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- Herausgeber: IVP Academic
- Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
- Serie: Essential Studies in Biblical Theology
- Sprache: Englisch
Biblical Foundations Book Awards Finalist Deep within the human psyche lies a sense that we were made for something more than this broken world. We all share an experience of exile—of longing for our true home. In this ESBT volume, Matthew S. Harmon explores how the theme of sin and exile is developed throughout Scripture. He traces a common pattern of human rebellion, God's judgment, and the hope of restored relationship, beginning with the first humans and concluding with the end of exile in a new creation. In this story we encounter the remarkable grace of a God who wants to dwell with his people, and we learn how to live well as exiles in a fallen world. Rebels and Exiles makes clear how the paradigm of sin leading to exile is foundational for understanding both the biblical storyline and human existence. About the Series Essential Studies in Biblical Theology (ESBT), edited by Benjamin L. Gladd and L. Michael Morales, explore the central or essential themes of the Bible's grand storyline. Taking cues from Genesis 1–3, authors trace the presence of these themes throughout the entire sweep of redemptive history. Written for students, church leaders, and laypeople, the ESBT offers an accessible yet rich introduction to biblical theology.
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REBELS AND EXILES
A Biblical Theology of Sin and Restoration
To Jesus, who bore my curse upon the tree.
Contents
SERIES PREFACE
BENJAMIN L. GLADD
THE ESSENTIAL STUDIES IN BIBLICAL THEOLOGY is patterned after the highly esteemed series New Studies in Biblical Theology, edited by D. A. Carson. Like the NSBT, this series is devoted to unpacking the various strands of biblical theology. The field of biblical theology has grown exponentially in recent years, showing no sign of abating. At the heart of biblical theology is the unfolding nature of God’s plan of redemption as set forth in the Bible.
With an influx of so many books on biblical theology, why generate yet another series? A few reasons. The ESBT is dedicated to the fundamental or “essential” broad themes of the grand story line of the Bible. Stated succinctly, the goal of the ESBT series is to explore the central biblical-theological themes of the Bible. Several existing series on biblical theology are generally openended, whereas the ESBT will be limited to ten or so volumes. By restricting the entire series, the scope of the project is established from the beginning. The ESBT project functions as a whole in that each theme is intentional, and each volume does not stand solely on its own merits. The individual volumes interlock with one another and, taken together, form a complete and cohesive unit.
Another unique dimension of the series is a robust emphasis on biblical theology, spanning the entire sweep of the history of redemption. Each volume traces a particular theme throughout the Bible, from Genesis 1–3 to Revelation 21–22, and is organically connected to the person of Christ and the church in the New Testament. To avoid a “flat” biblical theology, these projects are mindful of how the New Testament develops their topic in fresh or unexpected ways. For example, the New Testament sheds new light on the nature of the “kingdom” and “messiah.” Though these twin themes are rooted and explored in the Old Testament, both flow through the person of Christ in unique ways. Biblical theology should include how Old Testament themes are held in continuity and discontinuity with the New Testament.
The audience of the series includes beginning students of theology, church leaders, and laypeople. The ESBT is intended to be an accessible introduction to core biblical-theological themes of the Bible. This series is not designed to overturn every biblical-theological rock and investigate the finer details of biblical passages. Each volume is intentionally brief, serving as a primer of sorts that introduces the reader to a particular theme. These works also attempt to apply their respective biblical-theological themes to Christian living, ministry, and worldview. Good biblical theology warms the heart and motivates us to grow in our knowledge and adoration of the triune God.
AUTHOR’S PREFACE
AT FIRST GLANCE, writing a book on sin and exile may not sound like the most exciting topic one could explore. I will admit that when I began this project I shared a similar concern. But the more I explored how this theme is developed from Genesis to Revelation, the more I began to see the remarkable mercy and grace of God. I also began to see how Scripture speaks to the deep sense of longing I have for the new heavens and the new earth that consummates God’s redemptive plan. And I was once again awestruck at the unity and diversity of Scripture as it tells the one true story of the world that makes ultimate sense of every other story.
