The Lord God banished him from the Garden . . . [and] placed . . . cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

— Genesis 3:23-24

God placed our first parents, Adam and Eve, in a beautiful garden filled with wonderful plants, wildlife, and abundant food (Genesis 2:8-25). God himself was present there and took walks with them in “the cool of the day”; but Adam and Eve fell into sin, disobeying God’s command to them (Gen. 3:1-11). And as we read at the end of Genesis 3, they were banished from the garden and locked out.

This can seem like pretty extreme punishment for just eating some forbidden fruit (see Genesis 2:16-17; 3:1-7). Actually, though, a lot more was involved. God had entrusted Adam and Eve with representing him by managing this beautiful garden—to develop and care for it. But they shifted their allegiance from the Creator to following the way of the enemy—Satan (see Revelation 12:9). In doing this, they ruined their relationships with God, with each other, and with the creation. So God banished them and blocked the way to the garden.

Maybe you’ve been shut out—fired from a job, shunned by family members or neighbors, barred from society by imprisonment. Maybe you have been at fault, either partly or fully; or maybe you are innocent. Either way, it feels awful.

Thankfully, God provided a way to be reconciled with him. God sent his Son, Jesus, to defeat the devil and remove the barrier so that we can have fellowship with God again (Genesis 3:15; Hebrews 2:14-18).

Thank you, Jesus, for reopening the way into God’s presence. Amen.