God’s Good Creation Part Two B

Expulsion from the Garden by Morgyn Church

   In the first two blog posts of this series, we have learned about the connection between man and the land from which he was created. Adam was placed in the garden-temple of Eden as an image-bearer of God to work it and keep it. This process, in concert with multiplication, was intended to result in the spreading of the temple (and God’s glory) across all the land. This is God’s goal for creation: to fill it with His glory.

    Adam failed to work and keep the garden because he didn’t guard it from the serpent; therefore, he and his wife were cast out of the garden-temple and made to work the ground while a guardian cherub kept the garden. Sin resulted in curses on mankind which made the dominion mandate harder to accomplish. Adam’s work became toil, and Eve’s work became painful. In a similar vein, we looked at several examples of how disobedience delayed dominion. Narratives about Cain, Noah’s peers, and the Tower of Babel all illustrate this point for us. The fall seemed to have completely derailed God’s plan to fill the earth with His glory.

   In this blog post, we will consider the actions that God took to redeem the fallen world. God will not forfeit His plan for His good creation. The entire earth will be filled with His glory. This plan starts with one man who would bless the nations.

The Promise

   Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:1-3 ESV 

   We are all probably familiar with the call of Abram; however, we might not be familiar with its significance in light of what came before this passage. Our previous study will prove beneficial as we consider several aspects of this set of verses. 

Notice that the LORD commands Abram to go out from his country to go to a land that He will show him. Remember that the LORD made Adam from the dust of the ground, then brought him into the garden of Eden. So we already see a picture of Abram as the new Adam through whom God would accomplish His plan.

 Next, we see that God promises to make Abram a “great nation” and will make Abram’s name great. This is another way of promising Abram that he will multiply just like the original creation mandate to be fruitful and multiply. Rather than seeking to make his own name great like those at the Tower of Babel, God will multiply Abram and make his name great.

   The idea of blessings and cursings is also connected with Abram’s family. Blessings will come to those who align themselves with Abram and his family because they are serving as ambassadors for God’s kingdom as He accomplishes His purposes of filling the earth with His glory. Likewise, curses will come upon those who oppose Abram and his family because these people would find themselves opposing the sovereign will of God Himself.

   God’s purpose for this promise is encapsulated in the last statement: “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed”. This call of Abram is a seed being planted which will grow into the plan of redemption being accomplished. God will redeem His fallen people and restore the earth as a glorious dwelling place.   

The Dwelling Place

And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. Exodus 25:8 ESV 

   God was faithful to his promises to Abraham. The children of Abraham had become a great nation while in the land of Egypt and now, once again, God would call his representative out of another land(Egypt) to come to a land(Canaan) prepared by God for them. Before they could enter this land, they needed to have a worship experience with God on a mountain top. In this episode of Israel’s history, Moses would represent them before God on the top of Mt. Sinai. 

 Many things could be said about this mountain-top experience, but for our purposes, I would like to focus on one. God commanded His representative people to build a sanctuary, a holy place for God’s dwelling. God is continuing the pattern of creating a dwelling place for His glory which would expand over all of creation. The design of the tabernacle and later the temple would reflect its reality in heaven as well as the glory cloud images of God that we find throughout scripture (passages like Ezekiel 1). We are supposed to understand that the tabernacle is a picture of a heavenly reality. This small picture would serve as a “base of operations” to spread over all of creation. 

   And you shall keep guard over the sanctuary and over the altar, that there may never again be wrath on the people of Israel. And behold, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the people of Israel. They are a gift to you, given to the LORD, to do the service of the tent of meeting. And you and your sons with you shall guard your priesthood for all that concerns the altar and that is within the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood as a gift, and any outsider who comes near shall be put to death.” Numbers 18:5-7 ESV 

   The idea of the sanctuary being a reiteration of Eden is made more clear by the actions of the priests and Levites in the tabernacle. Notice the verbs that are prevalent in this passage of scripture. “Guard”, “serve”, and “do the service” are all Hebrew verbs which take us back to Adam’s role of working and keeping the garden. Adam and the priests are performing the same function in the sanctuary. Adam’s function was to cultivate the garden and guard it against attacks. The priests’ function was to perform the sacrifices and guard against defilement and uncleanness. 

