If we read the expulsion only as God’s judgment, then we have missed a great deal. You see, in the saddest of moments, you can find a diamond.
“The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” (Genesis 3 v 21-24)
God clothes them with garments of skin. Whose skin? It doesn’t say. Do they leave the garden covered with the skin of something that died for them? Is this the gospel, right at the beginning of time, speaking loudly of grace and mercy?
God drove the man out, but the biblical story tells us that God went with them. God would be found again by them and by the generations to come. This is the first exile, and there would be more to come, and in every one of them, God comes to His people again. Whether that be Egypt, Babylon, or a small village in Israel, which becomes the centre of the world, where God takes on human flesh, God comes to us. He always has, He always will.
God placed a ‘cherubim and a flaming sword’ on the east side of the Garden. Behind the fire stands the Tree of Life, waiting; the cherubim still guard.
This is all at the beginning of the book. But we have read to the end, haven’t we? We know what has happened and what is to come, don’t we?
“To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:7) This was a message to Ephesus, which, heeding the warning of Jesus amongst the letters to the seven churches, became a major Christian centre with thriving churches. Within Ephesus, a magnificent temple of Artemis stood, accompanied by a beautiful garden that offered asylum to criminals who managed to escape into it. This may well be the connection Jesus is referring to when He says there is a garden, the paradise of God, where the tree of life is at the centre. This is not unrepentant criminals but repentant Churches.
But let’s keep going to the very end. “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.” (Revelation 22:1-5)
In a perfecting of Eden, the garden has become a city, and God is no longer hidden behind the trees. We have changed, been made holy, His character and nature, His mark, is on our lives, and we will see Him! We will finally look upon God and live!
Since Adam and Eve, we have tried our entire lives to see God in all His fullness and have failed every time. But not now. His glory within us has changed us to become like Him, so much so that we will see His face!
Missions Paul 