Genesis 2:8-17
8 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 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.”
After God created the man whom He had formed or fashioned from the dust of the earth He first made and in whom He breathed life, He made the Garden of Eden to the east for Adam and put him in it. This place was wonderfully pleasing, having beauty to behold in its array of trees and plants, as well as a boundless source of food to enjoy and sustain. This was what we think of when we hear the word paradise. There were two notable trees there standing out from the others, however. One was the tree of life, and the other the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A description of the surrounding rivers is accounted for, but notice how they originated in Eden to water that garden before going out and spitting up to other places. The source was Eden. What did God do then? He put the man He created in the garden to care for it that it might be fruitful and cared for. But he was also given a strict command to not eat from one tree only. He could eat from such abundance, but not partake of the tree giving the knowledge of what is good and what is evil; God Himself was to teach man these things, growing to know good and evil as he walked with God (Hebrews 5:14). The penalty for the disobedience, what we call sin, was certain death which we inherit (Romans 5:12, Romans 3:23). He even could take of the tree of life and never die if he chose wisely and heeded God’s word with trust and obedience.
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