Life East of Eden

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 91

Psalm 91 ESV

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge— no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot. “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

Scripture Memorization: Genesis 50:19-20

Genesis 50:19–20 ESV

But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

Scripture Reading: Revelation 22:1-5

Revelation 22:1–5 ESV

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Sermon:

1

Speaker 1

00:00

Once again, and as always, good morning church. I was glad when they said to me let us go and Worship in the house of the Lord. For me. As I sit down and write a sermon and get ready to. To bring a sermon to you. All there is one portion that I struggle more than anything else in writing, and that is. This introductory portion. And there’s a lot of different things you can do if you go see. Listen to a lot of sermons, right? There’s a lot of pastors. They like to put a joke at the beginning, something light, but maybe it makes you think a little bit?

00:40

The other go-to is they sort of personal stories about yourself, something that relates yourself to the audience, but also everyone to the text. There’s a third sort of thought it’s. Was developed, kind of. Most. Forcefully and most in detail. By a gentle named Brian Chapel. It’s called the Fallen condition. This is a thought that every text every passage speaks in a particular way. Man in the state of his fallenness, and that’s something that is then applicable and ties to everyone. And so, a good introduction will expose the Fallen condition of mankind and show how this text will speak to that particular condition.

01:40

Well as I thought about how to start this sermon. I don’t have many jokes. I don’t often start that way. I do live a life, and I have a lot of personal stories. But as I landed on this thought of the Fallen condition focused, I realized this text, maybe more than any other. Lends itself. To thinking through that, and that’s because we will be looking at Genesis 3, 22-24. The end of chapter 3. Which in many ways describes for us the beginning. Of the Fallen condition. In Genesis 3, this is our now third sermon in Genesis 3. In the first sermon, Adam and Eve sinned, they ate of the tree that they were not supposed to eat.

02:27

And so, last week in our second sermon in Genesis 3, God came down and pronounced judgments to the serpent and the man and the woman, and then God clothed the man and the woman by his grace. And here in these last three verses.

02:46

As life has now become. And life as life now is. Begins. We now live the way the phrase goes east of Eden. We’ll see this because Adam and Eve are going to get kicked out of the garden. In the East, and then God will set a guardian or two there at the front of the garden. And so we have been kicked out of the garden. Our life is now lived here on this Earth. This is in fact our fallen condition. And we’ve all been there. Uh, the other way I thought about starting this sermon is to just recount for you. What my month of March has been like?

03:31

Because I feel like most all of us can relate to having. Just a really hard month, not even necessarily anything bad per se. But it just felt like life has come again and again and again and again. In February, we knew March was going to be rough. You just look at the calendar, and you know, that’s going to be a full month. And then it gets more full. All right, I had a wedding that I did right before that wedding. We got a call from one of our old youth group kids who needed to come to town because they their mom had passed away and they needed a place to stay. So now we have a house guest for a week.

04:07

And then Jaden’s like, well, I’m on spring break, so I need to take Driver’s Ed, so we signed him up. So now he’s in driver’s ed every morning over the course of spring break. So far, Willow has a birthday because she has a birthday. She also has a birthday party the day she’s supposed to have a birthday party. We get an invitation one of the kids who’s in her class that’s coming to the party. His birthday party is also that same day as Willow’s birthday party. So, now, in one day, we have our birthday party we have to plan plus a birthday party. We have to take her to.

04:40

And we’re not even, I guess. Today, we’re officially halfway through the month, and it has felt about five months long.

04:49

I don’t ask for sympathy. That’s just life in a fallen world. We all have these struggles. We have these difficulties. And in the three verses that we are going to look at, I believe it teaches us a lot about who we are about who God is. And about what life here east of Eden? Will be like, so let’s start by reading God’s word today. Genesis chapter 3, verses 22 through 24, we are finishing chapter four today, and I’ll just note this. This is our last short passage for a while. Until the end of Genesis in a lot of ways we’re getting into, we’re done with the very detailed introductory works, and we’re going to go to.

05:30

The stories. We could say that Genesis is more famous for, but. Here, we finish chapter three Genesis 3, starting in verse 22. Then the Lord God said. Behold. The man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the Tree of Life and eat and live forever. Therefore, the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man. And at the east of the Garden of Eden. He placed the cherubim.

