Eden Revisited
And you shall eat and be satisfied, and shall bless YHWH your Elohim for the good land which He has given you. . . . [less] that then your heart becomes lifted up, and you forget YHWH your Elohim who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, from the house of bondage, Deuteronomy 8:10, 14 ISR
Eat/ be satisfied/ forget – Somehow we replay that Genesis story over and over. Our lives are filled with eat-satisfied-forget behavior. Maybe that’s why the first three chapters of Genesis are so important. If we don’t understand them right to the core, we will be destined to repeat them.
God tells Adam, ‘akol tokel (eat – eat, that is, feast!). Everything is here to satisfy you. Indulge in it all – except this one Tree.” Then God makes Adam’s ‘ezer kenegdo, designed to protect Adam, to insure that Adam will remember this kosher command.
“Feast and be satisfied! Enjoy My provisions for you both.”
And we answer, “Baruch atah YHWH Eloheinu Melek Ha’olam – We bless YHWH, our God, King of the universe.”
That’s the conversation they were supposed to have. That’s the conversation we are supposed to have today. But the fence was moved, the border extended, because the serpent suggested that satisfaction required just a little bit more. “Eat – feast – and be satisfied,” became “and she saw that the tree was good for food.” She reached beyond the border. Her companion forgot his instructions. That tree wasn’t good for food at all. It simply appeared to be necessary for satisfaction. But we all know the result – “I can’t get no – satisfaction.”
Moses warns the people. God is about to return you to the Garden, a place where He provides all that you need to eat and be satisfied. Don’t repeat the story! Be men! Be zakarim, the ones who remember. When you are satisfied, bless YHWH. Have the conversation that echoes from the cool of the evening.
We forgot, didn’t we? We didn’t forget because God withheld His blessing. We forgot because we were satisfied. We started to think that we deserved to be satisfied. We started to imagine that we earned these blessings. We looked out upon the world and realized that we could take more. The two most powerful words in the Bible are “to see” (ra’ah) and “content” (sava). “And she saw that the tree was good for food” opens the door for each of us to decide for ourselves what we deserve. On that path lies disaster. “I have learned to be content” returns us to the cool of the Garden evening. On that path lies self-denial. One disconnects satisfaction and blessing. The other reunites them.
Topical Index: eat, ‘akal, satisfied, sava, see, ra’ah, content, ‘avah, Deuteronomy 8:10
Hi Skip,
I have a question that is not directly related to this, but then maybe everything is related to this somehow.
Aryeh Kaplan makes the following point, and I was trying to understand it:
Lo = to him
Ly(i) = to me
Lah = to her
I’m wondering where the “o” sound comes from, and guessing:
Li = Lamed Yud
Lah = Lamed Aleph
And speaking of O’s, it looks like Obama got Osama.
The “o” sound is the result of pointing, not necessarily the addition of another consonant. In some cases the consonant Lamed is attached as a prefix to the noun and pointed with the vowel sound of “o”. In some cases, the prefix is Lamed-Aleph and pointed with the “o” sound. In some cases the preposition “to” uses other constructions, notice, for example, “to him” in Genesis 8:9. When Lamed acts as the preposition “to” in attached position, it is usually the single consonant Lamed, pointed with a Sheva (a contraction of Aleph-Lamed).
In all of the cases given above, the vowel sound is attached to the lamed which is in turn used as a prefix to the word following, so “Li”, “Lah” and “Lo” all have only the lamed when written without vowel points. Without the vowel points the only way to know the difference is by the context (and by being instructed in the wisdom of past generations).
“We gain far more “in Christ” than we ever lost “in Adam.”
My hope is to one day, fully grasp all that I have “in Christ.” I believe, on the part of us all, it is at this point we all have experienced epic failure. What can we do about this? What can be done? – We may return and remember. Skip, -amen brother! Lead us- back to the garden. I agree whole-heartedly, everything we need to know “for life and godliness” in found in the first three chapters of Genesis.
“In the beginning G-d..” Written so long ago and yet, here I am, centuries later, (ever learning), at the beginning of each new day (a gift from G-d)- “in the beginning G-d.” It all starts and ends -with Him. “For of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things.” Where is this found? Where did these words come from? (Romans 11.36) How did I remember them?.. – I had help. I too, have an Ezer Kenegdo. A Helper, made for me. He is the Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Breath of G-d.
The Ruach HaKodesh doesn’t get much press and perhaps that is the way G-d intended it to be. There is much confusion and cloudiness surrounding this marvelous mystery, but like everything else, maybe we could search for and find some answers in our Book of Instructions Before Leaving Earth. Let us too, -search the scriptures.
