Bible scholars have long recognized that Genesis 1 & 2 offer two complementary creation narratives. Genesis 1:1-2:3 contains a comprehensive account of how God formed the entire cosmos by bringing order from chaos. Genesis 2:4ff focuses more narrowly on the nature & vocation of human beings, God’s image bearers. Genesis 2:7 describes the creation of mankind: “Then the LORD God formed a man (ha’adam) from the dust of the ground (ha’adamah) and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man (ha’adam) became a living being.”
Small children who attend Sunday School are taught that Adam & Eve were the first human beings. But if we are to fully understand this story, it’s essential to grasp that the Hebrew word adam is much more than just a proper name. Adam is also a generic term for a single man (“a man” or “the man”) and a reference to the entire human race (“mankind” or “humankind”). These latter meanings are always in view when adam is preceded by the definitive article (“ha” in Hebrew, “the” in English). Thus, in Genesis 2:7, ha’adam is rightly translated as “a man” or “the man” rather than the proper name “Adam.” The main point is that this man is far more than an individual named Adam. He’s an archetypal figure who represents the entire human race.
We must also notice that adam is closely related to the Hebrew word adamah, which means “earth”, “ground” or “land.” We’re clearly intended to see a close connection between the earth & the human race. God creates humans from the dust of the earth so that they might govern the earth as God’s regents.
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” (Genesis 2:15) Many Bible readers imagine the Garden of Eden as a specific place, thus generating speculation about where exactly Eden was located. Could archeologists scour the Middle East in hopes of finding this site? Might we then encounter the cherubim – angels armed with flaming swords who guard the way to the tree of life? Such a hyper-literal approach missed the point. The story is a reflection on the nature & role of human beings. The Garden of Eden is best understood as a representation of the entire creation.
Eden is the Hebrew word for delight. A great deal of theology is contained in this single word. The God who made the world is a God of lavish generosity. He designed his creation to be a wondrous place where humans can experience security, joy, abundance & life. As the Psalmist declared, “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” (Psalm 16:11)
“The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food.” (Genesis 2:9) The garden is portrayed as a place of stunning beauty and rich provision. Despite the fallen nature of our world, these qualities can still be clearly seen. Several years ago our family went camping in Yosemite National Park in California. Yosemite is a place of visual delight, where each new view seems more breathtaking than the last. Similarly, a drive through the farmlands of the Midwest in the fall aptly illustrates the amazing fertility & abundance of the earth.
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” (Genesis 2:15) Again, this pertains to more than a single individual living in a specific location. It’s about the whole of humanity given responsibility to govern the world wisely so that the creation can flourish. It corresponds directly to Genesis 1:26: “Then God said, “Let us make mankind (adam) in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
God’s mandate came with a single prohibition: “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (Genesis 2:16-17) This is, of course, a crucial moment in scripture. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is an obvious symbol of divine wisdom. When humans worship the one true God & acknowledge him as the source of all goodness, the world indeed thrives as a place of delight.
But humans have tragically failed to fulfill their vocation. They turned away from the Creator and rejected his wisdom. They’ve sought to become gods themselves, defining right & wrong according to their own desires. The consequences have been disastrous. Instead of being a place of delight, human rebellion has plunged the world into corruption, injustice, oppression, immorality and ultimately death.
I would like to particularly draw attention to the way that the scriptures portray this archetypal sin. It’s fundamentally an act of disobedience. The temptation narrative begins with the serpent questioning Eve about the exact content of God’s command. The serpent then opts for open deception, promising Eve that her disobedience will result in wisdom & life rather folly & death. Once the humans have transgressed God’s command, the LORD calls to them, “Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
When humans refuse to live according to God’s wisdom, they become unfit to exercise their vocation to govern the world. But what is the remedy for this disaster? Many evangelicals would to insist that “faith” (defined as passive belief or trust) in Jesus is the answer. And certainly the forgiveness of sins secured by Jesus’ death on the cross is part of the solution. But forgiveness alone cannot completely reverse the damage done by human rebellion. Just as the corruption of creation arose from disobedience, only human obedience can rectify this malady. In other words, the flourishing of God’s creation requires human beings who live in obedience to God’s commands.
It’s also well worth reflecting on the fact that Genesis 1-11 serves as a prologue to the Hebrew Bible. In other words, the foundational themes which we encounter in the story of Adam & Eve must be kept firmly in mind if we are to fully grasp the long history of God & Israel. Seen in this light, the Garden of Eden should be seen as a symbol for the land of Israel, which God promised to give to the descendants of Abraham. And the people of Israel correspond to Adam. Just as Adam had been placed in the garden “to work it and to keep it,” so Israel had been placed in the promised land.
If we continue to follow this logic, it becomes clear that “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” corresponds to the Torah, the law given to Israel on Mt. Sinai. The Torah embodied the divine wisdom. Obedience to God’s commands would allow Israel to enjoy peace, prosperity & life in the promised land. These covenant blessings correspond to the “tree of life” in the garden. But just as obedience would lead to blessing, so disobedience would certainly bring about the covenant curses: poverty, misery, defeat & death.
In his final speech, Moses starkly & vividly presented these two possible outcomes: “See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.” (Deuteronomy 30:15)
Yet even as Israel was embarking upon the conquest of Canaan, God revealed that dark times were ahead: “And the LORD said to Moses: “You are going to rest with your ancestors, and these people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them.” (Deuteronomy 31:16)
Just as Adam & Eve had failed the test in the garden, so Israel would fail the test in the promised land. Adam & Eve disobeyed by eating the forbidden fruit. In the same way, Israel would flagrantly disobey the commands of the Torah. Just as Adam & Eve were exiled from the garden, so Israel would be exiled from the promised land.
This background is crucial when turn to the New Testament, so that we might fully understand the accomplishment of Jesus. Forgiveness of sins is only one piece of the puzzle. The way back to the tree of life requires humans who live in accordance with the divine wisdom. For Israel that involved obedience to Torah. But the Old Covenant ended in failure because of Israel’s hard & impenitent hearts.
For Christians (the new Israel), our obedience comes from the power of the Holy Spirit, who is none other than “the Spirit of the Messiah” himself. (Romans 8:9) This blog has often noted that obedience is no less vital to the New Covenant versus the Old. Just as the Apostle Paul wrote, “…we have been released from the Torah so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.” (Romans 7:6)
