And we know the world was getting increasingly more wicked, wasn’t it? Because by the time you get to Genesis 6, what does God have to do? Drown the whole world. And he was watching this and it inspired hope in his heart, hope in his heart. And I think that’s what God wanted. And that’s why Verse 24 says: “He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden he stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.” For however long that garden remained, the temptation would have been greater and greater in the mind of man to run back in there and try to sort of reverse the power of death by eating the tree of life. That would have been a witless act, could he have done it, because all it would have done, as I said, was make him permanently wicked.
So the Lord stationed cherubim there. Wherever you see cherubim — this is the first time angels are mentioned in the Bible; a lot of firsts in this section, the first time angels are mentioned — but wherever you see cherubim, they’re always associated with the throne of God. They’re always around the throne of God. Ezekiel 1, Ezekiel 10, 2nd Samuel 6:2: “The Lord of hosts dwells between the cherubim.” That’s why the cherubim were put on the ark of the covenant; a symbol of His presence. So they are the angels that protect the presence of God, that protect the glory of God, the throne of God.
And all that Adam could do was hope for the day when he could go into the throne of God, when he could go back into the presence of God, when he could go back to paradise and commune with God as he once did. 2nd Kings 19:15 says: “The Lord God of Israel dwells between the cherubim.” He wanted to go back to the presence of God, and he hoped and he hoped and he hoped. When would that day come? When could we go into the presence of God? The angels, these angels, cherubim are guarding that Holy of Holies. They’re guarding that place of God’s presence. That’s the place that Adam and Eve wanted so much to be. They couldn’t go there. They had to sweat, suffer, struggle, and live with hope that some day — they couldn’t do it in their present condition — but some day, they would be able to enter into God’s presence again.
There’s a double protection, kind of interesting in Verse 24. The flaming sword also was there “turning every direction.” In other words, no matter where you would go, the flaming sword was there. There was absolutely no access to God’s personal presence. You can’t enter into His presence, the fullness of His presence. Oh, of course, His spirit is there, and we’ll see that later. And God is appearing from time to time to man. We see that in the early part of the Old Testament, as well as later on ultimately in Christ. But you can’t get into His presence, because in this case going back into the garden, end of Verse 24, would mean they would go right to the tree of life, and that would “destroy them” forever. They just — He protects them. This is security.
And He makes them live in hope. Even though they were believers, even though they had repented, even though they had been forgiven, even though they had been covered, they were still sentenced to live a life of suffering and sorrow and pain and death. So they had to live in hope. That’s the way we live. We hope for heaven. We hope for the fullness of the presence of God. God sent them out and said: I want you to feel the curse. I want you to feel the blast of sin, and I want you to feel that so hard that you begin to have a deep longing for heaven. Keil-Delitzsch, the Hebrew commentator, says: “Man must till the ground in which he will, after a short span, decay in the soil which he turns over with his spade. He has before his very eyes his origin and his future. You will die, you will suffer and you will die. But that suffering and that death which will free him to enter the presence of God becomes the source of his hope.”
Why does God want us to live in hope? Because 1st John 3:3 says: Hope purifies. “Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” This purifying hope is our anchor. In the words of Hebrews 6:19, this hope is “an anchor for the soul.” You know, I look forward to heaven, don’t you? And the longer you’re in this life and the longer you suffer, and the longer you long for an unruffled life, a peaceful, tranquil, joyous life, the longer you desire communion with God uninterrupted and holy and perfect, the longer you live and desire that, the more heaven appeals to you. You can say with the Psalmist in Psalm 39:7: “My hope is in You.” Romans 4 says about Abraham that he hoped. He hoped. “Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God,” says Psalm 146:5.
So here you have it in the end of this chapter, the essential mix of the elements of salvation. From man’s side, faith is the point of entry and hope sustains him. From God’s side, atonement is the point of entry and security sustains him. We believe and we hope. And God atones and God secures us. And so, the most tragic Chapter in all the scripture ends with a glorious introduction to the good news of salvation.
Sinners, God has provided atonement. He will cover your sin and keep you secure until you reach eternal glory. It is available to you who believe and persevere in hope. That’s what Adam had to do for a long time. And then one day, hope became reality. He left that human flesh and entered in a perfect, regenerated spirit into the presence of the creator. Eve, the same. And there was awaiting them the communion they had so long wished for, and the end of all sin. And so it is for us as well.
Father, this Chapter is monumental in so many ways, and with it we have the time to even go more deeply into its profound depths. But what a glorious, glorious way to tell us what You are like. Then to see how rapidly You acted in grace toward cursed sinners. O, what a Savior is mine. We are utterly unworthy of such mercy and grace as has been bestowed upon us from Adam and Eve on. We are no better than they. We are under the same curse. But for us has been provided the atonement and the security, and to us has been granted, as to them, the faith and hope that takes hold of that atonement. Faith for the atonement, and persevering hope alongside your securing power. And in this, we find our salvation. And we thank you and we praise You. Amen.
“This article originally appeared here at Bible Bulletin Board.”
