Why I have gotten the O.T. wrong... part III

This is one of my favorite "things I didn't know". The Garden of Eden was a "garden sanctuary" designed by God for Adam and Eve. It was a closed, protected place. In the Old Testament kings would build walls to surround their gardens also (see. 2 Kgs. 25:4; Jer. 39:4, 52:7; Is. 5:5). You see, kings in that time took great joy in walking around the gardens that they had built as a type of "pleasure park". This is why in Ancient Mesopotamia (where the Garden of Eden is assumed to have been), the word "gardener" meant "monarch"(The Israelites at the time of Moses would have known this). Kings were the gardeners. When God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden He told him to "work and keep it", or "be the gardener". What He is saying is "you have the responsibility of a ruler of this land", which takes us back to the last discussion on what it means to be made in the image of God. So, Adam was the monarch, the gardener. That's the Ancient Near Eastern (ANE) context; now here's the jaw dropper. The New Testament got this right. In John 21:14-15, after Mary had just found the tomb of Jesus empty it says, "...she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. (15) Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" [Mary,] Supposing him to be the gardener said to him..." The crazy thing is she was right! He was "The Gardener". He is the Monarch, the Ruler, the King of kings. Jesus is the Gardener! I don't know if that drops your jaw a little like it did mine, but I believe that every word of Scripture is the inspired word of God and I believe this "misunderstanding" on Mary's part is there for a reason. Until next time...