Mercy and the Garden of Eden

Misery. That is what sin causes. Endless misery. God said it would be so. He made an agreement with Adam to give him endless joy if he would only trust His Word and not eat from the forbidden tree. For if he did, eternal death would follow.

The two trees in the garden that were most important were the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The first tree would sustain life forever. The second would take it. Adam, in his disbelief, chose the second tree. “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil,” said God.

In a way, the serpent was right. Adam did become like God, but not in the way he was led to believe. God knows good and evil. Now Adam did too. But God knows evil because He sees it. Adam would know evil by living it.

This created a big problem for Adam. If he remained in the garden, he might eat from the tree of life and live forever. But, he would live in endless misery. So “God sent him out from the garden of Eden.” To ensure no one would return, God put a powerful angel on guard who wielded a flaming sword that swung in all directions. There was no way back in.

It sounds bad, but this was for Adam’s good. His disbelief in the garden brought him eternal and immediate death, but God showed him mercy. By exposing Adam to temporal death, God was keeping him from eternal death. Paradise was lost, but endless misery was avoided.

Reflections

1. How would you describe God’s actions in sending Adam out of the garden of Eden? Has this lesson changed your view of Adam’s removal from the garden? How?
2. What does this part of the story teach us about God’s nature and love for mankind? Do you think He dealt fairly with Adam?
3. When you experience undesirable consequences from disbelief, what should come to your mind after this lesson?

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