The story of Adam and his role in the Garden of Eden offers profound insights into humanity’s relationship with God, creation, and the consequences of disobedience.
God’s divine order and providence
In the beginning, God’s creation was perfect, with a natural order that sustained itself before man formed. Genesis 2:4-15 shows that the plants and herbs did not grow because there was no man to till the ground, and God had not yet caused it to rain. Instead, a mist watered the earth, and God’s design provided everything necessary for creation to flourish without human intervention.
When God finally formed man, He placed him in the Garden of Eden, where everything had already been prepared. God had planted the garden Himself, and Adam was not required to till or cultivate the ground. His responsibility was merely to “dress” and “keep” the garden—terms that imply stewardship rather than the strenuous labour of tilling the soil. This divine provision meant that Adam was simply to enjoy the fruits of God’s work and take care of what had already been perfectly created. He was God’s ambassador on earth.
Outside the garden, however, there was no life, no plants grew, no rain fell, and no man was there to till the ground.
This stark contrast between the abundance of the garden and the barrenness outside emphasizes that life and provision are found within God’s divine arrangement. Everything outside God’s provision is desolate and lifeless.
The Shift After the Fall
After the fall, humanity’s role drastically changed. Adam and Eve’s desire for independence—”to be like God, knowing good and evil”—led to their banishment from Eden.
Genesis 3:22-23 (ESV) says: “Then the Lord God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—’ therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.”
Now, Adam had to toil and till the ground outside the garden, a ground cursed because of his disobedience. The life of ease and divine provision in Eden was replaced with hard labour, symbolizing the struggle of human life without God’s direct sustenance.
Genesis 3:19 captures the gravity of this shift: God said, “ …till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.“
This statement not only speaks of physical death but also underscores humanity’s newfound attachment to the material world. Adam, who had the breath of life from God within him, has reduced himself to dust, seeking satisfaction from the earth (dust), which represents the temporal, worldly, and materialistic pursuits that emerged after the fall.
Consequences of Independence
Man’s choice to become independent of God led to both spiritual and physical separation. Adam, who once enjoyed close communion with God, now found his spirit distanced from the divine. This independent spirit—marked by humanity’s drive to “return to dust,” working the cursed ground for sustenance—reflects a perpetual struggle for fulfilment outside of God’s perfect provision.
In Eden, God provided abundantly without toil, but once expelled, Adam was left to labour over a cursed ground. The things humans crave—material wealth and worldly success—all originate from the ground, mirroring their separation from the divine source of life. In pursuing these earthly gains, humanity seeks satisfaction in a realm that was never meant to replace the fullness found only in God’s presence. This relentless striving underscores the lasting consequences of seeking life apart from God’s sustaining grace.
God’s Mercy and Protection from Eternal Damnation
In His mercy, God acted to prevent humanity from sealing its eternal fate.
Genesis 3:22-23 (ESV) states, “…Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.”
After Adam and Eve’s disobedience, God’s decision to expel them from Eden wasn’t solely a punishment; it was also an act of mercy. Had Adam eaten from the Tree of Life in his sinful state which God knew was a possibility for Adam, he would have been doomed to eternal separation from God, trapped forever in his sinful nature. The devil’s plan, after leading Adam and Eve into disobedience, was to make man eternally damned, like himself. But God, in His mercy, intervened, preventing them from sealing their fate in this way.
To guard them from accessing the Tree of Life, God placed cherubim and a flaming sword at the entrance of Eden, keeping the way to this eternal life. This was to ensure that mankind (having the Adamic nature) wouldn’t eat from the Tree and live eternally in a fallen state—cut off from God’s redemption forever. Any individual seeking the life offered by the Tree of Life must first pass through this flaming sword, which represents the necessity of cutting away the Adamic nature.
This foreshadowing is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who took the nature of Adam to the cross and eliminated it there. The Heavenly Father revealed to Him the path to the Tree of Life, as reflected in Psalm 16:11, which states, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence, there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Through His sacrifice, Christ provided the means for believers to reclaim eternal life, restoring access to the divine presence that was lost in Eden.
God does not want Adam and his Generation to be lost forever.
While many interpret man’s assignment to work the ground as punishment, it also reflects God’s release of man to his independent desires, fulfilling the consequence that “to dust you shall return.” This hardship, God intended, would awaken humanity to its need for Him. The painful toil, labour, sorrow, and sweat were meant to draw man back to dependence on God. However, instead of seeking God, Adam and his descendants continued to strive for self-sufficiency and control. Adam’s choice to labour over the cursed ground, rather than turning back to God, illustrates humanity’s attempt to “be like god,” exercising dominion apart from the divine provision. He was not remorseful to cry to God for his divine provision.
