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======Genesis 3: Garden of Eden Closed ...======
Friday, Aug 23, 2013. The fall of man leads to many consequences. We have read
the story in Genesis 3 over the past days and come to its end today, the
closure of the Garden of Eden:
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**Flaming Sword ...**
20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. 21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
22 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.”
23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 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.
(Gen 3, 20-24)
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The name "Eve" means something like "life-giver". The origin of human life is
symbolized here and personalized by the first woman. She brings fourth life. Also
note that garment is described here, to be something which the Lord gave to
humans. Wearing coats is far from being a random choice, but God is involved here.
**Life and Death ...**
The story about the two trees is a story about life and death. One tree brings
death - the fruits of the knowledge of good and evil. The other tree brings eternal
life. This tree is now inaccessible - since eternal life cannot come together
with evil.
Mankind is put into the situation, where we find ourselves today. We live on the
earth, we are cultivating land, growing crops, sowing and harvesting ... The
Garden of Eden, where life had been much easier, is closed. And God places guards
at the East side of the Garden, to prevent anyone from entering.
Mankind has lost the trust in God. And we will learn more about what "good and
evil" means when we read on and hear about the behaviour of humans. The bible
jumps right into the struggle, which we all have when it comes to trust and guilt,
to making our living, to dealing with God and with others.
The way back into trusting God is the main and continuous topic of the biblical
books. The whole story about Christ Jesus, about the cross of calvary, about
sin and forgiveness, about faith and heaven, is nothing else than the struggle to
reconcile what was lost here, at the very beginning. It is about reopening
the Garden Eden. At that time, it was about Adam and Eve. Today, it is a story about
YOU, your faith and your personal relationship to the Lord!
(Roland Potthast)
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