Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – October 15, 2019
Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His Saints. Psalm 116:15
Yesterday, I read something in the book of Genesis that blew my mind and made me so grateful for the Lord’s love and gentle kindness.
Perhaps like me, you’ve heard many times about Adam and Eve’s bite from the apple and their fall into sin.
Of the event, Genesis 3:23-24 says,
“ So [after they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil] the Lord God banished him [Adam] from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.”
Ouch! Sounds harsh. A flaming sword. Angels guarding the Garden. God must have really been angry, right?
Whenever I heard this story, I always thought the earth’s first couple were kicked out of the Garden because they disobeyed the Lord. He told them not to eat of the tree. They didn’t listen. So, God said, “Sorry. You have to leave. I’m taking the beauty of the Garden from you because you didn’t do what I asked.”
But that’s not the whole of the story. Last week, I read the verses just proceeding Genesis 3:23-24 in the New Living Translation and it completely changed my perspective about why God banished Adam and Eve. It made me cry grateful tears.
Genesis 3:22 says,
“Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!”
The Lord God was saying, Adam and Eve have eaten the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But it will be even worse if they eat from the tree of life now because that means they will live forever in their sin. I don’t want that to happen to them. That would be awful!
The only way to protect them from that horror is to kick them out of the Garden so they don’t eat from the tree that will make them live forever. I will kick them out so they will die a physical death, so they can come back to me in heaven, and I can restore things the way they were supposed to be.
Wow!
Do you see what I saw?
God kicked Adam and Eve out so they could be forgiven of their sin. He kicked them out because He loved them so much that he couldn’t stand to see them live eternally in sin.
Oh, what a wonderful God! He loves us so much.
Death is God’s gift. It’s His protection. It’s a deliverance from living in the pain of sin. It’s not punishment; it’s God’s lovingkindness in action. When you or I die, God is not taking anything away. He’s giving us a divine upgrade.
So, it’s no wonder that the death of His Saints is precious in His eyes.
How marvelous!
“Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them. (Revelation 14:13).
Prayer
Lord, how I praise you for the goodness that you have shown to me by not allowing me to live forever in sin. You will deliver me. And when it’s my time, I will gladly receive the gift of death and come home to you. Amen.
Application
Praise the Lord today for His gift of eternal life and share what you learned today with someone you love.
Related Reading
John 11:25; 1 Corinthians 15: 42-44; Isaiah 57:1-2
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#WisdomHunters #death #Jesus Death is Gods deliverance for believers from living in the pain of sin.
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