Genesis, The Book of Foundations, The Book of Beginnings, is a paradigm, an outline to understand our culture today. It rises with an
increase in technology, with abundance in arts, in music & this rise is
very impressive - Yet within it, is its demise because of sin --
The only hope is to call on the name
of the Lord - This is the only hope for the culture -
This is the only hope for your soul,
to call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ! There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under
heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
I was researching the statistics that showed the amount
of violence throughout all of world history and I quickly realized that I bit
off a little more than I could chew in just a few days. But I found that the The 20th century comes out as number one (1) on the list with 193.8 million violent
deaths followed by the 19th century with 62.5 million.
The 21st century has gotten off to a pretty good start by
continuing in the same vein.
Our culture alone may be leading the way in homicides -
Just alone the over 50 million murders of innocent children while in the womb,
all in the name of self-divination or as William Henley pens, “I am the master
of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”
Transition
The centerpiece in Genesis 4 is a homicide but it is more
than just recording the first murder. It is the hardening & sliding of the
heart away from the Lord God into sin as written in Jude 11, “the way of
Cain.”.
The story reveals to the reader something of the nature,
the essential nature of all of us, mankind, with an unforgettable picture of
the early stages of power - It’s a story of depravity and grace
- This story instructs us on the essential nature, the character of all
mankind.
The story begins with a lot of optimism: Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she
conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have gotten a man-child with the help of the Lord.” Her
pregnancy must have been a source for joy; her pain was the first ever in
childbearing but those pangs must have given way to a joy so deep that it
absorbed her pain. With the help of the Lord, I have gotten a man-child, a
second man. She rightly saw Cain as a work of God.
The words of Eve were an implicit
declaration of faith. Adam believed the promise which we see in Gen. 3:15 and so-called the woman “Life”, the mother of all living, “Eve”.
Prelude to Murder (2b-7)
Again, she
gave birth to his brother Abel. His name is significant; it signifies a lack of
permanence maybe it alluded unwittingly to his life being cut short.
Abel is listed first in the
household of faith - In Matthew 23:35; Luke 11: 50-51Jesus called him righteous
& placed him with the prophets. This testimony from our Lord concerning
Abel tells us that he was one who believed & obeyed God’s words with
righteousness imparted to him.
As the two boys grew, Cain followed
his dad’s profession as a farmer & Abel, can I call him a rancher? He was a
shepherd of flocks.
A Crisis Arises; we have no idea if the
brothers were in the habit of making regular sacrifices or if what is recorded
is the initial presentation of offerings by the siblings. Verse 3 begins with, So
it came about in the course of time we can pretty well know that
this wasn’t the first occasion, in the course of time usually denotes a
precise period of time. It could have been the end of an agricultural period or
when an animal is at a prescribed age. Abel, on his part also brought of
the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. We know that
later it will be prescribed that the lamb for Passover must be an
unblemished male a year old; (Exodus 12:5). Again, it could have been
the 2nd time or the 15th time the offerings were presented.
There seems to have been a regular time &
maybe a place at which man was allowed to meet God. We will see later that God
speaks to Cain.
They were still in Eden so maybe the place was at
or near the entrance to the Garden, the only entrance, on the east of the garden where the Cherubim stood guard.
The altar of sacrifice in the tabernacle and
later the Temple was located in the outer court, outside the entrance to the
Holy Place.
Why was Abel’s offering accepted & Cain’s
wasn’t? It’s supposed that animal offerings were more acceptable to God than
grain offerings. Blood sacrifices are superior to harvest offerings -- But Old
Testament Scripture honors both types.
The Feast of Firstfruits actually took place
during the week-long Passover celebration (Lev.
23:4–8),
Pentecost occurred fifty days after that Sabbath (vv. 15–16) and marked the culmination of what started at the Feast of Firstfruits. As its name indicates,
the Feast of Firstfruits marked thanksgiving to God for the firstfruits of the
harvest — in this case, the grain and cereal harvested in the spring in ancient
Palestine. At this festival, the Israelites offered the very first sheaf of the
harvest; Fifty days after the Feast of Firstfruits was the Feast of Weeks, or
Pentecost (from the Greek term pentekostos, or fiftieth), which was the grand
celebration at the end of the grain harvest, (Lev.
