Chapter 3

Identity in Reason

The first “R” of masculine identity that we will examine is “Reason”. What do I mean by this? “Reason” is a blend of employment, purpose and being that should be developed into a male’s unified life direction. Furthermore, purpose (what a man does) and being (who a man is) are coupled elements. An individual is what he thinks and does, which flows out of who he is. A man’s Reason is the reason why God created that individual a male.

If you are a male, have you ever asked yourself, “Why has God created me a male?” If you believe in the Sovereignty of God, (meaning His control, rule and governance over all reality)^[i] He could have created Adam to be a woman, a tree, a star or even a duck billed platypus. Instead he created Adam to be the first man.

In the book of Genesis, masculine identity can be found in a man’s predetermined purpose or Reason for existing which was to take care of the earth and provide identity to the environment.

Adam’s Work

In Genesis chapter 2, Adam’s masculine “Reason” is identified and he is created with purpose, being and employment all wrapped up into one.

Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. (Gen 2:15 NKJV)

The King James Version (KJV) used the verbs “dress” and “keep”. “Dress” means to till, work or labour. It is expressed as the Hebrew word “aw-bad” for a variety of things but notably to serve. To “keep” is pronounced “shaw-mar” and it meant that Adam was to be in charge of the garden. He was to keep guard or to watch over it. This word circulates from the root meaning to “hedge about (as with thorns)” which leads to an understanding of protecting, taking heed, and being observant like a watchman. The New King James Version renders this understanding as to “tend” and “keep” the garden.

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Links

[i] Geisler, Dr Norman. Systematic Theology, Vol 2, 536.

By “dress” or “tend”, Adam’s Reason clearly has embedded agricultural implications. It’s an interesting consideration because deep questions develop: Were there dandelions and clover growing in the sinless, perfect world? Was Adam pulling out weeds? Any gardener will tell you that you must maintain what you hope to grow because other things will invade. Although my editor raised the possibility that maybe these plants functioned better before the fall. Sorry, unequivocally the answer is “No”! (Yes, you are detecting a bit of bitterness.)

Seriously, whatever the case, “care and tend” stretched even further in scope because Adam was in charge of an ecosystem that involved both plants and animals. (Maybe the monkeys kept eating the mangoes before they were ripe…) If I could push a little further, I wondered what Adam was protecting (or “keeping”) the garden from? The Message Bible paraphrases the same scripture in this way:

God took the Man and set him down in the Garden of Eden to work the ground and keep it in order. (Gen 2:15 MSG)

This suggest that maybe he was protecting it from disorder and the natural tendency of things to move towards disorganization. (But was “entropy” or the “2^nd Law of Thermodynamics” in existence before the “Fall”? That discussion is above the pay grade of this book.)

What stands out quite clearly and interestingly is that before Adam had a paycheque he had a job. He was employed and had a “Reason” for being!

Adam’s Garden

Adam’s garden was truly a spectacular place, Genesis 2:10 described how a river went out to water the garden. What a magnificent revelation of God’s provisional resources! This setting was a protected or set apart location called “Eden” or “Paradise”. The name makes synonymous connections with being a place of delight, happiness, contentment and bliss. Genesis 2:9 also communicated that…

“…out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food…”

Everything, every tree looked good and tasted good! I would imagine that there must have been thousands and thousands of different varieties of vegetation, and there were no duds. (So, there probably weren’t any coniferous trees, because how good could a pine cone taste?) In addition, within the provision of the garden, right in the midst there were two essential trees; the tree of life, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

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It was the “garden of God”, which is closely related to the Aramaic root word meaning “fruitful, well-watered.” Productivity was inherently built into the framework of creation (and also into the garden.) During the Genesis narrative, one can see the “be fruitful and multiply” command repeated, which manifests this idea of natural increase. Productivity was achieved with procreational pairings.

