I think I know the story so well and you likely do as well. The story of creation and the Garden of Eden where it all began seems to echo in our memories. And yet, have we paused to take in the details and truth of the significance of those beginning scriptural passages and their impact on us even now?
It is a stunning story!!
It is truly so epic in size and scope that even IMAX would not be able to capture it all. Imagination at its best cannot begin to fathom what it was like when God spoke everything into existence. And it wasn’t just God, the Father. Other passages make clear that Jesus was there with Him and surely the Spirit as well.
The Trinity, in union, One, was present as the pulsating canvas we read about is unfurled across nothingness. What we know for sure is that He looked it all over when He was done and called it “good”!
We also know the Word says He “planted” a garden in Eden. In the ESV, this word jumps out at me. He didn’t just speak the garden into existence, He “planted” it. My mind starts to whirl and consider the plants He chose, the design, and what the size of the garden might have been. What a landscape genius He was!
But He wasn’t finished yet. He stooped down in the dust of the ground and “formed” (I read that handcrafted.) man. We can be tempted to skip over the next few words that say “and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature,” but wait a minute. Look and consider.
In that life-giving moment, man became “one” with “THE” One, the Trinity. Absolutely nothing separated them.
This first man, Adam, is given authority over what the One has created. A few verses later, Eve is created when it is clear there is no suitable helper for him. Nothing separated these two from each other or God. Their union was perfect.
When the scene changes and the crafty serpent appears, do we fully understand what is happening here? In Closer Than Close, Dave Hickman reminds the reader that Adam and Eve have authority over the serpent. Their union with the Father has not been compromised yet.
What a scheme Satan needed to concoct! He had already failed in His attempt to usurp God’s power in heaven and of all things, power was exceedingly important to him. In order to have a ‘kingdom’, he would need to seduce these two, Adam and Eve, into giving it to him. If he succeeded, their union with the Father, God, would be broken, and their union would then be with him. How he must have drooled as he considered that possibility!
And we know his scheme worked for eternity (or he was convinced it had)! He created doubt and seduced them to commit what was truly spiritual adultery. Adam and Eve had been in union, one, with the very Godhead, but in one split moment in time, they gave away that perfect union and authority when they entered into an unholy alliance with Satan. Their decision established what he longed for, a kingdom, as he became the “god of this world” as Paul writes about in 2 Corinthians 4:4.
Dave Hickman describes it this way:
“In reaching up, picking, and consciously biting, chewing, and internalizing the meal, the man and woman broke their union with God and abdicated their authority and power to Satan.”
Meredith Kline has written in Kingdom Prologue:
“Their eating of the fruit was the solemn ceremony of the covenantal relationship they had just entered into with Satan.”
As John Milton describes, truly it is “paradise lost”.
Adam and Eve are separated, divorced from God, after committing spiritual adultery with Satan. As Dave Hickman writes in Closer Than Close, “Divorced from Life himself, Adam and Eve ‘died’, just as God said they would.”
Do we see that? They have suffered a spiritual death, a death they pass on to every son or daughter of Adam.
Are they heart broken? The passage doesn’t say. We do know they hid and were ashamed.
As I linger over the scene after reading it hundreds of times before, the hopelessness of what has transpired pierces my heart in high definition as I recognize what was given and lost and why Satan has the power to be “the god of this world”.
In this short series, I want to take a closer look at another part of this story that changes everything. Please join me over the next several posts as we take another look at what happened in the garden so long ago.
I have been intrigued with this biblical event for a long time and how it laid the foundation for all we experience in the realm between good and evil. Interesting how the enemies schemes really haven’t changed in all of history, but there is power in subtlety. Thanks for this and for sharing on Fresh Market Friday:) Crystal~
Thanks, Crystal. I have been as well. This post kept moving me forward into the realities we can so easily miss about all this and I have 5 more posts beyond this one in the series. Dave Hickman’s book really stirred my thoughts, reflections, and understanding. Blessings on your day and your encouragement!
This brings that story into new light. Amazing what stands out when you look with fresh eyes. Thanks for linking up with Thankful Thursday.
Exactly right, Jodi! We can too often read a familiar story and don’t take time to discover details we have often missed. Happy to Linkup! This looking into broken union with Christ marinated a great deal within me after reading Dave Hickman’s book, Closer Than Close, and I wrote 5 more posts after this in the series. Blessings on your week and encouragement to others.
What a lovely writing style you have and the large font makes it so easy to read. I love this presentation of the garden and drama and truth that unfolded.
Kathleen
Bloggers Pit Stop
Thanks, Kathleen! I hope you will follow the story in this 5 (or 6) part series. The second part (No Longer Paradise) posted today. Blessings on your day!
I shared your post on facebook, and enjoyed the points not usually considered as we read this account. Adam and Eve committing spiritual adultery was an interesting thought. Yes, they died spiritually that day and I am thankful that because of Jesus we are new creations In Him.
Welcome and do return – – and thank you for sharing with us here at Tell me a Story.
http://letmetelluastory.blogspot.com/
Thanks, Hazel I look forward to returning. The second in this series (No Longer Paradise) posted today. Thanks for your encouragement!
This is going to be a great series! I never noticed that God planted the Garden before, I always just assumed He spoke it into existence. That gives me food for thought, He cared so much for their habitation that He planted it “just so!”
Thanks, Jerralea! I initially thought it might be just 2-3 posts in the series, but I have written 4 and another one swims in my head so we’ll see if 5 does it! Hope you are blessed by the others! Love and hugs for your consistent encouragement of what I write and the reflections of my mind, heart, and spirit!
So much deeper than the simple story we teach to our little children and learned ourselves when we were little children.
Thanks for sharing this deeper version. We need to realize these truths, the holiness of God, and the awfulness of our sin.
Praise God that He had a plan for our redemption! He is the King, and in the end, He wins!
Thanks so much for sharing these thoughts! I am increasingly aware I want to take extra time to look more closely at those precious stories I grew up with. I never fail to find nuggets that deepen my love for the Lord and my understanding of His love for me!
I’ve always seen creation limited to God speaking the word and it happened. But there’s more as you pointed out. I see a parallel to communion when you describe the eating of the fruit.
Well said, Donna, I will be getting to just that in one of the posts in this series.
This is so convicting considering how many times I enter into a partnership with the enemy… So thankful for the victory I can claim in heaven! I’m looking forward to the rest of this series! Blessings!
Thanks for your encouragement! Blessings and love on this Friday!