23:15–22).
Moreover, the context here says nothing about the
priority of blood sacrifice --
We can find the answer to our initial question of
why one was accepted & the other not in vv. 3 & 4; Cain brought
an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part also
brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions.
Rabbinic scholar Umberto Cassuto writes “... it is clear that in regard to Cain
it is stated simply that his offering was of the fruit of the ground,
& in Abel’s case the Bible uses two expressions to emphasize that the
oblation was the best of its kind, firstlings & fat portions. The
distinction is not made pointlessly. . . The Bible wished to convey that while
Abel was concerned to choose the finest thing in his possession, Cain was
indifferent. In other words: Abel endeavored to perform his religious duty
ideally, whereas Cain was content merely to discharge this duty.”
Are some of us today any different than Cain was
then? When doing a job in the Marines and afterward to just get it done we’d
say, “ah heck, that’s good enough for government work. Then again you’d have
those eager beavers that would always give 110%.
The difference then & now is a heart
attitude. Cain came to God on his own self-prescribed terms. “I am the master
of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”
Cain’s offering wasn’t from faith. He defined
what his sacrifice would be. It’s a ‘take it or leave it’ attitude.
The giveaway for Cain was his countenance; but
for Cain and, for his offering, He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and
his countenance fell.
Intervention
But look at how God reacts to Cain;
He stormed around throwing lightning bolts around and yelling “what am I going
to do with you?” No, far from that. There’s no anger, condescending talk, no
ridiculing in the words the Lord speaks. (Vv. 6-7) “Why are you angry?
And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance
be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its
desire is for you, but you must master it.” (A side note here, the word
desire here is the same as when God tells Eve her desire will be for her
husband, meaning control).
Cain’s downcast face could still
become a happy face.
God
painted a frightening picture for him but still a picture of hope by saying to
him, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you
must master it. God personified sin as a beast crouching about ready to
pounce on him. (Brings to mind Peter’s letter be on the alert. Your
adversary, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to
devour. 1 Peter 5:8). If Cain didn’t master it, he would be its victim
- That sin at the door was his own sin --
We also are given the same warning
in James 1: 14-15 -- each one is tempted when he is carried away and
enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin;
and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. (The ESV says desires,
same, same).
Cain was standing right at the edge
of hell, sadly though the Lord’s words just bounced off his hardened heart
& with willfulness began his descent into the pit.
We are given a very short simple
description of this horrendous act of murder.
There is nothing said of the weapon
used, if there was, that would depersonalize Cain’s murder of his brother. It
doesn’t say how it was done. It is enough just to know that Cain took his
brother’s life. Abel, Cain’s kid brother was, according to Scripture, a good
man, a righteous man and called a prophet by Jesus.
Why did he do it? Because he hated
Abel? Well, yes & no. Bonhoeffer asks rhetorically the same question: why
& gives the answer, “out of hatred for God.”
Murder is an act of hatred toward
God for making or accepting another who offends us, or troubles us, or is
favored with gifts & honors we don’t have.
That’s how it was with David the
murderer of Uriah the Hittite, his loyal general, as is evident by his
confession to God in Psalm 51:4 -- Against you, you only have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight. David was offended with God for
limiting his freedom by forbidding him the wife of Uriah the Hittite. David’s
crime was directed at his restricting God.
Jesus says we are also are exposed
by our hatreds because they are spiritual homicides ultimately directed at God
no matter how private they are. -- Matthew 5: 21-26, “You have heard that
the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits
murder shall be liable to the court.’ But I say to you that everyone who is
angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to
his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court;
and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.
Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember
that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before
the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and
present your offering. Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you
are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the
judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Truly I say
to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.
