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You were made to live with God (Gen 2:8).
Prayer
Gracious God in heaven, as we open your word again, we give all thanks and praise to you, our Maker and Creator, our Sustainer and our Redeemer. Lord, please renew our minds by your word. Sanctify us in the truth of your word. That your name may be exalted and glorified and that your kingdom may come. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Reading
Genesis 2:8.
“And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.”
Meditation
Location, location, location! I don’t know much about the real estate market, but I have heard that catch phrase before. As Christians, maybe we don’t think about location much, and perhaps we see it as a somewhat earthly concern. Physical places, perhaps, do not seem to have much spiritual significance. I think, though, that there is something important that we’re missing if we give no attention to the spiritual significance of physical places. God put the man in a garden – in Eden. The first two chapters of Genesis make it clear that God’s main purpose is to fill the earth with life, but there’s also a very close relationship between the man and the place where God put him. Location, location, location!
If God’s plan is to fill the earth with life, we have to realise that land is a condition of life. Without land there are no plants, no air, no food, no home, nothing. Without land, you’re just floating in an ocean of water. So God made a place for us to dwell, a place where life can flourish. But what do we learn about this dwelling place? In the big picture sense, we need to see that man was made to dwell with God. That’s the central purpose of the land. Let me explain this a little more!
When we read scripture, we must always remember the original audience. When it comes to Genesis 2, that audience was the people of Israel in Moses’ day. Specifically, the people of Israel as they waited on the verge of entering the promised land. That was the point at which these words were being finalised – as we know from a consideration of the end of the Book of Deuteronomy As Moses completed the Pentateuch and handed it to Joshua, it was given to that generation of Israelites. These words were written for a people about to enter the promised land.
Now here’s the thing about the promised land: as the Israelites learned about what God had in store for them in this new land, as they read the books that Moses had written, they would have understood that there was a parallel between Eden and the promised land. Let me explain why I say that. Adam and Eve had been exiled from the garden, they came under the curse. But, as Genesis 12 makes clear, God’s blessing was to be restored through Abraham and his descendants. That knowledge alone comes with an edenic expectation. Part of that blessing would also be tied to the possession of this promised land – the very land that they were about to enter. And if that were not enough, Moses even uses the imagery and blessing of Eden to describe what Israel’s life in the promised land would be like – we see this very clearly in Deuteronomy 8:7-10 and 11:8-17.The promised land was to be very much similar to Eden. We can be confident, then, that God’s intention through the promised land was to give Israel a shadow of how Eden could and would be restored. From a New Covenant perspective, that promised land shadow would be ultimately likewise fulfilled through Christ in the New Heavens and the New Earth (as we see in Revelation – more edenic imagery used to describe the new heavens and the new earth).
Now here’s the thing about both Eden and the promised land: both Eden and Canaan were designed in God’s purposes to be a place where he would dwell with his people. In Eden we see that God walked in the garden to commune with man (Gen 3:8), and likewise God designed the promised land to be a fruitful place where he and his people would dwell together. Numbers 35:34 makes this clear, as God says to Israel: “You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, for I the LORD dwell in the midst of the people of Israel. When God made Eden to be our dwelling place, the intention was that we would dwell there with him. It’s always been God’s design and intention that we were made to dwell with him.
Be ye doers of the word…
You were made to dwell in God’s presence. In a sense, that statement represents a summary of the whole Bible. God made us to dwell with him. We were exiled from the garden due to our sin, and the story of redemption is the story of how God will reconcile us, and bring us back to himself so that we can dwell with him. You were made to dwell in God’s presence. The application is simple enough: dwell always in God’s presence. It’s what you were made for! So we read in Psalm 27:4, which says: “One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.”
What is your aim in life? Our constant aim ought always to be that we might dwell in God’s presence. Every day, and every night. There is no secular sacred divide, there is only God’s world, and our calling is to dwell in his presence. Now that starts with coming to Christ and believing in him. In this sense, Christ has opened up the gates of Eden again, which is why he said to the man on the cross next to him: “Today you will be with me in paradise.” However, for us who have not yet gone to be with him, we still look forward to entering paradise. For now we walk with him in this life as he dwells in us through his Holy Spirit.
The New Testament teaches us that Christ gave us his Spirit so that we could dwell always in God’s presence. We are likewise instructed to “pray without ceasing”, I think it’s getting at the same thing: to life lived in the constant awareness and presence of God. We are called to live a life where each moment we are living in a constant state of communion with him. That’s the aim. And so, whatever you are doing, wherever you are in the world, be sure to pursue this: to dwell always in God’s presence. SDG.
Prayer of Confession & Consecration
Our Lord and our God, please forgive us for being so carnally minded. Frequently we go through large chunks of our days with no thought for you. Oh Lord, please forgive us and spare us and help us in our weakness. Lord, we desire to be living moment by moment in your presence with constant prayer, communion with you. Lord, opening your word, hearing from you and speaking back in the language of the soul, seeking your face. Help us, Lord, in this thing. Help us not to be distracted. Help us to set our eyes firmly on you. Oh Lord, this would be indeed heaven on earth. Please help us in this by your Spirit's power. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
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By Reformed devotions from all of scripture.Prayer
Gracious God in heaven, as we open your word again, we give all thanks and praise to you, our Maker and Creator, our Sustainer and our Redeemer. Lord, please renew our minds by your word. Sanctify us in the truth of your word. That your name may be exalted and glorified and that your kingdom may come. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Reading
Genesis 2:8.