06:10

And a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way. To the Tree of Life. These are the words of the Lord this morning. Let’s open with the word of prayer. Oh Lord, Our Lord, how Majestic is your name in all the Earth? We thank you and praise you for your goodness and Grace for your Sovereign hand. We thank you. That you are the high King of Heaven who rules all things. Who knows all things who is Sovereign over all things? May you incline our hearts towards you this morning, reveal yourself to us. I asked. You would open our eyes to see, give us ears to hear all that you have said and done.

06:51

Now you speak to our hearts this morning. Having them be good soil. We ask and pray that your word would take root, teach us who you are, teach us who we are in light. Of all of this. May we glorify your great name? We ask all of this in the name above all of the names, the name of Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

07:13

This passage is a beautiful, wonderful passage. Again, just three short verses long, but it teaches us. A great deal, and so this morning the way I’d like to approach, it is just to to unpack this passage. And see what it teaches us about certain things. Certain topics what? What can we learn? From these verses. The first question I want to ask is, what can we learn about God? A lot. Is the answer? Just a few things I’d like to draw out one. God is Sovereign. Notice In this passage, the same thing we have been noting.

07:55

Since the beginning of Genesis 1, when important things are happening when big things are happening and when God is moving, it is God himself who moves. God asked, no one’s permission. Here, God asks, no one’s opinion. Here, God does what God sees fit because God is God. And he will rule. God says God, verse 23, sent him out of the garden. Verse 24, God drove the man of the garden. God is the one verse 24, who places the cherubim in the Flaming sword to guard the garden. It is God and God Alone. Who does all that he Wills?

08:35

In this passage. There’s no opinions being asked. God doesn’t come to man and be, like, hey, man, you know, we sinned. We messed up, I clothed you. Let’s figure out a plan together. It’s not how God works. Even here after a man has fallen when the world is shattered when everything’s broken after God has pronounced his judgments. God is still the one working. And so, the first lesson we learn about God is. Try as hard as they could. Adam and Eve could not usurp God’s Throne. God is still seated there. God will forever. Be seated.

09:18

God is Sovereign. He’s also good.

09:25

When God comes, and he, he, in verse 22, God says. Now, who’s God talking to put a pin in that question? We’ll get there, but God’s speaking. And he looks at man. He looks at man’s condition. And he realizes. Something that was said in words earlier in. Earlier in chapter 2, we read it’s not good. For man to be alone. Well, what God is going to realize in verse 22 is, and realize, is not the right word for God. God knows all things. Well, God is going to express. In verse 22 is. It is not good for fallen man.

10:06

To eat of the tree. And so God will go on. And make it so that man cannot eat of the Tree of Life. You were commanded not to eat of this tree because you broke this command. Everything else is so broken that now, here the tree of life, something you should have had access to. All right when God commanded. There are no that you can eat of any tree, except for one. That means if the tree of knowledge of the evil and the tree of life were both in the garden, you can eat at the tree of life.

10:40

But now. Because you have sinned. The tree of life is barred from you. Notice we don’t have a command not to either the tree of life that? That’s important. We’ll come around to that. But God looks at the tree and he says it. You can’t eat this man. You can’t eat this anymore. Things are so broken so difficult. You don’t get access to this. And so, God. I believe in his grace, but also his Justice. Sends man out of the garden drives him out of the garden. Verse 24. God looks at man looks at the tree of life and says, you can’t do this.

11:29

So he kicks man out. God is Sovereign. It’s also just, but he’s also gracious.

11:39

This is not God, fearful of man. This is not God. Trepidatious about what man may become. This is God, I believe. Looking out for me? We’ll talk about this a little bit in Grace groups this week, but. Just. God is always gracious, even here. But finally, as we talk about God, I want us to note something. This passage is a difficult one when we want to talk about God because of what God says. Verse 22 is a very interesting verse. Behold. The man has become. Like? One of us.

12:27

What does God say? Why does God use the word us? What does it mean that man is like?

12:37

These are all important questions. That we need to wrestle through. And we may not find the exact answer in just this passage, but we find the seeds. This is a theme in Genesis. We’ll find the seeds of a full answer here. Is man truly like God? Well, two notes. First, when God made man way, way, way back in Genesis 1. Man was made in God’s image. And so, in some sense, man was always like God. Notice, not God. But like him. Being made in his in our image, but this verse tells us what in particular is the issue.

