October 21
________________________________________
GENESIS 2
10 A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. 14 And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 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.” – Genesis 2:10-17
________________________________________
GENESIS 2 GOD’S PROVISION & PROHIBITION
A poem inspired by these verses by ILMA
There were four rivers flowing in the Garden of Eden
They were Pishon where it flowed in Havilah
It had gold in this river including bdellium and onyx
There was also the river that flowed around Cush named Gihon
While the third river Tigris flowed around east of Assyria
The fourth river is called Euphrates which provided waters to the garden.
In the Garden of Eden, God decided to place the man on it
Since he had given all the provisions for him to flourish
The Lord God gave Adam stewardship of the whole garden
He was provided everything he needed but was also given prohibition
Adam can eat from the fruits of every other three around him
Except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or he will die.
________________________________________
In the following verses, we get a glimpse of how beautiful the Garden of Eden was and how he provided these four rivers where the vegetation can be nourished and where Adam can tend over the provision. Since God is a God of Order, he gave Adam the responsibility to care for this garden and can enjoy every fruit of the tree except one tree. We see also a God of boundaries in these passages.
________________________________________
REFLECTION
• Why do you think God prohibited Adam to eat from the tree of good and evil?