There are a variety of approaches one could take in exploring the biblical-theological theme of sin and exile. My goal is to trace out this theme from Genesis to Revelation, paying attention to how the Bible itself presents and develops this theme. Thus, I have limited my engagement with what other scholars have written on the subject and have restricted what engagement there is to the footnotes. For those interested in pursuing this theme further, there is a brief list of suggested readings at the end of the book with a short description to help orient you.
Writing a book is a team effort, even when there is only one author. This book would not exist without the help of others, and it is my delight to highlight just a few of the people who have had a role in the process. My love for God’s Word began shortly after my conversion at age thirteen, and it has been fueled by various pastors, teachers, and professors along the way. There are too many of them to mention by name, but I am especially grateful for the influence of Doug Moo and Greg Beale while I was a doctoral student at Wheaton College. Each in their own way has shaped my approach to the Bible, and those who are familiar with their works will likely find traces of their influence in these pages.
I wrote this book at the invitation of Ben Gladd, the editor of this series. We became good friends during my time as a doctoral student at Wheaton, and that friendship has continued to grow over the years despite the many miles that separate us. That friendship led us to coauthor Making All Things New: Inaugurated Eschatology for the Life of the Church (Baker, 2016), so I was thrilled when he asked me to contribute to this new series of biblical theology books. His friendship is an especially kind expression of God’s grace in my life.
Books do not see the light of day without publishers and editors, so I am grateful for the many people at InterVarsity Press who have played their part in the process. Anna Gissing deserves special mention for her very helpful comments and suggestions in the editorial process. Her sharp eye and keen mind have made this a better book.
As a professor at Grace College and Theological Seminary, my interaction with students in and out of the classroom shapes what and how I write. I am grateful for the significant support I receive from the administrators, who annually grant me a reduced teaching load to facilitate my research and writing. Together we view this as a ministry to the broader body of Christ, and I am honored to partner with them in equipping people for faithful ministry in the local church, both here in the United States and ultimately around the world.
My family is a constant source of joy and encouragement, always asking me, “What are you working on?” as they see me sitting in my study surrounded by stacks of books and multiple computer monitors. Hanging out with my two sons, Jon and Jake, is always a nice way to recharge my batteries. Watching the two of them grow into young men is a delight to behold.
Words always fail me when it comes to expressing my joy and delight in my wife, Kate. She regularly makes sacrifices to enable me to have time to write even though she has her own full-time job teaching English. Even in the midst of the busyness of life, we remind each other that it is “us against the world.” Truly your love is better than wine (Song of Solomon 4:10), and in the words of Mr. Darcy, you have bewitched me, body and soul.
Of course, without the staggering grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, none of these blessings would matter. Even though my sin had sent me into exile away from his presence, he restored me by bearing the curse that my sin deserved. “To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (1 Timothy 1:17).
As you read this book, this is what I am praying for you:
The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)
ABBREVIATIONS
Bib
Biblica
BZNW
Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestmentliche Wissenschaft
CBQ
Catholic Biblical Quarterly
EvT
Evangelische Theologie
HeyJ
Heythrop Journal
ICC
International Critical Commentary
JBL
Journal of Biblical Literature
JSOT
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
JSOTSup
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series
NAC
New American Commentary
NICNT
New International Commentary on the New Testament
NICOT
New International Commentary on the Old Testament
NIGTC
New International Greek Testament Commentary
NPNF
The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers
NSBT
New Studies in Biblical Theology
PNTC
Pelican New Testament Commentaries
PRSt
Perspectives in Religious Studies
SBL
Society of Biblical Literature
TynBul
Tyndale Bulletin
WBC
Word Biblical Commentary
WMANT
Wissenschaftliche Monographien zum Alten und Neuen Testament
WUNT
Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament
Introduction
SIN AND EXILEIN CONTEMPORARY EXPERIENCE
HOME. JUST THE WORD ITSELF evokes a variety of emotions. In a basic sense, we use the word to refer to the place where we live. In other contexts, the word home refers to where we grew up or where our family still lives. But we can also use the term in another sense. Home is where a person feels a sense of belonging and identity. It is where we feel most comfortable and free to be ourselves. It’s where we let our guard down and relax. It’s where we usually feel the freedom to be who we truly think we are.
