Saturday, January 17, 2015

Eden’s Triplets of Mercy: Sin, Judgment and Redemption



As we have seen throughout Scripture, God’s Word expresses His Triune Nature as Father, Son and Holy Spirit by clustering significant concepts, people and objects in groups of three. Some of the earliest triplet patterns occur in Genesis 2, with the description of the Garden of Eden introducing the central.theme of the Bible. Man is sinful and deserves God’s judgment, but God’s mercy saves him.

This garden was Paradise on earth, created by God for man’s enjoyment (v. 8). God filled the garden with three types of trees: every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil (v. 9).

Through the first two types of trees, God blessed man with beautiful scenery, delicious food, and the promise of perfect life free of aging, illness or pain. The third tree of knowledge of good and evil was a test of man’s faith, submission and obedience. Adam and Eve failed that test by doubting God’s Word, pridefully seeking their own desires rather than pleasing God, and disobeying His commandment (Genesis 3:1-6).

Their rebellion led to guilt (v.7, 10), loss of fellowship with God (v. 10) and suffering the consequences of God’s judgment. This included a threefold curse on the serpent (v. 14-15), on Adam (v. 17-19), and on Eve (v. 16). But God in His mercy restored fellowship by seeking them out as they hid from Him (v.9), covered their sin with animal skins (v. 21), and expelled them from the Garden (v. 22-24).

Although the expulsion from Eden was part of the judgment and consequence of Adam and Eve’s sin, it was also an act of mercy. Had God permitted them to remain in the Garden of Eden, they could have eaten from the tree of life (v. 22). This would have given them eternal life, which would be more of a curse than a blessing. They would have lived forever in their fallen state, continuing to experience the endless toil of physical labor (v. 17-19), the strife of relationships broken by sin (v. 16), and sorrow (v. 16-17).

Instead, God in His mercy had them leave. The duration of their physical life ravaged by sin would be limited (v. 19), and God would give Eve a son whose descendant would bruise Satan’s head (v. 15).  In so doing, God began His perfect plan of redemption, not only for Adam and Eve, but for everyone who would believe in His Son as Deliverer, Lord and Saviour (John 3:16; 1 Timothy 1:1; 2 Peter 1:11). The animal skins with which God clothed Adam and Eve required the shedding of blood, foreshadowing the shed blood of Christ, the perfect Sacrifice Who cleansed us from all our sins, past, present and future  (Romans 5:9; Revelation 1:5).

God watered the Garden of Eden with four rivers defining three lands or countries: Havilah, Ethiopia, and Assyria (Genesis 2:11, 13, 14). Based on current geography, it is difficult to determine from this description the exact former location of the Garden of Eden, as the global flood in Noah’s day would have considerably altered the terrain.

Through their future inhabitants, these three lands remind us of man’s sin, God’s judgment, and His restoration. Havilah was a source of three treasures: gold, bdellium and onyx (v.12). But it also was the dwelling place of Israel’s enemies: the sons of Ishmael (Genesis 25:16-18), as well as the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:7)

Ishmael represents the consequences of man taking matters into his own hands, rather than trusting God and waiting on the Lord’s perfect timing. God had promised to give Abram (Abraham) and Sarai (Sarah) a natural born son in their barren old age; to make Abraham’s descendants as numerous as the stars; and to give him the Promised Land to inherit (Genesis 15:1-7). As part of a sign to Abraham confirming this promise, God asked him for an offering of three beasts: a heifer, a she goat, and a ram, each three years old (v. 9).

Had Abram and Sarai only waited for God’s perfect timing, they would not have sinned before they heard the rest (and best) of the promise: God would make Abraham the father of many nations, He would be God to him and his descendants, and he and his descendants would possess the land of Canaan forever (Genesis 17:4-8).

But Sarah accused the Lord of keeping her from childbearing, violated God’s plan for marriage by giving her maid Hagar to Abraham, and persuaded him to have a child by her. Because of Ishmael, the son of this adulterous liaison, Hagar hated Sarah, Sarah wanted to be rid of Hagar, and Abraham was caught in the middle (Genesis 16:2-6).

God promised to make Ishmael the father of innumerable descendants (v. 10), just as He did for Isaac, Abraham and Sarah’s promised son born after Ishmael. But unlike Isaac, Ishmael would be a curse, and not a blessing, to Israel, for he would be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him (v. 12). The world today is still reeling from the impact of radical Islamists tracing their roots back to Abraham through Ishmael. 

