and He drove the man out. And He caused to dwell the cherubim at the east of the Garden of Eden, Genesis 3:24

Cherubim – Sin causes tragic results. One of first tragedies was expulsion from the Garden. Once Adam and Eve ate from the Tree, they had to be driven from the place of God’s perfect provision. The reason might seem a bit obscure. It has something to do with immortality. But that is not the fact that occupies our attention here. What we want to know is how to get back to the Garden. And the answer is: God made that impossible!

Man has been banished from Eden. He can never return on his own strength. God has erected a permanent barrier – the cherubim and the flaming sword – that will defeat any attempt to return to paradise. Why is it important for followers of the Way to recognize God’s prevention of Man ever returning to paradise on his own? Because this is the concrete wall that makes any utopian philosophy of Man an absolute sham. No government, no political ideology, no philosophy, no religion – nothing that Man can do – will bring us back to the Garden. Don’t ever be fooled! Anyone who claims to know the way back is lost.

Does that mean that God has abandoned us? Of course not! What it means is that God has provided His way to return. It is the only way back. Where do you find this divine recovery plan? Where you find the k’roovim.

In this verse, the k’roovim guard the Garden so that Man cannot re-enter on his own. There is one other significant place in Scripture where the k’roovim play a prominent role. They reside on each side of the ark of the covenant. Their wings stretch toward each other, over the mercy seat that sits above the Law housed within the ark. The k’roovim guard the entrance to paradise and they guard the Holy of Holies. Except now, when their wings reach over the mercy seat, they invite rather than prohibit. If you want to know God’s way back to the Garden, you must accept the invitation of the k’roovim and come to the mercy seat. The way back is through the giving of the Law under the mercy of God.

The letter to the Hebrews tells us that Yeshua removed the veil that separated us from the Holy of Holies. He opened the way for us to come back to the Garden. We can return to Eden because Eden is the Holy of Holies – the place where we encounter God face-to-face.

If there were ever a reason to embrace Torah, this is it! Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young had the right lyrics (press play on the link), but only God provides the right path.

Topical Index: Eden, cherubim, k’roovim, ark of the covenant, utopian, Genesis 3:24, Law, Exodus 25:18-20