BibleProject God’s First Commands in the Bible
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Mar 30, 2026 They trace the first divine commands in Genesis and how those early directives shape the later moral law. They unpack the blessing to “be fruitful and multiply” and the three-part command about the garden trees. They examine how desire, wisdom, and deception play into humanity’s initial failure to follow God’s instructions.
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First Commands Are Blessings
- The first directives God gives humans are blessings that function as instructions to imitate divine life and steward creation.
- Tim Mackie notes Genesis 1's five verbs: be fruitful, multiply, fill, subdue, and rule as blessings framed as commands.
Work And Keep Link To The Ten
- Genesis 2 frames God placing humans in Eden to "work" (avad) and "keep" (shamar), linking labor and stewardship to later commandments.
- Jon Collins and Tim connect these verbs to the Ten Commandments' themes of service and keeping the Sabbath.
Genesis Command Has Three Parts
- The Garden command has three parts: enjoy every tree, avoid the one tree, and the warning that eating it causes death.
- Tim emphasizes this structure as a positive invitation to life paired with a protective prohibition.