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"The Mountain of the House of the LORD
Will be established as the chief of the mountains,
And each of them shall sit under his
Vine and under his fig tree
With no one to make them afraid."
Micah 4:1,4
The Nature and Purpose of Man in the Garden of Eden included the following.
- A Mandate to Exercise Dominion
- over a Fruitful Garden
- gaining Knowledge
- in Harmony with Nature
enjoying the Freedom to Glorify God
- in a Family-centered life
- lasting many healthy years
- as Stewards over the creation
- Planted Securely on the Land.
Let's explore:
Man had abundant freedom in the midst of his responsibilities. When food is plentiful, the climate favorable, and the animals non-predatory, man is freed to develop his aesthetic, intellectual, emotional, and sensual capacities. Little time was spent in search of sustenance. Man had much time for investigating and beautifying his environment. "Man's chief end," as the catechism speaks of it, is more easily fulfilled in such Garden-like conditions: "to glorify God and enjoy Him forever."
The first Adam was created to be a Godly master of the creation; God's vicegerent over the earth.
The High Priest was a living symbol of man fully restored to the Garden. His breastplate was covered with gold and precious stones (Exodus 28:38), and the hem of his robe was ringed with pomegranates and golden bells (Exodus 28:33-35).
His forehead was covered with a gold plate, on which was engraved, HOLINESS TO THE LORD (Exodus 28:38; 39:30), as a symbolic removal of the Curse on Adam's brow (cf. Genesis 3:17-19). The Prophets declared that all of life — even the most mundane of matters — would one day be restored to Edenic "holiness unto the LORD" (Isaiah 23:18; Jeremiah 2:3; Zechariah 14:20-21).
As another symbol of freedom from the Curse, the robe itself was made of linen (Exodus 28:6), for while they were ministering, the priests were forbidden to wear any wool at all: "No wool shall come upon them. . . . They shall not gird themselves with anything that causeth sweat" (Ezekiel 44:17-18). In Genesis 3:18-19, sweat is an aspect of fallen man's labor under death and the Curse; the priest, as Restored Man, was to wear the light material of linen to show the removal of the Curse in salvation.
The ceremonial law expressed this movement away from sweat and death in other ways as well. The Old Testament prohibition against wearing a mixture of wool and linen (Leviticus 19:19; Deuteronomy 22:11) has confused many. It was not a prohibition against mingled materials in general; the prohibition is against acts which debase life by mixing it with death (Deuteronomy 12:23; 14:21; 20:19-20). The material here has a specific relationship to sweat, which speaks of death and the Curse (cf. Jude 23). Linen, on the other hand, speaks of the righteous standing of the man who has chosen life in Christ (Deuteronomy 30:15-20) and has been freed from the Curse (Revelation 19:8).[32]
It is noteworthy that the Garden was again a place of temptation, this time for the Second Adam in the Garden of Gethsemane (John 18; Luke 22:40-46; Hebrews 12:4). Notice also the presence of sweat. The bloody sweat of Jesus could not have been seen by an observer anywhere but upon the brow, which brings to mind Genesis 3:19. His crown of thorns[33] does the same (Genesis 3:18). Popular commentator Arthur Pink, in his exposition of John, draws some of the parallels and contrasts:
The entrance of Christ into the Garden at once reminds us of Eden. The contrasts between them are indeed most striking. In Eden all was delightful; in Gethsemane, all was terrible. In Eden, Adam and Eve parlayed with Satan; in Gethsemane, the last Adam sought the face of His Father. In Eden, Adam sinned; in Gethsemane, the Saviour suffered. In Eden Adam fell; in Gethsemane, the Redeemer conquered. The conflict in Eden took place by day; the conflict in Gethsemane was waged at night. In the one Adam fell before Satan; in the other, the soldiers fell before Christ. In Eden the race was lost; in Gethsemane Christ announced, "Of them which Thou gavest me have I lost none" (John 18:9). In Eden, Adam took the fruit from Eve's hand; in Gethsemane, Christ received the cup from His Father's hand. In Eden, Adam hid himself; in Gethsemane, Christ boldly showed Himself. In Eden, God sought Adam; in Gethsemane, the last Adam sought God. From Eden Adam was driven; from Gethsemane Christ was "led." In Eden the "sword" was drawn (Gen. 3:24); in Gethsemane the "sword" was sheathed (John 18:11).
"Limits to Growth" vs. Julian Simon
work, technology, freedom
Abundance v. "scarcity,"
natural resources -- Reisman
Free Energy -- Tesla
Myth of Overpopulation -- Rushdoony
Peter Maurin: "Easier to be good"
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(32) insert here: work, technology, freedom Abundance v. "scarcity," natural resources Free Energy, Myth of Overpopulation
(33) Insert here: link to Politics Jud 9
Vine & Fig Tree