The book, chapter 1, part 1

In the beginning
Once upon a time, God created the heavens and the earth. After all the oceans were filled and the animals were busy doing animal-like things, God added a man to oversee things.

Have you ever stopped to wonder what a day was like for Adam? He was in Eden - the perfect place, crafted by the hand of God, all fresh and new. So what does a man do all day in a place like that? Lounge around eating succulent fruit fresh from the trees, tanning on the beach, and sipping syrupy concoctions with little paper umbrellas in them? There was probably no lounging, and definitely no paper umbrellas.

The Bible gives us more than a few clues to what Adam was doing. Genesis 2:15 says that the reason God put Adam in the garden was to “dress and keep it.” That sounds like work.

In fact, Genesis 2:20 says that there was “not found an help meet for him.” No suitable helper seems to indicate that he was doing something that he could have used a little help with - and lounging around is not an occupation that needs much assistance.

Clearly, Adam was working in the Garden. Not only thinking up names for the plants and animals, but also managing the growth of the garden. Maybe this included irrigating, pruning, trimming the branches, and hauling away the debris. Whatever it was he was doing, it was not lounging. In fact, God made man to be a steward, placing the management of the garden facility under Adam’s control.

Language changes; sometimes words change in meaning. Biblical scholars like to refer back to the Hebrew or Greek to make sure that what the translation says is still accurate. I do not claim to be a scholar, but I do use an on-line source that compares several translations, and has multiple Hebrew and Greek texts available for comparison. A quick reading of the verses in Genesis comforts my conscience, because the words ‘dress’, ‘keep’, and ‘help’ have survived centuries of use without changing their meanings. You can use the same source; it is http://bible.cc. The address is very simple to remember, and the Web site is easy to use.

Since help still means help, and Adam needed help, then Adam was busy doing something in the Garden of Eden. Although the Bible does not specifically use the word, I am going to go out on a limb and call what Adam was doing “work”. Not the same sort of work that I do, because he had no computer… but he was still doing work.

Tools

One thing that makes humans different from animals is the use of tools. While a lower order primate may use a stick to poke ants from a rotting log, or a bird may use a stone to drop an oyster upon, the consistent use of tools is a uniquely human endeavor. Not only do we use tools, we tend to collect them, organize them, buy fancy cases for them, and resent lending them to the neighbors.

Adam had no neighbors to borrow his tools. He did not have a Home Depot to purchase them from, or a garage to store them in. Did Adam have tools? I know of no archeological or biblical description of a shovel, rake, or pruning shears in Adam’s time. But I do know that Genesis says that Adam was made in the image of God, and that God used tools. It seems logical that Adam would use tools as well.

Hold on there - God uses tools? Of course God uses tools; we just use different words to describe how He uses tools. Many people desire to be used of God. His tools are referred to as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. We call them ministries, or we call them gifts, but the word “tools”, while not as lofty, still describes those who are used by God.

To be an instrument in the hand of God - such a noble sounding goal! Yet most people would reject the notion of being a tool or a puppet - those words do not sound as haughty in context, even though they convey the same basic meaning.