A Garden
In the very beginning of His creation Yahweh revealed Himself in a garden. In fact, our idea of the Kingdom of God revolves around a garden:
Now Yahweh had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. (Genesis 2:8)
Yahweh took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. (Genesis 2:15)
This garden was the place where God first revealed Himself to man, and it was also a place where God Himself dwelt, where the angels walked among humans, and where man might approach God. It is reasonable to say that the Garden of Eden was part temple, part Kingdom, and part paradise. The word “paradise” appears three times in the New Testament; in Greek it is literally “paradeisos” (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor 12:4; Rev 2:7), the equivalent of our English “paradise”. We know it refers, generally at least, to the garden of Eden by the last of these three references:
To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. (Revelation 2:7)
What is the Bible? This is an interesting question, and it has many answers:
- ‘The Bible is the story of God’s revelation of Himself to mankind’, or
- ‘The Bible is the story of God’s Name, God’s purpose, and God’s people’, or
- ‘The Bible is the story of Jesus Christ’, and other such possibilities.
But perhaps the best answer — and certainly one which suits us at this moment — is:
- ‘The Bible is the story of man, being driven out of a beautiful garden, wandering throughout the earth, and seeking every means to return to that lovely place — until, finally, in Christ, he finds that lost Paradise again’, or
- ‘The Bible is the story of a son wandering away from the Father’s house, and finally finding his way back home again.’ For this purpose, Christ’s parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15 may be the best summary.
Or one more — the best answer yet?
- ‘The Bible is the story of a tree of life. Man was shut off from that tree, but after many years it reappeared in the world, in the Son of God. First there was a tree of death, a cross, but from the tree of death came a new tree of life. And we are all invited to share in this new life, both now and forever, in the coming paradise of God.’
The first man, Adam, was created (Gen 2:7) and placed in the Garden of Eden. Then shortly thereafter the first woman was created out of his side while he slept (vv 20-25). It was the duty of this first couple to tend the beautiful garden, and to live in harmony with their Creator.
But they did not fulfill their destiny, and because of their disobedience they were excluded from paradise — driven out of the lovely garden, with its gates locked behind them, while a cherubim with a flaming sword guarded the way to the tree of life in its midst (Gen 3:24).
When our first parents were driven from the Garden of Eden, they were — at the same time — excluded (for the most part) from the place of God’s presence, the worship of God, the fellowship of God, and the pleasant and peaceful life which was a preview of His Kingdom. Every year, every day, of man’s existence since that time has involved a yearning for, and a search for, a way to return to that blessed time and place.
The novelist Thomas Wolfe famously said, “You can’t go home again.” In the conclusion of his novel by this name, he elaborated:
You can’t go back home to your family, back home to your childhood… back home to a young man’s dreams of glory and of fame… back home to places in the country, back home to the old forms and systems of things which once seemed everlasting but which are changing all the time.
In this world, seen more or less without God, Wolfe’s words resonate with inevitable loss, sadness and pain. But the Bible paints a very different picture. In the Bible, “home” — seen as a beautiful garden — becomes an extended metaphor for salvation.
3 Gardens
In a garden, Adam and Eve fell from grace. In another garden, Jesus wrestled with the impulses of sin which his first parents had introduced into the world — wrestled with them and overcame them. And in a tomb in yet another nearby garden (John 19:41), he slept for three days, and then awoke to a new, glorious life, meanwhile awakening the hope of such a life for all who believe in him.
A garden witnessed man’s fall. Another garden witnessed Christ’s struggle to recover from that tragic failure. And a third garden witnessed his final victory. In his resurrection to eternal life, Christ turned the world upside down (cp Acts 17:6), showing that our heritage of inevitable decline and death can be reversed. And showing that, Yes, you can go “home” again!
There is a beautiful garden, and a tree of life, and a loving Father waiting with outstretched arms, welcoming His children back into His embrace — no matter how far away, or for how long, they have wandered from Him.
Seek Yahweh while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, And let him return to Yahweh, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah 55:6, 7)