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04 -- Do you know Paradise?
GENESIS 2:8-17
8 And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, towards the east, and there he put Adam whom he had formed. 9 And out of the earth the LORD God made to grow every tree that is desirable to the sight and good for eating, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it divided and became four rivers. 11 The name of the one is Pishon, and it surrounds 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 Gihon, and it surrounds the whole of the land of Cush. 14 And the name of the third river is Tigris, and it flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 And the LORD God took Adam and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded Adam, saying, “From all the trees of the garden you shall surely eat, 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, because in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
God described Paradise in this revelation as a garden of peace in the midst of a parching desert. There man lived in fellowship with God, because sin had not yet separated him from his God. The Garden of Paradise is not a hotbed of pleasure and lust and greed and amusement, but it is an oasis of God's glory, where heaven and earth are in touch. So the presence of God alone gives the Garden of Paradise its value.
God is merciful, as he caused the trees to grow so that its green leaves can relax the eyes, and its shadow can protect man from heat, and its ripe fruits can gladden his heart. Do you give thanks to God for every plant and bush and tree, because it grows by the grace of God? The earth overflows with His goodness!
The original river comes from the clouds of God, which feed all the great rivers, like the Nile, the Tigris, the Euphrates and the Indus. Paradise was in a certain place between these rivers, which transformed the deserts into gardens. The word “Paradise” is a Farsi word, which simply means “Garden”.
If only all people living in the valleys of the Euphrates and the Nile rivers would open themselves to the grace of God in Christ, then their hearts would be filled with the peace of God and they would live in a true Paradise. For the Garden of Paradise is where man meets God. And he, who abides in love, abides in God and God in him, and therefore he lives in Paradise right now.
Even at that time evil was present, for God commanded man to keep the Garden from the attacks of evil. In this situation the LORD gave Adam work in this heavenly island. For heaven is not for the lazy, but for those who are industrious in the Holy Spirit, who serve God day and night with joy and rejoicing. So laxity is from evil, but being active is from God. Work is a part of Paradise, which is still present today as a privilege and gift from God, and work is not a punishment for falling into sin.
Now those, who were brought near to God, had to live such that they would not draw near to evil and to not allow wickedness to remain in their thoughts. For man was created to be good; and it was not fitting for him to mingle with corruption. God knew Adam and he made him His counterpart, and this was enough for him. He was not to seek another orientation, because of His goodness. This is the meaning of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God warns you about dealing with evil, because evil is trickier than you are. Do you seek knowledge and intelligence outside of God, or is your creator enough for you?
MEMORIZE: And the LORD God took Adam and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded Adam, saying, “From all the trees of the garden you shall surely eat, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, because in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:15-17)
PRAYER: O Father, we thank you that you created our earth as a Paradise. But our sin made out of it a slaughterhouse. Forgive us our pride, because today we go deeply into truths with science, without submitting to the fact that there is no knowledge or intelligence without you. Fasten us in your Son, in whom are hidden all riches of wisdom and knowledge, so that we can live confidently in your presence, together with all believers in Iraq and Kuwait and Qatar and Bahrain and the Gulf Emirates.