The Works of the Flesh in the Next Generation and God’s Rejection of Self-Reliance
God’s curse on the ground was meant to show humanity its helplessness and return to God, but Cain responded by offering the “works of the flesh” as an offering to God, thus God rejected him and his offering. In contrast, Abel offered a burnt offering, symbolizing atonement for his sins, an act of worship that acknowledged God’s sovereignty and holiness. His offering represented total devotion and absolute surrender, yielding his own will and pursuits fully to God.
Here is an excerpt on Burnt offering by Brother Zac Poonen The True Meaning of Burnt Offering | cfcindia, Bangalore:
This burnt offering is a picture of the way Jesus presented His body throughout His earthly life to His Father – and then finally on the cross as well. So when we look at Jesus’ life we don’t think only of His death at Calvary, but also of His whole life where He presented Himself to the Father fully saying, “A body Thou hast prepared for Me?..and I have come to do Thy will O God (in this body)” (Heb. 10:5,7). Jesus never once did His own will in his body but only the Father’s. This is what it means to offer oneself as a burnt offering to God. Paul exhorts us also to do so in Romans 12:1-2. “Present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice to God…that you may prove what the will of God is” – exactly as Jesus did. This burnt offering was presented to God and burnt completely. The Bible says this was “a soothing aroma to the Lord” (Lev 1:.17) – meaning something that God was very pleased with – “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” Paul said that his life’s ambition too was to “please the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:9).
People could offer a bullock or a sheep or a goat or even a dove or a pigeon, according to their financial ability (Leviticus 1:1-14). Not like Cain who brought fruit as a burnt offering which does not follow God’s pattern – He made a coat of skin for Adam and Eve to clothed them symbolizing God’s temporary clothe of righteousness.
Despite God’s warning to Cain, Genesis 4 recounts that Cain killed his brother Abel obeying his master the devil https://www.musingonthebible.org/hiding-the-blood-of-redemption/ and God imposed a more stringent punishment on him:
Genesis 4:11-14: And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
This punishment was not intended to cast Cain off but rather to lead him to repentance. Cain’s unrepentant response— “My punishment is greater than I can bear”—showed his continued resistance to divine correction.
Instead of turning back to God, over time, Cain chose to build a city, and his descendants became skilled inventors in livestock, music, and metalwork—crafting from the very ground that was cursed. They passed down their skills, raising apprentices and furthering these earthly pursuits through generations. This pursuit of material achievements reflected mankind’s focus on worldly success, a theme Solomon later addresses, declaring the vanity of such pursuits: “God made mankind upright (created in God’s image, having God’s provision and blessing), but they have sought out many schemes (including the inventions of Cain and his children).” (Ecclesiastes 7:29, KJV).
In both Adam’s and Cain’s stories, we see that self-reliance and the works of the flesh cannot satisfy God’s righteousness or lead to redemption. God’s intention is to bring humanity to humility and dependence on His provision rather than striving for independence.
Implications of tilling the ground
The implications of tilling the ground, as outlined in Scripture, reflect the profound spiritual consequences of humanity’s disobedience. These consequences, especially after the fall, are deeply tied to the curse on the ground, man’s relationship with creation, and the ultimate separation from God:
1. Satan’s Authority in the world: After Adam’s disobedience, the ground itself fell under a curse, and Satan gained authority over the earthly realm. In Luke 4:5-6, Satan displays his dominion when he offers Jesus the kingdoms of the world. The scripture in 1 John 5:19 further emphasizes this by declaring, “The whole world is under the control of the evil one.”
2. Humans as Dust, Seeking Worldliness: Humanity was created to live in spiritual communion with God, and this connection was designed to empower them with divine authority to rule over all creation. In breaking this communion, humanity turns instead to the material world, represented by the dust from which they were formed. No longer aligned with God’s purpose, humanity became preoccupied with worldly pursuits and desires, neglecting their higher calling to establish God’s kingdom on earth. As Genesis 3:19 proclaims, “…for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”
3. Death and Burial—Returning to the Dust: This disconnection from God also affects what happens after death. Rather than returning to God, fallen humanity returns to the dust, as Ecclesiastes 3:20 explains: “All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.” Man’s body returns to the earth, highlighting both physical death and spiritual separation from God.
4. The Serpent’s Dominion Over the Dust (Humans): Furthermore, Genesis 3:14 speaks of the serpent being condemned to eat dust, symbolizing its dominion over fallen humanity. Humans, in their lust for the world, became vulnerable to the power of the Devil. Just as dust is easily swept away, so too are those who live according to the desires of the flesh, overcome by sin and destined for eternal separation from God.
5. Man’s Toil and Labor in a Cursed World: The curse on the ground also meant that man would labour in sorrow. The earth, once a source of abundant provision in Eden, now produced thorns and thistles. The man had to toil and sweat to eat, a reflection of the spiritual struggle to survive outside of God’s perfect will. Genesis 3:17-19 explains how man’s work on the cursed ground would bring hardship, sorrow, and toil throughout his life.