The garden was “God’s sanctuary… where the Creator and his image-bearers relate…”^[i] It is noteworthy to recognize that the presence of God in the garden highlighted the importance of “Relationship” with God.

The Garden: Predestined Purpose

If we rewind for a moment, there is something wonderfully amazing that was expressed previous to Adam’s marching orders in Genesis 2:15. Before God made Adam, He made the Garden. Don’t miss this profound fact. God made Adam’s Reason or his purpose before He made Adam!

4 This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 5 before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; 6 but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. 7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. 8 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.
Genesis 2:4-8

At least three things can be noted from this narrative. First of all, there was an overall description of the environment in verses 1-5. In verse 7-8, God created a man and placed him in His garden. Further in the verse it is apparent that God’s perfect environment was incomplete. He had done all the heavy lifting, but there was a need for something more in the creation despite the high praise of it being “good”. In the story of creation, there was reason and purpose for a man. Tucked away in all that scripture, at the end of verse 5, there is a curious and almost overlooked comment…

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Links

[i] http://www.crossway.org/articles/10-things-you-should-know-about-the-presence-of-god/

“…there was no man to till (or work) the ground.”

The Holy Trinity conferenced and during the meeting, made this observation. There “was no man”! Full disclosure, we know that the word used for “man” was generic and includes both the male and female sex, hence it embraced the concept of humanity. Still it was worth noting that God chose to create the male species initially to fill this void.

What a mind blowing, thought provoking revelation. Prior to God creating this man, He identified Adam’s life blueprint. In other words, He made his purpose before He made the man. So, God recognized the need for man. Simply put, men had their responsibility written into the creation of the world. This “tilling” circles around the larger idea of labour, which suggest the working of the soil, the Earth and its sustenance. It’s worth reiterating that Adam’s reason existed before Adam was created.

Secondly, there was a relationship between the Earth and man. Adam’s presence as a man “completed the package”. God’s environment was never meant to be vacant or without purpose. Then the narrative evolved from “tilling” the ground to “tending” the garden. Adam’s reason was predetermined. It is interesting to observe the order of creation: the purpose, the man, and the garden! (verse 5, 7 and 8)

Adam Brings Identity

Surprisingly, something else was revealed about Adam’s purpose and the reason for his existence.

19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.
20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field… (Genesis 2:19-20)

The work partnership between God and Adam should be noted. God’s work was identified in the creation of beasts and birds. His dominion and control over these works are seen as they are brought to Adam. (It is interesting to observe that God brought these elements to Adam, and he didn’t have to seek them out.) The point is the Father provided the context and the substance of Adam’s work.

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Travelling further into verse 19, God gave Adam the task of naming the animals. As a man, he brought identity to the garden by making things more recognizable. Adam’s purpose or reason was wrapped up in identity. He brought a sense of order and classification to the garden. Why didn’t God give names to the animals? I don’t know, but it’s clear He chose to accomplish His will through Adam. Although the Creator identified broad classification of animals, nevertheless, He left the “fine tuning” to Adam. The man was the distinction maker. God brought the animals to him, and he named them.

In my mind’s eye, I can visualize the scene and imagine that the conversation went something like this…

Adam: This is a lion.
God: Check.
Adam: This is a beaver -a proud and noble animal.
God: Check.
Adam: This is a duck billed platypus.
God: Huh? A what?
Adam: Look at it, it’s pretty weird…
God: I was being creative…

In any case, Adam brought organization and identity to the place where he tended. He was configuring an environment where things knew their purpose. Was it because of his brilliant mind, or Spirit given wisdom? I cannot say for sure, but I tend to lean to the idea that there was a God-given wisdom that came bundled with the purpose of what Adam was supposed to do.

Therefore, the masculine identity can be seen by living in and living out the REASON of a man’s existence which is to make provisions and bring identity to his world, garden and sphere of influence. The masculine identity can be grasped through understanding the Reason God has created a person as a male.

Stay tuned! The next chapter uploads will happen in October.