Where was this perfect Garden of Eden located?
Genesis 2:10-14 “10 A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. 14 And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.”
These rivers should give us a basic idea where Eden was...and they do, but...The rivers and region names have changed over the thousands of years since it was written and so the location eludes us. And for good reason. As we said a minute ago, Eden is as much a spiritual place as it was a physical place and as such it is hidden from us in the natural world. Trying to pinpoint the physical location of Eden would be a complete waste of time.
Genesis 2:8-9 “8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The Tree of Life. It was not forbidden for them to eat from that tree. It’s fruit provides for eternal life...and that was its purpose. It is the reversal of what happens if you eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil...death. The tree of life is also something else. More on that before we are finished today.
The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. We get a little more information about this tree. Its purpose is the test of free will.
Genesis 2:15-17 “15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
This seems pretty straight forward, but here is a question you may not have thought of before. If Adam and Eve have not eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil...how do they know what it means to disobey God’s instructions.
The very existence of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil presupposes that man already understands obedience (good) and disobedience (evil). God commands Adam not to eat from the tree...but if Adam does not already understand what it means to both obey and disobey, how could he comprehend this instruction? There must be more to this tree.
It could be argued that the tree “became” the tree of the knowledge of good and evil upon Adam and Eve’s rebellion. And speaking of rebellion, that brings us to the next major character.
Lucfier (shining one) was there before the fall of man.
Ezekiel 28:11-13 “11 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God: “You were the signet of perfection; full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were
in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings (tambourines and your pipes). On the day that you were created they were prepared.”
What was his job? Worship leader. Covering cherub, walking among stones of fire. Based on this description of him having tambourines, it appears the Lucifer was musical in nature. Also, Isaiah 14:11 has a reference to his harps (stringed instrument).
Ezekiel 28:14-15 “14 You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst
of the stones of fire you walked. 15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you.”
He was also an anointed guardian. Perhaps the original Guardian of the Galaxy. He was the guardian Cherub in the throne room and in the garden. His responsibilities were to oversee the seraphim. Based on this verse, The fiery stones he was walking among are most likely the angels known as seraphim. This is because the name seraphim literally means “burning ones” or “fiery ones” and the context of Isaiah 6 which is a throne room scene, suggests that this was another name for the cherubim surrounding God’s throne.
Consider this: As the head guardian in the garden of eden, Adam and Eve would have been familiar with him. His description as a serpent make us think of a talking snake, but Eve did not know him this way. As God’s dwelling place on earth, there would have been multiple creatures that are difficult to describe in the presence of God. You will see them talked about in Ezekiel 1. She would have known him as a creature she saw in the garden all the time. She would have trusted him because of his position. That’s why she wasn’t freaked out about him talking to her.
Why did Lucifer rebel? Pride.
Ezekiel 28:16-17 “16 In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you.”
He was the head guardian around God’s throne. He covered that position. Everyone but God answered to him. Having all of creation follow your lead in worship would have been a powerful temptation to want to receive the worship yourself. Being perfect in beauty would have also contributed to this situation. He was anointed, powerful, beautiful and talented...a deadly tempting combination. But he wanted more...he wanted to be like God.
Isaiah 14:13-14 “13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high. I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’
This is a dangerous combination in people also. Worship leaders who are anointed, powerful, beautiful and talented have a huge target on their back, because Satan knows just how easy is is to fall into rebellion from that position. Humility must rule.
What was his punishment? Lucifer was stripped of his position and authority. He was demoted.
Isaiah 14:11-12 “11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, the sound of your harps; maggots are laid as a bed beneath you, and worms are your covers.12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, (Lucifer) son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!”
From Lucifer to Satan. From shining one to accuser and adversary. From this point forward, his character is identified as a subtle, sneaky and crafty snake. This is how he comes to be known. If I say someone is a pig, a dog, a snake, or a cow. Do you know what I’m saying about them or do you believe I’m saying they have literally turned into an animal? If I say “eat my dust.” What do I mean? I mean, I will always be ahead of you.
Satan’s punishment was received the same way most punishment is received...he did not like it and plotted revenge.
