In Garden

Genesis 2:8-9 NIV
Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.

When I go through the Garden of Eden account I am intrigued by it for the same reason we all are. The simplicity and purity found there is winsome. How many of us have thought with a nostalgia we don’t actually personally possess that it would be a dreamy world to enter. Certainly vegans would feel quite at home there. So too would all of us who grew up with Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. Would there be anything cooler than sitting down beside a lion and petting his mane as he purrs contentedly. Still others would be thrilled to live in a corner of the planet where crime is non-existent and people just “get along” Not long ago over a five day period in Oakland California, eight people were murdered. A peaceful neighborhood is all many would love to have. How about free food and no worries about rising gas prices? Think about what it would like to have a world economy determined just by two people…no one to blame for the loss of jobs and certainly major corporations and big government would not be pressing issues.

Now there are three possible reasons why the account of Garden life is left to us. The first is to provide a history of our roots. This is what happened and how it occurred. Just as biographers have researched out the details of George Washington’s birth and early life, so too in Genesis two the facts about the first man are described. A second possible reason for the descriptions we find there is to make us a bit envious, create within us a longing for something we can’t make happen with lots of effort or group therapy…we are given as it were a taste of heaven a snapshot like we could find in a travel brochure. A third explanation is that God wants us to know how things ought to be…that there really is a right form of life, a benchmark of sin-freeness…corruptionlessness.

Let us just assume it is the third explanation that best tells us why Genesis two is in the Bible. God is telling us how things are intended. What do we discover? First, mankind had a calling…a vocation that was five-fold. Remember that there are two ways we look at life-long tasking. The first is career. It is what we choose to do or at least end up doing most of our adult life. A career is something we stumble upon either because we like doing it or through circumstances it is forced upon us. Whether we are a housewife, an electrician or a lawyer, a career is just what we do for our livelihood. A vocation on the other hand by root definition, is what God makes us to be. It is our Lord shaped design and guided life path. Most people have no idea what their vocation is. It may or may not coincide with their career…if it does it is only because they stumbled into it. But some see the hand of God in what they do and vocation is the step of faith into God’s direction. I have a certain career because that is how God moved me and designed my being.

The vocation of Adam had five parts. It was first to Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth…(Genesis 1:28 NIV) For all my good friends who think we already have too many people, God’s calling for Adam and Eve was to literally, as you would fill a jar to the top, fill the earth with descendants. The Bible uses the same Hebrew word to describe the presence of the Lord filling the Temple. As smoke creeps into every nook and cranny of a house, so God, was in every part of the Temple. That is what Adam and Eve were told to do…fill the earth. Linked with this were the twin callings to subdue the earth and rule over the creatures living on it. …fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground. (Gen 1:28 NIV) The term ‘subdue is a strong one. It is the good Hebrew word “cabash” and means to “bring into bondage, to dominate as in conquest or to subdue”. The second Hebrew word, “rule” is just as big and strong. “Radah” means to have dominion, to rule, to dominate”. The sinless couple was instructed to “overpopulate?” the earth and make every living creature their slave and to hold the earth in bondage. Nothing in this vocation makes mother earth the master and certainly Adam and Eve were not told they were to live as slaves to dodo birds or polar bears.

Now lest you think the vocation was to “toot as you pollute”, there were two more parts to their vocation. Adam was commanded in connection with the Garden of Eden to “work it and take care of it. (Genesis 2:15 NIV) The word for “work it” is “abad” and the root of the Hebrew Old Testament word translated “servant”. Literally, Adam was told to serve the earth, to work it as a servant would do his tasks. It is in fact the very same word that is used to describe what worship is, that we serve, or “work” the Lord. Now, this is a quite profound thought. We are both master and servant where we live, ruler and ruled. I honestly am not sure where to take this. Remember, we are still examining the vocation of the Garden of Eden, God’s perfect place and sin free world.

If I am not a servant of the earth but I am to serve it, then who is my master? That of course is quite clear, it is God. My activities, all having to do with this place where I am settled are as a servant, and God is to give me every charge. Each rock I overturn, every foundation I lay, every plane I fly or monitor I read is, as servant. I think it is fascinating the way we have completely rolled over our calling. God told Adam he was to serve the earth as ruler. We instead rule the earth as servants.

Let me illustrate. Suppose the king of your land came to your house and cleaned your carpet, washed your dishes and taught your children how to play patty-cake. What would you think of that king? Now suppose instead, your servant came into your house and threw away all your favorite clothes, cleared your computer of all its data and offered your house on EBay at a below market price. What would you think of the servant? The servant acted as your king but your king acted as servant. Which of the two is a better fit for the Garden?

The fifth part of Adam’s vocation is the,”take care of it” part. The Hebrew word is “shaman” and means to “watch over, preserve, and keep”. It is the same word used to describe the care a shepherd has for his sheep. He guards, protects and provides for the sheep. He makes sure they get to places where there is enough water, drives off predators and sees to it that they have grass to keep them well fed. In other words, a shepherd is responsible for the care of the sheep. Adam’s place in the world was to make sure the world was well.

The expression, “in a perfect world” actually makes sense here. In a perfect world, how was Adam to be? He was a ruler living as a servant. He was a guardian who monitored the vital signs. He was under God. I am not so sure global warming is occurring and I certainly do not believe the Bible teaches “population control.” But it is our vocation to love this world God has given us and do all we can to bless it. We were talking in our cell group about the cool parts of life in the Garden of Eden and someone mentioned the naming of all the creatures. My first thought about it is that it must have been a weird thing to come up with a different name, a meaningful name for every one of the millions of varied creatures roaming our world. My second thought was that it must have been a wonderful thing to see them all parading before him.

My daughter has this complicated morality regarding bugs and slugs. Crush them or guard their path. She does both. We seem to be the same way with people. We sometimes crush them and other times guard their paths. We belittle and praise, slaughter and cuddle, notice and ignore. Our biggest problem is not deciding whether or not we are “one nation under God.’ It is deciding whether or not I am one person under God. If I am, then all I can do with you is bless your steps and guard as much of your heart as I can from being broken. If I am, then my first thought always circles back to how God might handle this. The hand that lovingly detailed out the spine of a maple leaf is the God who has ordered me to keep watch over my part of the world.

Recently an extraordinary thing was reported. A mother, who was not married to the father of her child decided to have an abortion. She previously had given birth to a son who died of a kidney disease that started in the womb. Despite being on the Pill, she became pregnant and believing she could not cope with losing another child to kidney disease, had her baby aborted. The only problem was that not much later she felt fluttering in her stomach and discovered after a visit to the doctor that she was still pregnant. This was a child living on two strikes. She decided to keep the baby and finally gave birth to a boy who was born with minor kidney problems but set to live what the doctors deemed, “a normal life”.

So what do you make of this? It is quite possibly the perfect metaphor for the post-garden man. A little part of the world, this child, this one too many child, this not perfect child, this unplanned child, is part of my world and I must decide what to do with him. Whether it be the spotted owl in my back yard, the minnows in the tiny creek down the road or the grumpy husband who won’t pick up his socks, I must decide what I will do there. Jesus put Peter on the spot. “Do YOU love ME?” “O, yes”, Peter declared. “Then”, Jesus answered, “take care of my sheep.” It is, precisely the same charge once given Adam.