"From a Garden to a Garden" is a chapter in Bill Johnson's book, Hosting the Presence. Much of this interpretation is taken from this chapter, and much of the insight is taken from my own reading of Genesis 2-3 and my Kingdom Foundations homework.
The tempter starts out by telling Eve, "You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
Lie #1: "You surely will not die." Though Adam and Eve did not physically die, I believe that their spirits and souls did.
Lie #2: God has not already given you everything you need. Adam and Eve had intimacy with God and intimacy with each other--community. They lived in a garden of bliss. All of their physical needs were met. They had authority and dominion. They were to name the animals, cultivate and subdue the earth, and become patriarchs of a people made in God's own image--an honor that drove satan mad with jealousy. After all, he had rebelled because he wanted to be like God. Was it any wonder that he wanted to ruin God's plan for rule on the earth?
"When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate."
In this moment, Adam and Eve surrendered their authority and gave it to satan.
The story continues: "Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden."
Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?"
He said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself."
And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?"
The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate."
Some things I noticed: The first response to the first sin was this: shame. The second response was fear. The third response was blame-shifting. Adam and Eve hid themselves from The Presence because they felt dirty and were afraid of punishment.
Thousands of years later, Jesus would come and redeem what had been lost in Eden. On the cross, He did not only bear our sin. He became sin (2 Corinthians 5:21.) Upon His death, He demanded the keys of authority from satan. All authority had already been given to Him from the Father. In return, He gave it to His disciples, commanding them to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons (Matthew 10:8.) He restored access to the Presence and intimacy with the Father, as revealed in the story of the prodigal son (see Luke 15.) His children no longer needed to come to Him in fear and shame, expecting punishment. The cross provided forgiveness of sins.
After His resurrection, God once again walked among His creation in the cool of the garden. And instead of hiding from her creator, Mary clung to Him (see John 20:11-17.)
Jake Hamilton sings (something like) the following on his CD "Freedom Calling": "What started on a tree ended on a tree, what started in a garden ended in a garden"
The tempter starts out by telling Eve, "You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
Lie #1: "You surely will not die." Though Adam and Eve did not physically die, I believe that their spirits and souls did.
Lie #2: God has not already given you everything you need. Adam and Eve had intimacy with God and intimacy with each other--community. They lived in a garden of bliss. All of their physical needs were met. They had authority and dominion. They were to name the animals, cultivate and subdue the earth, and become patriarchs of a people made in God's own image--an honor that drove satan mad with jealousy. After all, he had rebelled because he wanted to be like God. Was it any wonder that he wanted to ruin God's plan for rule on the earth?
"When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate."
In this moment, Adam and Eve surrendered their authority and gave it to satan.
The story continues: "Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden."
Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?"
He said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself."
And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?"
The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate."
Some things I noticed: The first response to the first sin was this: shame. The second response was fear. The third response was blame-shifting. Adam and Eve hid themselves from The Presence because they felt dirty and were afraid of punishment.
Thousands of years later, Jesus would come and redeem what had been lost in Eden. On the cross, He did not only bear our sin. He became sin (2 Corinthians 5:21.) Upon His death, He demanded the keys of authority from satan. All authority had already been given to Him from the Father. In return, He gave it to His disciples, commanding them to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons (Matthew 10:8.) He restored access to the Presence and intimacy with the Father, as revealed in the story of the prodigal son (see Luke 15.) His children no longer needed to come to Him in fear and shame, expecting punishment. The cross provided forgiveness of sins.
After His resurrection, God once again walked among His creation in the cool of the garden. And instead of hiding from her creator, Mary clung to Him (see John 20:11-17.)
Jake Hamilton sings (something like) the following on his CD "Freedom Calling": "What started on a tree ended on a tree, what started in a garden ended in a garden"