Like Adam and Eve we are exiled away from God's presence and we experience death - not just physical death - but our abandonment of the life-giving existence we were created to have. In Genesis 3, God places cherubim at the gate of Eden, guarding the way back in. Humanity has exiled itself from the mountain garden and can no longer eat from the tree of life.
That is the story which kicks off the Torah - the law. The story of Eden raises a question the rest of the Torah tries to answer: Is it possible to once more dwell in the presence of God? The answer the Torah gives is yes.
The point of the law - is to describe what life in Israel could actually be if it began to resemble Eden. A society of justice for the poor/marginalized. A community which is set apart from the corruption of evil. A people who willingly sacrifice their own selfish desires for the sake of something greater.
At the end of his life, Moses spelled out one last time the story they were a part of and reminded the people of what was at stake.
Deut. 30:19-20
"Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life."
As we know, the Israelites struggled to do that.
Judges 17:6
All the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.
And again, they were unjust, corrupt, selfish, and driven by greed. Just like Adam and Eve, the Israelites exiled themselves from God's presence.
But in the midst of their unfaithfulness, God remained faithful. He sent his son, Jesus, to continue the story.
One of the biggest misconceptions about the Bible is the idea that we have the law in the Old Testament but then we take this huge right turn in the New. That Jesus came to throw away all the old stuff and start over. No!
Jesus understood that behind the regulations of the law of Moses was a story which held the key to true, abundant life.
Matthew 5:17
Don't misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.
And what was that purpose? To open back up the gate of Eden, show humanity how to how to climb the mountain of the Lord, and how to enter the garden of God's presence and eat from the tree of life.
Yes, the world is still broken. Our experience of Eden is still only a taste of what's to come. But God is in the business of healing the brokenness around us, and he is inviting us - as he did the Israelites - to join him.
And thanks to Jesus we can have confidence that after death is New Creation - where we can dwell again face to face with God in the mountain garden.
