Chapter 1 - The World Before Money

 "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein". "For He founded it on the seas and established it on the waters." Psalm 24: 1& 2

Was there a world without the monetary system and money? Even before men ever existed to work it and take care of it? And when men were created to take care of the earth, they accessed their basic needs, in exchange for their labour, instead of purchasing them? According to the scriptural records of Genesis 1 and 2, such a period existed. 

In the first two chapters of Genesis, we are given a description of the provision made before humans and animals arrived, and we discover that God equipped the earth with everything required to sustain life.

 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty. Darkness covered the surface of the deep, and the spirit of God hovered over the waters." Genesis: 1-2. 

Creation began with the spoken word, "Let there be..." bringing it and its fullness into existence: 

God equipped the atmosphere with oxygen to breathe, the sun to provide heat and light in the morning, and the moon and stars to lighten the sky at night, enhancing visibility on Earth and ensuring good climate conditions for sustainability.  

The oceans teemed with life - fish, sea monsters and various kinds of marine animals of all sizes, shapes, and colours. He also provided them with food such as kelp, algae, seagrass, phytoplankton, and sargassum. A detailed description of the ocean's contents is not provided, but human exploration of the sea offers an account of its richness. 

Streams of water, such as the Tigris, Pishon, Gihon, and Euphrates, and possibly smaller ones not mentioned in Genesis, were established there for bathing, drinking, and irrigation purposes. A natural irrigation system was already in place to water the garden in the morning in the form of a mist going up from the land and watering the whole face of the ground. " Genesis 2:7"

The soil contained all the natural elements needed for green organic seed-bearing plants and trees that bear fruit with seeds within it, according to their various kinds," to grow Genesis 1:11. It suggests that aromatic herbs, spices, grains, different types of fruits and vegetables, and comestible roots (cassava, yam, potato, carrots, ...) were ready to grow in abundance on fertile soil, not to mention plant-based oils such as olive, sunflower, coconut, mustard seed, avocado, pumpkin, rapeseed, and more. 

These seed-bearing plants were waiting for human hands to cultivate and care for them, so that they would develop into food and be harvested in abundance. The oil plants, fruits, vegetables, comestible roots, garlic, ginger, and spices we use today are the same as those that grew in the Garden of Eden.

In Song of Songs 4:13, the author passionately expresses His love for His people using a philosophical tone and images of a garden garnished with all sorts of scented plants. The image, when taken literally, can also be used as a direct reference to the abundance and richness of the Garden of Eden: "Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choices fruits, with henna and nard, nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes [aloeswood] and all the finest spices."

Various trees from which Adam and Eve could obtain wood to meet their needs, including Acacia, Gopher, Pine, Teak, Redwood, Cedar, Olive, Oak, and Bamboo, were planted there. Later, after the fall of man, God instructed Noah to use wood that he could obtain for free from the Gopher tree to build the ark. 

Wealth in Eden extended to a variety of valuable metals, such as gold and silver, as well as iron, copper, and lapis lazuli, and precious stones mentioned in Ezekiel 28, including carnelian, chrysolite, emerald, topaz, onyx, and jasper. The gold of that land is also good, as are bdellium and onyx stones. 

Job 28 1-11 gives us insight into these precious metals and stones. He compares them to wisdom and reveals their locations. "There is a mine for silver and a place where Gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelt from ore." "lapis lazuli comes from its rocks, and its dust contains nuggets of gold." "where no bird of prey knows that hidden path and no falcon's eye has seen it. Proud beasts do not set foot on it, and no lion prowls there."

The author sets the tone for the value of those precious stones. The path leading to them is not just hidden but exclusive, tucked away in remote areas, out of reach even to birds of prey like the falcon, proud beasts, and lions. This exclusivity hints at the earth's hidden wealth, waiting to be discovered.

Finally, Eden was not only a physical location, but also a place that symbolised the foundations of wealth and prosperity even before the dawn of civilisation. 

Earth contains everything humans and animals need to sustain their lives. The creator ensured that all human needs would be met, and they would live abundant lives filled with peace and joy. 

Amidst such wealth and abundance, no monetary system or paper money was found to sustain this beautiful place, but it required human beings to manage all its natural resources. Man's only guide was the Holy Spirit. The holy Spirit was and is the all-knowing, all-sufficient helper who was and still is everything man needs for proper guidance on how to govern the earth.