Perfect Place

DEVOTION

GENESIS

PERFECT PLACE

Gen 2:8-9

8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground — trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

NIV

So much research has been done by so many about the location of this garden in the east. The next portion of this account he gives us the names of the four rivers which flowed out of the main river which watered the garden. This river was the head waters of those four but it was not named. We will get into some of that when we are there with the four rivers, but for now what we know is, God took the man he had formed  and put him in the this garden in the east, in Eden. Again with all the research of the great minds of scholars no one has any credible evidence of the location of this garden. What we might consider is that when God cast Adam and Eve out of the garden he put and angel at the gate. This we will get to in further detail later. But what is interesting is the flood. The pre-flood world is different than the post-flood world. What was once a garden with a river that was the head waters of four rivers is not the same as the two rivers that still exist, so let us leave all that and simply focus on what was when God created it, a garden in the East, in Eden. There were all sorts of trees in this garden, trees which supplied man with all the fruit needed to live. Some scholars have made some bizarre theories regarding these two mentioned trees in this garden. The tree of life is considered by them to be plants that produce healing balms for cure of diseases. Although it is true that many people throughout the ages, including the Native American tribes that roamed this land before we arrived, discovered many plants that have healing properties. This all takes away from the true meaning of this tree of life. They also make much the same case for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They purpose this signified all the plants that contain some degree of poisonous property that would be harmful to the life of man. This again takes away from the truth meaning of this tree. We are going to see these two trees again throughout the next portion of the beginning. We will discover the real truth of their properties, which is for certain, as we have read this account many times and are familiar with its content.  Yet what we learn here is that God formed the man somewhere and then placed him in this garden which was somewhere else. We have no idea where either place is and that is the point. We are not supposed to know where he formed man, nor are we to know where he placed him. But what we know is the place he placed him was a place of pleasure or delight. This is the meaning of the Hebrew word Eden. Within the New Testament Septuagint the word Paradise has been introduced in regards to this Eden. Hence we have the Paradise of God created for the placement of man. What we can learn from this is that God has also formed us within the womb of our mother.

Ps 139:13

3 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb .

NIV    

We also know that we, like Adam, did not stay in the place where God formed us. Like Adam, God created a place for us to be in. We could say sure, the world, but that was not where he placed Adam, in the whole world. He placed him in a specific place, a garden east of Eden, a paradise of sorts, a place where all he needed was provided for him. In our mobile society we live in today it would seem we have no specific place to live, but that is so far from the truth. Have we ever made a bad choice and moved to a place that was not right for us? Have we ever taken on a job or position that just was not right for us? Have some taken on a marriage that was not right for them? We all have made some choices in life that perhaps were not the right one. What we can learn is that God has always had a place designed for us to be. As he took Adam and placed him in the garden, he also, if we are willing to allow him, will place us in the right place he has designed for us. This is not to say that in this place we will not be faced with the choice between the tree of life and that of the knowledge of good and evil. We always have the choice to be disobedient to God’s commands. But what we should be sure of is that we are in the place he has prepared for us. Yes, this could imply the place that Jesus is preparing for us. We need to make sure we are going to be in the Paradise of God which Jesus has prepared for us. But are we just to wonder around this planet aimlessly without purpose and wherever we desire? God put Adam in the garden for a purpose and he put him in a specific garden. God has a specific place in this world for each of us with a purpose. We need to know his voice, follow his leading, being in the place he has designed for us to be in. Can he move us? Sure, if that is what he desires for us. He moved Adam, but that was not his desire, it was because Adam was disobedient and he had to keep him from reaching out and eating from the tree of life. Yet the point is we need to make sure we are in the place God desires us to be in, both physically and spiritually. When we are able to hear his voice and know his pleasure for us, we will be in the perfect place he has designed for us, both here and in eternity.