A couple of weeks ago, I posted some thoughts on man's first home sanctuary, the Garden of Eden. I'd like to park here for another minute and make a few observances about this very special place.
1. God made an incredible earth, and then made an even more spectacular place for Adam and Eve. He carefully placed them into this garden. We were created for sanctuary...or sanctuary was created for us. Either way, it explains the longing for it in our soul.
2. God's creation was excellent in every way.
3. The garden was separate from the world outside. This is a very important point.
4. The garden was separate from the world outside. This point should be made twice.
5. Eden was beautiful. Some of the plants in there were created just for their beauty. Just because.
6. All gardens have an element of surprise: you just never know how something will bloom and grow!
7. Eden smelled heavenly, with all those flowers and trees and moss.
8. Eden sounded lovely. It was a symphony of bird songs, animal sounds, rustling vegetation and bablbing brooks. There was no noise of TV's, blaring radios, or honking horns.
9. There was plenty of nutritious food, and none of it came in a package.
10. It was the perfect temperature and atmosphere for Adam and Eve and all the living things. In other words, Eden satisfied all their senses. It was delightful.
11. Adam and Eve were created in the image and likeness of God. Wow.
12. Right smack in the middle of the garden were two trees: right from the get-go people had choices to make. Within their own sanctuary.
13. Adam was given a job to do. You could say he had a home-based business.
14. Eve was given a job to do...to be his helper. She was a workin woman.
15. Their job was to tend and care for the garden. It needed maintenance and nurturing. Life wasn't all fun and games in Eden, but I'll bet they enjoyed their job because it was their calling.
16. Their job required organizational skills, even without junk mail to sort and laundry to do.
17. God showed Adam all the animals before He made Eve. Some things never change. Men still need to see their options and come to their own conclusions. (Eve wasn't there yet to tell him how much he needed her.)
18. Eve was a gift to Adam, created especially for him. I wonder how I can be a gift to my own man? I've got some thoughts on that, here and here. Oh, and here.
19. There were no parents or in-laws in the garden. (Moses, who wrote the book of Genesis, threw in some commentary for free. v 24)
20. They were both naked. I'm not sure how much actual work was getting done with both of them running around naked, but I'm going to guess that there was plenty of sex. Hmmmm.
21. They had no shame. They were intimately vulnerable with one another, on every level.
22. God's presence was in the garden. He walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. Great picture! Their relationship with God was the central part of their sanctuary.
23. After they ate of the forbidden fruit, they blamed each other for their problems. Ouch, still true today.
24. Why did Satan use food to tempt Eve? Because he knew she would fall for it. Yeah, still true.
25. Adam and Eve tried to hide from God's presence because they knew they had disobeyed.
26. Sin brought shame.
27. Sin brought an end to the first sanctuary.
28.God had to put guards outside the entrance of the garden because He knew they would want back in.
29. God called out to Adam, "Where are you?"
30. Somehow, I think God is still calling out to us, "Where are you?"
I'm going through my list of observations and I'm trying to apply them to my modern-day home sanctuary. Things like,
Is it a place that pleases the senses? Does it smell good? Does it have a sense of beauty? Does it feel good?
Am a vulnerable, open partner with my husband? Is our relationship deep AND fun?
More importantly, am I walking with my Creator in the cool of the day? Is my relationship with Him fresh and growing?
The garden of Eden speaks to me in a way that makes me want to capture the essence of what God planned for Adam and Eve, and infuse my home with it. I've got a long way to go, but somehow just knowing that God delighted in creating that first home sanctuary for his prized people gives me a renewed vision for what I want my home to be.
I would love to hear your observations about Eden and how you can apply it to your home. Your comments?
