human creation, since Man is the culminating crown of God’s creative enterprise. God designed Man to preserve the divine order and sustain a sense of synchronisation in his sphere of existence.

HOME was a vital aspect of the Order in Eden, and still is. God Himself “planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed” (v.8). God is committed to locating and situating His “Man” – the husband and wife – in a luxuriant “garden of Eden” that is called Home, the centre of His Will, from which they can “be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen.1:28). Even after the fall of man, the purpose and plan of God still centre on setting “the solitary in families” and guarding and guiding His people to “their desire haven” (Psa.68:6; 107:30).

The first home was to be a pattern for other homes as humanity multiplied to occupy the earth. That home, beautified by the hand of God Himself, was not a dazzling palace, but a flourishing garden. This was his dwelling characterised by intimate communion with God through His created works. To the first couple in Eden was committed the care of the garden, “to tend and keep it” (v.15b). Their occupation was not wearisome, but pleasant and refreshing. God appointed work as a blessing to them, to occupy their minds, to strengthen their bodies, and to develop their faculties. In this garden, the abundance, bliss, beauty, and harmony, expressed God’s infinite wisdom, love, and power. All of their needs were amply provided for.

WORK is a therefore another key part of the Order of Eden: “put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it” (v.15b). God gives us specific assignments on earth, and He intends for us to be productive therein. Adam’s assignment was to tend or cultivate, and keep the Garden of Eden. To compliment Adam on this mission, God also said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him” (v.18), and He created Eve. Together they were to complete all that the Lord had intended for them to accomplish.

The Creator of the Universe is the Originator of the institution of marriage; hence “marriage is honourable” (Heb13:4). Marriage was one of the first gifts of God to humanity, and one that, after the fall, transcended the gates of Paradise. When the divine principles of this holy union are respected and obeyed, blessings ensue. Marriage guards the purity and purpose of the human race; provides for humanity’s social needs; and elevates the physical, intellectual, and moral nature.

SECURITY was another key part of the Order of Eden. God was protective of the first couple. The Garden was filled with fruitful trees from which they could freely eat, but there was one tree in the middle of the Garden, “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” from which they were forbidden to eat (vv. 16-17). God gave them a choice to love and obey Him, and because He loved them, He warned them of the tragic consequences of disobedience – “In the day that you eat from it you shall surely die” (v. 17). So long as they remained loyal to the divine order, their capacity to know, enjoy, and love grew.

As we appreciate the eternal truth of Divine Order, it is the Will of God to restore in our lives the Order of Eden: “For the LORD will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; Joy and gladness will be found in it, Thanksgiving and the voice of melody” (Isa.51:3).