The Amalekites, also inhabitants of Havilah, were another thorn in Israel’s side. As the Hebrews fled from Egypt, Amalek attacked them in a fierce battle at Rephidim. Israel prevailed while Moses prayed, assisted by Aaron and Hur (Exodus 17:10-12). God swore that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation (v. 16).

God used the Amalekites and Canaanites as an instrument of His judgment against the Hebrews for complaining about Him, lacking faith in His promise by believing an evil report about the Promised Land, and planning to disobey Him by returning to Egypt (Numbers 14). The judgment was threefold: they would be struck by pestilence and the sword; the adults would die in the wilderness (except for Joshua and Caleb who brought a good report); and the children would wander in the wilderness for 40 years before entering the Promised Land.

As severe as this sounds, it was a lesser punishment than they deserved for their lack of faith despite God’s faithfulness, His signs demonstrating His great power, and the report from Joshua and Caleb of the land flowing with milk and honey. But God pardoned them (v. 20), for He is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression (v. 18).

The Amalekites continued to threaten Israel (Judges 3:13; 6:3, 7:12), and God commanded King Saul to kill every one of their people, herds and flocks (1 Samuel 15:1-3). But Saul disobeyed God by sparing the life of their king and the best of the livestock. This sin cost Saul dearly, for God judged him by taking away his kingship (1 Samuel 15:7-35). Yet He restored a Godly king to Israel by selecting and anointing David (1 Samuel 16:1-13), a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22) who ultimately defeated the Amalekites (1 Samuel 31).

Because of God’s great mercy, He does not give us what we deserve, namely eternal punishment in hell, for we are all sinners (Romans 3:23; 6:23). His holiness, perfection and justice (1 Samuel 2:2) demand that sin be punished, but He reconciled us to Himself by the atoning sacrifice of His Son (Romans 5:10-11), Who was crucified, buried, and rose again on the third day so that all who trust Him have everlasting life (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

We see God’s mercy daily (Lamentations 3:22-23,32) as He works all things together for our good (Romans 8:28), protects us from the full consequences of our transgressions, and gives blessings to mitigate the judgment He requires. Sometimes He allows us go through trials, knowing that they will strengthen our faith, conform us to the image of His Son, and equip us to help others going through similar trials by giving us compassion, wisdom and experience,

Like Havilah, the other two lands comprising the Garden of Eden, namely Ethiopia and Assyria, also have lessons for us regarding man’s sin, God’s judgment, and His restoration, as we shall see next week. Praise God that even from the beginning, He knew that man would sin, requiring judgment, but that He had a plan to redeem us


© 2015 Laurie Collett
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30 comments:

Frank E. Blasi said...

Dear Laurie,
I have never realized that the Expulsion was an act of God's mercy as well as his judgement. A great post about God's eternal wisdom and power presented in his normal Triple nature.
God bless.

Laurie Collett said...

Dear Frank,
Sometimes we tend to see only what we perceive as being "negative" in how God responds to sin. We may appreciate the wisdom and justice in His chastisement, but fail to realize the hidden blessings in the trials He allows us to suffer.
Thank you as always for your supportive comment.
God bless you too!
Laurie

elizabeth said...

I've been reading through Genesis again this month and all of the stories you mentioned. I'm so grateful for the thread of God's love, mercy and grace and the foretelling of His Son, that is woven throughout the Word of God.

Joy said...

Thank you for teaching from God's words! Amazing!

Laurie Collett said...

Amen, Elizabeth! Praise God that He tells of Jesus and His saving grace throughout every book of the Bible! May God bless you as you study His Word.
Laurie

Laurie Collett said...

Thank you, Joy, for your encouraging comment!
God bless,
Laurie

Donald Fishgrab said...

Great post. Laurie.

So often we forget that God always acts with our best interests in mind. As you pointed out, even his judgment prevents worse things.

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks, Donald! I we could only fully believe that He loves us infinitely and has complete power and wisdom to do what is best for us, we would truly have the peace that passes all understanding.
God bless,
Laurie

a joyful noise said...

The trinity is seen from Genesis to Revelation in many various ways. It is interesting how in threes, you are able to derive many lessons that reveal both God's judgment as well as His mercy. Yes there is sin, judgment and restoration in Him. Thank you for sharing with us here at Tell me a Story.

Brenda said...

