Have you ever wondered exactly how the conversation between God and Adam went down in the Garden of Eden? Genesis 2:15-17 doesn’t provide many details,
15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. 16 The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not [n]eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”
Well, good friend and midrash partner, Messianic Jew Dr. Jonathan Krause, sent me a text a couple days ago that said,
Pete, Just read Deut. 30:15. Boy does it sound a lot like the Garden of Eden scene.
I thought, ‘Hmmm… let’s have a look…’
And, WOW!! Knowing that ‘there is nothing new under the sun,’ and ‘what has been done will be done again,’ I would bet that this is exactly how the conversation went down!!
15 “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; 16 in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. 17 But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, 20 by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.” Deut. 30:15-20
Wow! you see that? Life and death. Land that you possess. I command you. Blessing and curse.
Excepting the mention of the Jordan and the fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, this could be the exact same conversation God had with Adam!
I believe it IS the conversation the Mashiach will have with us upon entering the Land for the Millennial reign… We see it pictured again in part in Joshua 1, with the added picture of Yehoshua (Joshua) being a picture of the Mashiach at His return and our response to Him…
1 Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ [a]servant, saying, 2 “Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. 3 Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory. 5 No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous; [b]be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may [c]have success wherever you go. 8 This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may [d]be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will [e]have success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 11 “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you are to cross this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you, to possess it.’”
12 To the Reubenites and to the Gadites and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua [f]said, 13 “Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God gives you rest and will give you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle shall remain in the land which Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but you shall cross before your brothers in battle array, all your valiant warriors, and shall help them, 15 until the Lord gives your brothers rest, as He gives you, and they also possess the land which the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to [g]your own land, and possess [h]that which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.”
16 They answered Joshua, saying, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you; only may the Lord your God be with you as He was with Moses. 18 Anyone who rebels against your [i]command and does not obey your words in all that you command him, shall be put to death; only be strong and courageous.”
How cool? What do you think, is the Deuteronomy quote probably what God said to Adam? I think very possibly so!
Shabbat shalom!
11:3 Restoration 
This is definitely part of the conversation! 🙂 Probably the most important part!!! I also imagine Adam and Eve both just filled with questions and Y’shua delighting to explain it all to them. “What’s that?” “That’s a flower.” “What does it do?” And Y’shua launches into a wonderful explanation of the flower – all the science, art, beauty of it – winding up to the grand finale of how the flower relates to YHVH’s character, ending His ‘lecture’ with the reminder that they have the opportunity to be conformed to that wonderful character themselves. I wonder if He has a recording of all that somewhere…..? 😉
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