The Story as I Tell It-- Part Two

Israel failed to do and be what God formed and created them to do and be. In that we hear echoes of the Garden of Eden. Man and woman were formed from the dust of the earth (the desert), placed in the garden, and were confronted with choices signified by two trees. They could go God's way or take their own way. Are we supposed to be surprised by their choice? When we're offered something that's pleasing to the eye, good for food, and good for obtaining wisdom, don't we go for it? As we can see, it isn't always the best choice even though it seems to be the most expedient. Who doesn't want to be like God? But the problem with being like God is that there isn't enough room for the both of you in the status of godhood. One of you has to go, and it isn't going to be God. Off you go, back into the desert.

We may be tempted to believe that the Garden of Eden was a veritable paradise. It was in some ways-- plenty of water, lush foliage, rare and precious gemstones, communion with God. Who could ask for anything better? We may mistake it for a scene from The Lion King, when Simba ran away from home and befriended a warthog and a meerkat living in a jungle filled with sensual delights. Hakuna Matata, no worries, as they say. Even God declared everything to be very good.

Two trees, the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, were prominent in the garden. Eat from the former and enjoy lasting communion with God. Eat from the latter and be expelled from the garden. There's talk of expulsion in paradise? What kind of a paradise is this? Isn't paradise supposed to be a place of unconditional well-being and support? I didn't know Shangri-la came with an undercurrent of threat! What happened to Hakuna Matata?

So here's the deal-- If our first parents obeyed God they could stay in the garden. If they disobeyed God they would be expelled. Remember this because it will play prominently a bit later, but doesn't the choice seem obvious to you? Well, maybe it doesn't. That's alright if it doesn't. I'm starting to doubt if I would have wanted to stay in the garden.

But not so fast-- here comes a wily serpent to present the first couple with their options. Options in paradise? Isn't paradise supposed to be a place where one could be free of having to make choices. Having to make choices implies that there's something afoul here, especially when one of the choices had a penalty attached to it. Death. Separation from God. As I said earlier, the problem with being like God is that there's isn't room for the both of you. If you want to be God, and not represent God, you'll have to do it somewhere else.

The serpent analyzed the situation differently. "You won't get thrown out," he said. "God knows that, and God really needs you to stay and entertain him. He's quite an ornery old fellow, you know, and the only ones who can keep him happy are those who are just like him! He won't settle for anything less." How flattering!

They eat the forbidden fruit. Did they become like God? In a strange way they did, having the knowledge of good and evil. Even God admitted as much. But there can only be one God in the garden. Furthermore, no one can ever become God completely. The closest anyone can come to becoming God is to be, oddly enough, reduced (sic) to being a cheap imitation. Perhaps that's why God didn't want them to eat that fruit. God wanted them to be royalty, not court jesters.

Now they must die. This isn't a reference to physical and biological demise. If it were, they would've been struck dead on the spot. No, they must leave the garden to go back to the place from whence they came. To the dust. To the desert. It's barren out there. But there's hope out there, believe it or not. For in the desert dust they could be re-formed and re-created, to have God breathe into their nostrils once again and restore them to the life they once had. To become empty so that they may be filled with God's Spirit and Life. God will say as much through the utterances of the prophets.

Could it be that the desert is more of a paradise than a lush garden?

Part Three next time, but perhaps with a different title.