G-d knows we (like sheep) are easily distracted. We (especially me) need to be “re-minded” often. In short, – I need Help. I have become and am daily becoming more, a G-d dependent creature. I look to Him for my next breath and my next heartbeat. Friends, all to Him I (truly) owe.. All things that pertain unto life and godliness.. “All” means all. -Any trouble seeing this? If so, we are suffering from serious “I” trouble. Again.. -what do the scriptures say? -Folks, this is how we roll..- this is how we live, according to: -“it is written.” According to:- “thus saith the LORD.” Read the Book- it’s in there!
I (too) will lift up my eyes unto the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, Maker of Heaven and Earth.
I have mentioned I need help remembering. Who is my Help? My Ezer? If my name were Eli ezer, G-d would be my help. If my name were Lazarus, (one who has returned from the dead) -maybe they would listen to my testimony.
“But because of His great love for us, G-d, who is rich in mercy, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace we have been saved), for He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms because we are now united in covenant union with the Messiah, Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2.4-6) -We are Lazarus, the resurrected, renewed and restored ones.
“But the Counselor, the Ruach HaKodesh, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything; that is, He will remind you of everything I have said to you. “What I am leaving with you is shalom — I am giving you my shalom.” (John 14.26)
We all need Help, remembering the words (instructions) of Yeshua, our Rabbi, our Master-Teacher. According to G-d’s words, we have been given a wonderful Gift: “the Counselor, the Comforter, the Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Breath, (our Ezer)” We also have these instructions: “Yes, I AM the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15.5) Are we listening? Do we ‘shema’ these words?- abide in me? What does it mean to abide in Christ? If you’re like me..- we need some help, some instruction to understand these things.. Where does my Help come from?
Yes, we satisfied ourselves, sure enough! But look at the consequences. A song that represents, to me, the awareness of the need for correcting this grandiose mistake in the garden, is thinking WE can find out own way back to the garden…”we are stardust, we are golden…and we got to get ourselves back to the garden”… so many religions think this is possible. Mere men, who in their own wisdom, think they have found the perfect path to peace, when YHWH prepared it in the beginning, creating order from chaos, creating the boundary from destruction to eternal life, and we chose another way, our way?
YHWH placed man in the garden, in the beginning, and despite man’s choosing to return there by any other Way, than the Way of Christ, He will return us there once we choose to obey fully, His directives and not those of our own making. Blessed is the Holy Name.
P.S. What I find so glorious, is that although the enemy has attempted to kill the Word, hide the Word, distort and pervert the perfect Word, our Abba is mighty to save! Nothing can thwart His plan! He has shown us (and still does), that knowledge puffs up, but the wisdom of His Word brings humility with boldness. And to think, He includes us in all this is yet so amazing!
Great song from Woodstock (CSN&Y). You’re right about the philosophy, of course, but the music does express a deep need. The Garden is our ultimate destination.
Mary, -you are loved!- Never have met you, -maybe never will, but your words find a welcome place in my heart. -This one knows her Abba!
Beyond the garden, I have discovered, (much to “both” my dismay and delight!) every choice is followed by a consequence. This is the law of the harvest. We (do) reap what we sow! (Well, what do you know.. the word of G-d is true!). Yes, it is. I found this out, – the hard way, -probably the same ways 99% of us do, usually involving some sort of pain. Pain does serve a purpose then, doesn’t it? Very (ouch!) educational.
Nothing like a good whack across the noggin’ with a two-by-four.. (this is not literal folks!- just figurative..) to get our attention. What does G-d have to do to get our attention? Whatever it takes, -He will do it. Up to and including a bunker-buster bomb. He has a way, -doesn’t He?
I too look to the Ruah HaKodesh for ny next breath, literally, Carl. After a triple bi-pass 7 yrs ago and now being diagnosed with 3rd/4th stage heart failure, man can’t fix me! But G-d !!!!!
Abiding in and Loving Him has become my total focus. Pain & suffering are reducing me to LOVE!
Shalom and all that it means to all of you!
G-d bless you Judith..- for me it was an aortic valve replacement, (went with the metal St. Jude valve- which does fine except for the incessant “ticking” -kind of like the clock in the crocodile on Peter Pan), but this “reduced me” to know- I am dependent upon YHWH, quite literally, for my next breath and heartbeat.
And how can I tell of the peace that was mine during the entire ordeal. It almost makes me want to repeat, but I’ll be happy with the memories of this glorious time. Folks, – “G-d showed up!” Yes, yes, He was with me in a most marvelous, compassionate way. Tender beyond tender..-G-d is love.
For me, my song of praise is this: “My heart is fixed O G-d, my heart is fixed..- I will sing and give praise.” For you (in your weakness My flesh and my heart faileth, but G-d (there it is Judith.. “But G-d!!”) is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.” “It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumned, because His compassions fail not.”
Judith, “abiding and loving Him” needs to be the focus of all of us. Thank you for sharing this wonderful testimony. Blessed be the name! Savior! Redeemer! Friend!
Thank you carl 🙂
I like reading your comments