Genesis 2: Eden and God's First Sabbath

The chapter division is a little awkward here, cutting off the first Sabbath from the rest of creation, yet at the same time ending the chapter just before it highlights that the "active phase" of the work of creation is done. I remember a recent Gospel reading in which Jesus says that God works all the time and so does He, to explain why He healed someone on the Sabbath. He also said that "the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." God didn't need to rest, wasn't tired or hungry. So why did He? He wanted us to have a chance, I think, to sit back on occasion and just maintain. He doesn't ask so much of us that we must always be pushing ourselves, but can sit and seek Him out in a calmer, more still way.
I must admit that I am a tad confused here, or perhaps I would be more confused if I took this text a bit more literally. The creation of Adam and Eve seems to have taken place, according to this chapter, before, not after, the creation of plants and animals and the Garden. Thinking about it, it seems to make sense that God wants us to realize that we were intended to get joy out of interacting with the rest of his Creation, and that we are the ones made with an immortal soul that is His image and likeness. The Garden is there for us to enjoy and care for.
The four rivers give me a sense of where this really is, and yet give me an indication of the springs of abundant life God sent to maintain the world. Water in my mind always means baptism, new life, cleanliness, and wiping away the past, and here, four rivers extend from the heart of Paradise to the rest of the world.
Adam and Eve always reminds me of the purpose for which I was created woman and the "ideal" state of relationships and marriage. Man and Woman are meant to bind together into one glorious, complementary whole. This entire chapter is a beautiful picture of what life was like in Paradise, and what it could have been like forever without sin. It's amazing to think of seeing that again in the New Heavens and the New Earth.