“And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
With intention, God plants and puts. He plants a garden and puts the man there. As has been the case, before the crescendo of creation is put on full display (humanity), other things are described. It goes without saying that Genesis 2 comes before Genesis 3, but our reality is Genesis 3, which makes Genesis 2 seem alien—unimaginable. For a fallen humanity in a fallen world, pleasant trees are delicate and susceptible to rot and death. Likewise, that good food carries with it a timed window before good turns to bad.
But most unimaginable of all, what truly separates perfect creation (Genesis 2) from corrupted creation (Genesis 3), is content. What is missing now? The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. To see life represented as such—to be able to taste of it—can hardly be expressed post-Eden. Similarly, true complete knowledge of good and evil is but a dream, where the storm of sin and suffering and strife hinder even the definitions of the terms.
Unless God chooses to bestow both life and knowledge, which he does.
Here, in the garden of Genesis 2, hope and peace and contentment and joy and life see fulfillment. Here, now, the same things see fulfillment more fully in the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”
“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.”