Yet there are people in this world that for various reasons are unable to live in the place they call home. For some that reason is voluntary. Many college students, for example, go to school far away from home. Some people travel far from home for work, spending days, weeks, or even months away in order to earn a living. For others, however, the reason is involuntary. Obvious examples are the criminal who is confined in prison or the daughter who is told by her parents she is no longer welcome in their home. Regardless of whether it is voluntary or involuntary, living in a place that is not our home is a disorienting experience.
There’s a word for living in a place that is not our home—exile. Throughout human history, exile has been used as a form of punishment. The emperor Napoleon, for example, was sent into exile after a series of crushing military defeats. The apostle John was exiled on the island of Patmos by the Roman Empire because he refused to stop preaching the good news about Jesus Christ. Entire people groups have been sent off into exile by foreign powers conquering a land and scattering the native population into territories that are not their homelands.
But exile is not limited to those who are physically away from their home. Even people who are living in their homeland can feel a sense of exile when their beliefs conflict with that of the dominant culture.1 From this perspective, exile “is the experience of knowing that one is an alien, and perhaps even in a hostile environment where the dominant values run counter to one’s own.”2 In the broadest sense, exile “designates every kind of estrangement or displacement, from the physical to the geographical to the spiritual.”3 Defined this way, exile of some kind is a common experience.
Deep within the human psyche there seems to be an awareness that we as human beings were made for something more than we experience in our everyday lives. We go through our days with a sense that this current world cannot be what we were ultimately made for. There must be something that transcends even the best of what this world offers. We long for a place to truly belong, a place that is home in the fullest sense of that word.
This sense of living in a place that is not our home finds expression throughout literature and culture. A lighthearted example of this is the movie Terminal, starring Tom Hanks. Hanks plays Viktor Navorski, a man from the fictional Eastern European nation of Krakozhia. Upon arriving at JFK Airport in New York City, Navorski discovers that a coup has taken place in his homeland, and the United States refuses to recognize the new regime. As a result, Navorski is denied entry into America and is forced to remain in the international transit area. The rest of the movie recounts Navorski’s adventures as a man without a country, living in no man’s land as he awaits the resolution of the conflict in his homeland.
Although best known for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien made this keen observation about life in this world in a letter to a friend: “Certainly there was an Eden on this very unhappy earth. We all long for it, and we are constantly glimpsing it: our whole nature at its best and least corrupted, its gentlest and most humane, is still soaked with the sense of ‘exile.’”4
This sense of living in this world with a longing for our true home is not limited to Christian authors. In two recent articles, Eric Grundhauser reflected on the following quote from Judith Thurman, a biographer and literary critic (who as far as I can tell makes no claim to be a Christian): “Every dreamer knows that it is entirely possible to be homesick for a place you’ve never been to, perhaps more homesick than for familiar ground.”5
Based on this quote, Grundhauser asked readers to give examples of places they had never been, yet felt a sense of “homesickness” (or perhaps one could even call it “farsickness”)—what the Germans refer to as Fernweh. The responses were fascinating as readers described their longings for places that were real and fictional. Several readers described longings for places where their ancestors originated but they themselves had never been able to visit for themselves.
Such longing for a place we think of as our true home is natural to our identity as human beings. Yet if we are honest with ourselves, we are not immune to disappointment, frustration, and pain, even when we are in the place we call home. Even at their best, the places we call home in this life are never completely immune from the brokenness, pain, and evil that permeate this world. It is natural for us to long for a place where such realities are not present, where everything that is good about the place we call home in this world is elevated to an even greater degree of enjoyment and everything that diminishes our enjoyment of such a place is done away with once and for all. C. S. Lewis captures this desire well when he writes, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”6
The idea of being “made for another world” might sound like the stuff of fairy tales, but what if Lewis is right? What if the reason we pine for a place we can truly call home—a place that is even better than the best this world offers—is that we as human beings were, in fact, made for such a world? And what if such a world actually existed?