A lovely post Laurie,
Very true that God could not allow mankind to have eternal life before,( as it was prophesied concerning our Lord in Isaiah ch. 7,) learning to 'refuse evil and choose good.' This is why we have to be in the body of Christ in order to be reconciled back to God.

God bless you Laurie

Unknown said...

Suffering is part of a learning curb and can make us stronger and in the end makes us who we end up. His Mercy goes beyond our understanding and while we most-likely just see the bad and often then to point that out even in each other there is more good than bad in his actions.

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks, Hazel, for your thoughtful comment & for hosting. Praise God for His holiness, justice, and mercy!
May you have a blessed week in Him,
Laurie

Laurie Collett said...

Dear Brenda,
Thanks as always for your kind words of encouragement and reference to Scripture. Praise God that He did not allow man to live forever in sin, but instead sent His Son to reconcile sinful man to Himself.
May God bless you and your ministry also,
Laurie

Laurie Collett said...

Dear Jay CraftySpices,
Praise God for His infinite mercy! Even when He allows us to go through trials, He only does so for our ultimate good and His glory! May we see one another with His eyes and heart.
Thank you for your thought-provoking comment. Many blessings,
Laurie

Aritha said...

Beautifully written. I had to translate it first but ... I love it!

Unknown said...

Biblical history and geography always fascinate me. Something you mentioned though.. the fact that the global flood altered the terrain so much that it made me think of God's providence in hiding what He knew we would seek to find and in our finite understanding conjure up locations and ideas about this real place which is now hidden. And also something that always astounds me is His sovereignty. He knew the outcome of everything and prepared for it. Sometimes I hear people question why He would plan for sin, but that isn't it. He planned for redemption because He knew it would turn out as it did. Great post!

Laurie Collett said...

Thank you so much, Ariella! I'm blessed to hear you enjoyed the post.
Love in Christ,
Laurie

Laurie Collett said...

Great thoughts, Dawn! So true, that if He had not hidden the original location, man would now be searching for it, just as he searched for the Fountain of Youth. God had the cherubim with flaming sword guarding the entrance to Eden, but after the flood, that was no longer necessary. God gave man free will, and He knew from the beginning that Adam would disobey, yet as you said, He had His plan of redemption from the very beginning.
Thanks for your comment & God bless!
Laurie

The Life Of Faith said...

I love how you tied all this together. Thank you for linking up at Mommy Moments! You were the top viewed link again ;)

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks so much for your lovely comment and for hosting! I'm honored to be the top viewed -- you have such a wonderful blog and link-up party!
Many blessings,
Laurie

seespeakhearmama.wordpress.com said...

Glad I found you today Laurie. For the detailed teaching on scripture and for our mutual love of dance. Can't wait to read about your ministry.

Laurie Collett said...

So glad God brought you here! I'm blessed to hear you enjoyed the post, and also to find a sister in Christ who also appreciates dance!
Love in Him,
Laurie

Unknown said...

Thank you for bringing the hard and fast scriptural truth to us. I love diving into the word and you provide this. Cheering you on! It is a delight to have you join the Purposeful Faith #RaRalinkup.

Laurie Collett said...

Thank you so much, Kelly, for hosting and especially for your lovely words of encouragement! You are a blessing!
May you have a blessed week in Him,
Laurie

Anonymous said...

I guess I had never thought of it that way before. It is beautiful how even the first book of the Bible shows God's entire redemption story. Thank you for an interesting read!

Anonymous said...

Thank goodness for God's redemption of all of us over and over as we see in Him providing new mercies each day. I have been reading Genesis this January as part of digging further into God's Word but find that your knowledge takes me to a new understanding and love our reference to all of the triplets that are found throughout Genesis. Blessed as always that you linked up with The Weekend Brew.

Laurie Collett said...

You're very welcome, and thanks so much for your comment! The scarlet thread of redemption through the shed blood of Christ is woven through the Bible from the very beginning, foreshadowed in the animal skins God used to cover man's sin until the blood of His Son could remove it permanently.
God bless,
Laurie

Laurie Collett said...

I'm so blessed to hear that the post was helpful to your understanding of Genesis. Praise God for His great compassion, new every morning! Thank you for hosting and for your encouraging comment!
Love in Christ,
Laurie

Tina at Mommynificent.com said...

Thanks so much for sharing this reminder of God's goodness at Booknificent Thursday!
Tina

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks, Tina, for hosting & for your sweet comment! May you have a blessed weekend!
Laurie