13:24

Man has become like God in what? Knowing good and evil? There’s a sense where man. In his frail human brain, now has access to information he should have never had access.

13:42

We see this happening as parents from time to time, and when you you look at kids. Sometimes. They learn or hear something. That they were never intended to learn or hear. And their little kid brain. Can’t fully comprehend or understand what’s going on? Maybe you have some conversation about, you know? Maybe maybe finances are are difficult, and so you and your spouse are talking. And your kid overhears this. And they can’t seem to understand what you’re talking about in one sort of category, then becomes conflated in their mind to everything and the world’s falling apart. And everything’s broken.

14:27

You know your kid? No, it’ll be okay. We’re just talking about here. They’re, they’re childlike. Brain can’t understand this knowledge. So it breaks them. That’s part of what’s going on with man. If God has knowledge of Good and Evil, that means the knowledge in and of itself is not inherently bad. The problem is. Mankind can’t take that. Only. God can. And so, as we read this idea, that Man became, like God, we need to make sure this doesn’t lower our view of God. God is still God. How do we know that? Well, he’s still Sovereign. He’s still going to kick man out. He’s still going to unilaterally decide these things to say that man is, like God.

15:15

God points out in one very specific.

15:21

Also. We should just know. We talked about the Serpent’s lie two weeks ago.

15:31

This part was the truth. The serpent said to the women, the the woman. God knows when you eat of it. Your eyes will be open and you will be like God. God did know that. But God didn’t warn you not to eat this tree, cuz he was afraid he knew what it would do to you man.

15:50

But I’d like to focus on one word here for just a quick second. Behold, the man has become like one of.

16:03

Is there multiple gods? What’s going on here? Why would God say us? Here is the first question is, did God say us? The answer is yes. If you open up your Hebrew and read it, this is definitely. First person plural, right us. God is speaking here. Well, what’s going on two answers?

16:25

This is might be a case of what we call. The Royal we? What in the world is the Royal we? Well, if you’ve ever heard like old-fashioned movies or or things where the king is talking? The king will refer to himself. In the plural. Yes. We do decree. And you’re like, look King. We as a lot of people, it’s only just you. Yes, because he is The Sovereign King of the area of the land, he has the prerogative to speak of himself. In the plural. It’s a form of respect and authority. So, part of what’s going on here is possibly.

17:13

That God, the one Sovereign King of Heaven is speaking in the Royal plural here. Yes, he’s become like us, when really, there’s only one it could be part of the answer. Dramatically that fits.

17:31

But God has revealed himself to us in scripture. And those of us who see and know and understand scripture. Know that there’s another answer as to what may be going on here. This is the Triune God. Speaking. The Trinity is not some late creation that we have made up. Late in sort of religion and Christianity. The doctor of the Trinity is baked into the very fabric of creation and the Very fabric of God’s word. Since the beginning, we noted this when we went through our Grace groups Genesis chapter 1. You guys said. Let let us let us make man in our image.

18:15

This is the Triune God that God himself is the one working in creation. When God created the Heaven and the Earth, it was the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, all working together in Perfect Harmony to create all things? And here, at the end of the fall of Man. It is still the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit working for God’s glory. And ultimately for our good. I believe this passage does teach us the Trinity. That those of us who have Sanctified ears and eyes and can read and see what God is truly saying. See that God, the Father, Son of the Holy Spirit, still one God, existing in three persons, can speak like this, and it makes total sense.

18:56

Then the Lord God, singular said. Let us make man in our image, the Triune God is doing this. Then God said. The holy Triune God says, behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. This was something that God had access to. That man should not have had, but man has impeded on God’s Sovereign territory, and therefore, God, the Triune God must act. This passage teaches us much about God. He is good and gracious. He is still Sovereign and just. Seen here. In Genesis 1 22-24. And now we live here east of Eden.

