“The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” (Gen 2:8-9)
After we believe in the Lord Jesus our heart is like the garden of Eden. There are many good things to nourish our soul, like love, peace, joy, kindness, etc, and pleasant things to satisfy our imagination, like the vision of heaven, angel, etc, growing in our heart. The Lord Jesus also is in the midst of our heart, and the self is there.
“Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.” (Gen 2:10-14)
The Holy Spirit as the river of life always flows to water our heart. From our heart flows four rivers of living water that makes our heart expand to reach out to the four corners of the earth : the north, the south, the east and the west. One river flowing out of our heart will bring us to discover the treasures of divine wisdom and knowledge.
“Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Gen 2:15-17)
We need to tend and keep our heart because our life springs from it. We may freely enjoy the good things which God has put in our heart, but we must always guard our heart with all diligence so that there is no self-seeking in it.
“The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.” (Gen 2:8)
“Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.” (Gen 2:15)
The garden of Eden was both the place of rest and the place of work for man. He lived and worked together with God in that garden. Likewise, the presence of God in our heart makes it the place of rest for us and the power of God in our heart makes it the place of work for us.
“And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day…Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” (Gen 3:8-9)
The heart is the place where God always wants to meet us for communion. He longs to have fellowship with us in the coolness of His presence. The heart is the place where we hear the sound of God and where He speaks to us.
“Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.” (Gen 2:19)
The heart is the place where God works together with us. He forms every creative idea and innovative thought out of our heart and gives us freedom to call it by any name we come up with.
“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” (Gen 3:1)
There was the cunning serpent in the garden of Eden. Likewise, there is the presence of the devil in our heart. As the serpent talked to Eve questioning God’s commandment, the devil will talk to the emotion in our heart questioning God’s commandment.
Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Gen 3:4-5)
The serpent tried to make Eve believe that the reason God commanded her not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil is not so that she would not die, but so that she would not be like God, knowing good and evil. The serpent tried to make her doubt about God’s intention. Likewise, the devil always tries to make us believe in the wrong reason for God’s commandment, so that we will doubt about His intention.
“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” (Gen 3:6)
When Eve just believed in God’s commandment not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, she stayed away from the tree and did not look at it for too long. However, when she had doubt about God’s intention concerning the commandment, she began to keep looking at the tree. She saw that the tree was good for food, pleasant to the eyes and desirable to make one wise. Then, she took of its fruit and ate. When we just believe in God’s commandment not to do something, we will just obey and will not question about His intention. However, when we begin to have doubt about God’s intention with His commandment not to do something, the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes and the pride of life will draw us away and entice us.
“But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin.” (Jms 1:14-15)
The serpent tempted Eve to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As long as she stayed away from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and did not look at it too long the serpent could do anything to make her sin. Likewise the devil always tempts us to satisfy our own desires. As long as we forget ourselves and do not look at the things of the world too long the devil cannot do anything to make us sin against God. Therefore, we must keep our heart with all diligence (Prov 4:23).