   These two functions are not as different as they seem. God is still using His representatives to perform duties in managing His dwelling place. Adam was to spread that dwelling place in a world free from sin. In the fallen world, the priests were to mediate between the holy God and clean worshippers who would bring sacrifices to have sins forgiven and enjoy God’s presence. God’s initial plan for fulfilling His goal seems counterintuitive. In the Old Testament, rather than expanding the temple, we see the temple in one location. Image-bearers are invited to have fellowship with God in that location. It’s limited, but it is a real fellowship. God launched His world-changing plan through a single worship space. 

The Land

   “Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. But you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you (for the people of the land, who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean), lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you.” Leviticus 18:24-28 ESV 

   The book of Leviticus is full of descriptions of cleanness and uncleanness; however, in the later chapters, we have the “holiness code”. These are laws which are less “ceremonial” in nature and more “moral”. There are some things in Leviticus that passed away with the fulfillment of the law in Christ’s ministry. Other things are permanent and apply in all circumstances. Usually, we distinguish between these two things by calling them the “ceremonial law” and the “moral law”. The passage quoted above follows a long list of sexual sins that are still applicable today. These were implications of the commandment against adultery. What I want us to notice is the connection between the land and disobedience to the moral law.

 God told the Israelites that they would be punished if they committed these abominations, and the land would vomit them out. The land vomits the people out because God punishes the land for its iniquity that came about by the people’s uncleanness. Does this sound familiar? When Cain killed Abel, God cursed the ground so that it would not produce for Cain. He was vomited out of the land (made a fugitive and wanderer) and settled in the east. It’s interesting that the people of Judah would eventually be vomited out of the land and taken east by the Babylonians. 

 Once again, we see this deep connection between God’s image-bearers and the land on which they live. Their obedience or disobedience to God’s commands directly affects the land around them. When Judah is removed from the land by the Babylonians, God even says that they will be gone for seventy years so that the land will get the Sabbath rest that the people of Judah never gave it. God’s people and the land are tied together.

Another thing to notice here is that the nations before Israel also had this same dynamic with the land. All too often, we consider Israel to be the only nation whose land is directly affected by disobedience. God used the nations before Israel as examples of this very principle. These nations practiced all of the abominations listed, and the land vomited them out. These nations made the land unclean by their abominations. This isn’t an interpretation, it is taken directly from the passage. We have to fit the idea of disobedience and its effect on the land into our theology. If God plans to fill the earth with His glory through the multiplication of image-bearers, then He has to deal with the problem of disobedience.

   See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today? Deuteronomy 4:5-8 ESV 

   God deals with obedience by revealing His statutes and rules to the people of Israel. If Israel is to remain in the land and faithfully take dominion over that land, they must be obedient to God’s law. Disobedience to God’s law would result in expulsion from the land. This wasn’t the only function of the law in Israel. God’s law was meant to show wisdom and understanding to the nations around Israel. 

God designed Israel to serve as a magnetic force for the nations, drawing them into the kingdom by the righteousness of their law and the nearness of their God. Israel was intended to go into the land prepared for them by God, take dominion of that land with His law as their instrument, and draw in the nations to likewise take dominion with this same wisdom and understanding. 

 A brief survey of the Old Testament reveals that Israel was unable to obey God’s law, and the land did in fact, vomit them out. Israel had brief moments of influence on the nations in Solomon’s day (Hiram king of Tyre and the Queen of Sheba), but overall they failed in that purpose. There are even passages in the prophets that show Israel not even abiding by the less righteous laws of the nations around them. How will God fulfill his plan to fill the earth with His glory?

Conclusion 

   God’s good creation post-fall has been negatively impacted by the sinfulness of God’s image-bearers. When we sin, the land suffers. When groups persist in their sin, the land becomes unclean and eventually vomits them out because of disobedience. God took steps at accomplishing His purposes by setting apart the nation of Israel to construct a sanctuary for His dwelling place. In order for these people to dwell with God in the land, they must take dominion with God’s law as an instrument for loving God and neighbor by subduing sin. As stated before, Israel failed to do this at the national level. Something more is required for people to live obediently in the land amidst God’s presence. A messiah is needed to accomplish God’s purposes for His good creation.