According to the book of Genesis, when Adam and Eve screwed up big time. the Lord, God evicted them from the garden and said this:
“Cursed is the ground because of you!
In toil you shall eat its yield
all the days of your life.
Thorns and thistles it shall bear for you,
and you shall eat the grass of the field.
By the sweat of your brow
you shall eat bread
Until you return to the ground,
from which you were taken;
For you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.”
(Gen 3:17-19 NABR)
This tells me two things about the author,
- The author had a garden.
- The author also had a wickedly dark sense of humor.
I get this passage of scripture because it certainly speaks to my experience of gardening.
(After three years of scripture school I tend to be a bit analytical in my reading of scripture. This passage of Genesis comes from the Yahwistic source, one of the four older sources that were used to compile what we know as the book of Genesis)
I did print out and laminate a copy of this passage to put on a sign in the garden. It will help keep things in perspective.