Locating the Garden of Eden: "Finding Eden" 6-2-24

Overview

Finding Eden

Scripture gives us real geographic clues about the Garden of Eden. Genesis 2:8 tells us God planted the garden "in the east," and Genesis 2:10–14 names four rivers flowing from it—the Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates. Because the Tigris and Euphrates can still be located today, many have placed Eden at their junction, in modern-day Iraq. Yet the text also notes that before the fall, "the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth" Genesis 2:5–6; a mist from below watered the ground.

Rain enters the biblical story for the first time as judgment. In Genesis 7:12, the rain falls forty days and forty nights upon a wicked world Genesis 6:5–8. The flood reshaped the entire landscape—mountains, rivers, and coastlines all changed. That means our search for the original Eden, however interesting, is ultimately futile. We don't know precisely where it was, because the world we now inhabit is not the world Adam and Eve walked.

But the same waters that brought judgment also brought salvation: Noah and his family "were saved through water," and Peter tells us this prefigured baptism, "which now saves you... through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" 1 Peter 3:20–21. At the cross, Jesus bore our sin and absorbed God's wrath; in the empty tomb, His sacrifice was vindicated. God joins that victory to the water of baptism and washes us into His promises—forgiveness, faith, the Holy Spirit, membership in His family, and life eternal. Baptism is God's declaration: you are mine.

The story comes full circle in Revelation 22:1–4, where John sees a river of the water of life flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb, with the tree of life bearing fruit on its banks. The imagery deliberately echoes Genesis 2: a river, a tree of life, the unbroken presence of God. We cannot retrace our steps to the first garden—but we don't need to. Through Christ, the garden has come to us. Eden has found you.

Transcript

Would you open your Bibles, please, or use the few edition in the rack in front of you 3s

to the second chapter of the Book of Genesis. 8s

Genesis 2 for our study today. 12s

As a boy, we would oftentimes sit in the very front pew. 18s

And if my brother and I were good, my grandmother would open 25s

up her purse full of treasure. 29s

And she would pull out a roll of lifesavers. 34s

She would look for the red one for me and the purple one for my brother. 39s

And they would get passed down the roll. 46s

If we didn't get the lifesaver, the message was clear that the havere was not up to the 50s

standards that it should have been. 57s

Following the worship service, we would oftentimes go to my grandmother's house for 62s

Sunday dinner. 66s

She was a fantastic, fantastic cook. 69s

And after dinner there was always a delicious dessert. 74s

And then after the dessert, we would quite often play, yacht-sea. 78s

My grandmother loved that game. 84s

The rest of us not so much. 85s

But my grandmother just loved that game. 89s

So we played yacht-sea. 92s

And oftentimes after the dinner and the desserts and the several rounds of yacht-sea, 96s

oftentimes we would go for a drive, a Sunday drive. 102s

Sometimes I would ask my father where are we going? 110s

And he would say, I don't know. 113s

We're just going to draw. 117s

And away we would go. 121s

And that doesn't occur so much anymore. 125s

Does it? 128s

We see our vehicles as how to get to point A to B. 129s

But there was something growing up with the Sunday drive. 135s

That would occur. 141s

We begin today of 14 part sermon series. 146s

I've entitled it, Sunday drives. 150s

And for the next 14 weeks, we're going to hop into the station wagon together. 154s

And we're going to go on a drive. 160s

We're going to go from Iraq to Iran up into Turkey. 165s

We're going to swing on down through the Mediterranean sea and then go into Egypt and cross the Red Sea. 169s

We're going to go into Jordan and then up to Syria, 176s

hook into Lebanon and then drop down into Israel. 178s

And it's a biblical event seeing drive. 183s

And as we stop in the various places, we're going to say, what was one of the Bible stories that occurred there? 188s

How is it applicable to us? 195s

And we're going to hear the gospel proclay. 197s

And so today on the inaugural drive, we're going to start in the Garden of Eden, 201s

which begs the question, where was the garden of Eden? 211s

Where was the garden of Eden? 219s

Look with me, please. 224s

At chapter 2 of Genesis, the second part of verse 4. 226s

In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 232s

when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up. 236s

For the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, 242s

and there was no one to till the ground. 247s

But a stream would rise from the earth and water the whole face of the ground. 250s

Notice that God did not use at this point rain to water the earth, 257s

but the watering came from the stream underneath the ground. 263s

Scripture goes on to say in verse 7, 269s

then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils, 271s

the breath of life, and the man became a living bee. 277s

And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, 283s

and there he put the man whom he had formed. 287s

Out of the ground, the Lord God made to grow every tree that's pleasant to the sight and good 291s

for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good 297s

and evil. We've got a clue there, right? 303s

Got a clue as to the location where the garden of Eden was. 306s

It says it was in the east and the east. 311s

We see the biblical narrative tell us about the creation of our first parents Adam and Eve. 319s

We followed the narrative we come to the covenant. 326s

God established with Abraham and Sarah. 330s

Through them, God said, would come a multitude of people and out of that multitude of people 333s

would come the Messiah, the Lord Jesus. We follow those people in the pages of Scripture. 338s

They become slaves under the oppressive hand of a very mean Pharaoh in Egypt. 345s

