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“The Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to work [cultivate] it and to keep [guard] it.”
— Genesis 2:15

INTRODUCTION: A VERSE THAT HOLDS THE WORLD

Sometimes the most unassuming verses in Scripture hold the greatest weight. Genesis 2:15 is one of those verses. A mere twenty Hebrew words describe God taking the man He had formed, placing him in Eden, and entrusting him with a task: to work and to keep it. Simple, almost domestic. Yet within this verse lies the DNA of humanity’s vocation—our relationship with creation, our calling as priests, and our deepest purpose before God.

Before the Fall, before the sweat of the brow and the thorns of cursed ground, man’s work was holy. Eden was not a farm in the ordinary sense but a divinely ordered sanctuary. And Adam, placed there, was not merely a gardener but the first priest, called to cultivate, to serve, and to guard. Genesis 2:15 is not about labour as a burden—it is about labour as worship.

ORA ET LABORA: PRAYER AND WORK UNITED

The Benedictine motto ora et labora—“pray and work”—echoes directly from Genesis 2:15. Adam’s calling in Eden was not divided between spiritual and practical but united in one rhythm of worshipful labour.

To avad (work, serve, worship) is to till the soil with hands lifted in prayer. To shamar (keep, guard) is to watch over creation and the commandments together.

The monastic tradition grasped what Eden already declared: prayer without labour can become detached, labour without prayer becomes toil, but together they form a life of wholeness. When the Benedictines worked fields, copied manuscripts, or prayed the psalms, they were re-enacting Adam’s original vocation—cultivating and keeping as sacred duty.

In our own lives, ora et labora reminds us that there is no divide between the sacred and the secular. Washing dishes, raising children, draughting contracts, serving the poor—all can be sanctified when wrapped in prayer. In Eden, man’s work was worship. In Christ, our daily tasks can be transfigured into liturgy.

THE HEBREW TEXT: A SACRED PLACEMENT

The verse reads in Hebrew (for those interested, otherwise skip to the next section):

וַיִּקַּח יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָאָדָם וַיַּנִּחֵהוּ בְּגַן־עֵדֶן לְעָבְדָהּ וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ

Transliteration:
Vayyiqqaḥ YHWH Elohim et-ha’adam vayyanniḥehu b’gan-eden le‘ovdah u-leshomrah

Breaking it down word by word:

Hebrew Word	Transliteration	Root	Meaning	Notes
וַיִּקַּח	vayyiqqaḥ	לקח (laqach)	to take, seize	God’s action is deliberate: man is chosen, taken, placed.
יְהוָה	YHWH	—	The LORD (covenant name)	Signals God’s covenantal, personal nature.
וַיַּנִּחֵהוּ	vayyanniḥehu	נוח (nuach)	to rest, place	Not exile, but rest. Adam is settled into appointment.
בְּגַן־עֵדֶן	b’gan-eden	גן (gan), עדן (eden)	garden, delight, luxury	“Garden of Delight” — joy and work intertwined.
לְעָבְדָהּ	le‘ovdah	עבד (avad)	to serve, worship, work	Work as cultivation, but also avodah (עבודה) = worship.
וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ	uleshomrah	שמר (shamar)	to guard, keep	To preserve, watch, obey. Same root as “keep my commandments.”

Already we see: Adam is not merely working soil; he is serving God. He is not merely keeping weeds away; he is keeping covenant. Eden is a temple, Adam is a priest, and his work is worship.

RASHI: SERVICE AND OBEDIENCE

Rashi, the great medieval Jewish commentator, interprets Adam’s charge in two layers:

• Avodah (עָבְדָהּ)—not merely agricultural labour but divine service. Rashi points out that avodah is the word later used for the service of the Levites in the tabernacle. Thus Adam’s work anticipates Israel’s priesthood. His duty is liturgical as well as agricultural.
• Shmirah (שָׁמְרָהּ)—not merely guarding plants but guarding the commandment. Adam’s task was to guard the divine boundary: of every tree you may eat… but not this one. His work was both tilling and obeying.

For Rashi, then, Genesis 2:15 is not about farming at all. It is about worship and obedience. Eden is the first sanctuary, Adam the first priest.