The Confrontation
God was on the spot. Just like with
Adam & Eve after the fall. When God challenged Adam, Adam told the truth,
if not the whole truth, (3:10).
On the other hand, Cain told an
outright lie -- Where is your brother? asked the Lord. Cain
responds, ““I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper? Today we’d say something close
to, How should I know, hey he’s old enough, of age, I’m no babysitter.
Now, this time the Lord’s voice may
have thundered over Cain, “What have you done? The voice of your
brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground; Abels’ cry would not
be silenced.
Blood & life belong to God
alone; wherever man commits murder he attacks the Lord God’s very own right of
possession. To destroy life goes way beyond man’s proper sphere - Spilled blood
cries aloud to heaven & complains directly to the Lord of Life.
Think of the over 50 million babies
murdered in the womb in just the past 46 years since 1973 alone. Do you realize
that is 49,946,000 more than died in the 20 years of the Vietnam conflict?
I can only imagine their voices
possibly mixed in with the voices of the other saints under the throne of God
from Revelation 6: 9-10, When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw
underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word
of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried
out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You
refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
Judgment
Judgment falls, the curse; this is
the first time where man is cursed - Not just a wandering beduin, but all
relationships broken - the earth would be his enemy - he watered it with his
brothers blood, now he was banned from it forever; to wander over it as an
enemy of the earth.
Still, there’s Grace
Cain responds in what is the first
lament in Scripture, (vv13-15). He just falls apart. Now he fears that he, who
once was top dog, would be devoured. Civilization apparently was expanding
& some during his lifetime would more than likely seek to avenge Abel’s
blood.
You can see that in his response he
doesn’t show any compassion or sorrow for the action against his brother, or
even because he sinned against God. He felt fear & self-pity, no remorse.
But amazingly God heard him & responds. (V15)
- whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold.” And the
Lord appointed a sign for Cain so that no one finding him would slay him.
He’s promised by God that any vigilante would be
severely judged; and then marks him with a sign. This didn’t lighten the punishment;
nevertheless, the fear of violent death was removed.
What the sign was is not said. There are lots of
speculation, but the important point that must not be overlooked is the Amazing
Grace from the Lord God to the first murderer.
The Lord didn’t abandon Cain though guilty. When
he arrogantly brought his sparse offering to God, & God saw his evil anger,
God did not turn him away. That’s what we would do. God exhorted him to
withstand temptation - Grace -
Did Cain ever repent? We don’t know. New
Testament Scripture speaks of Cain in the negative: Jude 11, the way of
Cain; 1 John 3:12, one who was of the evil one & murdered his
brother.
Maybe he repented on his death-bed; we don’t
really know. Cain, just like me & you, was not beyond God’s grace.
In Conclusion
On this side of the cross, Holy
Scripture, Hebrews 12:24, tells us that in coming to Christ, we come toJesus,
the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better
than the blood of Abel. Abel’s blood calls for vengeance, yes! So does the blood of
all who are murdered, down to the innocent in the womb. But the shed blood of
Jesus has paid that vengeance & shouts forgiveness to all who come to Him.
Remember this, Cain’s punishment was
lightened, he was sent east of Eden to wander in the land of Nod, which mean
exile, wanderer, fugitive - Caim was removed east of Eden, further then were
Adam & Eve - Today’s one’s punishment for a crime will be handed out. But
there is a great hope for all, Jesus’ blood will wash away all hidden sins for
those who come to Him & His blood atones also, for our public sins,
whatever they may be.
No one, no one, nobody, is beyond
grace because the sprinkled blood of Jesus - speaks a better word than
the blood of Abel.
From
Horatius Bonar:
Not what my hands have done
Can save my guilty soul
Not what my toiling flesh has borne
Can make my spirit whole.
Thy grace alone, O God,
To me can pardon speak;
Thy power alone O Son of God,
Can this sore bondage break.
John
Newton:
Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.
