God Meets Sorrow

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
Genesis 3 (click the link)


KEY VERSES:
So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:24, NIV)


REFLECTIONS:
Genesis 3.  This is probably one of the most tragic chapters in the Bible.  Some Bibles title this chapter “The Fall of Man.” I think I would call it “God Meets Sorrow.”

Sometimes I get so focused on the Garden of Eden, I forget to see it in context.  Sometimes I think the Garden was the entirety of the earth.  It wasn’t.  The Garden of Eden was the first temple or tabernacle… the first place God met with man on earth.  Just as the tabernacle was set within the outer courts, the Garden was set within Eden.  Outside of Eden was the land of Nod.  Within the tabernacle was the Holy of Holies; I believe God created the first Holy of Holies within the Garden.  Look at what Genesis 2:9 says about the Garden: 

“Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” 

There are three things listed that I find noteworthy.

 

• Every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food (this sounds an awful lot like complete provision to me, aka manna)
• The tree of life (did you know that almonds are symbolic of life… like Aaron’s rod… which just “happened” to be an almond branch?)
• The tree of the knowledge of good and evil (can anyone say “ten commandments”?)

What are the three things that are inside the Ark of the Covenant, within the Holy of Holies?  Are you with me?  Do you see how connected God is throughout our history?  Do you see the detail He uses as He creates; as He moves?  He created this sacred space, this Holy of Holies within the Garden and He set Adam loose to cultivate it.  Can you feel God’s heartbeat sounding through the pages of His Word?  Do you feel His passion for us, for Adam and Eve?  This is the space God Almighty would walk.  This is the space in which He revealed Himself to His friends, His creation; the beings who captured His heart.

Then, in a moment of selfish, prideful lust it was all gone.  Temptation and deceit violently ripped apart the communion God had so carefully created.

Even as I write this, I feel as though the cry of agony from God is the same cry Jesus uttered from the Cross… WHY?!?

Perhaps I am giving too much humanity to God, but I’m not sure.  I think His pain was real, raw, and pierced Him to His core.

Sin had separated Him from His children.  He could not see them because they had chosen to veil themselves within the darkness.  So He called to them, beseeching them to come and let His light reveal them once again.  Yet even as they came forward, they did not bend in humility; they blamed others and there is no mention of their repentance.  The lack of repentance kept Adam and Eve from being able to re-enter communion with God, just as our lack of repentance creates a vacancy in our ability to fully commune with the Lord.  Adam and Eve’s decision to stay in pride and rebellion prevented God from being able to bless them; instead it forced a curse upon all of mankind.  

And yet, even after issuing a curse, we see this tender love pour from Him, as He prepared garments to cover them up.  Of course this was the sacrifice, animals shedding their blood to cover humans (again this lends symbolism to the Holy of Holies.)  Once He had covered them up, He sent them out.  Actually, He drove them out.  His holiness demanded that they be driven from the Garden, but His love ensured their covering before they went.  His love stayed with them, His love was for them, but His love did not erase the consequences they had to bear.

The final act of this chapter reveals God setting up guards so that the Garden, and specifically the tree of life, could not be accessed again.  Why was God so vigilant about the tree of life?

Do you know that the Hebrew word for life, chayyim, contains a little root word, hy?  This little word means community.  I don’t know if the tree of life is referring specifically to physical life, or eternal life, but I do know that life, as in community with God, was forever altered that day when Adam and Eve gave in to temptation and deceit.  God’s heart was broken and although His Garden was left protected, it was also left uncultivated and forsaken.  The sadness is almost overwhelming.

Thankfully, we live in an era where we know of the final, all-sufficient correction God provided in Jesus.  We are blessed.  It is beyond my comprehension to think of what sorrow Adam and Eve endured as they lived the rest of their days cut off from hy.  They had heaven on earth but decided they wanted more, so they chose hell.  And God wept.


POINT OF ACTION:
Where are you being tempted?  How are you being deceived into thinking you want, need, or deserve more?  Is God trying to find you?  Will you repent and let His blessing cover you?  Or are you determined to multiply your own destruction by refusing to bend when He has called out to you?


PRAYER:
Creator God.  I am not sure what else to say other than “Help!” and “Thank You.”  By creating us and declaring Your love for us, You invited us to hurt You.  We have rejected You and ignored You, yet You have continued to reach out to us.  May our hearts be surrendered to You and You alone.  May our lives reflect our gratitude for all that You have endured simply because You love us.


WHO AM I?
I am Beth Peeples and I am simply in awe of my God who continues to show me the Holy of Holies.  I am in love with my precious Creator who so delicately balances His love and His holiness.  I’m also pretty smitten with my main squeeze.