We see first that God drove out the man. Obviously, Eve was driven out, too. But, the mention of Adam shows that he was left to start his own family. He had a choice, whether or not to follow God’s path for him. This happened, of course, but on another level, it is also symbolic of how we must live our lives. We have a choice, whether to seek God and do according to His will, or to act on our own.
At the start of the chapter, people could still fellowship with God at any time, and there was no separation. Now, a very short time later, people could not automatically do that. They were separated from God by sin.
Of course, God is everywhere. Just like today, He was always working in peoples’ hearts to get them to do what was right. And, His incredible creation – along with other things mentioned as we considered this chapter – would remind mankind of what he had lost. And, of the incredible power of God to save him from his sin by simple faith.
Martin Luther once said that the story of the Resurrection is told in the rebirth of nature every spring. The seasons probably weren’t quite as noticeable there as they are in less equatorial places on Earth today. However, there was still an incredible variety of creatures. There was the incredible expanse of land and sky. Eventually, Adam and Eve came to another place that was very impressive – the sea. Even if it wasn’t an ocean, that large body of water still told them something about the incredible power of God.
This let them see how small and insignificant they were against the incredible planet they lived on. That, Creation, and even some specific creatures – such as the caterpillar which became a butterfly – would remind them, hopefully, that they should not abandon God. He hadn’t abandoned them. He had removed a blessing because of their disobedience. But, they could still multiply on the Earth. They could still see that they needed God’s guidance as they built a world.
Just as we need to see that we, too, need God’s guidance in our lives.
