In Genesis 2:4-25, the Word of God reveals precious details about the formation of the Garden of Eden and the beginning of humanity. Before everything, the text shows a scenario still without complete vegetation:
- no plant of the field had sprouted,
- the Lord had not yet made it rain on the earth,
- and there was no man to till the soil.
These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. (Genesis 2:4-6)
It was in this environment that God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Only then did man become a living soul.
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 soul. And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. (Genesis 2:7-8)
Soon after, the Lord made every tree grow out of the ground that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, highlighting two special ones in the midst of the garden: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 2:9)
A river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted into four heads: Pison, Gihon, Hiddekel, and Euphrates (Genesis 2:10-14).
God placed man in the garden to tend and keep it, giving him full freedom to eat from all the trees except one.
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Genesis 2:16-17)
The death announced was not just physical, but mainly spiritual: separation from God because of disobedience. Paul explains this clearly:
For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. (Romans 5:19)
Seeing that it was not good for man to be alone, God declared:
It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. (Genesis 2:18)
After Adam named all the animals and no suitable helper was found among them, God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, took one of his ribs, and formed woman.
And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. (Genesis 2:21-25)
At that moment, Adam and Eve lived in perfect innocence. There was no evil or shame, because sin had not yet entered the world.
Final Reflection
The chapter shows us a personal God who creates with purpose, provides abundantly, gives responsibility, and completes man with woman a suitable helper. All this points to God’s perfect plan before the entry of sin and, at the same time, prepares the heart to understand the need for the Redeemer who would come through Jesus Christ.
