Adam’s Five Assignments

The second chapter of Genesis describes how the Lord designed Adam and gave him five strategic assignments — all before Eve was even created. These conditions apply to men even today, in modern times. This instructive passage reads:

Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”
Genesis 2:15-17  NASB

These three verses contain five explicit and implicit instructions for men. These verses establish the bedrock of human interaction with the Lord and with each other. It is essential that men be taught these remarkable principles and that women look for men who fit these criteria before becoming romantically involved.

Men need not wait on God to provide a spouse; God’s waiting on them to meet His standards! If men don’t fit these conditions, they’re not ready for a mate! Let’s review the passage in detail:

1. PRESENCE - the section in Genesis begins by saying: The Lord God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden.  Eden is a complicated word in Hebrew. It refers to order, not a location. It signifies an open door between heaven and Earth. This is where God put man… in that unique spot where heaven touched Earth. Eden is the presence of God, not a physical place. Archeologists cannot find Eden because it is condition-based, not location-based. As long as Adam remained in communion with God, he was welcome in Eden. When man sinned, God drove him out of His presence, that is to say out of Eden. The atmosphere of God was removed because Heaven and sin cannot coexist.
   
   This portion of the passage tells us that the first thing man needs is not a woman; he needs the presence of God. Conversely, a woman should seek a man who dwells in the presence of God. But, some women leave the presence of God, go to the dating sites and the clubs and the dance floor to find a man, and try to drag him back into Eden, into God’s presence. This is backwards! Following God’s model, Eve first met Adam in Eden, in the presence of the Lord.
   
   
2. WORK - The second thing a man needs before meeting his woman is work. He needs a job or a business. Ladies, don’t drag a man out of his grandmother’s basement where he is playing video games with his deadbeat friends. God gave Adam an assignment to tend the Garden before creating Eve. It’s clear that he had work to do in advance of meeting his woman. The phrase “to cultivate and keep it” implies that Adam is being asked to diligently apply himself to a holy duty. The Lord God took man and put him in the Garden to work it… Genesis 2:15 Once again, this assignment came before Adam ever met a woman. This means a man needs a job before he gets a woman. God has set these priorities in place.
   
   
3. CULTIVATE - God also told man to cultivate the Garden… “Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it…” that instruction means he is to maximize the potential of everything around him. God only gave this governing command to the male. Eve had still not been created. Cultivate means to turn it from nothing into something! That’s why creation was not made perfect… it was “good” – it needed to be governed, tended to and cultivated. God wanted to be in a partnership and fellowship with His creation and with man. If the man isn’t tending to these assignments, the Lord is going to hold off sending him his bride.
   
   Jesus models this idea. He is a real man. He, too, has a wife, a beautiful bride; her name is “ekklessia.” He says to us, ”Husbands love your wives as I love my wife, the church. I was sacrificial. I gave myself up for her in order to make her holy and without blemish.“ Ephesians 5:25 How do I do that? Wash her with the Word; remove every spot and every wrinkle; then, present her back to yourself as holy and without blemish. See her? I produced that. Cultivate her! You remove the spots and wrinkles and any remnant of her previous life! Wives, tell your husbands to cultivate you.
   
   
4. PROTECT – Adam was also instructed to keep the Garden. To “keep” means to protect. Man is supposed to be the protector of everything under his care. God gave man stronger bones and muscle mass, not to abuse the woman, but to protect the woman. He is to protect his house, his children and his community. Women should ensure that the man they are attracted to has a protective spirit. This is an essential part of a man’s responsibility.
   
   
5. RECEIVE THE WORD - finally, God said “But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat.” The Lord never gave any instructions to the woman. The male was the only one who received this Word from God. The woman was not yet on the scene. Adam’s job was to teach his wife the Word. Apparently, he spoke to her unclearly, or she did not listen to him because she modified the instruction when the serpent tempted her.

Avoiding the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was the fifth and last command God gave the man prior to producing the woman. Genesis 2:17 THEN, after providing Adam with these essential, strategic principles, God declared, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper for him.“ Genesis 2:18 It was Adam’s duty to receive this blessed new creation and then instruct his wife as to the commands of God. Given the tragic outcome, where Satan deceived Eve, Adam apparently failed to properly guide her.

Let’s go back a step. Don’t read that 2:18 verse too quickly. Slow down. Ask yourself: It’s not good for which man to be alone? Answer: The one who has met God’s five conditions, which are:

1. Abiding in God’s presence
2. Working
3. Cultivating (bearing fruit)
4. Developing a protective spirit
5. Receiving and teaching the Word of God

These are the essential qualities a woman should look for in a man.

But, if a woman meets a man and doesn’t like his spiritual demeanor, sees he has no meaningful work, that he demonstrates no evidence of cultivating and “bearing fruit,” that he is unwilling or unable to protect her, and he doesn’t know or won’t teach her God’s Word, she should move along.

Instead of him having to go search for a girl, he could say that she will be brought TO HIM!! At the appropriate time, the right person will come walking through the door! God Himself will escort the appropriate woman to the man’s doorstep.