Fri.’s Devo - The Garden

Read Gen 2:7-12

Now we get the details of what happened on day 6 when God created man. Since plants were created on the 3rd day and they needed to be watered, God created a mist that came out of the earth like our underground sprinkler systems. It watered the whole earth. (I wouldn’t want to pay that water bill!) This went on till the flood which was the first rain. Mist in the Hebrew means an enveloping fog. So they walked around in a fog! (I can relate.) When God made man he made him from the dust which is defined clay, mud, ashes, ground, mortar, rubbish. From this heap of mud he breathed into his nose God’s breath of life and from God’s breath man became alive. How powerful is God’s breath; his divine inspiration! Then the Lord planted a garden eastward in Eden. Eden means delight. In the midst of delight God placed his most prized possession - man. He placed man in his garden which was full of trees God had planted for food and two special trees in the middle. One was the tree life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. There was a river that flowed out of Eden from there it branched off in 4 streams. The first stream was Pison which means increase. It is in the land of Havilah which means anguish

from travail. In Havilah there is gold. So, I think this is a picture God is giving us of what we can have if we abide in Him. If he followed this river the way to increase will be through much prayer and trials but the result will be wisdom. This would be a good stream to follow. It is the road to maturity. It says that the gold of this land is good. It is full of bdellium and onyx. I looked up bdellium in the Hebrew and Webster’s. The Hebrew defined it as a fragrant gum perhaps amber or pearl and Webster’s defined it as a deep red gem, a crystal, or a pearl. No matter which of these it true they all seem to point to spiritual things: red - the blood of Jesus, crystal - purity, pearl - the beauty that comes from adversity, the fragrant gum - the presence of the Holy Spirit. Onyx is an agate stone made of layers of colored stone. To me, it speaks of the layers of the knowledge of God which is revealed throughout your walk. It also speaks of maturity and patience.

Lord, may we follow that river and dwell in the land of wisdom.