The first sanctuary: discovering God's blueprint for humanity.

“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:5–6).

That's what the Lord said to the people of Israel when he graciously and powerfully delivered them from the hand of Egypt. When I look at this text, I am reminded that salvation has a purpose: we are redeemed to God so we can serve him as priests. For those of you who may have never heard about this before, don't worry — as we string these pearls together, by the end of this post I hope you will be able not only to understand but to appreciate and apply this truth to your own life.

The idea of priesthood is confirmed by Peter, who spoke about that to the church, saying that we are a “chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own possession” (1 Peter 2:9). But these two verses are not the only places where we can draw conclusions from, as the Bible reveals an overarching story of God that runs from Genesis to Revelation — the purpose of making people his own possession, a holy and royal priesthood, is not revealed for the first time in Exodus, but in Genesis. From the time God created humankind, his expressed will was to dwell among them. The place where he dwells could not be less than a sanctuary, which must be kept clean and in order so that the holy God can be present.

Eden: God's Temple City

The theme of God's temple city has long been discussed among scholars — two of them will be discussed here: Desmond Alexander, in his book From Paradise to the Promised Land, and Gordon Wenham, in his article “Sanctuary Symbolism in the Garden of Eden Story.” Comparing the two views will help answer two questions: How does this theme impact humanity before and after the initial sin of Adam and Eve? Where is the final hope for restoration of the Temple-City?

I want to start comparing the two views, which for most of the time are very similar and complementary. Both scholars cite that:

·       Eden was not viewed by the writer as only a piece of land, but as a prototype of a sanctuary where God dwells and man worships him.^[1](see Gen 2:15; Num 3:7–8; 18:5–6)

·       There are parallels between the Eden story and later Israelite sanctuaries, like God walking in the garden as in the tabernacle^[2] (see Gen 3:8; Lev 26:12; 2 Sam 7:6–7)

·       There is a striking resemblance between the east entrance of the garden and that of the tabernacle^[3] (see Gen 2:8; 3:24; Ex 27:13–16, Num 3:38)

·       There is also a relationship between the lampstand (menorah) of the temple and the tree of life.^[4] (see Gen 2:9, 3:22; Ex 25:31–40)

·       The river flowing from the garden alludes to the picture of the future Jerusalem with a river flowing from the temple^[5] (see Gen 2:10; Ez 47:1–12; Zec 14:8; Rev 22:1–2)

·       The materials like gold and onyx mentioned in Genesis were widely used in the later sanctuaries and priestly garments.^[6] (see Gen 2:11–12; Ex 25:3–7, 28:9–12)

Besides the functional and physical characteristics of the temple and the garden, there is also evidence of God's intent to build a temple-city when we analyze man's role. The first thing noticed by both authors is that, if Eden is seen as a sanctuary^[7], then Adam should be described as a Levite. About that, Alexander explores a very important aspect about Adam's priestly role and sheds light on it. The author argues that to man God has given royal status (because they were created in God's image) with royal authority.^[8] He points that, “at the heart of the divine plan for humans is the idea that they should rule over the earth as God's viceregents.”^[9]

The main difference between the two authors lies in Wenham's view about the relationship between the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the Torah (also known as the Law). The author sees a connection between the description of the tree as “pleasant to sight, good for food and desired to make one wise” and Psalms 19:8–9, which describes the law as “making wise the simple, rejoicing the heart and enlightening the eyes.” About that we should look for more support, but in my opinion, the connection could be done only if seen through the lens of contrast: the tree could give a knowledge apart from God, which gave way to sin and the distortion of truth, while the law reveals the knowledge whose source is God himself, giving way to blessings.

Now what? How should this be impacting the way we live?

This theme helps us to reflect on at least three aspects:

·       God's original purpose for humanity. You were not created for the ordinary. If the original intent was always to live in God's presence, serving him and governing the earth as God's viceregents, we can understand that redemption comes to restore the original purpose. This theme answers the question of why I am here, for what purpose God saved me, and what should I be doing with that. Allen Ross points that “the story of the creation of the man and the woman explains that humans have the God-given capacity and responsibility to serve the Lord with integrity.”^[10] Understanding that we were created for a greater purpose elevates the purpose of everything we do. Whatever you do — whether serving your family, working professionally in any area, or serving your local church — is an act of worship to God. As redeemed in Jesus Christ, the sacred and the secular find common ground, and we must serve him with integrity. As Paul says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men... You are serving the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23–24). Your daily work is a holy vocation.

