The Garden of Eden

God did not just create the world and walk away. He planted a garden — a special, beautiful home — for the people he had made.

The Garden of Eden was full of life. Every kind of fruit-bearing tree grew there, loaded with food. A river flowed out of the garden and split into four great rivers, watering the whole land. Gold and precious stones sparkled in the ground. It was a perfect place.

God put Adam in the garden with a job: to work it and take care of it. This was not hard, miserable labor — it was joyful work, like a child helping in a parent's garden. Adam was steward over God's world.

God said only one thing was not allowed: "Do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat from it, you will surely die."

Then God said something that changed everything: "It is not good for the man to be alone."

God brought every animal and bird to Adam, and Adam named them — showing his authority over creation. But among all the creatures, there was no one like Adam. No one who could share his life, think his thoughts, carry his heart.

So God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep. He took a rib from Adam's side and shaped it into a woman. When Adam woke and saw her, he cried out with joy: "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh!" He called her Woman, because she was taken from Man.

Adam and Eve were together in the garden, with no shame, no fear, no hiding. They walked freely with God. It was the world as God designed it — humans with their Creator, at home, at peace, at work.