15th April 2025 question-box

This question was asked in response to a recent sermon on Genesis 1. And I answered this question as a part of my sermon on Genesis 2:4-17. And the text is an excerpt from the sermon:

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…when it says in Genesis 2 verse 5: “Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up,” I don’t think we’re supposed to imagine a desert, so much as a wilderness. See, it’s not that plants don’t exist at this point, it’s that farming doesn’t exist. For farming to exist, you need a farmer, which is who God creates in verse 7. And this is a good moment for me to bring in another question from the box:

“If creation in Genesis was actually untamed, a little wild and needed subduing, how does that align with God’s orderly nature?”

What a thoughtful question! Yes, I think Genesis chapter 1 prompts us to ask that question. And Genesis chapter 2 begins to answer it. Because God created a world which was very good, but that doesn’t mean that it was complete in every way.

Actually God wants humanity to bring the world to completion. A bit like, imagine as a Christmas present, I buy some lego for my 5 year old niece. Lego is a very good gift for a child. But can you imagine if before Christmas I decided to open the box, see that its all in separate pieces, and curse the manufacturer for being disorganised, and then go and assemble it myself… No! Because the point of my niece getting lego is that she gets to have the joy of building it, the joy of bringing it to the goal of its creator has in mind.

And so God creates humanity with a task: it the meaningful, joyful task of bringing this world toward the goal that our Creator has in mind. And just like Lego, the world comes with a picture on the box. See, God doesn’t just place man in the wilderness to figure things out for ourselves… What does he do in verse 8: “Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.” The garden is the first pocket of civilisation. The garden is a picture of how you turn nature into culture. It’s a model of what it looks like for the wild world to be tamed. The garden is a home for humans where things are in order, and where they have everything they need. And so if you remember the command in chapter 1:28, that humanity should “Fill the earth and subdue it…”Well the garden is where an orderly God says: “here’s one I prepared earlier.”

And so what does this say about our responsibility toward the planet? Well on one hand there is the idea the our job is to care for the earth, to manage it sustainably, to learn how we can help all these wonderful eco-systems that God has made to thrive and to reach their full potential. However, this does not mean leaving everything untouched. There is something good about developing the land, and harvesting the good fruit of the earth.

It interesting that this is a garden of trees. The garden of Eden not a single-season cash crop. Most fruit trees don’t even start producing fruit for 4-6 years after planting, but then they will keep on fruiting for 20-30 years. That’s helpful to realise in a world where so many decisions are based on a 24 hour news cycle, 12 month shareholder cycle, or even a three year election cycle. It is godly to think long term, to think through how we are shaping the world for future generations.

But there is more going on in this chapter than just environmental concern. Because the way the Garden of Eden is described is as a kind of temple….

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You can listen to the whole sermon here. It was preached on 24 November 2024.