Christ vs. Adam - Part One - The Garden

My studies through Song of Solomon, Proverbs, and various Biblical themes (dove/lily/garden) have convinced me that most themes in the Bible lead back to Song of Songs.  Songs is often referenced as "the Holy of holies" of the Bible.  I firmly believe this.  Song of Solomon, in my opinion, is the key to understanding God's message in the entire Bible.

Some people gloss over Songs because it's uncomfortable for them.  It is a highly sensual book.  But it is an allegory between Christ (the Beloved) and His Church (the spouse).  The depth of intimacy Christ wants with us parallels that of lovers.  Passionate.  Fiery.  Longing.  Anticipation.  Excitement.  Joy.  Bliss.

This cannot be fully encompassed by phileo (brotherly/friendship), storge (familial), or agape (unconditional/selfless) love.  This kind of love has a touch of eros (romance), we cannot deny it.  Lovers know every detail about each other.  Every inch, every secret.  Every hope, dream, and delight.  This is the foundation of the First Great Commandment.  God wants more than lip service, He wants it all, every piece of ourselves: our hearts, our souls, our minds, even our very strength.  This is passionate love.

In part two of my Christ vs. Adam study, I will delve a bit deeper into that passionate love.  For now, I want to explore some parallels between Christ and Adam.

Scripture calls Christ the Second Adam (or the last Adam) in 1 Corinthians 15:45.  The idea is that what Adam failed to do, Christ accomplished.  What Adam gave away, Christ restored.  Adam brought death; Christ brings Life.

Let's take a look at Adam.

 

The first man God ever created was placed in a garden.  The main theme in Song of Solomon is the garden.  It is allegory for our hearts, where God wishes to be intimate with us.  In the Genesis account, Adam and Eve walked with God intimately.  They were unashamed of their nakedness, and were allowed fully into God's presence.  They were innocent.  Sin had yet to enter the world.

The serpent deceived Adam's wife, and they disobeyed God, eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  They hid from God, as their newly begotten sin nature had them cowering before His holiness.  Intimacy was broken.  No longer could they stay in the garden, lest they eat from the Tree of Life and thus live forever in their sin.  

Paradise was lost; Adam and Eve had to fend for themselves without God.  I often imagine the heartache they must have gone through, knowing what they had given up, knowing they could never again walk with their Creator as they once had.  Adam had no idea how to farm.  But he just got thrown into the deep end of the pool.  He had to fend for himself and his wife.  I wonder how many hungry nights they had before they had food again?  How hard was it to build that first shelter?  Imagine the bitter barbs they must have slung at each other, blaming the other for the Fall.  Eve, livid that Adam accused her before Yahweh without taking the blame; Adam incensed that she gave him the fruit in the first place.  It must have been very hard to deal with their new fallen nature.

But considering this story with the story of Christ, and the knowledge that He's the second Adam, I got a burst of insight during prayer.  

Adam and Eve were betrayed in a garden.

So, too, was Christ.

John 18:2 mentions that Christ and His disciples met in the Garden of Gethsemane often.  It was a place of intimacy.  A place to get away from the crowds and enjoy the lovely scenery.  Again, we see the parallel to the Beloved's garden in Song of Solomon. 

While it's likely Adam and Eve were betrayed during the daytime (as it's usually day when God illuminates wisdom), it was night when Christ was betrayed (as it's usually night when there's a lack of wisdom, or when evil creeps in.)  For example, Christ, the Light of the World, was born at night.  Very fitting, as "darkness" was prevalent in the world.  Since Adam and Eve were still innocent (until the serpent tempted them), it was likely day when it happened.  And Christ rose from the dead as the Morning Star, in the light of a new day.

We see Christ's agony as He wept in Gethsemane.  He took Peter, James, and John with Him to watch and pray, but they couldn't stay awake.  He was alone.  The weight of sin weighed heavily upon Him, and He faced God's wrath for the very first time.  The fear in His heart was almost more than He could take.  Sweat as drops of blood fell to the ground.  His face was in the dirt.  Our Lord was "full of sorrow, as unto death" (Mark 14:34).  I don't think "sorrow" is a very powerful word.  Yeshua was suffering.  He was crushed.  Anguished.  Devastated.

Unlike Adam, He had no Eve to comfort Him.

His sorrow was so great, an angel had to minister to His soul in order to strengthen Him (Luke 22:42-44). 

I believe this was the SECOND time Yeshua agonized in a garden.  Knowing what we know of Christ, that it was He who appeared to men before His incarnation as the Word of God, it would have been Yeshua, therefore, who drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden.  Knowing what we know of the heart of Christ, casting His masterpieces from His presence would have been a sharp pain indeed for the God of love that wishes nothing but intimacy from those made in His Image.  His holiness demanded wrath, but mercy stayed His hand, and His love made a way of peace through His cross thousands of years later.

In Gethsemane, Judas betrays Christ with a kiss - in the midst of their intimate garden, the one paralleling the Beloved's garden from Songs.  He was betrayed by a feigned love, a counterfeit adoration.  Can you not see the ugliness of this blasphemy?  Satan knows well the parallels of this garden, to Eden, to Songs, and uses Judas to KISS Yeshua on the cheek.  "You're going to die," the serpent hisses into His ear.  "Here's my 'token' of devotion, Son of God!"

Oh, the tears in my eyes even now...

In Eden, Adam and Eve were cast out to face the justice of God.
In Gethsemane, God was cast out to face the justice of man.

What's interesting about these two accounts is that Gethsemane *mirrors* Eden.  The events that lead up to Calvary are the opposite to Adam's events that led him astray.

In Adam's account he was created by God.  He was put to sleep and the woman was created from his rib.  Eve is then betrayed by the serpent.  They both eat of the fruit and hide from God's presence before they are cast out of the Garden.

In Christ's account, He suffered greatly and tried to "hide" from God's wrath by asking for this cup to pass from Him.  He was cast out of the Garden and betrayed by His "close friend".  Then, He was killed upon the cross (put to sleep), pierced in His side thus birthing the Church (like Adam's rib), and finally making a NEW creation: humanity united with God.

Now, through Christ's glorious sacrifice, we are allowed back in to the Garden of Intimacy.  We have a renewed communion with the King of Glory.  Our hearts have become the new Eden, and our Beloved comes into His garden to eat His pleasant fruits (Songs 4:16).  This is the abundant life He promised (John 10:10).  Our God, this God, this amazing, all-powerful God, endured such acute agony to purchase our souls from the depths of the grave. 

Therefore my kisses for Him shall never be blasphemous, but full of absolute, uninhibited adoration.  Praise the Lord!