Page 14 - Breaking the Curse of Poverty David Owusu
P. 14
In the Garden of Eden, man was in a state of prosperity. The rivers
and the garden provided much more than he needed-the very needs
for survival and abundance.
“And God said, See, I have given you every plant yielding seed
that is on the face of all the land and every tree with seed in its
fruit; you shall have them for food…and to all the animals on
earth and to every bird of air and to everything that creeps on
the ground –to everything in which there is the breath of life –I
have given every green plant for food. And it was so...” Genesis
1:29-30 [AMPC]
The garden was the hub of immeasurable bliss. Man was at the
apex of creation and exerting “dominion”, all his needs met: divine
providence. The immense riches and God’s provision in its totality
was exceptionally marvelous.
“And the Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in
Eden[delight]; and there He put the man whom He had formed
[framed, constituted]…and out of the ground the Lord made to
grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight –or to be desired-good
(suitable, pleasant) for food; the tree of life also in the center of the
garden, and the tree of the knowledge of [the difference between]
good and evil and blessing and calamity…now a river went out
of the garden; and from there it divided and became four [river]
heads…the first one is called Havilah, where there is Gold; the
gold of that land is of high quality; bdellium (pearl?) and onyx
stone was there…” Genesis 2:8-12 [AMPC]
The state of perfection was however the subject of envy to the devil.
13