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Punishment as Mercy

We have been studying the Book of Genesis in our Sunday evening services.  Last night we looked at the consequences of the Fall.  Punishment was meted out to the serpent, the woman and the man, in turn.  There is absolutely no doubt that there are consequences from the sin that are to be borne by all those involved.  The section ends with Adam and Eve being expelled from Eden.  God places angels (Cherubim is plural) with flaming swords to guard the entrance to the garden so that man might never return.  Thus man is turned out of the garden to pay the price for his sin.

However, in this act of punishment the infinite mercy of our God is also demonstrated.  The reason God says He must put the man from the garden regards the tree of life in the garden.  God refuses to let man reach out and take from the tree of life and, in that act, condemn himself to eternal life as a sinful wicked being.  Oh God will provide eternal life for man and the joy of eating from the tree of life, but not in man's present wickedness.  God will first save us, cleanse us and restore us in Christ. 

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