Issue 786 – In the Garden – June 25, 2022
The other morning, I wrote about the missing evening in the creation account (https://gleaningsfromtheword.com/?p=702.) since then, I have been mulling over the concept of the Garden of Eden.
We tend to think of Eden as paradise, which it was for the most part. Yet, it was not fully complete and not all God intended it to be.
The Garden of Eden did not cover all the earth. It may well have been massive, but it was not all-encompassing.
The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. Genesis 2:8
It was not fully populated.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28
As Adam and Eve grew in righteousness and multiplied, the Garden could have expanded to cover more of the earth. Their rule and dominion would extend, and God’s glory would be magnified.
We know that things didn’t happen that way. Sin could, and did, enter the paradise of Eden.
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’?” Genesis 3:1
Death could now enter the Garden, following closely on the heels of temptation and sin.
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 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.” Genesis 2:15-17
Adam and Eve were created in the image of God but not fully glorified.
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Philippians 3:20-21
The Garden was time-bound. We know that morning and evening were seen there. There will be no night in glory.
I am sure we could make up a list of a half dozen or more ways that Eden was not perfection. It would have been far more impressive and nearer perfection than anything we know, but not all it was planned to be.
We can look back and marvel, but we can also look forward, holding on to God’s promise of something better for His children.
We can anticipate leaving to live in a perfect world, with no sin and death, and we can be in the presence of God forever more.
I cannot fully comprehend all that Eden was. I certainly cannot fully understand what glory will be like. Yet, I know that Eden was much better than we know, and glory will be far beyond that.
Next time you see a garden, take some time to ponder the beauty of Eden and then reflect on how much more our eternity will be.
May you give the Lord all the glory and praise due His name. May you get a glimpse of Eden and may that make you hunger for eternity with our King.
Hallelu Yah (Praise God)
Be blessed
Kevin.
Gleanings From The Word.
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (for the glory of God alone.)
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