GARDENS

The Bible has a lot to say about gardens. In Genesis, the Garden of Eden was the home of Adam and Eve, it was where they had fellowship with God, and it was the place of their temptation by Satan (2:8; 3:1-10). The Garden of Eden would become their "good old days," as they would look back at what they had lost (3:23-24). Its perfect environment is a thorn in the side of liberals who want to blame criminal behavior on being the result of the influences of nature, and the kind of nurture the offender had as a child. Adam and Eve had God for a parent, and an environment one could only describe as perfect.

The Garden of Eden is also a picture of what God promised for Israel's future (Isa. 51:3; 58:11; 61:11; Ezek. 36:35). Obviously, these prophecies have yet to be fulfilled, and although I cannot show it from Scripture, I believe it is what the new earth will be like, with the exception of Satan being present, of course (Isa. 65:17; 66:22; 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 20:10; 21:1). I also believe that man and animals will, once again, eat vegetation instead of meat as they did up until the time of Noah's flood (Gen. 6:21; Isa. 11:6-9; 65:25).

In what I believe to be a metaphor for God's relationship to His bride (Israel - Isa. 54:4-8; Jer. 3:14; Hos. 2:16-20; etc.), the Song of Solomon presents His intimate relationship with her by describing her as His garden (4:12, 15-16; 5:1; 6:2, 11; 8:13). It should be clear from what I have said thus far, gardens are some of God's best "work."

It is also possible that gardens can be places of trial and death. Kings were often buried in gardens, which were viewed as places of beauty and tranquility, but were still little more than cemeteries (2 Kgs. 21:18, 26; Est. 7:7-8; Eccl. 2:5; etc.). Jesus spent His last moments of freedom in a garden, agonizing over what He was about to face, and healing one of the men who had come to arrest Him (Jn. 18:1-11). Following His crucifixion, the Lord's body was taken to a garden and placed in the borrowed tomb of a rich man (Isa. 53:9; Matt. 27:57-60; Mk. 15:42-47; Lk. 23:50-56; Jn. 19:38-42). Also, Isaiah describes Israel as rebellious, offering evil sacrifices and eating "swine's flesh" in gardens (65:3; 66:17), and Jesus used a garden to represent an evil world in His parable (Lk. 13:19).

Gardens, like anything else, can be viewed as good or bad depending on their purpose. Gardens can be beautiful places of rest, they can be sources of food, or they can be places of trial, dismay, and death. Houses, churches, public parks, etc., can also be places of refreshing, or places that hide dangers. In and of themselves, none of these can be described as good or evil; that distinction results from who is there, and why. When you are there, does your presence bless others, or do you diminish the value of the place? Grow where you are planted, but be sure you are not a weed!