But now we are getting ahead of ourselves. Before we can answer the question of whether such a world exists, we need to answer another question: How did this present world get so messed up? It doesn’t take keen powers of observation to see that this world is broken. We are daily confronted with the realities of living in a world where pain, suffering, sickness, and flat-out evil seem to be all around us: mass shootings, a devastating cancer diagnosis for a loved one, someone you trusted betrays you, a person you love breaks your heart.
How did we as human beings get into this predicament?
Where did this sense of exile come from?
What happened to cause this state of exile?
What is the solution to this fundamental problem of sin and the exile that results from it?
Will there ever come a time when we live in our true home?
That’s what this book is about. And the place to start in our quest to answer these questions is the opening chapters of Genesis. But before you turn there, take a moment to pray. Ask God to open your eyes to see what he says in his Word. Ask him to show you who he is and what he has done in this world to make things right. Ask him to show you how to better love him with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. Ask him how to better love your neighbor as yourself. And when you pray this, pray it confidently, because these are the kinds of prayers God loves to answer.
Chapter One
HUMANITY’S ORIGINAL REBELLION AND EXILE
WHEN IT COMES TO A GOOD STORY, the opening line is often memorable and draws the reader in. Take, for example, Charles Dickens’s classic A Tale of Two Cities:
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.1
Or this famous opening from The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien:
When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventyfirst birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton.2
What about this more recent example from Harry Potter?
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.3
These opening lines help set the stage for the story that follows and pique the reader’s interest.
The opening words of Genesis are some of the most famous in the world: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). This line introduces us to the main character—God—and jumpstarts the story. It also acts as a title for Genesis 1:1–2:3, which lays out the six days in which God created the universe and the seventh day on which he rested. On each of the first five days, God speaks various aspects of creation into existence. Each day builds on the previous, leading up to the climactic sixth day when God creates humanity, his crowning achievement (1:26-31). Let’s take a closer look at this important passage.
CROWNED AND COMMISSIONED
In contrast to everything else made to this point, God announces, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26).4 The concept of being made in the image and likeness of God is so important that it is repeated two more times in 1:27. In the ancient Near East, victorious kings would set up an image of themselves in territories they had conquered as a reflection of their glory and a reminder of their presence. In a similar (albeit far greater) sense, that is what God has done with humanity. God made us to be mirrors to reflect his glorious beauty to all of creation.
But there is more to being made in God’s image and likeness than simply reflecting his glorious beauty. Immediately after stating that humanity is made in God’s image, God blesses them and gives them a commission: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28).
In rapid-fire fashion, God gives five interconnected commands that describe his commission to Adam and Eve. The first three focus on God’s intention for humanity to become so numerous that they eventually fill the earth. God commissions his image bearers to reproduce fellow image bearers. The final two commands center on God’s intention for humanity to rule over creation. God is the great king who rules over the universe, but he has created humanity to rule as vice regents, mini kings and queens who rule under his ultimate authority. God exercises his rule over creation through humanity as they exercise dominion over all God has made.
God’s purpose for humanity is to reflect his glorious beauty by filling the earth and ruling over creation as his vice regents. With the pinnacle of his creation now in place, God declares everything “very good” (Genesis 1:31) and then rests on the seventh day as the sovereign king of the universe (2:1-3).
SET APART AND UNITED TOGETHER
Genesis 1:1–2:3 describes the creation of humanity with a particular emphasis on their role as vice regents. In Genesis 2:4-25 the creation of humanity is told again but from a different angle and with a different emphasis.5 The place to start is in verses 7-9:
Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Whereas Genesis 1:26-27 focused on God creating humanity by his Word, here God gets his hands dirty, so to speak. He forms the man Adam out of the dust of the ground and breathes into him to bring him to life.
