God’s First Commands in the Bible
3/30/202647 min
The 10 Commandments E2 — Why does God give commands and why is it so hard for humans to follow them? Before digging into the 10 Commandments line by line, we’ll first trace the theme of God’s commands in the Genesis scroll. The first two times God issues commands are on pages one and two of the Bible. In this episode, Jon and Tim discuss the blessing to “be fruitful and multiply,” as well as the “do not eat from the tree” command in Genesis 1 and 2, highlighting humanity’s folly and foundational need for God’s guidance.
FULL SHOW NOTES
For chapter-by-chapter summaries, biblical words, referenced Scriptures, and reflection questions, check out the full show notes for this episode.
- God’s Very First Command Is a Blessing (0:00–9:51)
- The Three-Part Command About the Trees (9:51–29:32)
- The Human Folly in Eden (29:32–47:17)
OFFICIAL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
View this episode’s official transcript.
REFERENCED RESOURCES
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BibleProject resources about the snake in the garden:
SHOW MUSIC
- “Hope in the Morning,” by Lofi Sunday feat. CRFT & GXNXSIS
- “Eucalyptus,” by Lofi Sunday feat. Eluzai
- BibleProject theme song by TENTS
SHOW CREDITS
Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Tyler Bailey is our supervising engineer, who also edited today’s episode and provided the sound design and mix. JB Witty writes the show notes. Our host and creative director is Jon Collins, and our lead scholar is Tim Mackie.
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJon Collins· Host0:00
[upbeat music] What is the first command of God in the Bible? Well, it's on page one. After God creates life and orders the cosmos, He creates humans, and He points them to be His image, and He instructs them this way: "Be fruitful, multiply, subdue the Earth, and rule it." In other words, carry forward God's authority and rule over what He began.
Tim Mackie· Host0:29
The first directives God gives to the humans are essentially imitate the divine life. So the first time God tells anybody what to do, it's a blessing.
Jon Collins· Host0:40
While the first command in the Bible is called a blessing, the second command in the Bible is straight-up called a command, and it has two parts. The first part of the command reminds us of the blessing. Eat of every tree in the garden.
Tim Mackie· Host0:54
The good that you see out there is real, and when you find the good, enjoy it. And when I'm enjoying the good, what I am enjoying is God.
Jon Collins· Host1:06
The second part of the command is about how there's one tree that will look good but will actually lead to death. So don't eat from that tree.
Tim Mackie· Host1:15
There are apparently some things that look good but that won't be good for me, at least not now.
Jon Collins· Host1:22
And these two parts of the command work together.
Tim Mackie· Host1:25
God's command is twofold. One, have life,