Battle For The Truth (Part 13)
Notes
Transcript
8 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. 11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; 12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. 13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. 14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. 15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Introduction
As noted before the word Genesis means Beginning or Origin. Thus, book of Genesis is the book of Beginnings or Origins. I use it in the plural sense because it speaks to many beginnings or origins. The Beginning of truth, time, the universe, including the earth, of life (plant and animal); and, as mentioned in the previous message, the origin of man, the crowning achievement of God’s creation.
We have now reached the point in the biblical narrative of Genesis and every subsequent book to the end of the book of Revelation, the focus shifts to man and God’s dealings with him. In case you missed it or are just beginning to listen to this series, permit me to reiterate that the key to understanding the Bible is believing that Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” is true.
Ultimately, this is the where the battleline is drawn. Because, if you cannot trust the beginning as true, it taints everything going forward. If the Bible cannot be trusted to tell the truth about God as the Creator, then why trust it when it declares Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, died on the cross for the sins of mankind, rose the third day from the tomb, was seen of eyewitnesses, ascended back to heaven, and is coming back again?
It is a rhetorical question, because the only logical answer is you will not trust it. This is what makes this Battle For The Truth so very critical—it is a battle for the souls of men.
V.8 – “And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.”
Here we see YAHWEH Elohim demonstrating His wise and tender-loving care in preparing a home for the man whom He formed. Do not miss the reminder of how man came into being—God formed him. He did not make himself nor did he evolve from some other creature or process. Amen somebody.
The text says that “YAHWEH Elohim planted a garden…” Being a garden, suggests that it had borders and that it was different than other areas around it. This narrative is not allegory or symbolism but historical and factual. For the text declares that this real garden was in a real place called Eden, and the eastward portion thereof. Furthermore, the Garden of Eden is mentioned or referenced in other portions of Scripture and is always understood to mean a real place. (see Ezekiel 28:13; Revelation 2:7; Genesis 3:1)
Vv. 9-14 – “And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. (10) And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. (11) The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; (12) And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. (13) And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. (14) And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.”
Here we observe the intentionality of God to provide a particular place for man that would meet all his needs. The LORD God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. So, there is an abundance of beauty and nutrition.
This garden is like no other place on earth. This is truly a paradise. The best piece of real estate there ever was. Notice that there were two special trees in the garden—the tree of life located in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. More to come later regarding these two trees.
What further suggests that this is not allegorical or symbolic is that there are rivers mentioned whose name and location are well known. Although the exact location of Eden is unknown, we have a general idea of where it may have been located—either somewhere in Mesopotamia, Arabia or Africa. The thing to bear in mind is that the landmarks described here in Genesis 2 are as they existed prior to the Great Flood.
Vv. 15-17 – “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. (16) And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: (17) But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
The text says that God put man into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. In other words, man had a job, or a responsibility given to him by God. He was not to be idol, lazy or uncaring. It was a delightful job that he could easily perform.
God now gives man instructions for him to follow. First, God commanded man what he should eat. God said, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:” with one exception—"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it:” Why? Because “in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
This is where we need to pause and reflect upon where we are in the human experience. We are in a new world and in the best place anywhere on the planet—the Garden of Eden. Furthermore, I believe we begin to see what it means that man was made in the image of God. God has given man the ability to communicate in words with his Maker.
A couple of things worth noting:
1. God gave clear
2. God spoke the truth; and,
3. God spoke the truth in love.
So, God told man what he could eat and what he should not eat. Within these instructions, God warned man what the consequences of disobedience would be. Not some vague allusion as to what the consequences may be for disobedience, but clearly what they would be—death.
At this point someone may be saying, “Well that was then, and this is now. How does this apply to me today?” I am so glad you asked. Help is on the way. Listen. Understand, what we have here is the Creator (God) and His creature (man). Guess which one is superior to the other? You guessed it, the Creator God is superior.
And, because God is God, He has the absolute Right and Authority to impose obligation upon His creatures—namely, man. For this reason, it is imperative that a person comes to a proper understanding of the truth of Genesis 1:1. This is God’s world. It did not evolve from some unknown cosmic force or come into being by some random act of chance. Nor was it made by man; it was made by God.
As Hebrews 11:3 tells us, “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” Amen somebody.
Therefore, when God says, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel,” (Mark 1:15) man is obligated to respond in obedience or suffer the consequences. To disobey is sin.
As God spoke in Ezekiel 18:4, 20-21, “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. (20) The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. (21) But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.”
The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” and Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Finally, we see this same consistency of God throughout the rest of Scripture presenting to man the choice of life or death, blessing or cursing. As we read in Deuteronomy 30:19, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:”
Conclusion
I believe this is a good place to stop. There are many wonderful and beautiful scenes going on in the text, such as the four rivers running through the garden and how they are identified. However, until you get this part, the rest will be of little value. And as we go forward, we will discover that most of mankind’s issues point back to this scene; God has given instructions that man has not obeyed. Pin this to the bulletin board of your mind.
Dearest saints of God, truly, there is no place on earth like the Garden of Eden. It was the perfect home for man on earth—paradise. The truth of this encourages me to look forward to even a better place that the Lord has prepared for those who love Him.
I heard Jesus say in John 14:2-6, Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you. (3) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (4) And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. (5) Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? (6) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
My new home will be far better than even the Garden of Eden. My new home will be in the New Jerusalem, where the Tree of Life has been relocated. This time, we will be allowed to eat from it. For the Lord tells us in Revelation 2:7, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”
And, the Apostle John tells us in Revelation 22:2-5, “In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (3) And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: (4) And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. (5) And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.” Glory to God!
I like the way James W. Acuff put it in his hymn, Just Over in the Glory Land. He wrote:
I’ve a home prepared where the saints abide,
Just over in the glory land;
And I long to be by my Savior’s side,
Just over in the glory land.
I am on my way to those mansions fair,
Just over in the glory land;
There to sing God’s praise and His glory share,
Just over in the glory land.
What a joyful thought that my Lord I’ll see,
Just over in the glory land;
And with kindred saved, there forever be,
Just over in the glory land.
Refrain:
Just over in the glory land,
I’ll join the happy angel band,
Just over in the glory land;
Just over in the glory land,
There with the mighty host I’ll stand,
Just over in the glory land.
Until next time, may the Lord bless and keep you is my prayer.