Genesis 2:15
“And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.”
KJV
Read in Genesis 2Meaning
Work and care are part of humanity's original vocation. The human receives a garden to cultivate and protect rather than a world to consume without limit.
Read carefully
Genesis 3 will describe toil under curse, but Genesis 2:15 prevents us from treating work itself as the curse. Work precedes human disobedience.
Reflection
A biblical account of vocation joins productivity with stewardship. What is entrusted to human hands is also something to be kept.