19:39

God is still God. But now we need to talk about man. Some things have changed. For me. We’ve been dancing around it. The first thing we can note here man has access to knowledge he should have never had access to. Man is broken in his thinking. Now, instead of living pure. Innocent, wonderful lives. The man and his wife, naked and not ashamed. They now must be clothed by God himself to cover their sin and shame because there is something in their brain. They have this knowledge they never should have had.

20:24

The first thing we learn about man is. God may be Sovereign, and God can handle in his Sovereign over all things man. Or not, as big as we thought we were. There are things that can happen in our brain. We may have some knowledge that that breaks. There’s something that goes on that we. Lose. Something good. We lose a sense of Innocence.

20:56

Man is also barred. From the Tree of Life. It’s important verse 22. And man is sent out of the garden. To work the ground. Note this note here. From which he was taken. Did you have to say that we know man’s made out of dirt? We, we got that. Why are you harping on this? It could have just said, therefore, God sent him out of the garden to work the ground. But here. Once again, we need to note that man is not as important and big as he thought he was.

21:38

Go work, the ground, the same ground you were taken from.

21:43

You are nothing but a bunch of dust. Go work the dust. I’d, I’d like to say, I’m grateful. I’m not super grateful, but. The past few weeks have been in example to me personally about how awful dust is. When the wind blows up and you can’t see 15 feet in front of your face because we’re in the middle of a dust storm. And you’re breathing, and you taste the dust and everything you touch has that that Dusty film awning, like man. Not a big fan of dust. Made out of dust. God’s saying, don’t you ever forget it, man?

22:24

Remember your place. You reached out and grabbed that Apple, but you’re just dust. So, go work the dust, the difficult dust and man is in verse 24, driven out of the garden. The language here is an in an intensification. In verse 23, he just sent. The the progression in thought is sort of, like, as I get out of the garden. Go work the land. It’s like, I don’t want to leave the garden. It’s nice and good. Everything is great here. What if hear me out God? What if? I just stay. But because of who God is and who man is.

23:10

Verse 24 God drives another Garden to get out. You don’t get to stay here.

23:17

And man now lives. East of it. Man now lives. Where thorns and thistles grow rather than what he seeks to plant and harvest. Man now lives where the ground is hard and Rocky and difficult, and Blood, Sweat, and Tears are the only way men will get anything out of the dirt man now lives, where verse 19 by the sweat of his face he shall eat bread. Man now lives where things are difficult and hard man now lives.

23:53

In the Fallen State. Every difficulty. Through trial and trouble we face is in many ways summarized here.

24:06

Because this is life.

24:10

We don’t get. The garden. We don’t get. The. And the cool walking with God in the cool of the nights. You know what? Younger. I had a phrase a sort of. Morbid, one rather fatalistic one. The one that I think is Rings true. Life’s tough. Then you die.

24:43

That’s life east of Eden. That’s what’s happening here to man. Estimated it’s driven from the garden, driven from that pristine, wonderful, beautiful place that he was intended to live. He was made to live in and man because of his sin is driven out because Adam could not figure out how to not follow the one command of God because Adam couldn’t get in his brain. God has been good and gracious to us. He has given us every tree to eat, except for one, Adam said. I want that one and Adam took, and he ate, and he fell, and life is broken.

25:17

For all of us. Death has entered the world through one man. The New Testament is clear about what has happened here. Man is Fallen.

25:31

And life’s horror. This is highlighted by the fact that man got kicked out of the garden, and I want to spend our last few minutes thinking about the garden. What was the garden?

25:45

Well. Part of what we just talked about. It was beautiful. Pristine pictures. God watered the land with a Mist. God walked with man in the cool of the night. It was wonderful. The garden was created as a place for man to grow and flourish. God planted the garden. God planted man in that same Garden.

26:11

Now, let’s go. Taken from it.

26:17

Man is no longer allowed to live in the garden because the garden. Was for man in his pure state of Innocence.

26:27

There were gifts in the garden. The tree of life in particular. That man was now not able to have access to. God’s concern. It’s, it’s fascinating to just read through this and think through this and Ponder through what’s going on in this. God’s concern is that man is living in the garden, per se. God’s concern is that the tree of life is in the garden. And. Cannot have access to that anymore.

27:00

And so. The garden’s off limits. How off limits is the garden? Well, man is driven from the garden, so you’re not going to be here. Well, what if we stay? Man, no, you’re gone. Get out.