Verse 21, The Lord
God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. This
feeble attempt to cover themselves with fig-leaves for loincloths was replaced
with the Lord God Himself clothing them with skin from an animal.
The covering was from God
- God’s provision of robes of animal skin recognized their sin & was an act
of grace.
The Lord clothed them, It
doesn’t look as if He told them what to do, but He clothed them.
This act in primeval
history by God was a foreshadowing of His ultimate provision for sin - This
divine provision is a telling illustration of the method of grace in response
to sin & its consequences. GOD HIMSELF covers sin & its
degradation.
Then the Lord God said,
“Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he
might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and
live forever”
Here verse 22 records
divine deliberation, divine contemplation with Himself as in 1: 26.
We can see that what
Satan had promised Eve had partially come true. Man had become like God - The
only thing was that the couple’s likeness to God was not glorious as they
thought it would be, but humiliating, embarrassing, mortifying --
They sought moral
autonomy, this is what humanity has been doing since that fateful day - wanting
the power to decide what is tight & what is wrong apart from God & His
word.
This autonomy was
achieved only in a certain way in that the father of lies speaks truth by
perverting it.
It’s just an illusion,
all it is, is a mimicking, an aping of God. It’s monkey see, monkey do. This I
have the right to do whatever is a fantasy, no one can escape the Lordship of
the Lord God.
As Henri Blocher writes, The
crazy little god with his absurd pretensions is not God & never will be.
All he can do is die.
The fact of the matter
is, he is dead. He died when he sinned, becoming dead in trespass & sin -
To the Ephesians Paul writes, you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
(2:1); and to the Romans, utterly sinful - as it is written, There is
none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who
seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There
is none who does good, There is not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,” “The poison of asps is under their
lips”; “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”; “Their feet are swift
to shed blood, Destruction and misery are in their paths, And the path of peace
they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (3:
9-18).
The couple’s bodies were
alive, but they were dead. As residents living in the garden in Eden, they
could have eaten of the tree of life and perpetuated their lives, their bodily
existence indefinitely & they would have been fruitful & populated the garden
& it would literally have been hell on earth filled with undying dead -
forever living - forever dead - the walking dead.
The Exile
But God forestalled their
inevitable next step toward self-divination by His own pre-emptive strike - therefore
the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from
which he was taken. 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.
The man sent out
to till the ground, the man was driven out, it’s a repetition of being sent,
(NIV says banished) but two words being used; God didn’t just sent him forth
which could lend to the possibility of the man returning, but He drove
him out completely.
When you’re fired, one is
usually told to empty their desk or locker and leave, but at the same time one
is escorted out of the building or premisses.
Well, God sent the man
packing and drove him out, to the east of the garden of Eden to till the ground
& stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every
direction to guard the way to the tree of life.
When you think of
Cherubims you always see the picture of chubby little babies in diapers with
little wings playing harps and floating on clouds.
Well, far from that; the
Lord drove the couple out, and at the east of the garden the Lord placed
Cherubim with a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard to the tree of
life.
Cherubim were stationed
at the east side of the garden. A flaming sword representing the justice &
holiness of God at work in His judgments, flashing to & fro. Ah, sword of the Lord,
How long will you not be
quiet?
(Jeremiah 47:6); I urge you to read Ezekiel 21, the instrument of God’s
judgment - in part - Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and
speak against the sanctuaries and prophesy against the land of Israel; and say
to the land of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am against you; and I
will draw My sword out of its sheath and cut off from you the righteous and the
wicked.
Adam, the caretaker of
the garden, has been exiled permanently never to return, to enter it again -
Eve found pain in the center
of her domestic existence & Adam in all his labors, all the rest of his
life. How old was he when exiled? Scripture doesn’t say, but Moses records that
he lived for 930 years then he died.
The exile had to be
terrible, but it was also a grace - The garden was the Holy of Holies of
God’s presence. Adam & Eve lived gazing on God’s face as He walked through
the garden; they breathed the air of His presence.