After creating Adam, God places him in the Garden of Eden. But this is no ordinary garden. Based on the remainder of Genesis 2–3 and later texts such as Ezekiel 40–48 and Revelation 21–22, the garden was created to be the Lord’s temple sanctuary here on earth.6 It was the place where God walked with Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:8). The presence of the cherubim as guardians of the garden once the sinful couple is exiled further suggests it is a temple sanctuary (3:24) since they are later present in both the tabernacle and the temple (Exodus 25:18; 1 Kings 6:23-35). The abundance of botanical and arboreal imagery that describes Solomon’s temple suggests that it was patterned after Eden (1 Kings 6–7), and later passages that anticipate the eschatological temple describe it in Edenic terms (Isaiah 60:13, 21).
But not only is Eden portrayed as the earthly sanctuary of God; the task that God gives Adam when placing him in the garden is a priestly role. According to Genesis 2:15, God “put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” This same combination of the verbs work (which could also be translated serve) and keep (or guard) are used elsewhere to describe the role of priests serving in the tabernacle and protecting its purity (Numbers 3:7-8; 8:25-26; 18:5-6; 1 Chronicles 23:32; Ezekiel 44:14). Immediately following this description of the priestly role, God gives his priest, Adam, a command for him to keep—not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 2:17). Like the later priests who were entrusted with God’s law, Adam was expected to obey it and prevent anything unclean from entering God’s sanctuary. This observation will become especially important when we look at Genesis 3.
As a priest, Adam was charged with mediating the divine presence to all of creation. Humanity would be the conduit through which God would make himself known. Through his faithful obedience, Adam and his offspring would expand the boundaries of God’s garden sanctuary and preserve its purity by ejecting anything unclean that sought to enter.
God did not leave Adam alone to carry out his priestly role. He created “a helper fit for him” by making a woman who corresponded to him (Genesis 2:18). Adam’s response when God presents the woman to him is worth quoting in full: “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man” (2:23). His excitement is palpable. God has given him a partner to come alongside him and fulfill God’s purpose for both of them.
Thus, in addition to the royal role that God gives humanity to rule over his creation, he also grants them a priestly role. As kings and priests, humans were to work together to accomplish God’s purposes in this world so that his glory would be on full display through his obedient image bearers.
REBELLIOUS AND JUDGED
This idyllic picture did not last long. Genesis 3 opens with the ominous note that “the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made” (3:1). By questioning the goodness of God and the truthfulness of his word to the first couple, the serpent deceives the woman into eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and she in turn gives some to her husband (3:1-6). Within moments the consequences of their actions began to sink in: “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked” (3:7). Although their nakedness was not a problem before they ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (2:25), now it was a source of shame, something to be hidden. In their desperation “they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths” (3:7).
Instead of welcoming God later that day when it came time for him to walk in his garden sanctuary, Adam and his wife “hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8). When God confronted Adam about whether he had eaten the forbidden fruit, he shifted the blame to Eve (3:9-12). The woman made a similar move when questioned by God, blaming the serpent for deceiving her (3:13).
Before looking at God’s pronouncement of judgment, it is worth pausing to reflect on what has happened. Adam was commissioned as king, charged with ruling over creation by filling it with image bearers. But instead of exercising dominion over the serpent, he allowed the serpent to exercise dominion over him by listening to and agreeing with the serpent’s slanderous invitation to disobey Yahweh. Adam was also commissioned as a priest, charged with mediating God’s presence in the world, keeping his law, and maintaining the purity and holiness of his garden sanctuary here on earth. But instead of ejecting the unholy serpent from the garden and remaining obedient to God’s law, Adam not only permits the serpent to remain in God’s sanctuary but joins with him in his uncleanness.7
Throughout the centuries there have been many attempts to describe the sin of Adam and his wife. One of the more prominent ways is to classify it as pride or selfishness. After stating that pride is the beginning of sin, Augustine contends that pride is “the craving for undue exaltation,” which is “when the soul abandons Him to whom it ought to cleave as its end, and becomes a kind of end to itself. This happens when it becomes its own satisfaction.”8 Another prominent way of framing Adam’s sin is to describe it in terms of breaking God’s covenant. Understood this way, Adam failed to fulfill his responsibilities as God’s servant when faced with his first probationary trial.9 Along these lines Cornelius Plantinga defines sin as “the smearing of a relationship, the grieving of one’s divine parent and benefactor, a betrayal of the partner to whom one is joined by a holy bond.”10 It is also possible to frame sin in terms of “faithlessness on humanity’s part born of a lack of faith in God’s character and God’s Word.”11
While each of these proposals has merit, two particular ways of describing Adam and Eve’s sin are especially relevant for our purposes. The first is rebellion. God made Adam to be a king who ruled under his authority, reflecting the beauty of the Lord as he exercised dominion over God’s creation. But instead of humbly submitting to Yahweh as his sovereign, Adam rejected his authority by determining good and evil for himself. Instead of living as a mirror to reflect the beauty and glory of his Maker, Adam sought that glory for himself. Instead of stepping in to exercise authority over the serpent and protecting his wife from lies, Adam passively sat by as the serpent undermined both God’s authority and his. Instead of fearing the Lord and thus growing in true wisdom, Adam pursued a shortcut that led to folly. Considered from multiple angles, Adam’s sin was an act of treasonous rebellion.
