Read: Genesis 3:8-24
The LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden. (v. 23)
A common disciplinary technique used by parents and teachers is the “time-out,” in which a disobedient child is temporarily separated from the rest of the group. Why is it effective? Because we were made for communion. Most of us would do anything to avoid separation.
In Genesis 1-2, God created “the heavens and the earth”: one world made up of two complementary realms. God placed human beings at the center of this world and declared it “very good” (Gen. 1:31). We had perfect communion with God, each other, and all heaven and earth. But when we fell into sin, we cut ourselves off from paradise. Our sin placed a barrier between heaven and earth. Genesis 3 describes Adam and Eve banned from Eden and barred from re-entry by a flaming sword. This captures the reality that we, the inhabitants of earth, cannot force our way into heaven. Heaven must come to us.
At the end of Genesis 3, the Lord makes a promise: the woman’s offspring will one day break sin’s hold on the human race and burst the barrier between heaven and earth. When this son, Jesus, appeared, he did indeed undo the powers of sin and death and hell. He himself became the way that the lost people on earth could gain re-entry into heaven. Through Jesus we have “access by faith into this grace in which we stand”(Rom. 5:2). Heaven is within reach. We who belong to Jesus wait, and work for, the restoration of our lost paradise.
As you pray, praise God for his persistence in restoring the union of heaven and earth.
About the Author
Ben Van Arragon
Ben Van Arragon is a preacher and writer based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He preaches and teaches the Bible in church, online, and anywhere else he has the opportunity.
