The Duty of Humanity
As soon as God created the first man, He offered him three gifts: the
Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:8), food (Gen. 2:16), and the woman (Gen.
2:22).
Read Genesis 2:15–17. What is man’s duty toward creation and
toward God? How do these two duties relate to each other?
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The first duty of man concerns the natural environment in which God
has put him: “to tend and keep it” (Gen. 2:15, NKJV). The verb ‘avad,
“tend,” refers to work. It is not enough to receive a gift. We have to work
on it and to make it fruitful—a lesson that Jesus will repeat in His para­
ble of the talents (Matt. 25:14–30). The verb shamar, “keep,” implies
the responsibility to preserve what has been received.
The second duty concerns his food. We have to remember that God
gave it to humans (see Gen. 1:29). God also said to Adam that “ ‘you
may freely eat’ ” (Gen. 2:16, NKJV). Humans didn’t create the trees—
or the food on them. They were a gift, a gift of grace.
But there is a commandment here, as well: they were to receive and
enjoy God’s generous gift “ ‘of every tree’ ” (NKJV). As a part of this
grace, though, God added a restriction. They should not eat from one
particular tree. Enjoying without any restriction will lead to death. This
principle was right in the Garden of Eden, and in many ways, that same
principle exists today.
The third duty of man concerns the woman, God’s third gift: “man
shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife” (Gen. 2:24,
NKJV). This extraordinary statement is a powerful expression that
highlights human responsibility toward the conjugal covenant and the
purpose of being “one flesh” (NKJV), meaning one person (compare
with Matt. 19:7–9).
The reason it is the man (and not the woman) who should leave his
parents may have to do with the biblical generic use of the masculine;
hence, perhaps, the commandment applies to the woman too. Either
way, the bond of marriage, though a gift from God, entails human
responsibility once the gift has been received, a responsibility that rests
with both the man and the woman to fulfill it faithfully.
Think about all that you have been given by God. What are your
responsibilities with what you have been given?