God’s Commandment for Adam

One piece of fellowship share with everybody:

(Gen 2:15-17) And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.


After hearing this passage concerning “God’s commandment for Adam,” what do you understand? What feeling does this passage give you? Why has this passage concerning “God’s commandment for Adam” been extracted? Do you each have a picture of God and Adam in your heart? You can imagine that. If you were personally on the scene, what kind of God would you think God is in your heart? What feeling does this picture give you? It is a touching and warm picture. Although there is only God and man in it, the close relationship between them is so admirable: God’s love overflows, freely bestowed on man and surrounding man; man, innocent and pure and free from cares and anxieties, lives under God’s eyes happily; God is concerned about man, and man lives under the protection and blessing of God, and what man does and man’s every word and deed are all closely related to God and cannot be independent from God.

It can be said that this was God’s first commandment for man since the creation of mankind. What was there in this commandment? There was God’s will and his worry about mankind in it. It was God’s first commandment and was also God’s first worry about mankind. That is to say, from the moment God created mankind, God had the responsibility for mankind. What was his responsibility? He was to protect man, and he was to watch over man. He hoped that man would believe and obey what he said. This was also God’s first expectation for mankind. With this expectation, God then spoke such a word: “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.” This simple word represented God’s will, and it also showed that God’s heart was beginning to be concerned about man. Because among all things, only Adam was made in God’s image, only Adam was a living being with God’s breath, and he could walk with God and talk with God, therefore God gave him such a commandment. In this commandment, there was what man could do and what man could not do, which God said very clearly.

From these simple words, we have seen God’s heart. What kind of heart is it? In God’s heart, is there love? Is there concern? God’s love and concern not only can be sensed by man, but can even more be really and truly touched by man in this passage. Isn’t that so? After I have said this, do you feel these few words simple? They are not simple, right? Could you see this before? If God says to you a few such words personally, how will you feel in your heart? If you are one devoid of humanity and your heart is ice-cold, you will have no feeling and will not realize God’s love or try to understand God’s heart; if you are one who has conscience and humanity, your feeling will be different, and you will feel warm, feel cared, feel loved, and feel blissful. Isn’t that so? When you feel these, how will you treat God? Won’t you be attached to God? Won’t you have reverence and love for God in your heart? Won’t your heart draw near to God? This shows how important God’s love for man is! And it is even more important that man can feel and understand God’s love! In fact, in this stage of God’s work, hasn’t God spoken many such words? But among the people today, is there anyone who can understand God’s heart? Can you realize the will of God I have just spoken about? None of you can realize such specific, true, and realistic will of God. So I say that you have no true knowledge and understanding of God. Isn’t that the fact? We will stop here about this passage.
 
One piece of fellowship share with everybody:

(Gen 2:15-17) And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.


After hearing this passage concerning “God’s commandment for Adam,” what do you understand? What feeling does this passage give you? Why has this passage concerning “God’s commandment for Adam” been extracted? Do you each have a picture of God and Adam in your heart? You can imagine that. If you were personally on the scene, what kind of God would you think God is in your heart? What feeling does this picture give you? It is a touching and warm picture. Although there is only God and man in it, the close relationship between them is so admirable: God’s love overflows, freely bestowed on man and surrounding man; man, innocent and pure and free from cares and anxieties, lives under God’s eyes happily; God is concerned about man, and man lives under the protection and blessing of God, and what man does and man’s every word and deed are all closely related to God and cannot be independent from God.

It can be said that this was God’s first commandment for man since the creation of mankind. What was there in this commandment? There was God’s will and his worry about mankind in it. It was God’s first commandment and was also God’s first worry about mankind. That is to say, from the moment God created mankind, God had the responsibility for mankind. What was his responsibility? He was to protect man, and he was to watch over man. He hoped that man would believe and obey what he said. This was also God’s first expectation for mankind. With this expectation, God then spoke such a word: “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.” This simple word represented God’s will, and it also showed that God’s heart was beginning to be concerned about man. Because among all things, only Adam was made in God’s image, only Adam was a living being with God’s breath, and he could walk with God and talk with God, therefore God gave him such a commandment. In this commandment, there was what man could do and what man could not do, which God said very clearly.

From these simple words, we have seen God’s heart. What kind of heart is it? In God’s heart, is there love? Is there concern? God’s love and concern not only can be sensed by man, but can even more be really and truly touched by man in this passage. Isn’t that so? After I have said this, do you feel these few words simple? They are not simple, right? Could you see this before? If God says to you a few such words personally, how will you feel in your heart? If you are one devoid of humanity and your heart is ice-cold, you will have no feeling and will not realize God’s love or try to understand God’s heart; if you are one who has conscience and humanity, your feeling will be different, and you will feel warm, feel cared, feel loved, and feel blissful. Isn’t that so? When you feel these, how will you treat God? Won’t you be attached to God? Won’t you have reverence and love for God in your heart? Won’t your heart draw near to God? This shows how important God’s love for man is! And it is even more important that man can feel and understand God’s love! In fact, in this stage of God’s work, hasn’t God spoken many such words? But among the people today, is there anyone who can understand God’s heart? Can you realize the will of God I have just spoken about? None of you can realize such specific, true, and realistic will of God. So I say that you have no true knowledge and understanding of God. Isn’t that the fact? We will stop here about this passage.
Christina, what did God put as Adam's first responsibilities in the garden, before he told him not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Adam had a "job" to do, he was not to just hang out in the garden and do nothing. He was to "tend, and keep" the garden. The word, "keep" means "to protect ,and keep your eye on". Did Adam do this?
 
And as "...for in the day you do you shall surely die", I do not believe this was a threat of punishment as some teach but a warning of love, the Lord foreknowing the consequence of that act. Sort of like when a loving parent says to their child, "thou shall not run out into the busy street for in the day you do you shall surely get hit by a car" they are not saying "If you do it I am going to hit you with a car" but they are warning them...telling them ahead of time what will surely happen. Can you see it? He did not desire their death, and knew their sin would cause their separation from Him (Isa 59:2) which is spiritual death (the cause if not repented of, of what John the revelator calls the second death)
 
If we want to delight our Lord, we can do nothing better than tend to our own gardens.
Are we neglecting them?
When Jesus was arisen, people did not recognise him at first. They thought he was the gardener!
 
If we want to delight our Lord, we can do nothing better than tend to our own gardens.
Are we neglecting them?
When Jesus was arisen, people did not recognise him at first. They thought he was the gardener!
Remember God planted a "garden" and placed Adam in it to tend, and to protect it, but he failed, and let the serpent in.
Have you ever heard the saying, " if you want something to be done right, you have to do it yourself"?
We are now God's garden, and we are co-workers with him in his garden. He is the one protecting it from the evil and man is guided to follow his orders.

1Co 3:8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.
1Co 3:9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.

The word "husbandry" means "farm, tilled ground, and or garden"
 
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