Deeper ReflectionTHE BIBLICAL THEOLOGY OF WORK DOES NOT BEGIN WITH
man created by God to work, but the God who works: “By the seventh
day God completed His
work…He rested on the seventh day from all His
work…He rested from all His
work” (vv.2-3). Created in God’s image,
man is to work and rest like God (Exo 20:8-11). It is within this theological
framework that man is created to work: To “work” (
abad) and “keep”
(
shamar) the ground in the Garden of Eden (v.15). “Work is a gift, not a
punishment for sin. Even before the fall, humanity has duties to perform.”
15The two Hebrew words,
abad and
shamar (v.15), define work theologically.
Abad is commonly used in a religious sense of serving and worshiping
God: “Fear the LORD and serve (
abad) Him” and not “the gods your
ancestors worshiped (
abad)” (Josh 24:14, NIV).
Shamar is commonly used
for observing religious commands and duties: “keep My commandments”
(Exo 20:6).
16 “Man’s life in the Garden was to be characterised by
worship and obedience; he was a priest, not merely a worker and keeper
of the Garden.”
17 So, we are to view our work and workplace as
God’s
placement (“He took the man and put him”) in
God’s presence (“into
the Garden of Eden”) where we could have fellowship with God
18 (Gen 3:8),
for the
purpose of worshiping God in obedience (“to work and to keep”).
God remains the centre of our work, even when we “eat bread by the sweat
of your face” in this fallen world (Gen 3:19).
15 Bruce K. Waltke, Genesis: A Commentary (Zondervan, 2001), 87
16 Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 1-15, Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 1 (Word Books, 1987), 67
17 John H. Sailhamer, Genesis, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 2 (Zondervan, 1990), 45
18 John H. Sailhamer, 45