And now? Well,
impossible. It had to be like living without oxygen - Now they’re perpetually
short of spiritual breath -
Still, for however long
Eve lived & Adam’s 930 years, it all was graced. There was plenty of time
to seek God & proclaim His word. Thing is, did they? More than likely yes,
because their desire for God & His presence had to have become more dear
for them through the centuries. They once faced God and spoke with Him.
If they did, then for
them awaits the eternal city where the tree of life will continuously grant its
fruit to those who believe & they, Adam & Eve, will again see the face
of God -- On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing
twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the
tree were for the healing of the nations. . . Blessed are those who wash their
robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by
the gates into the city. . . if anyone takes away from the words of the book of
this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the
holy city, which are written in this book. (Revelation 22: 2, 14, 19).
Ultimate Grace
From the garden of Eden
to the ultimate garden in the Holy City of God at the end, is a story of grace
--
There is a unity formed
with the garden as a holy space, together with the tabernacle & temple,
their Holy of Holies & the ultimate City of God.
There is a consistency
that should be apparent to the reader between the garden & Israel’s future
tabernacle/temple as follows: a)- The garden & the tabernacle/temple were
filled with the presence of God - b)- Both featured Cherubim; the garden had
them guarding it’s entrance; the tabernacle & temple features Cherubim
embroidered on the veil to the Holy of Holies, and also sculptured were two
Cherubim above the Mercy seat. (Ex. 15:18-22; 36:35; 37:7-9).
In the later temple we
see in 1 Kings 6:23=28 that two Cherubim sculptured form olive wood standing 10
cubits,
(15 ft.) with wings
having a span of 10 cubits (15 ft. r ft each wing).
God placing the Cherubim
on the east side of the garden is associated with God’s camping in the
tabernacle, (Ex. 25:8). Mentioning the east side of the garden is associated
with the entrance to the tabernacle/temple which were from the east. c)- God
providing garments for the couple, that covered them fully, parallel the
garments required of the priest who served in the tabernacle/temple -- Here
access to God’s presence came only by the shedding of blood & the mediation
of a priest, (see Leviticus 16).
This system,
tabernacle/temple, pointed to Jesus Christ. John 1:14 - the Word became
flesh, and dwelt [literally “tabernacled”] among us, and we saw His glory,
glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth;
Jesus saw Himself as the
fulfillment of the tabernacle & the temple, (John 2:19) - Jesus
answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
- Jesus saw His own body as the temple & the resurrection as proof of His
authority. Revelation 21:22 tells us that God Himself is the temple.
When Jesus died on the
cross, the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom: Matthew 27:5, the
veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and
the rocks were split. That the temple veil was torn from top to bottom,
not bottom to top is significant because if it were to be torn people would've
done it from the bottom up. The temple veil was not thin. It was several inches
thick and tightly woven together. It was made of fine twisted linen (Exodus
26:31-35).
So tearing it was not easy to do. So, the temple veil was torn by God. From
that moment and day access to God no longer required sacrifice or a priest, we
no longer need the temple, the blood sacrifices, or the intercession of earthly
priests because the blood of Christ has been shed and he is our high priest
& temple. Listen to Hebrews 6:19-20) - This hope we have as an anchor
of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the
veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high
priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
This is an amazing
reality; we, us, all believers have access to the presence of God. what was
experienced in the holy space of the garden, in the Holy of Holies of the
tabernacle & the temple - all this now comes through the work of Jesus
Christ for believers. Ephesians 2:5-7 tells us that even when we were
dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you
have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the
heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the
surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Now we have access!!
For Adam & Eve and
us, there is no going back to the garden. But through the work of our Lord
Jesus Christ, ahead of us lie these realities as we see in the book of
Revelation:
21:2-3, I saw the
holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a
bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne,
saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among
them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them;
21:22-23, I saw no temple
in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.And the city
has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has
illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
22: 1-5, Then he showed
me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of
God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river
was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every
month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There
will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in
it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name
will be on their foreheads. And there will no longer be any night; and they
will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the
Lord God will illuminate them; and they will reign forever and ever.
