God prepared the earth and everything in it for man's use, creating food plants to provide the nutrition needed. In the Garden of Eden, He instructed Adam in the occupation of cultivation, indicating that agriculture began immediately after creation. Had Adam remained obedient, God would have blessed his endeavors, allowing the ground to produce abundantly with less toil. Instead, due to sin, cultivation of the earth became cursed, making it harder for Adam to work the land. God did not abandon them to fend for themselves; He provided the necessary instructions for life, ensuring they had the knowledge to sow, cultivate, and reap. The Garden of Eden symbolizes a state of rest, peace, and security, only possible in God's presence. The LORD God took Adam and placed him in the Garden, leading him into a permanent state of well-being, not as an act against his will, but as a cooperative effort. Adam, having witnessed the beauty and fertility of the Garden being created before his eyes, was eager to dwell there with the pre-incarnate Christ in paradise. This act of placing Adam in the Garden reflects God's desire for mankind to dwell in rest with Him forever, a state of true bliss marked by peace, blessing, contentment, and victory through His intervention and man's continued obedience. The Garden also represents all that God bountifully provided for this rest to be enjoyed. However, when Adam and Eve sinned, influenced by satan, they were expelled from this rest into the wilderness, a place of unrest and contention. Obedience to God's law is essential to remain in His rest; disobedience results in being cast out. God's intent from the beginning was for mankind to live in this state of rest, as shown by leading Adam into the Garden of Eden, a symbol of what awaits in the new heavens and new earth, where everything and everyone will be permanently settled for all eternity.

The Garden of God evokes imagery of both physical sustenance and spiritual significance. Physically, it provided Adam and Eve with abundant food from trees, shrubs, and vegetables, ensuring their sustenance and that of their future family. Water was plentiful, with enough to supply four rivers, meeting a fundamental need for life. The Garden also offered resources beyond food, such as wood, oils, and materials for shelter, cloth, and other necessities, making it an ideal environment to meet all their physical needs. Spiritually, the Garden of God carries deeper meaning, as seen in various scriptural contexts. It is a place of rest and peace, a retreat from the chaos of the world, where God intended Adam and Eve to dwell in contentment. The Hebrew word "nuach," used to describe God placing Adam in the Garden, implies a state of being securely settled in peace and delight, a rest only fully realized in God's presence. This rest contrasts with the separation caused by sin, which distanced humanity from both God and the paradise He created for them. In the Song of Songs, the Garden imagery portrays the Shulamite, representing the church, as an enclosed garden, protected and kept pure by a wall or hedge. This barrier shields her from external threats and maintains her internal purity, watered by pure, living springs that symbolize refreshment and abundance. The Garden is also a place where the bridegroom, akin to the chief gardener, feeds his flock, blending the roles of shepherd and gardener in a protected, nurturing space. The Shulamite calls for the wind, likened to God's Spirit, to blow upon her garden, stirring up pleasing aromas for her bridegroom, reflecting a desire for spiritual vitality. God placed Adam in the Garden to tend and keep it, embodying the essence of obedient response to His provision. The Hebrew word "abad," translated as tend, means to work or serve, often in an agricultural or spiritual context, suggesting labor in service to God. The word "samar," translated as keep, means to guard, watch over, and preserve, implying careful oversight and protection, extending to observing God's laws. Together, these tasks taught Adam to labor for the Garden's good and care for it, fostering principles of love and leadership through service and preservation. This reciprocal relationship mirrors the ultimate rest God desires for His people, a rest that requires diligent effort to enter, reflecting the intimate connection between obedience and dwelling in His presence.