“And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.”
Meditation
Location, location, location! I don’t know much about the real estate market, but I have heard that catch phrase before. As Christians, maybe we don’t think about location much, and perhaps we see it as a somewhat earthly concern. Physical places, perhaps, do not seem to have much spiritual significance. I think, though, that there is something important that we’re missing if we give no attention to the spiritual significance of physical places. God put the man in a garden – in Eden. The first two chapters of Genesis make it clear that God’s main purpose is to fill the earth with life, but there’s also a very close relationship between the man and the place where God put him. Location, location, location!
If God’s plan is to fill the earth with life, we have to realise that land is a condition of life. Without land there are no plants, no air, no food, no home, nothing. Without land, you’re just floating in an ocean of water. So God made a place for us to dwell, a place where life can flourish. But what do we learn about this dwelling place? In the big picture sense, we need to see that man was made to dwell with God. That’s the central purpose of the land. Let me explain this a little more!
When we read scripture, we must always remember the original audience. When it comes to Genesis 2, that audience was the people of Israel in Moses’ day. Specifically, the people of Israel as they waited on the verge of entering the promised land. That was the point at which these words were being finalised – as we know from a consideration of the end of the Book of Deuteronomy As Moses completed the Pentateuch and handed it to Joshua, it was given to that generation of Israelites. These words were written for a people about to enter the promised land.
Now here’s the thing about the promised land: as the Israelites learned about what God had in store for them in this new land, as they read the books that Moses had written, they would have understood that there was a parallel between Eden and the promised land. Let me explain why I say that. Adam and Eve had been exiled from the garden, they came under the curse. But, as Genesis 12 makes clear, God’s blessing was to be restored through Abraham and his descendants. That knowledge alone comes with an edenic expectation. Part of that blessing would also be tied to the possession of this promised land – the very land that they were about to enter. And if that were not enough, Moses even uses the imagery and blessing of Eden to describe what Israel’s life in the promised land would be like – we see this very clearly in Deuteronomy 8:7-10 and 11:8-17.The promised land was to be very much similar to Eden. We can be confident, then, that God’s intention through the promised land was to give Israel a shadow of how Eden could and would be restored. From a New Covenant perspective, that promised land shadow would be ultimately likewise fulfilled through Christ in the New Heavens and the New Earth (as we see in Revelation – more edenic imagery used to describe the new heavens and the new earth).
Now here’s the thing about both Eden and the promised land: both Eden and Canaan were designed in God’s purposes to be a place where he would dwell with his people. In Eden we see that God walked in the garden to commune with man (Gen 3:8), and likewise God designed the promised land to be a fruitful place where he and his people would dwell together. Numbers 35:34 makes this clear, as God says to Israel: “You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, for I the LORD dwell in the midst of the people of Israel. When God made Eden to be our dwelling place, the intention was that we would dwell there with him. It’s always been God’s design and intention that we were made to dwell with him.
Be ye doers of the word…
You were made to dwell in God’s presence. In a sense, that statement represents a summary of the whole Bible. God made us to dwell with him. We were exiled from the garden due to our sin, and the story of redemption is the story of how God will reconcile us, and bring us back to himself so that we can dwell with him. You were made to dwell in God’s presence. The application is simple enough: dwell always in God’s presence. It’s what you were made for! So we read in Psalm 27:4, which says: “One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.”
What is your aim in life? Our constant aim ought always to be that we might dwell in God’s presence. Every day, and every night. There is no secular sacred divide, there is only God’s world, and our calling is to dwell in his presence. Now that starts with coming to Christ and believing in him. In this sense, Christ has opened up the gates of Eden again, which is why he said to the man on the cross next to him: “Today you will be with me in paradise.” However, for us who have not yet gone to be with him, we still look forward to entering paradise. For now we walk with him in this life as he dwells in us through his Holy Spirit.
The New Testament teaches us that Christ gave us his Spirit so that we could dwell always in God’s presence. We are likewise instructed to “pray without ceasing”, I think it’s getting at the same thing: to life lived in the constant awareness and presence of God. We are called to live a life where each moment we are living in a constant state of communion with him. That’s the aim. And so, whatever you are doing, wherever you are in the world, be sure to pursue this: to dwell always in God’s presence. SDG.
Prayer of Confession & Consecration
Our Lord and our God, please forgive us for being so carnally minded. Frequently we go through large chunks of our days with no thought for you. Oh Lord, please forgive us and spare us and help us in our weakness. Lord, we desire to be living moment by moment in your presence with constant prayer, communion with you. Lord, opening your word, hearing from you and speaking back in the language of the soul, seeking your face. Help us, Lord, in this thing. Help us not to be distracted. Help us to set our eyes firmly on you. Oh Lord, this would be indeed heaven on earth. Please help us in this by your Spirit's power. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe