PART 3 – “EAST OF EDEN”

PART 3 – “EAST OF EDEN”

By: Jack Guyler

The Genesis account tells us that God had made a world that He said was “very good,” including human beings. But when we get to chapter 3 set in the Garden of Eden, something dramatic happens. A serpent (a talking one) who was craftier than the wild animals approached Eve.

People often ask, was it a real snake? Did Satan just appear as a snake? Most scholars agree that the snake is a symbol of Satan. And one thing we learn from the rest of scripture is that Satan is a counterfeiter. He pretends to be the real thing, but in the end, all he really offers are lies and deception. And Adam and Eve would find this out, when they bit on his lies, they found disappointment.

I think this needs to serve as a reminder to us, when we follow anything less than the truth, we will fall into disappointment.

Eve lied when she said, “God said we couldn’t touch it” because actually God only said not to eat of it.

This seems like a little thing, but where did her ability to lie come from since she hadn’t eaten from the tree yet? Jews believe we were created with the capacity for good and evil. And this makes sense – since humans were made in God’s image (liberty, freedom).

The serpent said to the woman “You will not certainly die, but God knows when you eat from the tree your eyes will be opened.” What seems to be said here is, Eve was awakened to something that was inside of her that she didn’t know was there. Many Jewish writers especially think she became awakened to her capacity to choose; the freedom to make her own decisions.

As she ate, it awakened something inside of her that had laid dormant – the desire to know good and evil and the desire to act on her own (some say, “to become god” or like god in her own life). Is this not our biggest temptation? Is this not what we also want to act on? Being independent, doing what we want. Being in charge of our own lives rather than God. We see this dynamic played out in our world every day. There is this struggle for everyone to be in charge. This is the battle we see between parents and their children, among spouses, employers and employers, teachers and students, in families and among friends. There is this struggle for independence and control, even from God.

The story tells us “Then the eyes of both were opened” – opened to what? To evil, darkness, a path that valued control over relationship. What is it like to exercise freedom apart from God? In this case, it was innocence lost. Let me ask you, was life more fun as a kid? You didn’t know as much and you didn’t know the dark side of life much, but you were probably happier. We look at little kids and think how innocent they are, how much fun they are. We know they will grow up and learn about the things we know as adults, but what we grieve most, is when a child’s innocence is stolen from them prematurely through neglect or abuse. In innocence you don’t know people break promises. You think all dreams will come true and every Disney movie is for real. And that other people won’t hurt you. This is sort of what Eden was like.

And as we grieve a child having their innocence snatched from them way too soon. This is a similar picture of what is happening here in the Garden of Eden.

Notice what their choices triggered going forward in creation:

The first man and woman had been naked in front of each other from the beginning, but now they realized how vulnerable they were. And it brought embarrassment and shame. That’s why they covered themselves. Once their eyes were opened, they saw themselves as “less than” they were before. Shame always equates to a negative self-evaluation. It always says something is wrong with you. It tells you that you are flawed or defective. This didn’t change the truth that God had created them with great value and dignity, but shame never allows you to see yourself in this light.

This is why they ran for cover. Actually they found figs and used them as clothes. This is what happens to us. We do things wrong and we are disobedient, but it doesn’t change in God’s eyes who we are. But we change in our own eyes. We see ourselves as defective and this causes us to live in pain, becoming less than we are, doing less and often hurting others with our pain.

A second thing this triggered was they hid from God. We do this as well. Shame leads to withdrawal and isolation. Sometimes we blame others for not liking us or spending time with us when it is us living in shame that separates ourselves from others. It is from our own shame that we project onto others that they don’t like us, when in fact the issue is with us and not them. I’ve known many people who say they have walked away from God or won’t go to church because of things they have done causing them to be ashamed.

A third thing it triggered was fear. Adam said, “I was naked, then afraid and that led me to hiding.” This can be a pattern in our own lives. We need to look at our lives and see if this is happening. Do we do something wrong? Then do we feel ashamed? And then do we hide?

A fourth thing it triggered was blame. Blame is the opposite of taking responsibility for our actions. Eve was literally saying “the devil made me do it.” Adam then blamed his wife. Parents are always trying to teach their children to own up to the truth rather than blame others. We as adults hate it when people pass the blame or try to cover up what they did. Most people will forgive and move on when people owe up to what they have done. What they did in the garden was the opposite of God’s call to confession and repentance by casting blame.

So as you can see, God’s perfect creation was now flawed. This is why many call this the fall of man or paradise lost. This is where sin and disobedience to God and fractured human relationships began. Most of us would agree, our world hasn’t gotten any better since then.

This part of the story found in Genesis 3 concludes with the man and women being banished from Eden. The Christian perspective here is that the fall led to a broken relationship with God, man having a sinful nature, and sin leading to death. And because of this, God would come in human form in Jesus to serve as the supreme sacrifice for our sin. The Jewish perspective focuses on the idea that man was given the ability to make choices (good or bad). He now had the ability to choose. And that as the Messiah would come for the purpose of restoring Israel to power as it lived out the Kingdom of God, it would have the choice to be a part of what the Messiah would one day do. And much of the message of the New Testament is that both Jews and Gentiles would be received and could follow the Messiah Jesus in His restoration of our fallen world.

While the man and woman were put out of Eden and the battle against sin would be ongoing from here on, this is not the end of the story. The remaining portion of the biblical story all the way to Revelation is the story of God reaching out and reaching down to restore and renew both us and our world. While this restoration really would begin with the Resurrection of Jesus, it will not be completely fulfilled until the end of time when God will put everything right again as He creates a new heaven and new earth.

I will leave you to ponder these words describing the new creation in Revelation 21:1-4

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”[a] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’[b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”