#21 The Apple of God's Eye

The Book of Genesis Day 21 Ge 2:10 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 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. Although the exact location of the Garden of Eden is not given, we get a general idea by the mention of the four rivers. The Hiddekel River is actually the Tigris, and the fourth river is the Euphrates. That would put the Garden somewhere in the vicinity of modern day Iraq. It really doesn’t matter since the “Garden” is closed for the time being anyway. God has placed a guard around it and man will not enter it again until all things are restored when Jesus returns. After the Garden was planted, God took the man that He had created and put him in the Garden to tend and keep it. To “tend” is “to slave or work.” Adam was to “work the Garden! I’m not sure of the kind of work that Adam was engaged in, but we know it wasn’t pulling weeds. The thorns and weeds didn’t arrive until after Adam and Eve fell into sin. Maybe it was his job just to keep it looking nice. He was also instructed to “keep” the Garden. This word “keep” is a very important word in the Bible. It is most often used in the context of treasuring something. The word means “to put a hedge around, to protect something as if it were valuable.” So when Jesus says in Joh 14:15 "If you love Me, keep My commandments,” He tells us to treasure His commands, and that takes all the legalism out of the equation. Of course if we treasure His commands, we will seek to obey them, but don’t put the cart before the horse! Treasure them first, then a desire to obey will follow. It is treasuring that leads to obedience. So Adam is charged with treasuring the garden and all that is in it and that speaks of being a good steward. We, like Adam ought to be good stewards of God’s creation serving as caretakers to keep it from harm. I think we have made some great strides in this area in recent years, yet we need to be careful, because sometimes we confuse stewardship with ownership and we begin to make decisions that value the earth more than the occupants. For example, unborn children, made in the image of God are regarded as disposable for the sake of “garden” management. That was never God’s intention. As stewards, we are to work with what God has given us, tending and keeping it to the best of our ability for whoever God brings along to enjoy it! He is not so cruel as to bring more children into the garden than it will support. We are the cruel ones as we fail to manage and distribute His resources in a loving and caring way. Reflect: Name a treasured possession of yours. Do you give it any kind of special care? Did you know that God treasures you? David prayed in Ps 17:8 Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings, You are the apple of God’s eye! How does this knowledge of God’s treasuring you, change your attitudes about yourself and others? Pray: God, help us when we forget how much you treasure each and every one of us. Remind us often of Your deep love for us. Help us to love You and others in return! Forgive us when we f