The Gospel has &
still is, For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also
received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that
He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the
Scriptures, (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
“According to the
Scripture” means according to the Old Testament Scripture - that’s all they had
then & that takes us to Genesis 3:15-16, the initial prophecy that Jesus
would crush Satan’s head by His death & resurrection -
According to the
Scripture takes us to the flash of race in 3:21 where God Himself takes the
life of an animal to provide tunics to cover Adam Eve’s sin.
The exile was grace
because it was the only way that future generations could get access to God.
That access was lost in
the garden & then was only possible for the priest who entered the Holy of
Holies in the tabernacle & temple.
But now it is possible
for all, through the person of Jesus Christ - who is at once, priest, sacrifice
& temple.
If you want your sins,
whatever they may be, however grievous they may be, forgiven & receive the
robe of righteousness, the only way is through the blood of Jesus Christ - This
Great News, Good News, Amazing Gospel was announced at the very beginning &
is consummated at the end in Revelation.
All Scripture points to
the Gospel in Christ Jesus - If you are apart from God, you are lost! If
you are a believer, you have life!
If you are truly a
believer, Jesus Christ, priest, sacrifice & temple is in you.
Ultimately you’re going
to see the garden & the tree of life & the face of God & for
everlasting to everlasting, live in His presence!!
If you want the gift of
eternal life you only have to do one thing - Believe in your heart & say
with your mouth that Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day
according to the Scriptures, (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
Everyone here & those
who watch this message I encourage you to encourage others who may not know to
hear that this is the Gospel, the Good News of salvation.
If you believe it, you
have received access to the presence of God!! In an instant you have been
seated in heaven & heavenly places with Him, Christ Jesus the Lord - He is
your priest, your temple, your savior!!!
And all the saints said
AMEN!!
6/14/2019
Beginning with Moses and
the Prophets
The Book of Grace
East of Eden - Paradise Lost
Part VIII(d) Judgment & Sin - Continued
Genesis 3:22 - 24
Exile & Grace
Verse 21, The Lord
God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. This
feeble attempt to cover themselves with fig-leaves for loincloths was replaced
with the Lord God Himself clothing them with skin from an animal.
The covering was from God
- God’s provision of robes of animal skin recognized their sin & was an act
of grace.
The Lord clothed them, It
doesn’t look as if He told them what to do, but He clothed them.
This act in primeval
history by God was a foreshadowing of His ultimate provision for sin - This
divine provision is a telling illustration of the method of grace in response
to sin & its consequences. GOD HIMSELF covers sin & its
degradation.
Then the Lord God said,
“Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he
might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and
live forever”
Here verse 22 records
divine deliberation, divine contemplation with Himself as in 1: 26.
We can see that what
Satan had promised Eve had partially come true. Man had become like God - The
only thing was that the couple’s likeness to God was not glorious as they
thought it would be, but humiliating, embarrassing, mortifying --
They sought moral
autonomy, this is what humanity has been doing since that fateful day - wanting
the power to decide what is tight & what is wrong apart from God & His
word.
This autonomy was
achieved only in a certain way in that the father of lies speaks truth by
perverting it.
It’s just an illusion,
all it is, is a mimicking, an aping of God. It’s monkey see, monkey do. This I
have the right to do whatever is a fantasy, no one can escape the Lordship of
the Lord God.
As Henri Blocher writes, The
crazy little god with his absurd pretensions is not God & never will be.
All he can do is die.
The fact of the matter
is, he is dead. He died when he sinned, becoming dead in trespass & sin -
To the Ephesians Paul writes, you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
(2:1); and to the Romans, utterly sinful - as it is written, There is
none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who
seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There
is none who does good, There is not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,” “The poison of asps is under their
lips”; “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”; “Their feet are swift
to shed blood, Destruction and misery are in their paths And the path of peace
they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (3:
9-18).