27:15

And then God places. Add the entrance to the Garden. Two Guardians.

27:26

The cherubim. And the Flaming sword. Well, what’s going on here first, anytime you see pictures of like? Little babies with wings carrying little bows. Like, and those are referred to as like all these cherub little angels. Don’t think that’s what the cherubim look like, just gonna be honest here. Because I don’t think that’s who God’s going to position to guard the garden in the tree of life. The cherubim. Here are God. Angels in one sense, but we’ll use some New Testament language here. God’s ministering Spirits, but also? The ones who do God’s bidding? And here the cherubim.

28:18

Are placed at the entrance of the garden as its Guardians. Man’s not coming back? The cherubim regarding it to ensure that man cannot enter, and if the cherubim were not enough. He places a flaming sword. That turns every way. What is going on here? Did God place a literal flaming sword that just sort of? Spun around back and forth at the angels of the garden. Like, some sort of booby trap to keep man out. Well, I don’t know. I lean towards more of a. Symbolic answer to this, but There could have been a real flaming sword.

29:08

That Adam would look at and be, like, okay, we can’t go back there. We don’t get to go back into the garden. But truly what I believe is happening here. Is this flaming sword is is sort of a picture of God’s?

29:26

Judgment. And Justice, right? The sword, as we read in scripture, often the Romans chapter 13, was a very important verse for many of us is all the coveted stuff was going on. Because the government God installs the government to do what to Romans 13, wield the sword. Right. The sword is a picture of God’s judgments and how God’s or of judgment in general right. And so the government’s allowed to make judgments. It wields the sword to bring Justice and consequence upon people. You put people to the sword because they need to be defeated. The sword is a symbol of justice and judgment and strength, and so for God to place a flaming sword that turns every way means God’s judgments cover all things and God’s judgment that you are not allowed in the garden.

30:18

Stance. Every way. There’s no sneaking past this. You don’t creep Pat the god. The cherubim are guarding the way and watching over it, and there is a flaming sword turning Every Which Way you’re not getting in the garden. The garden is barred. From man. And let me say that the other way, cuz it’s more right. Man has been barred from the garden.

30:44

The guard is now off limits. The Garden of the man Longs for that man hoped for. That man spent his life for, in many ways, the garden that was planted for man, and then man was planted in. So, just like Adam and Eve were helpmates, they were made for each other in a very particular way. There’s a sense where the garden and man man was made for the garden. The garden was made for man as well, and yet. The cherubim of the Flaming sword will not let man in.

31:14

So, what is our hope?

31:23

Revelation. Chapter 22. Man in Genesis 3 in the beginning is kicked out of the garden.

31:38

We might have heard this verse once before, but I want to read it again.

2

Speaker 2

31:48

Then the angel.

1

Speaker 1

31:51

Showed me the river of water of the life.

31:56

Let’s go back to the Garden. Let’s just remember the garden for a second. The garden had a river in it that was so powerful. That it became. Four Rivers.

32:11

The river Genesis 2, verse 10, a river flown out of the garden to water the garden there divided and became four rivers.

32:23

In this vision of? Is shown a river. The. Of the Water of? Brightest Crystal flowing from the Throne of the lamb, the Throne of God, and of the lamb through the middle of the street of the city.

32:39

Also. On either side of the river.

32:47

The Tree of Life, with its 12 kinds of fruit yielding his fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for healing for the Nations.

33:00

Are Exile from the garden? Scripture teaches. It’s temporary.

33:11

For, we are going to get.

33:15

A better guard. For those who trust in Jesus no longer? Will there be anything accursed? But the Throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship Him. They will see his face and on his name and his name will be on their foreheads and night will be no more. There will be no need for the light of lamp or the Sun. For the Lord, God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

33:43

Genesis 3. Shows us our plight, but it also should make us long. For the time when God will heal all things all the curses in Genesis 3 removed in Revelation 22, all of the pain of leaving the garden in Genesis 3 redeemed and re re? Vitalized in Genesis in Revelation 22. It’s a perfect picture. God, The Sovereign God. Man, the Fallen Me.

34:21

Their relationship is redeemed and fixed. As we long for? The Eternal Garden. Called Heaven. Let’s pray.