Deeper Reflection
Verses 1 to 3 actually belong with the preceding chapter. It speaks of God “resting” after completing the creation of the heavens and the earth – this language in the ancient world pictures God as the divine king taking up residence in His divine temple-palace (the world) which He has finished constructing.² The world is ready, primed for its destiny, at the beginning of biblical history.And what a destiny! There is life – life that can be fruitful and multiply. Verses 4 to 25 tell us that there are bountiful resources flowing to the four corners of the earth. Not only are there vegetation, animals, livestock and birds, but also human partners as God’s representative images to steward creation (cf. Gen 1:26). God’s human partners are given the capacity to be fruitful and multiply (cf. Gen 1:27-28), along with the rest of God’s good creation.Embedded within the narrative is what biblical scholars call the creation and cultural mandates. Humanity is to be fruitful, multiply, steward and cultivate the earth as God’s image-bearers. We are to be co-creators with God in the work that we do in His created world – including the creation of godly culture and the explorations in arts and sciences – using resources well for the mutual flourishing of all humanity and creation.The garden of Eden was a very good place, but it was not finished. God’s reign was to be extended through His human images to the ends of the earth. It was merely the beginning, full of potential; the beginning of history cradled within a good and glorious destiny.

¹ Taken from the Google English dictionary, provided by Oxford Languages ² John H. Walton, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (Old Testament): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Volume 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009), 23