Please use your Bible to follow along the scriptures used in this blog. Most Bible students learn about one tree in the Garden of Eden. That tree is called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You know which one I am talking about; the one in which the serpent tempted Eve to eat of its fruit. The following writing can be found in Broken Walk: Searching For Wisdom in more detail. This came after much praying and I hope it will flow like a river to nourish the root system of your heart, like it did for me.
Setting - God cares so much about all of us that he does not want any of us to perish and be separated from Him for eternity. God wants to reconnect our souls with Him. It all began when God gave Adam and Eve a soul in the Garden of Eden. “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Genesis 2: 7 We, like Adam, all have a soul. Our problem is: we, like Adam, have used our soul to disobey God throughout our lives.
Back in the Garden - God’s first command to Adam and Eve included a reference to death. It says in Genesis 2:16-17, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Unfortunately, when they disobeyed God, they died spiritually instantly and would eventually die physically.
Death happened right away in the spiritual sense but physically their bodies still functioned as blood still flowed through their bodies, but now their hearts had hardened. They had stopped trusting God and their special connection to our Creator was destroyed. Before they ate from the tree, Adam and Eve were able to walk and talk with God. They were full of freedom and walked around full of life, unafraid of anything. “Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.” Genesis 2:25
After their disobedience, they hid from God as His presence brought on panic rather than peace. When God called to them, “they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He (Adam) answered, “I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked; so, I hid.” Genesis 3:8-10. Adam and Eve hid and had attempted to cover themselves with fig leaves they had made for coverings. It was not enough and their intimacy with God came to a screeching halt. The guilty couple was now kicked out of the Garden. From Genesis 3:23, “So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 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.” Say Hello To The Other Tree.
Key Point: All of us have been outside of the Garden ever since. Think about this, if Adam and Eve had been able to eat from the tree of life, they would have lived forever, now tarnished forever by their sin. God knew that day in the garden their sin would be covered by the blood of an animal, but one day, our sins would be covered by the Dripping Blood of His Son on the Cross.
Let me point out that prior to sending them out of the Garden, God in His goodness provided them in garments of skin. In Genesis 3:21, “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” This implies that the shedding of the first blood from an animal was used to cover their sin. Our sins are covered today by the blood of the Lamb. Always remember the proclamation from John the Baptist when he saw Jesus. He proclaimed, “Look there He is, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” God’s awesome plan to reconnect our souls to Him for eternity is made possible through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son found in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” When we believe and surrender to the Lordship of Jesus, we no longer need to hide.
“In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in Heaven for you.” 1 Peter 1:3-4
Eden Restored – God’s plan for us is contained all the way from the first book in the Bible when he banned Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden by saying, “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.” Genesis 3:22
In Revelation 22:2 it describes part of Heaven, “On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves are for the healing of the nations.” I underline “the tree of life” to show you where this tree is and still exists, as told in the last book of the Bible. How about that!!! I can hardly wait to eat from the tree of life.
So, to further my point on God’s plan for us to be reconciled to him, I use scripture, not my words but those inspired to Paul by the Holy Spirit. “Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” Romans 5:18-19. It is plain to see the one disobedient man is Adam and the one Obedient Man is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The offer of life through Jesus remains for us all.
Thank you, Father, for this simple plan of salvation. Our only Way to get into Eternity with you is through believing in Your Son Jesus and that He rose from the dead. We have a future in heaven – My prayer is: I get to see you in Heaven so we can Say “Hello” To The Other Tree.
Until next time – Bendiciones! I appreciate any comments.