The garden remains the fertile crescent for diagnosing and dealing with the rebellion of the heart. What was at the heart of their fall? It was idolatry. The disgusting dissatisfaction with God and over stimulation with and by stuff and self.
And really, the shamefully attractive lure here for our first parents is the prospective of becoming god (Gen. 3.5). But what they did not know was that pleasure is fleeting and artificial apart from God.
Instead of eating the sweet fruit of freedom, fulfillment, and joy, they shattered their teeth on the demonic irony of self-worship.
They wanted freedom but became enslaved
They hoped to live but they died
They wanted enjoyment but they got heartache
They pursued wisdom but became fools
They wanted pride but became ashamed
They wanted progress but went backwards
They wanted to be free from rules but became enslaved to a ruthless master.
Oh the devestation wrought in misplaced desire. Idolatry kills us and claimed Christ. But thanks be to God that while he was bitten by the serpent he did indeed crush his head (Gen. 3.15)!
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