What was his plan of retaliation for his punishment? He knows he’s not powerful enough to hurt God himself, so he comes up with another idea. If he can’t hurt God with strength, then he approaches it a different way...get God’s children to join him in the rebellion. Destroy God’s plan for a family, by turning Adam and Eve away from Him.
Genesis 3:1-5 “1 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’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 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.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Here is the progression that led them into the rebellion.
Satan questions what God said. “Did God actually say,‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” Satan will test your knowledge of scripture. If you don’t know what it says, how can you determine if you are being lied to?
Eve responds with more than 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.’ I think when Adam told Eve the command, he probably added the extra part about not touching the fruit, out of an abundance of caution.
Satan then tells Eve that what God said is completely false. “You will not surely die.” His true nature finally comes out and he out right lies to her. Then he quickly moves to the motivation.
Then Satan motivates her to disobey God’s command. “when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Every good sales pitch leads with what’s in it for me. You want to be like God, right?
Satan’s Plan Succeeds.
Genesis 3:6 “6 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.”
Satan was probably pretty pleased with himself. He pulled it off.
But the victory was short lived.
What was God’s counter Move?
Genesis 3:14-15 “14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your
offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
This is the curse and the prophesy God spoke over Satan. It sets up the reason Satan hates humanity. God chose to offer us a means of forgiveness, but Satan is now doomed for eternity. His doom is brought about through the seed of Eve.
It’s a plan of redemption that started with a prophesy. Satan wants to destroy God’s family plan...but God prophesies a way for man to come back into the family...so Satan immediately begins to try to destroy the seed of Eve...and that has been his plan that we see over and over. Cain kills Able, Pharaoh kills the Hebrew boys when Moses is born...Herod kills all the male children when Jesus is born. And this plan that ends with killing Jesus, will come to be Satan’s ultimate defeat.
God uses Satan’s own plan to defeat him.
But let’s go back to the garden, where we started this morning, and see about the first tree we mentioned. The Tree of Life.
Genesis 3:22 “22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—”
God needs to prevent Adam from eating of the tree of life and living eternally in a state of rebellion with no hope of forgiveness and redemption.
Genesis 3:24 “24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.”
Man is removed from Eden. This is commonly understood as Adams punishment for disobedience. But what a child sees as punishment, a parent sees as love.
Why did God put a Cherubim at the entrance of the garden?
Does it really require a Cherubim to guard against a man getting to an area that God wanted protected? Why is such a powerful being needed to guard the way to the tree of life? Let me put it like this. If you are going to fight someone who has a gun, you should bring a gun. If you are up against a tank, you should use a tank. And if you need to guard against a cherub (satan), you need to use a another Cherub. The way back to the tree of life is guarded from Satan returning.
The tree of life is the key to understanding the need for a guard. As we said at the very beginning, Eden was both a spiritual and physical place. But a separation between spiritual and physical has now been put into place when man rebelled. This separation is to be in place and guarded until the coming of the Jesus, when heaven and earth are again united the way God originally created them to be. Notice what exists in the future new Jerusalem.
Revelation 22:1-2 “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the treewere for the healing of the nations.”
The healing of the nations is a topic that we discuss in a couple of weeks as we explore the tower of Babel. But consider this: Why would healing be necessary if there is no sickness in heaven? Because the Tree of life is not for physical healing. It’s for spiritual healing. And who is responsible for the spiritual healing of the nations? Jesus.
In the garden, the tree of life seems to be the anti-venom of the “snake” bite that caused death.
Does that remind you of anyone? It should...Jesus? The tree of life in the garden of Eden is Jesus.
So, why did God prevent Adam and Eve from getting to the tree of life? Because He had already declared that death would be the result of disobedience. They were not allowed to disobey God whenever they wanted and then just eat some tree of life fruit to fix the death consequence themselves.
The tree that offered eternal life, had to pay the price that was necessary for eternal life to be offered. Jesus paid that price.
Jesus is the spiritual tree of life. And when we are grafted into God’s family tree, we have access to the eternal life that is offered through Jesus.
John 15:1-5 ““I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am thevine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
He said “I am the vine and you are the branches. It is our job to now bare the fruit of the tree of life, so that others can see the fruit and be drawn to the eternal life that Jesus offers.
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