EHP Day 4-God’s Provision and Guidance Part 2
Genesis 2:8-9, 16-17
And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil…And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Beauty and bounty. Earth yet today exhibits the nascent provision which spread before the eyes of Adam. Then, an un-marred creation shone with the fantastic first-fruits of God’s creative brilliance. It must have taken Adam’s endowed breath away. “This is for you,” Yahweh assured. “Partake obediently and avoid wisely.”
Adam was bidden to experience all the potential, unlimited joys he could unlock and release from the material creation. Even the Tree of Life was his (it will be ours again in the eternal age, cf. Rev.22:2); he never need see anything end dismally in decay or death. A world, a universe, was before him to explore, to develop in holiness, to energize with excellent leadership. But there was a daily requirement. Simply, it was to faithfully rehearse the revelation from God. Then, obey the instruction of God. Result…a flourishing in the life of God.
Challenge lay ahead. Adam’s sanctification would be tested by the subtlety of a wrongly-empowered serpent. Could the thankfulness welling up within the First Adam withstand the confusing, yet intriguing, offer to live independently, though disobediently? Would he succumb to idolizing the beauty, taste, and experience of the creation rather than reserving such worship for the Creator alone? Sadly, we know the answer. Nonetheless, daily joy is offered today through the same formula. Rehearse His revelation; simply obey… and flourish in true Life.
Journal Notes