It’s a new year, 2022. I can’t believe I just wrote that. 2022! We are supposed to have flying cars and robot doctors by now. 2022 seemed so far away when I was a kid, and yet here it is. Some of the technology that I thought we would have, we don’t… and we have some things that I never imagined possible.
Every new year comes with an opportunity to see the greatness and glory of God. As I have for some time, I started a new Bible reading plan this year. It’s not really a new plan, it’s the same old plan. But I have started reading it again. And once again I find myself in Genesis.
In the opening 2 chapters of Genesis we see how God, through his Spirit, creates everything. And he creates everything just by speaking. Interestingly the word for breath, wind, and spirits is all the same word in Hebrew. This is true of Greek too. In Hebrew the word is “ruakh” and in Greek, it’s “pneuma.”
Understanding this helps us to see that as God speaks his spirit/breath/wind goes forth and forms the world and everything in it. And also a couple of people. Adam and Eve. And God places them in this beautiful garden to tend it, rule over it, be creative in it, and also be fruitful and multiply… all aspects of what it means to be created in the image of God.
In this garden, called Eden, God placed a bunch of trees that provided food to eat for Adam and Eve. The trees were also pleasing to they eyes, in other words the food looked good. But there was one fruit bearing tree that Adam and Eve were told not to eat from. And here, in all these trees, we see the goodness and the greatness of God.
The Goodness of God
How? I’m glad you asked. Because it isn’t obvious at first. But all of the trees that were to be food for Adam and Eve show the abundance of God’s provision. In his goodness he delighted to give them an abundance of what they needed for their provision. He also delighted to be with them in the Garden, walking and talking and fellowshipping with the people who he had created in his image.
This provision wasn’t meager or miserly. It was abundant and overwhelming. We should always see that God gives his blessings, from his goodness, overwhelmingly.
The Greatness of God
But we mustn’t forget that there was also one tree that they were told not to eat from. Here is where we see the greatness of God. Despite all of his abundant provision there was still a prohibition. They were not to eat from that tree.
As we read about this tree we should be reminded that God has always been in charge. Obedience was always required. God was always God, and you and I and Adam and Eve… well, we never were. God has always been the great one over his creation, the one who rules all things and thus sets all the rules.
It’s All About Worship
In one sense those rules were put there for our protection. Protection from sin, evil, sadness, and even death. But more than they were there for worship. They were there so Adam and Eve would see that good is both the provider and prohibiter, that he is God and they were not, that his prohibitions were for their protection.
This tree was there so that they would worship God in the fullness of his splendor. Of course they chose a different route. You and I ratify their decision every time we sin. We can’t blame our first parents because we prove over and over again that we would have done the same.
So why did God put that tree in the garden? Why did he allow people to sin? Was it just to show his goodness and greatness? We will answer all of these questions in upcoming posts. For now, ask yourself if you see both the provisions and prohibitions of God as his perfect protection of your soul?