Sunday, 22 February 2015

Genesis 3:1-24, 4:1-7.                           continuation
What happened to the Garden of Eden? The Bible does not tell us, God did not consider it important. It probably perished in the Flood.
Now, man is left outside till the time God opens the door for him to enter Paradise and find fellowship with God. This was achieved on the resurrection day when victory over the devil and death was gained.
Not only is man expelled from the Garden but he is also not to go near the Tree of Life. Why? In our sinful state we cannot approach a holy God. Only when sin is dealt with in our lives can we do so. However, the day is coming when man will again be able to partake of the Tree of Life in the Paradise of God-Rev.22:2.
Chapter 3 closes with the information that God put a guard at the entrance of the Garden to stop anybody going in, a Cherubim. We only know what a Cherubim looks like from the description of those placed on top of the Ark of the Covenant. Cherubim are guardians of God's holiness. Apart
from the Cherubim, God also placed the flaming sword that turned. Again, we are not told what a flaming sword was like or why God placed it there but we can gather its symbolism from somewhere else-Eph.6:17, 'The sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God' .
The flaming fire of the Word brings judgment upon the sinner who tries to enter Heaven or God's presence  without the Blood.
'Adam knew his wife....' . The first mention in the Bible of a physical relationship between a man and a woman. God's words to Eve were, 'her desire would be for her husband' . What kind of desire? The kind of desire that leads a woman to depend upon a man. More than a desire for companionship but one of lust. A desire that leads to an abnormal relationship, different from what God intended or had in mind.
What was God's intention at creation? When God had finished His creation He looked at everything and found it to be 'good and perfect'. The man and the woman were also perfect. They had God's character, the ability to think and decide, to love and be loved but not to harbor evil and commit evil in their lives. That came afterwards. Their relationship was based on God's moral character, even for procuring offspring. How was that to be accomplished? A relationship based on childbearing and not based on lust. We only know of their kind of relationship after the fall.
There is no doubt that at Creation the man and the woman were given the sex drive in their being 
but not in the form we witness today.
The Bible points to the fact of their physical relation after the fall, implying something different from what God intended. They would now have sex and be fruitful but not without pain, lust and passion. Is sex then something ugly and dirty? Not necessarily, a God given desire is abused by man.
What is the answer? In 2 Cor.5:17, the Apostle gives us the answer. In Christ, Creation's purpose is restored in man, even sex finds its original purpose and place in our lives. Passions and desires can be curbed and find a new direction. No more slaves to sin but newness of life in Christ.
                                                                                                         To be continued

Sunday, 8 February 2015

Genesis 3:1-24, 4:1-7.                    continuation
'And for Adam and his wife the Lord God made....'
Chapter 3 closes with these profound words. What is the message?
Man has decided to go his own way and run his life without God and without the fellowship he had with God. However God does not abandon man. God seeks him and provides for him. 1 John 4:10 tells us, 'Herein is love....' .
We see the proof of this when Adam and Eve realized that they were naked and attempted to cover themselves with fig leaves, man's attempt to cover himself-a pathetic inadequate attempt. It was God who took the initiative to seek man and provide a suitable cover for him; but this cover was not a free one. It cost God something and it had a great significance - a Sacrifice. Man always prefers nakedness but God's cover speaks for righteousness and holiness.
Here,  we see that God has standards with behaviour, dress, manners, etc., whereas man has what is convenient for him. Believers need to note these standards and apply them to their lives. We note the type of cover God used to cover them-animal skins. We have the first indication of what God requires as a price for atonement-Sacrifice and the shedding of Blood: Heb.9:22.
The Cross looms ahead right from the Garden of Eden. God had to pay the price for man's redemption. The animal creation was to serve man but because of the Fall it also provided for his atonement.
When the serpent tempted Eve, he suggested that if they ate of the fruit they would become like Gods, knowing Good and Evil: Partly true but not the whole truth. They did not become Gods, they only knew Good and Evil. A temptation for them with a hidden device to become like Gods. Here, Satan's strategy is exposed, truth mixed with lies. We need to discern this strategy and not fall into this trap. As for Adam and Eve reality struck them hard and cruelly. Now they are on their own. What does the future have for them? We certainly see no repentance and no plan for what lies ahead. The opposite is true with God. He takes the initiative and points the way for them to 
take though it seems He is hard on them, rather vindictive? He causes the two people He created and looked after to become homeless and even penniless. Nowhere to go.
When people sin in the Church and refuse to repent what is the answer? God's ways are not full of errors. In evicting Adam and Eve from the Garden we are given the reason for it. The Tree of Life. Before the fall they had access to the Tree of Life but now they are barred from it, the way is blocked. Sin blocks our way to Eternity. We can only approach the Tree of Life via a prescribed way-The Blood. Jesus said, 'I am the way, the truth and the life' . Had they partaken of the Tree of Life in their sinful state they would have continued like that for ever. Man is finally expelled from the Garden, the place he was supposed to look after. The Garden was not his property but he was only to care for it.
The Bible teaches that we are responsible for our actions and we should fully bear the consequence of our actions. We read in 1 Cor.10:26 that the 'Earth and the fullness thereof belong to the Lord' . Adam is told to go and work for his living outside the Garden. In the Garden there was work, pleasure and Fellowship with God. Outside there would be hard toil and pain. Adam's sphere of work and life would be the earth he was taken from.
In expelling them from The Garden  we see God's Mercy extending to them. We see a Merciful God giving them another chance and through them Mercy to the whole world - The Cross.
                                                                       To be continued