The Temple Eden

Before creation, God certainly had His dwelling in the heavens, yet Eden may be considered His first earthly home. After all, He did walk about the garden with Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:8). We may, therefore, consider Eden a sort of predecessor to the tabernacle and the Temple, the two definitive earthly homes of God in the Old Testament.

The Bible doesn't say a whole lot about what Eden looked like (I'm sure the writer of Genesis had other concerns), but there are a few characteristics we can pull out of the text.

Some aspects of Eden may seem rather insignificant, like the fact that it had four sides (Gen. 2:10-14) or that its entrance was on the east side (Gen. 3:24). These details become more important when we encounter the plans for the tabernacle at the end of Exodus (chs. 26-40).

There are, however, a couple of pieces that might appear more important. For example, Eden seems to have held everything that was necessary for life. Water was abundant (Gen. 2:10-14). Food was also plentiful (Gen. 2:9). Here, in God's home, in His presence, was everything that Adam and Eve needed for a full and satisfying life (we might assume, also, that the Tree of Life supplied life in abundance since by eating of it Adam and Eve procure everlasting life - Gen. 3:22).

It may also be worth noting that life in God's presence still required work. Adam was commanded to work the garden and care for it (Gen. 2:15). Although Eden may have been perfect in its relation with God, it still required maintenance and expansion.

This theme of God's dwelling places we will explore further down the road, but for now, let's see what we might learn from Eden, God's proto-temple. In God's home, we have all we need. In fact, there is life - the eternal kind of life - in His presence. And yet, there is still some kind of commission in God's presence. So as we enter worship of the Lord and seek to welcome His presence, we ought to expect to encounter a life-giving atmosphere. But that doesn't mean that we simply sit basking in that provision. Rather, we ought to expect directions to act on as well. When we gather for worship this week, let's look to absorb what we can of God's life-giving Spirit and also listen for His guiding for accomplishing His will.