Touchpoint Bible Study

Adam and Eve

In the book of Genesis, we are taught how God created Adam and Eve on the 6th day. Adam was the first human creation, as a reflection of God's goodness, after he had already completed the heavens and the earth and every other living creature. Yahweh then found that Adam was insufficient being alone and he was laid asleep, while his rib was removed, to create Eve his companion. 

Adam was given the job to be the caretaker of Eden, and Eve's job was to support Adam in his mission to do so. God gave a strict commandment to not eat of the Tree of Knowledge and after Eve feel victim to temptation, both ended up eating of this fruit and mankind fell into a fallen state. This temptation was the creation of the serpent in the garden, representing Lucifer, the fallen angel and the first temptation resulting from spiritual warfare. This sin also represented how sin was of free will and not predetermined. 

Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden painting by Wenzel Peter [89]

God was swift in his judgment, creating pain in childbirth for all women and being ruled over by Adam, and making Adam and subsequently all men have to toil on the earth and work for sustenance.  The two were removed from Eden, while angels protected the entrance, so that they could not return and were now separate from God. 

Original sin is used to describe this phenomenon for many Christians and represents how all gentiles are dead in sin and needing of Christ to restore life and eliminate sin. Adam sinned prior to the Law of Moses and therefore could not be redeemed through the law and was referenced by the Apostle Paul as the reason for Christ's redemptive nature to all mankind, both Jew and gentile through the blood of Christ. 

The first children born to Adam and Eve was Cain and Abel. These sons would result in descendants of all humankind. Cain would go on to murder Abel, who was loved by God, and was eventually replaced by Adam's son Seth. These two sons would be the descendants of the Cainites and the Sethites. Adam and Eve would go on to have other children as well, prior to Adam passing of natural causes at the age of 930. It is unknown how long Eve lived. [23]

Despite their disobedience, God created a plan to care for Adam and Eve by first clothing them, providing them children, and eventually putting a plan in place for all individuals to be redeemed, first by following the law of Moses, and then by the grace of Jesus and his final sacrifice. 

Interpretations

The historical interpretation views the account of Adam and Eve as a literal history of the first two human beings. According to this interpretation, Adam and Eve were the first humans and Eden was an actual physical location.

This interpretation often leads to discussions about the nature of sin, and the concept of original sin, as the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Eden story is seen as the first sin in human history. The historical interpretation also influences views on topics such as marriage, gender roles, and human nature as people look to the story of Adam and Eve for insights into these issues.

On the other hand, the psychological interpretation views the story of Adam and Eve as a symbolic narrative that represents universal aspects of the human experience. According to this interpretation, Adam and Eve are not seen as literal historical figures but as symbolic representations of humanity as a whole.

This interpretation often focuses on the themes of temptation, disobedience, and the consequences of our actions, viewing the story as a lesson about the fallibility of human nature. The psychological interpretation also often focuses on the aspects of guilt, shame, and the loss of innocence that occur after Adam and Eve eat from the Tree of Knowledge. [24]

The Garden of Eden represented in the Tabernacle and Temple

Satan created temptation towards Eve revealed in the third Chapter of Genesis with the following passage: 

"'You will not certainly die,' the serpent said to the woman. 'For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Gen. 3:4-5)

"And the LORD God said, 'The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat and live forever.' So the lord God banished him 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." (Gen. 3:22-24) [25]

Adam and Eve cast out of the garden of Eden [88]

According to Anglican and Jewish tradition this cherubim is Jophiel an Archangel that guards the garden with his flaming sword. Adam and Eve are believed to exit the garden in a West to East direction, never to return. 

This is symbolic during the rule of the law of Moses when the chief priest would walk back into the Holy of Holies (Exodus 30:10), in either the tabernacle or later the temple, to make the atoning sacrifice for the people of Israel. The priest would enter between the cherubim, located on the veil, in an east to west direction as a symbolic representation of entering back into Eden, amongst the presence of God, to atone for the Israelites for the sin of Adam and Eve (Yom Kippur). 

Priest at the Temple Veil [90]