MATTHEW HENRY: THE SOUL AS A GARDEN

Matthew Henry, writing centuries later from a Puritan lens, applies the verse both practically and spiritually:

• Practically—“Even in paradise, idleness is no virtue.” Man was made for activity, not sloth. Work is part of happiness, not a curse. To “dress it” is to employ oneself productively. To “keep it” is to preserve order and prevent corruption.
• Spiritually—Henry sees the soul itself as a garden. To “work it” is to cultivate it with graces, virtues, and disciplines. To “keep it” is to guard against weeds of sin, neglect, and distraction.

Henry’s application is timeless: every believer is a gardener of their own heart. Without cultivation, weeds grow; without watchfulness, corruption enters.

CROSS-SCRIPTURAL CONNECTIONS

The Bible consistently develops these Edenic themes:

1. Priestly Language—The verbs avad and shamar are later applied to the Levites:
   • “They shall keep guard (שמר) over him and over the whole congregation… They shall perform service (עבד) at the tabernacle.” (Numbers 3:7–8)
     Adam’s commission is priestly, not just agrarian.
2. Guardianship—The same verb shamar is used in Psalm 121:4: “Behold, He who keeps (שומר) Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” Adam’s guardianship mirrors God’s.
3. Vineyard Imagery—Jesus echoes Eden when He declares, “I am the true vine… Abide in me, and you will bear much fruit.” (John 15:1–5). Discipleship is cultivation and abiding—Eden reborn.
4. The New Creation—Revelation closes where Genesis begins: a restored garden-city where humanity again serves (latreuo, worship/service) God and sees His face (Revelation 22:3–4). The work of Genesis 2:15 is fulfilled in the eternal Eden.

THE GARDEN AS A TEMPLE

Scholars note the structural parallels between Eden and later sanctuaries:

• Both have an entrance from the east.
• Both are guarded by cherubim (Genesis 3:24; Exodus 25:18).
• Both feature rivers/water imagery.
• Both are places where God walks with man.

Adam’s charge is thus priestly: to serve and to guard the sanctuary. Sin expels him, but the priesthood of Israel re-enacts this calling, pointing forward to Christ, the true priest who restores us to Eden.

THE HUMAN VOCATION

What does Genesis 2:15 mean for us?

1. Work is Worship—Your labour, when done unto the Lord, is not secular but sacred. The mundane is liturgical.
2. Guardianship Matters—We are not owners but stewards of creation, of community, of our own souls. We are called to keep, to preserve, and to protect.
3. No Divide Between Sacred and Secular—Eden abolishes the modern split between “church life” and “real life.” All of life is priestly service.
4. The Inner Garden—Each heart is Eden, each life a sanctuary. The Spirit calls us to cultivate and guard, to bear fruit that lasts.

DEVOTIONAL PRAYER

Lord God of Eden,
You placed Adam in the garden not to wander but to serve.
not to drift but to guard.

Teach me that my work is worship.
that my daily tasks are holy offerings,
that tending my home, my craft, my words, my thoughts
is priestly service in Your sight.

Keep me watchful over my inner garden.
Pull out the weeds of sin;
strengthen the walls against temptation.
Make my heart a sanctuary where You delight to dwell.

Until the day when You restore Eden in full,
Let me be faithful in the garden You have given me.

Amen.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

1. How would my work change if I viewed it as worship instead of mere necessity?
2. What does it mean for me, personally, to “guard” my garden—my heart, my family, and my responsibilities?
3. Where am I letting weeds grow unchecked in my inner life?
4. How can I unite labour and prayer so that even the ordinary becomes liturgy?
5. What glimpses of Eden—delight, abundance, peace—can I cultivate here and now as signs of the new creation?
6. What would it look like if I treated worship as part of my divine duty (work) or service (Romans 12:1).

CONCLUSION: BACK TO THE GARDEN

Genesis begins with a garden and ends with one. Man was made to serve, to guard, and to worship in the presence of God. Genesis 2:15 is not simply about Adam long ago; it is about us now. We are still called to cultivate the garden entrusted to us, whether it is soil, soul, or society. And in Christ, the true priest, our work becomes worship, our keeping becomes covenantal, and our gardens bloom into glimpses of eternity.