The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (NIV)

Genesis has always been so rich and mysterious to me. We can view our primeval history through many lenses – the creation of the world, our introduction to a personal God, our beginnings as a race, our understanding of human identity and our original sin sparks a thousand questions spanning dozens of disciplines. We could commit a lifetime to studying a small facet of the Genesis story – or maybe today we take a few minutes to think about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and the distinction between rest and reliance.

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At the start of Genesis 2, God completed his creation and rested. Our omnipotent (all-powerful) God didn’t need to rest but he chose to anyway. He set aside and consecrated a day of rest, modeling this good practice for us. Fast-forward several verses to today’s passage – God put Adam in the Garden to “work it and take care of it.” Adam had a role to play in God’s creation. He worked the land and exerted himself, and on the appointed day, he was to follow God’s lead and rest.

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Laboring as God’s gardener in verse 15 sounds perfectly pleasant, but cue some ominous music as we arrive at verses 16 and 17 – God commands Adam NOT to do one very specific thing…or he will die. Don’t eat the forbidden fruit. Eat any other delicious thing he provided, just don’t eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eve isn’t even created yet – she joins us in verse 20 – but as readers getting pulled into the drama, we can already tell the Fall is near. The serpent enters in Genesis 3:1 and temptation descends upon our young world.

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God desired that Adam and Eve rely on Him. He fashioned the garden in such a way that their reliance on him was required. He didn’t turn them loose in the garden and zip to another galaxy – he desired relationship. They needed him for sustenance and guidance. They were to trust and rely on his word. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was not meant for them – he would walk with them and teach them morality on his terms. But they failed to fully rely on God. They believed the serpent when it spoke in Gen 3:5, “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God.” They wanted to shift reliance from God to self, and eons later here we are still dealing with the consequences.

Physical rest is a positive thing. When God rested, he blessed the day and made it holy. Rest is good for us, and it can be good for our relationship with God.

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True reliance on God is even better. It’s an advanced form of divine relation-building. It applies to both our labors and our downtime. It’s a commitment to listen for his word and direction, an admission that we don’t have the answers ourselves. Without him, we’re nothing.

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When we think about honoring the Sabbath and slowing down, know that rest is a great first step! Unplug, unwind, get outside, spend time with loved ones – the benefits are manifold. But then I urge taking that next step to reliance, to graduate from JV to varsity. Physical rest is stellar (as a father of three, I yearn for it!), but true reliance on him is a sign of humility, a sign of someone living the deeper life.

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Our first father Adam may have understood rest, but he failed at reliance. I pray we don’t follow his lead.

Lord, you are a good God. Thank you for desiring a relationship with someone like me. Please give me the discipline to rest in you. Help me to slow down and commune with you. Then I ask for the courage to take the step to fully rely on you. Regardless of whether times are slow or they’re rushing along, I want to rely on you. I love you. Amen.