Gardens require two types of attention. The first relates to what you do to help the plants thrive. This could be preparing the soil, watering the plants, pruning, providing nutrients, etc. The second is what you do to prevent anything from interfering with the plant’s growth. This could be removing bugs, creating barriers to stop bugs from entering, pulling out weeds, etc. When God created humans, these two aspects were the first instruction given to us. “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it” (Genesis 2:15). Dressing is about nourishing. Keeping is about protecting. The Hebrew word “keep” is šâmar and means to hedge or guard. Our core spiritual duties are to nourish and protect. In Malachi 2:7, we are told, “For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth.” The word preserve is the same word, to keep or guard. We are God’s priests, and our duty, besides nourishing others, is to protect them from evil and sin. This first command is for each of us. How are you guarding and protecting those in your life from that which can destroy their growth in God’s garden? Open Bible – http://bit.ly/mal2v7, https://bit.ly/gen2v15, https://bit.ly/Share2Friends