The couple’s bodies were
alive, but they were dead. As residents living in the garden in Eden, they
could have eaten of the tree of life and perpetuated their lives, their bodily
existence indefinitely & they would have been fruitful & populated the garden
& it would literally have been hell on earth filled with undying dead -
forever living - forever dead - the walking dead.
The Exile
But God forestalled their
inevitable next step toward self-divination by His own pre-emptive strike - therefore
the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from
which he was taken. 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.
The man sent out
to till the ground, the man was driven out, it’s a repetition of being sent,
(NIV says banished) but two words being used; God didn’t just send him forth
which could lend to the possibility of the man returning, but He drove
him out completely.
When you’re fired, one is
usually told to empty their desk or locker and leave but at the same time one
is escorted out of the building or premises.
Well, God sent the man
packing and drove him out, to the east of the garden of Eden to till the ground
& stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every
direction to guard the way to the tree of life.
When you think of
Cherubims you always see the picture of chubby little babies in diapers with
little wings playing harps and floating on clouds.
Well, far from that; the
Lord drove the couple out, and at the east of the garden the Lord placed
Cherubim with a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard to the tree of
life.
Cherubim were stationed
at the east side of the garden. A flaming sword representing the justice & the holiness of God at work in His judgments, flashing to & fro. Ah, the sword of the Lord,
How long will you not be
quiet?
(Jeremiah 47:6); I urge you to read Ezekiel 21, the instrument of God’s
judgment - in part - Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and
speak against the sanctuaries and prophesy against the land of Israel; and say
to the land of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am against you, and I
will draw My sword out of its sheath and cut off from you the righteous and the
wicked.
Adam, the caretaker of
the garden has been exiled permanently never to return, to enter it again -
Eve found pain in the center
of her domestic existence & Adam in all his labors, all the rest of his
life. How old was he when exiled? Scripture doesn’t say, but Moses records that
he lived for 930 years then he died.
The exile had to be
terrible, but it was also a grace - The garden was the Holy of Holies of
God’s presence. Adam & Eve lived gazing on God’s face as He walked through
the garden; they breathed the air of His presence.
And now? Well,
impossible. It had to be like living without oxygen - Now they’re perpetually
short of spiritual breath -
Still, for however long
Eve lived & Adam’s 930 years, it all was graced. There was plenty of time
to seek God & proclaim His word. Thing is, did they? More than likely yes,
because their desire for God & His presence had to have become more dear
for them through the centuries. They once faced God and spoke with Him.
If they did, then for
them awaits the eternal city where the tree of life will continuously grant its
fruit to those who believe & they, Adam & Eve, will again see the face
of God -- On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing
twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the
tree were for the healing of the nations. . . Blessed are those who wash their
robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by
the gates into the city. . . if anyone takes away from the words of the book of
this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which is written in this book. (Revelation 22: 2, 14, 19).
Ultimate Grace
From the garden of Eden
to the ultimate garden in the Holy City of God at the end, is a story of grace
--
There is a unity formed
with the garden as a holy space, together with the tabernacle & temple,
their Holy of Holies & the ultimate City of God.
There is a consistency
that should be apparent to the reader between the garden & Israel’s future
tabernacle/temple as follows: a)- The garden & the tabernacle/temple were
filled with the presence of God - b)- Both featured Cherubim; the garden had
them guarding it’s entrance; the tabernacle & temple features Cherubim
embroidered on the veil to the Holy of Holies, and also sculptured were two
Cherubim above the Mercy seat. (Ex. 15:18-22; 36:35; 37:7-9).
In the later temple we
see in 1 Kings 6:23=28 that two Cherubim sculptured form olive wood standing 10
cubits,
(15 ft.) with wings
having a span of 10 cubits (15 ft. r ft each wing).
