Humanity's Ultimate Purpose - Genesis 2:4-15

4 This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LordGod made the earth and the heavens, 5 before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; 6 but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.

7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

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.
Genesis 2:4-15

What is humanity's ultimate purpose? We find the solution in the very beginning of the Bible I'd like to take the time to digest some of what is happening here in the Garden of Eden.

In Genesis 1, elohim is the name given to God. But in chapter two, it is jehova elohim (LORD God). Elohim is a suggestive pronoun. It denotes power, specifically the one that holds all power (or at least more power than anyone or anything else). Jehova is our English way of saying Yahweh, which is another English way of saying the YHWH. We aren't entirely sure how to say this name, so we gave it a label: the tetragrammaton. It is usually suggested that this name is from the verb hayah, which would give the interpretation "I am/exist." When we have two Hebrew nouns together, we place the word "of" in between them. So the Lord God is being titled, "I AM of Mighty Power." 

It is supposed from Genesis 2:6 that mankind was given the purpose to till the ground. We'll talk about problems with this later. Instead, I want to skip to verse 7. I this verse, we find Adam consisted of both heaven and earth, thus becoming a living creature. The Hebrew word used for the breath of God is not the same word used in Genesis 1:2, ruach, but instead nephesh (to blow).

Jesus, in John 20:22 blew on His disciples and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit..." There is a hermeneutic principle that says when you see the first time a word or phrase is used, mark it down. We can learn what that word or phrase means from that first instance it is used. For example, I mentioned the word ruach. Ruach is translated spirit, breath, or wind. But there is a thing to note about ruach: it is God's Spirit. Ruach, to me, is much more properly defined as the energy (Spirit) of God that causes the creation to stir. This is why it is also sometimes denoted as wind or breath: the Spirit itself causes for the creation to stir when it is present. 

So, when we see in Genesis 2:7 that the Lord God breathed into Adam, we need to identify this. This is the God that breathes life. When John points out that Jesus blew on His disciples, John is making the statement that Jesus is not a mere man. He is the tetragrammaton in the flesh. This would also fit with the Holy Spirit being the ruach haqodesh (Spirit of holiness). The ruach is the presence of God that stirs up the creation. Why does it denote breath? Because it is a part of the God that gives life, or breath, to mankind. In order for God to transmute life and breath into Adam, He must be both living and breathing. This is a fascinating idea to think of a God that is both living and breathing, unlike the gods of stone, wood, money, and television.

In Genesis 2:8, we read of this living God as one who plants... Some have said that this is actually a contradiction in the Bible because God plants the Garden after He made man. But in Genesis 1, God made the trees, fish, birds, and animals before He made man. The solution is really quite simple that it's pathetic. Genesis 1:1-2:3 is a story of the seven days of creation. The author wasn't trying to give the intimate details of each day, but instead giving the overall summary of each day. Then, the author goes in and gives the details of day six when Adam and Eve were created. That is what we're reading about. There were trees, animals, birds, etc outside of the Garden of Eden, but God made this Garden specifically for Adam and Eve. 

Eden is the Hebrew word for delight. Because the Lord God had planted this Garden, and it was to be enjoyed and delighted in, we cannot then say that Adam was given the charge to "till the land." The only thing that Adam would have needed to till would have possibly been outside of the Garden. There is even a Jewish tradition that suggests maybe some of the trees in the Garden were bread trees. Adam wouldn't have even needed to made dough and bake the bread, because it would have already grown on the trees pre-baked and ready to eat. 

We know the story, so we know that Adam did get kicked out of the Garden. Obviously, then, this Garden does not cover the whole Earth. The Hebrew word used in Genesis 2:8 to say that Adam was placed in the Garden is sum (soom). It has absolutely no connotation to any effort on Adam's part, and complete connotation that God is the one doing the work. 

Out of the entire Garden, there are two trees named in verse 9: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and the tree of life. What was the first command given to Adam? The first command is in verse 16, which I didn't put here. It is that Adam is to eat of every tree of the Garden. The command to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is actually the second command given to Adam. The first is to eat and enjoy all of the trees of the Garden. So, when we think back on the story and point out that God put a limit on Adam and told Him, "Don't do this," we actually misunderstand the story. The whole thing is pointing to the fact that God made Adam and put him in the Garden so that Adam could enjoy the creation. 

Now, we read in verses 10-14 about these four rivers. Pishon means to increase. Gihon means to burst forth. Hiddekel means rapid. Euphrates means fruitfulness. 

In verse 15, we have the Hebrew word yanach used to mean "put." So, in verse 8 we read that man was put (sum) in the Garden, and in verse 15 we read that he was put (yanach) in the Garden. What is the difference between these two words? Yanach is a synonym of nuach, which means rest. The definition of yanach is "to deposit," or "to allow to stay." 

Note the translation of working in the Garden. "Tend and keep it." It was already tilled and cultivated and worked by God. The Hebrew is le'abdah welesamrah. Abad means to serve, and is sometimes used in relation to being a bond-servant. Samar means to protect, or to hedge about. Samar is the word used in the Ten Commandments, "keep my commands" (Exodus 20:6). To keep is to protect, or to guard. 

Something else to note is that the Hebrew does not agree in gender to suggest this is Adam's purpose in respect to the Garden. This must be an abstract view unrelated to the Garden. Adam was made to serve and protect God/God's words. That is the ultimate purpose of humanity. We aren't called to somehow toil and work and struggle, but instead to be in rest and leisure. Out of that rest we are to fulfill our primary role and calling in life: to protect the words of God. We are to be in service to God, worshiping and adoring He who has given us such a place as the Garden of Eden.

But what about us today? We are far from the Garden of Eden. In the book of Genesis we find a Garden, but in the book of Revelation (chapters 21-22) we find a City. In the Garden there was a river that split into four different directions. In the City there is a river that comes out from the throne of God. In the Garden there are two trees mentioned. In the City there is one tree mentioned (tree of life) twice (one on either side of the river). The Garden of Eden and the New Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven are both related. These are the ultimate intentions of God for humanity. 

We have this strange thought that the New Jerusalem will be some future time that we can't understand anything about it now, but Paul speaks of it in Galatians 4:25-26. "Now, Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother." Do you understand? We are currently seated with Christ in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). We are currently called to be a part of that Holy City. But if we are thinking that we have to wait until that city is a literal reality in the New Heaven and New Earth, then we aren't ever going to strive to live according to that New Jerusalem. That New Jerusalem is free. It is free from fear, free from works of the Law, free from sin, and free from death. 

Upon our salvation, we are "placed" in that City. We are then bidden to stay in that City, to serve and protect the Lamb. Our protecting is to keep His commands, which is done by loving one another. Anyone who loves as Christ loved is protecting Him. To know His words and to know His commands, we only must love one another as Christ as loved us. This is the Law and the Prophets summed up: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. That is our high calling. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. We are all simply bid to come and enjoy, rest and serve.