Ch.2:4 begins a new section which runs to the end of ch.4 – Toledoth structure "These are the generations of…" which carries the general meaning of : "this is what happened next" or "this is what was produced/this was the result." specifically here in Gen.2:4 it means something like "this is what happened next to the universe after God created everything very good."

Ch.2:4-25 the focus narrows to concentrate upon – 1 man + 1 woman who form one couple/marriage and live in 1 garden. Ch.3 will focus upon the exclusion of mankind from this garden.

Although the focus is thus narrowed nevertheless it is very clear that the LORD God is the major actor here in ch.2 and in ch.3 to follow. 11 x in 2:4-15 and a further 9 times in ch.3. In ch.2 each time LORD God is used He is the subject of an active verb!

The expression LORD God unites two ideas together: God the word used throughout ch.1 speaks of omnipotent deity while the name LORD reminds of the covenant relationship.

The early part of the chapter is all about the care the LORD God has taken over the creation of man and the preparation of a wonderful place in which he can.

Man is made out of the dust of the ground – there is something of a word-play here "adam" (which is Hebrew for man) – is formed out of the dust – "adamah". Man the earthling is made from the earth! And then the work is completed as God breathes the breath of life into his nostrils. And so man has on the one hand a material/physical side to his life and on the other a spiritual dimension.

Having made man the LORD God was not indifferent concerning the environment in which he was going to live. He prepared a wonderful place for him, a lovely garden called elsewhere in the Scriptures "the garden of the LORD" or "the garden of God". This garden was a beautiful, peaceful place where man could commune with God and enjoy His good gifts. These gifts included all those trees that were not only good to look also produced fruit that was great to eat!

In the garden man was given meaningful work too – he was to take care of this garden as God's manager. His work was to include such things as classifying and naming the animals.

Man created in God's image was placed in a wonderful, perfect world where he had everything going for him – it would be the place where he would be tested and tried to see whether he would obey God or choose the path of disobedience and rebellion. And the test would not be a complicated one rather it was exceedingly simple – Adam was not told not to eat the fruit of just one tree – every other tree was open and accessible to him. Compare the simplicity of this regulation with the complexity of those of the EU on ugly fruit!

In Nov.2008 Marketing standards for 26 (apricots, artichokes, asparagus, aubergines, avocadoes, beans, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflowers, cherries, courgettes, cucumbers, cultivated mushrooms, garlic, hazelnuts in shell, headed cabbage, leeks, melons, onions, peas, plums, ribbed celery, spinach, walnuts in shell, water melons and witloof/chicory) types of produce were scrapped, in a drive to cut bureaucracy. But the rules will remain unchanged for another 10 types of produce, which account for 75% of EU fruit and vegetable trade: apples, citrus fruit, kiwi fruit, lettuces, peaches and nectarines, pears, strawberries, sweet peppers, table grapes and tomatoes.

Nevertheless despite all the advantages of his circumstances ch.3 will record his rejection of God's rule over his life and this leads directly to him being cast out of this idyllic garden of delights.

Oh yes, one more thing. Man was provided with a companion who was ideally suited to him. None of the animals God had created could meet man's need of a companion and God supplied just the one Adam needed – Eve. It is interesting that the first time something is described as being "not good" in this wonderful new world that God had made was the loneliness of Adam without Eve – of man without woman.

And woman's uniqueness, as man's, is underlined – she is direct result of special divine activity. And as there was a play on words concerning Adam's origin so there is as Eve is formed. v.23 "woman" ish-shaw" taken out of "man" "iysh".)

As soon as Adam sees Eve he is absolutely ecstatic.

The chapter ends with the happy couple at home in the garden and setting the divine pattern of marriage – one man and one woman forming a distinct unit.

It is in this environment where God could hardly have done more for man man will be tested. When he fails in ch.3 he will not be able to accuse God in the slightest.

Ch.2 then shows us all that God had done for man – and then ch.3 shows how man didn't value this at all. In the light of all that God had done man's rebellion is all the more heinous and it wouldn't be at all surprising to find God giving up on man – but that was not to be the case.

As man's guilt introduces sin into the world the LORD God promises to send in due course a Saviour – Gen.3:15.

This Saviour will turn out to be the 2^nd Man, the last Adam – our Lord Jesus Christ. In order to become the successful Saviour of His people Jesus would have to succeed where Adam had so dismally failed. As we turn to the NT we find that Jesus did not fail as Adam had done and that in spite of the fact that the circumstances of His testing were far less conducive to success than were Adam's!

What were those circumstances? Let's look briefly at our Lord's temptation when Satan came to Him and sought to turn Him aside from His trust in God the Father.

1. Adam had been in a luxurious garden – but Jesus was not. In fact the Spirit of God had deliberately thrust Him away from what we might cal creature comforts into the harsh conditions of the wilderness. All the three evangelists who record this event mention this fact. And this was no day-trip for our Lord – He was there for forty long days!

2. Adam had food aplenty in the garden – he wasn't had pressed on this front. In the wilderness our Lord had nothing to eat – the temptation to turn stones into bread would have come with a force unknown to Adam.

3. Adam had company in the garden – he didn't have to suffer loneliness and the difficulty of isolation. Not so our Lord in the wilderness – He was on His own.

4. Adam enjoyed safety in the garden. It was a wonderful and well-protected place. The animals were not then wild but responded easily to Adam and came tamely to him to be named. Again the situation of our Lord is a real contrast. Mark tells us that in the wilderness He was with wild animals – all the more reason for Him to be fearful and to doubt the Father's loving care!

5. Adam fails and is cast out of the garden – angels are placed on the gate to prevent him re-entering. Nevertheless God is good to mankind in providing covering for him and Eve as they move out into what is now a hostile world. Angels figure too in the accounts of our Lord's temptations – however as Jesus overcomes they are not there to oppose Him but to minister to Him!

What reasons we have to marvel at the victory of our Saviour! He triumphed where the odds all seemed stacked against Him. What a contrast to Adam who so dismally failed when nothing could be more propitious to success! How confident we can be as we put our trust in Him who was so signally approved by heaven as was witnessed by angels ministering to His needs!