The Garden of Eden Genesis 2:9 I. Introduction. A. Can you imagine a place where there is no sin, no sadness, no hurt, no anxiety, no threats, etc. 1. A place where only peace and solace exist? 2. A place where food is abundant simply for the taking(would have to tend it)? 3. A place where heat and cold do not make one uncomfortable? 4. A place without fear? B. Such a place existed: Genesis 2:8. 1. Note: Planted by God. 2. Contained all necessary to sustain life. 3. A place suitable for man. 4. God created man--then a garden(paradise). 5. The crowning creation of God had it made! II. Body. A. What was in this garden? Genesis 2:9. 1. Pleasant creations. a. No thorns, no crabgrass, no harmful plants. b. Pleasing to eyes, nose, and skin. 2. Good creations. a. Contributed their part in God's world. b. Would serve the needs of others of God's creatures. 3. A life-sustaining creation. a. Merely for the taking(pleasant work, not hard labor). b. A tree of life! c. Proper wisdom is a tree of life: Proverbs 3:13- 18. d. Also: Proverbs 11:30. 4. And...a tree of knowledge. a. Proper knowledge appropriate. b. Knowledge of evil destroy those who taste it. c. The one tree whose fruit is not to be eaten. d. May have been the most attractive of all the trees. B. Man was to work in this garden: Genesis 2:15. 1. Work is not a curse, but a blessing. 2. The labor may not have been as intense as at present- -but it was labor! 3. The instructions of New Testament: Ephesians 4:28. 4. What a joy it would have been to labor in this garden. 5. But what a joy to work in the Lord's vineyard today: Hebrews 4:11. C. Man was under instructions as to what to do and not to do: Genesis 2:16-17. 1. Could enjoy the full benefits of the garden. a. "Freely"--eating, thou mayest eat. b. Including the tree of life. 2. Under one restriction. a. No partaking of tree of "knowledge of good and evil." b. Did not forbid knowledge; only knowledge that would pervert. c. A test of man who was created a free moral agent(could choose). 3. Woman had not yet been created. D. Man lacked something at this point: Genesis 2:18. 1. Loneliness is a depressive and haunting state.(Some seek companionship at a great cost). 2. A "help meet."(complimentary to man.) a. Meaning: Similar in nature to man himself.(Not a servant nor a slave). b. No suitable companion found among the rest of creation. (1. Lived in the beauty of the garden. (2 Feasted on the riches of the garden. (3 But...still...something missing. c. What God did: Genesis 3:21-23. (1 Do not know why he chose a rib. (2 Do know it was man's flesh and would match man as a companion. (3 Probably the most beautiful woman. 3. No shame in them: Genesis 2:25. a. Perfect climate: no need for clothes. b. No embarrassment at being naked. E. Into the garden there came an adversary. 1. In the form of a serpent: Genesis 3:1a. 2. The conversation: Genesis 3:1-8. a. Attractiveness of the forbidden. b. Weakness of the flesh. c. Believing a lie. d. Yielding to temptation. e. The shame of sin. 3. The consequences: a. Pain: Genesis 3:16. b. Subjection: Genesis 3:17a. c. Increased labor--fighting the elements: Genesis 3:17-19. d. And...cast out of the paradise: Genesis 3:22-23. III. Conclusion. A. There is a place that offers all that was lost in the garden. B. What is it like? Revelation 21:1-4. -jy