God is a haven for His children
- THE SEVENTH "DAY"
2:1-4 The creation of the earth was completed; the earth was inhabited, so God rested from all His work. He had created a system in which humanity subsisted on what the earth's plants naturally yielded.
- THE LINEAGE OF CHRIST: ‘ETH-’HA ADHAM
2:5-7 God then began the next phase of His plan: to create a human who would be more involved, a human who would farm the land. From the dust of the ground God formed 'eth-ha adham. Not only would this human farm the land and interact with the earth with more complexity than ever before, he would also begin the lineage through which Jesus would be born. This man, Adam, called "the man" in the original Hebrew text, would be a human who was not only more invested in the earth... but in spirit as well. This man's family would interact with God, and steadily introduce God's presence, authority and kingdom to the earth and humankind.
The Gospel of Luke contains the scripture that links Jesus, through Mary, all the way back to this man (Luke 3:23-38). The chapter lists the family history of Mary's husband Joseph's in-laws (Mary's family), as Joseph was not the father of Jesus.
- THE GARDEN OF EDEN
2:8-14 God planted a garden with fruit-bearing trees, every tree that was pleasant to the sight, and a river flowing through it that parted into four heads (Pison, Gishon, Hiddekel, and Euphrates). It was a resplendent reflection of God's kingdom and He placed Adam in it.
In the Garden of Eden were also two significant trees: the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
2:15-17 God placed Adam in the garden to dress it and to keep it. God gave Adam free-rein in the Garden, to eat of every tree, except the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. As long as Adam subsisted on the fruit-trees and the Tree of Life, he would remain within the protection and provision of God. The Tree of Life connected Adam to the eternal-life source: God.
But if Adam ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, God assured Adam that he would die. For to disengage from the Tree of Life, that is: God's eternal-life source, is to disengage from God's eternal plan.
Adam did not need to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil because God's knowledge already provided for him. God provided everything for Adam in the garden, but did not force Adam to remain there, or even to follow His rule. Though under God's authority in the garden, Adam was given enough free-will to choose to be there...or to choose not to be there. The presence of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil represented his option to leave... to leave the garden, and to leave off subjection to God's will. But if Adam left God's will, he would have to rely on his own, and life would no longer be the resplendent garden that it was for him.
- A HELP MATE
2:18-20 Adam remained in the garden and God had an idea to give Adam companions: livestock. God formed the animals and brought them to Adam to name. These animals would help Adam to become the tiller of the ground, the farmer, God had in mind. But although the animals provided companionship for Adam, it was not profound enough.
- WOMAN
2:21-24 And so God put Adam in a deep sleep. While Adam slept, God created a human companion for him, a female. From Adam's rib, probably representative of Adam's DNA, God made a woman. God brought the woman to Adam and Adam said: this is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh...". He recognized her as a true companion, his family.
By creating the woman for Adam, God established the family system: in which two marry and become one-flesh in the procreation of children.
2:25 The man and his wife were both naked, but they were not ashamed. They had no reason to be ashamed because they lived in a haven created by God. There was no embarrassment or disrespect, because those things are not the types of fruit the Tree of Life produces.