God placing the Cherubim
on the east side of the garden is associated with God’s camping in the
tabernacle, (Ex. 25:8). Mentioning the east side of the garden is associated
with the entrance to the tabernacle/temple which were from the east. c)- God
providing garments for the couple, that covered them fully, parallel the
garments required of the priest who served in the tabernacle/temple -- Here
access to God’s presence came only by the shedding of blood & the mediation
of a priest, (see Leviticus 16).
This system,
tabernacle/temple, pointed to Jesus Christ. John 1:14 - the Word became
flesh, and dwelt [literally “tabernacled”] among us, and we saw His glory,
glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth;
Jesus saw Himself as the
fulfillment of the tabernacle & the temple, (John 2:19) - Jesus
answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
- Jesus saw His own body as the temple & the resurrection as proof of His
authority. Revelation 21:22 tells us that God Himself is the temple.
When Jesus died on the
cross, the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom: Matthew 27:5, the
veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and
the rocks were split. That the temple veil was torn from top to bottom,
not bottom to top is significant because if it were to be torn people would've
done it from the bottom up. The temple veil was not thin. It was several inches
thick and tightly woven together. It was made of fine twisted linen (Exodus
26:31-35).
So tearing it was not easy to do. So, the temple veil was torn by God. From
that moment and day access to God no longer required sacrifice or a priest, we
no longer need the temple, the blood sacrifices, or the intercession of earthly
priests because the blood of Christ has been shed and he is our high priest
& temple. Listen to Hebrews 6:19-20) - This hope we have as an anchor
of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the
veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high
priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
This is an amazing
reality; we, us, all believers have access to the presence of God. what was
experienced in the holy space of the garden, in the Holy of Holies of the
tabernacle & the temple - all this now comes through the work of Jesus
Christ for believers. Ephesians 2:5-7 tells us that even when we were
dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you
have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the
heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the
surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Now we have access!!
For Adam & Eve and
us, there is no going back to the garden. But through the work of our Lord
Jesus Christ, ahead of us lie these realities as we see in the book of
Revelation:
21:2-3, I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a
bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne,
saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among
them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them;
21:22-23, I saw no temple
in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city
has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has
illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
22: 1-5, Then he showed
me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of
God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river
was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every
month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There
will no longer be any curse, and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in
it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name
will be on their foreheads. And there will no longer be any night; and they
will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the
Lord God will illuminate them, and they will reign forever and ever.
The Gospel has &
still is, For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also
received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that
He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the
Scriptures, (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
“According to the
Scripture” means according to the Old Testament Scripture - that’s all they had
then & that takes us to Genesis 3:15-16, the initial prophecy that Jesus
would crush Satan’s head by His death & resurrection -
According to the
Scripture takes us to the flash of race in 3:21 where God Himself takes the
life of an animal to provide tunics to cover Adam Eve’s sin.
The exile was grace
because it was the only way that future generations could get access to God.
That access was lost in
the garden & then was only possible for the priest who entered the Holy of
Holies in the tabernacle & temple.
But now it is possible
for all, through the person of Jesus Christ - who is at once, priest, sacrifice
& temple.
If you want your sins,
whatever they may be, however grievous they may be, forgiven & receive the
robe of righteousness, the only way is through the blood of Jesus Christ - This
Great News, Good News, Amazing Gospel was announced at the very beginning &
is consummated at the end in Revelation.
All Scripture points to
the Gospel in Christ Jesus - If you are apart from God, you are lost! If
you are a believer, you have life!
If you are truly a
believer, Jesus Christ, priest, sacrifice & temple is in you.
Ultimately you’re going
to see the garden & the tree of life & the face of God & for
everlasting to everlasting, live in His presence!!
If you want the gift of
eternal life you only have to do one thing - Believe in your heart & say
with your mouth that Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day
according to the Scriptures, (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
Everyone here & those
who watch this message I encourage you to encourage others who may not know to
hear that this is the Gospel, the Good News of salvation.
If you believe it, you
have received access to the presence of God!! In an instant you have been
seated in heaven & heavenly places with Him, Christ Jesus the Lord - He is
your priest, your temple, your savior!!!