A righteous generation that seeks the Lord and the Devil’s Strategy
When the devil observed the revival and deepening pursuit of God within Seth’s descendants—the “sons of God”—he became concerned (Genesis 5:25-26). To disrupt this lineage and prevent them from fulfilling God’s blessing to be fruitful and multiply, he sought to corrupt them. Using intermarriage as a tactic, Satan lured the sons of God to marry daughters from Cain’s ungodly descendants. Through these unions with an unbelieving lineage, Seth’s descendants were gradually led away from God. They abandoned the path of righteousness, falling into corruption and sin. Despite God’s Holy Spirit continually striving to call them back, they chose to indulge in their earthly desires. In response, God ultimately allowed humanity to follow its own path, deciding to bring judgment through the flood.
One man, however, stood apart. Enoch, the seventh from Adam, walked faithfully with God. He prophesied about the judgment that would come upon the ungodly, warning both the strayed righteous and the unrighteous. In Jude 1:14-15, Enoch foretells that the Lord would come with ten thousand saints to execute judgment on the wicked for their sinful deeds.
Unfortunately, most of the descendants of Seth, who were once righteous, had now become entangled in sin and were no longer seeking God. They, like Cain, turned to tilling the ground—both literally and spiritually—as a metaphor for cultivating their fleshly desires instead of pursuing God’s righteousness.
Lamech’s Prophecy: Noah and Rest from Toil
Amidst this corruption, Lamech, a descendant of Seth, prophesied over his son, Noah. He foresaw that Noah would bring relief from the curse upon the ground. Genesis 5:28-29 records Lamech’s words, “Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed, this one (Noah) shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.”
Noah, as a figure of Christ, symbolized rest and salvation in a generation overwhelmed by sin, the devil and the world. Just as Jesus later called those who were weary and burdened to find rest in Him (Matthew 11:28-30), Noah’s life prefigured a divine deliverance from the curse. The hope Lamech saw in Noah foreshadowed the ultimate rest that Christ would provide, freeing humanity from the curse of sin and the toil of the world.
The Comfort (Rest)
Noah’s ark stands as a profound symbol of Christ and His salvation. Just as Noah’s ark saved his family from the flood, Jesus Christ offers salvation to humanity from sin, death, worldliness and divine wrath. Those who entered the ark were protected from the flood’s destruction, just as believers are sheltered in Christ from the judgment to come. Noah’s ark not only signifies deliverance but also represents a new beginning, reflecting how Christ brings forth a new creation in those who follow Him. As described in 1 Peter 3:20-21, Noah’s ark prefigures the salvation Christ offers through baptism, a fresh start in God’s grace. Only Noah and his family were saved during the flood, just as only those in Christ are saved from eternal destruction.
After the flood, God blessed the ground again and made a covenant with humanity through Noah. He promised never to curse the ground in the same way again, now that He had found a man who would seek Him and fulfill His mandate. In Genesis 9, God blesses Noah and his sons, instructing them to be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth—echoing the original blessing given to Adam. However, unlike Adam, Noah was not blessed to subdue the earth. This withheld blessing of dominion signifies that while humanity could once again fill the earth, they would no longer have complete authority over it.
When Christ came to earth, His mission was to deliver humanity and secure victory over the powers of the Devil, sin, worldliness, death, and the grave—chains inherited from Adam’s fall. Through His work on the cross, Christ completed this mission, offering victory to all who will repent of their sins, turn from their own ways, accept His Lordship, and faithfully follow Him.
However, the Devil remains the prince of this world, exercising a temporary dominion over the earth. Christ’s victory over sin and death grants believers freedom from these powers, but full dominion over the earth will not be restored until Christ’s second coming. However, believers, as brides while waiting for the return of their bridegroom (Jesus) are saddled with a mission to reconcile people to God, raising disciples among all nations.
When Christ returns, He will come first to take the saints to heaven. After this, He will return with the saints to reign on earth for 1,000 years—a period often referred to as the Millennial Reign. During this time, Christ will govern the earth in righteousness, finally subduing it as God intended from the beginning. After this thousand-year reign, the present earth will be destroyed, and God will unveil a new heaven and a new earth. At that time, the saints will reign with Christ forever in eternal glory.
In this new heaven and earth, God’s Ultimate plan for humanity will be fulfilled. No longer will man be independent of God- till the ground (not farming), no longer will the earth be cursed, and no longer will humanity be separated from God by sin. Instead, the saints will reign alongside Christ for all eternity. Amen.
In conclusion, God encourages us to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and: all these things Matthew 5:25-34- your basic necessity of life that is making you anxious (food, clothing and shelter) shall be provided by God so you can constantly enter and remain in God’s rest which He offers to us through Jesus Christ. Amen
Copyright – Sunday Oladiran. No changes whatsoever are to be made to the content of the article without written permission from the author.