A second way of describing Adam’s sin is idolatry. In the most basic sense, idolatry is loving anything or anyone more than God. The Lord created Adam to be a priest who mediates God’s presence, keeps his law, and preserves the purity of God’s garden sanctuary. His first priority was supposed to be complete devotion to Yahweh. But instead of cherishing the presence of God above all others, Adam prioritized the presence and approval of the serpent. Instead of keeping the law of the Lord at any cost, Adam believed the lies of the serpent over the truth of God’s word. Instead of guarding the purity of Yahweh’s garden sanctuary, Adam entertained the impure serpent and eventually joined in his evil ways. Adam’s sin was a brazen act of flagrant idolatry.
As a result of Adam and Eve’s rebellion and idolatry, sin now affects every aspect of a person’s existence.12 Our minds, our hearts, our desires, our inclinations, our wills, our actions, and even our physical bodies are all stained by the effects of sin (Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 7:18; Ephesians 2:1-3; 4:17-19; Titus 1:15-16). While the image of God still remains in every individual human being (no matter how sinful he or she is), it is marred, obscured, and distorted by the effects of sin. Sin affects not only the individual but also humanity on a social and communal level, shaping and distorting its various systems, structures, and organizations.
In light of this rebellion and idolatry, God’s judgment falls swiftly and terribly. First on God’s docket is the serpent (Genesis 3:14-15). Just as he is more crafty than all the beasts that God had made (3:1), he is now cursed more than any of them (3:14). Slithering on his belly and eating dust will be his lot (3:14). Even more ominous is Yahweh’s assertion of perpetual conflict between the offspring of the serpent and that of the woman, which will culminate in the woman’s offspring dealing the serpent a mortal blow, yet not without suffering a serious wound of his own (3:15; more on this verse below). The seeming “victory” of the serpent in overthrowing and defiling Adam, God’s divinely appointed priest-king, will eventually result in his own destruction.
Next, God moves on to the woman (Genesis 3:16). His words are concise but devastating. The pain of childbirth will be intensified. Rather than a disposition that submits to the leadership of her husband, she will be inclined to undermine and at times even reject it altogether. Rather than live under the wise, servant-hearted leadership of her husband, the woman will be subject to the husband’s sinful desire to abuse his leadership role.13
Finally, God comes to the man (Genesis 3:17-19). For Adam’s failure to obey the command not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, God places the ground under a curse. Rather than submit to Adam’s authority as God’s vice regent, the ground will resist his efforts to cultivate it by producing thorns and thistles. Adam is condemned to an existence of arduous labor simply to produce food. He will spend his life this way until he dies, when he will return to the dust from which he was created.
