Restored

 

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,  but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. (Genesis 3:1–7 ESV).

 

God placed the first humans, Adam and Eve, in a beautiful garden filled with wonderful plants, wildlife, and abundant food (cf. Genesis 2:8-25). God himself was present there and took walks with them in “the cool of the day.” They had everything they could possibly need. However, as our reading details for us, Adam and Eve sinned, disobeying God’s command to them. And as we read at the end of this chapter, they were banished from the garden and kept from returning by an angel with flaming sword.

 

At first read, this could seem like pretty extreme punishment for just eating some forbidden fruit.  Though, a lot more was involved. God had entrusted Adam and Eve with representing him by managing this beautiful garden—to develop and care for it. But they shifted their allegiance from the Creator to following the way of the enemy—Satan (cf. Revelation 12:9). In doing this, they ruined their relationships with God, with each other, and with the creation. So, God banished them and blocked the way to the garden.

 

Perhaps you have experienced rejection, you may have been fired from a job, shunned by family members or neighbors, barred from society. Maybe you have been at fault, either partly or fully; or maybe you are innocent. Either way, it feels awful.

 

Thankfully, God provided a way to be reconciled with him. God sent his Son, Jesus, to defeat the devil and remove the barrier so that we can have fellowship with God again (Genesis 3:15; Hebrews 2:14-18).