·       The value of people — Despite the fall, it is important to point out that humankind marred their divine image but never lost it.^[11] In light of that, thinking about any kind of social interaction, our posture before others must be of love, because people, in general, are all reflections of God's glory to some degree. Longman argues that “sin does not eradicate the image, and we should never forget this as we consider who we are and who others with whom we interact are.”^[12]

·       We are God's dwelling — When we think about God's temple city, we can understand what Paul was saying about the church in Ephesians: “In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Eph. 2:19–22), now as a believer in Christ having the Holy Spirit within me, Genesis gives us guidance on how to keep and guard our own hearts against the schemes of the enemy so we can bring shalom (the harmonic and original state of creation) to whatever we are doing and whoever we are relating to as God's good perfume. Walton points like this, “Though the rest of creation awaits with us for the final liberation from the effects of sin (Rom. 8:18–21), we are the heirs to the Garden of Eden and therefore to the Eden mandate. What does this require of us?”^[13] I believe that, in summary, it is a life consecrated to the Lord.

Where is the final hope for restoration of the Temple-City?

The final hope for restoration is exposed in Revelation 21–22. God will accomplish his purpose in the ultimate restoration of the New Jerusalem. One day, the earthly and heavenly Jerusalem will be joined, and we will complete our journey from Eden to the New Jerusalem.^[14] About that future restoration, Alexander points, “Although our future experience of life will have something in common with the present, it will also be radically different. Everything that detracts from experiencing life to the full will one day be totally eradicated. Then, and only then, shall we know life as God intends it to be.”^[15]

While we wait for our full restoration, my prayer is that our awareness of God's purpose for humanity ignites in us a desire to worship him in Spirit and truth, a desire to care for creation and others in a way that we may display how eternal life with him will be like.

Bibliography

Alexander, T. Desmond. From Eden to the New Jerusalem: An Introduction to Biblical Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic & Professional, 2008.

Alexander, T. Desmond. From Paradise to the Promised Land: An Introduction to the Pentateuch. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2022.

Longman, Tremper, III. Genesis. Edited by Tremper Longman III. The Story of God Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016.

Ross, Allen P. Creation and Blessing: A Guide to the Study and Exposition of Genesis. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1998.

Shimoff, Sandra R. “Gardens: From Eden To Jerusalem.” Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman Period 26, no. 2 (1995): 145–55. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24659588.

Walton, John H. Genesis. The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001.

Wenham, Gordon J. “Sanctuary Symbolism in the Garden of Eden Story.” Proceedings of the World Congress of Jewish Studies (1985): 19–25. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23527779.

^[1]Gordon J. Wenham, “Sanctuary Symbolism in the Garden of Eden Story,” Proceedings of the World Congress of Jewish Studies (1985), 19.

^[2]T. Desmond Alexander, From Paradise to the Promised Land: An Introduction to the Pentateuch (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2022).

^[3]Alexander, From Paradise, 14.

^[4]Alexander, From Paradise, 14.

^[5]Alexander, From Paradise, 14.

^[6]Alexander, From Paradise, 14.

^[7]Wenham, “Sanctuary,” 21.

^[8]Alexander, From Paradise, 15.

^[9]Alexander, From Paradise, 15.

^[10]Allen P. Ross, Creation and Blessing: A Guide to the Study and Exposition of Genesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1998), 118.

^[11]Tremper Longman III, Genesis, The Story of God Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016), 42.

^[12]Longman, Genesis, 43.

^[13]John H. Walton, Genesis, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001), 195.

^[14]Sandra R. Shimoff, “Gardens: From Eden to Jerusalem,” Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman Period 26, no. 2 (1995): 155.

^[15]T. Desmond Alexander, From Eden to the New Jerusalem: An Introduction to Biblical Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic & Professional, 2008), 192.