Life in Paradise

Adam and Eve lived in the beautiful paradise Garden of Eden with lots of freedom and pleasures and only one rule to obey.

The garden God had planted in the east was a beautiful, protected place called Eden.[1] The garden had all kinds of wonderful-looking (and tasting!) fruit trees. Right in the middle of the garden God planted two special trees: the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The garden was well watered because a river bubbled up and flowed out of the garden, dividing into four rivers! Imagine the beautiful trees and plants and the crystal-clear water flowing through paradise. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to live there?

God placed the man and woman He had made in that breath-taking, luscious paradise and told them to take care of it. They were in charge! He had already told them to prosper, reproduce, and fill the earth, taking charge of it. Now they also had the responsibility of caring for God’s beautiful, special garden.

It’s hard to imagine what it was like or how beautiful the garden was. But I’m sure that as the man and the woman walked around in the garden, they were filled with wonder and awe, and their hearts and mouths were filled with praise to God. I’m sure they enjoyed their work, too, as they took care of this garden for their Creator.

When God placed them in the garden, He told them to eat of any and all of the trees—except for one: the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God told them that if they would eat from that tree, they would die. But think of it: apples, peaches, mangoes, cherries, oranges, lemons, limes, pomegranates, cashews, bananas—and many more—all at hand to enjoy as much as they wanted! This Eden truly was a paradise. And to add to it, the man and woman carried on a close, personal relationship with their Creator God.

[1]The Hebrew word for Eden means “delight, pleasure, or abundant fertility” while “paradise” (an old Persian word meaning “enclosed park, pleasure ground”) was used in a later Greek version of the Bible for Eden.