Devotion 3/7, I Believe You Are!
The Lord God banished him from the Garden . . . [and] placed . . . cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. Genesis 3:23-24
God placed our first parents, Adam and Eve, in a beautiful garden filled with wonderful plants, wildlife, and abundant food (Genesis 2:8-25). God himself was present there and took walks with them in “the cool of the day”; but Adam and Eve fell into sin, disobeying God’s command to them (Gen. 3:1-11). And as we read at the end of Genesis 3, they were banished from the garden and locked out.
This can seem like pretty extreme punishment for just eating some forbidden fruit (Genesis 2:16-17; 3:1-7). Actually, though, a lot more was involved. God had entrusted Adam and Eve with representing him by managing this beautiful garden—to develop and care for it. But they shifted their allegiance from the Creator to following the way of the enemy—Satan (Revelation 12:9). In doing this, they ruined their relationships with God, with each other, and with the creation. So God banished them and blocked the way to the garden.
Maybe you’ve been shut out—fired from a job, shunned by family members or neighbors. Whether you were at fault or not, it feels awful.
Thankfully, God provided a way to be reconciled with him. God sent his Son, Jesus, to defeat the devil and remove the barrier so that we can have fellowship with God again (Genesis 3:15; Hebrews 2:14-18).
Thank you, Jesus, for reopening the way into God’s presence. You are the only Way, the only Truth and the only Life! Amen.
Leave a Reply