Adam and Eve had great access to God and the garden. And they had a great responsibility that came along with that access. In Genesis 2:15, Adam and Eve were told to keep the garden: “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it” (ESV). At first glance, we may read this to mean they were to be gardeners and keepers of the garden of Eden. Interestingly, that same word keep in Hebrew, samar, can also be translated as to “guard” or “protect.” It’s used of priests guarding and protecting the temple (Numbers 3:38; Numbers 18:7). It’s also used of the guards who were to keep watch at the watchtower (Nehemiah 13:22). This helps us see that Adam and Eve in the garden were so much more than just “gardeners.” They were guards and protectors of the sacred space that God gave them.
The same is true of us. We are to guard and protect our hearts and our minds to make sure we keep good in and evil out. We are to guard and protect our testimony and make sure our lives produce the fruit of God’s Spirit in us. And we are to guard and protect our calling to love God and love people. (Note to self: that doesn’t say love God and enable people.)
Broken boundaries bring consequences.
When Adam and Eve violated the boundary, there were consequences. And one of those consequences was God reducing their access to Him and removing them from the garden. They weren’t responsible with their access, so their access was dramatically affected. They weren’t responsible with their freedom, so their freedom was affected. They weren’t responsible with the one rule God gave them. That made more rules necessary.
In Genesis we see that Adam and Eve were given one boundary. By the time we read through the Law and the Prophets we find hundreds of boundaries that God put in place for us “stiff-necked” people (Exodus 32:9; Deuteronomy 9:6; 2 Kings 17:14; 2 Chronicles 30:8; Nehemiah 9:16). He loves us unconditionally and He will not tolerate our sin. Both are true with God and both can be true in our relationships as well. God had grace but His grace was there to lead people to better behavior, not to enable bad behavior. And the same should be true of our grace as well.
Consequences should be for protection not harm.
When Adam and Eve were sent out from the garden, they were never allowed to return. As a matter of fact, God put angels at the entry to guard and prevent them from returning. While this may seem cruel or too harsh, there were good and necessary reasons for this boundary to be as distinct as a wall. If Adam and Eve would have been allowed back into the garden, they would have been tempted to eat once again from the other tree in the middle of the garden, called the tree of life. The tree of life would perpetuate their state of being for all eternity.
When Adam and Eve were sinless, that was a great thing. But now that they’d eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, sin had entered in and their beings were no longer perfect. They carried with them the consequences of sin. They were in the process of dying. To eat of the tree of life in that state would have perpetuated them for all eternity in sin, depravity, decay, and therefore eternal separation from God. So, God not only limited but actually prevented Adam and Eve from having access to the garden and the tree of life to protect them—not to be cruel to them. It was the severity of the boundary violation that required the severity of the consequence. We will talkabout this more in later chapters.
But it is important to keep in mind that the consequence should serve to protect you and, if possible, the relationship—not do more harm. God gave the consequence to Adam and Eve but He didn’t abandon them, as we will soon see.
We do want to remember why we need the boundary so we will keep the boundary and its protection in place. It’s taken me a long time to realize that each time I establish a boundary and then make exceptions to keeping it, the cycle of chaos tries to suck me back in. If I was unwilling to accept the behavior that caused me to draw the boundary in the first place, it will bother me even more when it resurfaces.
Picture a beach ball being held underwater. When the external force of keeping it under control in the water is released, the ball doesn’t just float to the surface. It explodes. That’s a good word picture my counselor, Jim, gave me as I processed all this. Chances are, without a boundary, unless significant healthy changes have been made by the other person, dysfunction will resurface and possibly even explode to the surface.
Healthy changes in someone can’t be measured just by the words they speak. There must be evidence of changed thoughts, changed habits, changed behaviors, changed reactions, and changed patterns demonstrated consistently over a long period of time. How long? As long as it takes.
To keep reading, click here to grab a copy of Lysa TerKeurst’s book Good Boundaries and Goodbyes.
Scripture References