As awful as these pronouncements of judgment are, there is one more to come. The culmination of God’s judgment is exile from the garden (Genesis 3:22-24). God states his rationale for this drastic action: “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever” (3:22). Apparently, if Adam and his wife had eaten from this tree after their idolatrous rebellion, they would have been locked into their sinful state forever. So God sends them into exile, away from the garden sanctuary where his presence dwelt. As Kline notes, “Defiled and driven out, the former priests of Eden were now regarded as themselves potential intruders, against whom the sanctuary must be guarded.”14
The message could not be clearer: rebellion and idolatry result in exile—separation from the presence of God. As pure holiness, God cannot allow sinful humanity access to his garden sanctuary, so he drives the couple out.15 To ensure that they can never reenter the garden, God places cherubim at the entrance as angelic guardians in conjunction with a flaming sword that turned in every direction. God ensures that humanity can never again access the Tree of Life at the center of his garden sanctuary. Yes, they are still divine image bearers. But now they must live out this reality in exile, away from the presence of their Maker. Meredith Kline aptly summarizes Adam and Eve’s situation at this point:
Driven from his native homeland, the holy and blessed land, into a world profane and cursed, man is in exile on the face of the earth. His historical existence is a wandering east of Eden, a diaspora. Until the restoration of all things, the earth has taken on the character of a wilderness, lying outside the holy land of promise. It is a realm under the shadow of death.16
Thus, it is hard to overstate the importance of this sentence of exile for the larger biblical story line. God’s people have been ejected from the place he gave them and are cut off from his presence.17
HOPE IN THE MIDST OF JUDGMENT
Despite the dark overtones of judgment that pervade Genesis 3, notes of hope are also prominent. Four in particular stand out.
The first is found in God’s words of judgment on the serpent. Yahweh’s announcement of perpetual hostility between the serpent and the woman and their respective offspring means that God will not decisively wipe out the human race. But there is more here than mere survival of humanity. The hostility between the seed of the serpent and of the woman will not end in a stalemate. By all appearances the serpent has won this initial battle. Yet a day is coming when the seed of the woman will “bruise” the serpent’s head; he will decisively defeat the serpent. But this victory will come at a cost, because the serpent will “bruise” the heel of the woman’s seed. In other words, the seed of the woman will one day do what Adam failed to do (defeating the serpent and obeying God the great King), but doing so will result in him suffering a grievous blow. Sometimes referred to as the protoevangelium (“first gospel”), this promise of a serpent-crusher from the line of the woman was the foundation of hope for the human race from this point forward.
Second, despite the warning that in the day they ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil they would certainly die (Genesis 2:16-17), Adam and Eve did not immediately experience physical death. Yes, they died spiritually, but God allowed them to remain physically alive so they could be redeemed. Indeed, they would survive to become the parents of the godly line through whom the serpent-crusher would eventually come (5:1-3).
The third note of hope is found in the name that Adam gives to his wife immediately after God’s judgment has been announced. He calls her Eve, a name that in Hebrew means “life-giver.” To make sure that we do not miss the significance of Eve’s name, Genesis 3:20 explains that Adam gave her this name “because she was the mother of all living.” The significance of this name goes beyond Eve’s role as the one from whom all subsequent people would come. It is also an expression of faith in God’s promise that through her the serpent-crusher would come to obey where they had failed.
A final note of hope is found in God’s provision of clothing for the couple. Genesis 3:21 says that “the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.” On one level God is simply replacing the hastily made fig leaf coverings Adam and Eve had made in the aftermath of their sin (3:7) with the more substantive covering of animal skins. But there is likely a deeper significance to this act. For God to provide the animal skins, he had to kill those animals. Instead of Adam and Eve experiencing physical death, God provided the animals as a sacrifice in their place. By providing the sacrifice to cover the sins of Adam and Eve, God establishes a pattern that not only continues throughout the Bible but also anticipates the definitive sacrifice that God will provide—his Son, Jesus Christ.
Despite Adam and Eve’s idolatrous rebellion leading to their exile from God’s garden sanctuary, the final word does not belong to sin, death, or the serpent. Yes, God’s judgment—culminating in exile—falls swiftly and severely. But it is not the final word. Through the dark clouds of judgment stream rays of hope that God’s purposes for creation have not been thwarted. Nonetheless, a fundamental pattern emerges: sin leads to exile. As we will see, this sin-exile paradigm becomes foundational for understanding human existence and the biblical story line.
SIN AND EXILE IN GENESIS
The sin and resulting exile of Adam and Eve establishes a pattern that is repeated at numerous points in Genesis, albeit often on a smaller scale.18