God raises up the Bible tells us Moses and Moses leads the people out of Egypt as God propels 352s

them to the promised land. We know that the first five books of the Old Testament called the 360s

Pentatook, the first five books was authored by Moses, so that tells us then that when it says 368s

the garden was in the east, that means it was to the east of where Moses was with these 376s

Israelites. Well, that's a wide swath of landscape, isn't it? So can we narrow it down a little bit more? 385s

Bible gives us some more clues. Look, please, at verse 10. A river flows out of Eden to water the 398s

garden and from where it divides and becomes four branches. The name of the first is Pishon. 407s

It is the one that flows around the whole land of Hevallah, where there's gold. 414s

And the gold of that land is good. Deliam and Onyx stone are there. 420s

The name of the second river is Giam, and it's the one that flows around the whole land of Kush. 428s

The name of the third river is Tigris, which flows east of Assyria and the fourth river is the 434s

your freebies. So the spring gives rise here then to four rivers. 442s

Pishon and Gihon have no idea where they were. The land of Koo, Bible will sometimes refer to it as 450s

the area that's South Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan. But then it mentions those other two rivers. 465s

The Tigris and the your freebies. That catches our attention. Many will maintain that the garden of Eden 474s

was at the junction of the Tigris and the your freebies rivers. Why, on the front of the bulletin, 485s

I asked our secretary to put a star right there on that junction. In fact, in the weeks 493s

ahead, you're going to know this is star of where we're going to be. That particular week. 499s

But that star is right at the junction there of the Tigris and the your freebies. So that means 505s

that the garden of Eden was in Iraq. Iraq. 512s

Right. Right. Have we, have we found it? 528s

Look at the place at chapter two, verse five, once again. When no plant of the field was yet in 541s

the earth and no herb or the field had yet sprung up. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain 548s

upon the earth and there was no one to till the ground. Which answers to, there's no rain, 555s

when did it start to rain? When did it start to rain? Let's go to chapter six, please, 562s

of Genesis. Chapter six, verse five. The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in 567s

the earth and every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. 577s

And the Lord was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth and it grieved him to his heart. 584s

So the Lord said, I will blot out from the earth, the human beings I have created. People together 591s

with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them, 598s

but Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord. So it didn't rain. Earth was watered from the 604s

team coming up from the ground below. Then you've got the judgment upon humankind because of their 616s

sin. So when did it start to rain? Chapter seven, verse 12, the rain fell on the earth 622s

40 days and 40 nights. Notice that when at first rain it was an association with what? 630s

Judgment. Judgment. God uses the rain now to water the earth. But the first use of rain 645s

was judgment. Thinking of some they drives as a kid oftentimes we just didn't know where we were going. 656s

But here's the challenge for us today on our inaugural drive here. Is we don't know where we're 667s

starting from, right? Because here's the thing. When the flood came and flooded the entire earth, 673s

that changed the entire landscape of the earth. The mountains were all changed. The rivers that were 684s

in existence. Their flow was changed. See, where was the tiger said the afraidies before the flood? 694s

We can only see where it is now. But the flood changed everything. Finding in is futile. 707s

It's futile, right? 725s

But wait. Wait. The water changed. The pagraphy. It changed the flows of rivers. 732s

The water brought death. But the water also see. Look, please. At chapter 7, verse 15. 748s

They went into the arc with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. 766s

And those that entered mail and female of all flesh went in as God had commanded him. 772s

And the Lord shut him in. The water changed the pagraphy. Yes, it changed the flows in the 779s

earth. It is baptism. It's like the flood. Peter says in 1 Peter, the 3rd chapter. 801s

God waited patiently in the days of Noah during the building of the arc in which a few that is 818s

persons, catch this, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you. 826s

Now there's a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience 842s

through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, that is so important I want to read a part of it again. 847s

God waited patiently in the days of Noah during the building of the arc in which a few that is 853s

eight persons were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you. 861s

When the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross, he bore our sin. When the Lord Jesus Christ went to 874s

cross, he died in our place. When the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross, God's wrath for sin was 881s

laid upon the sun. When the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross, He affected our reconciliation 888s

between humanity and God. When the Lord Jesus Christ was raised from the tomb, the sacrifice for sin 894s

had been accepted. And God takes that victory, one on the cross and through the empty tomb, 904s

he takes that word of victory, he puts it with the water and he washes us in that promise. 912s

At baptism, God calls us his own. At baptism, God gives faith. At baptism, God gives the forgiveness 921s

of sins. At baptism, God gives life eternal. At baptism, God gives the Holy Spirit. At baptism, 931s

we are made a member of the family, the church. At baptism, God says, this is my decision. 940s

No, if answer butts about it, you are mine. And for us sinners, we are washed in the promises 948s

of the victory of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. And heaven is open for us. 958s

That's what Peter says. And baptism now saves you. 974s

Now watch the thread here. Because in Revelation, the 22nd chapter, 989s

John is given this vision beginning in verse 1. 999s

Then the angels showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, 1006s

flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. This is a vision of heaven. 1012s

The lamb hears capitalized because the lamb is who, the lamb is Jesus, the spotless lamb of God 1019s

that died for our sin. Then the angels showed me the river of the water of life, 1025s

right as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb to the middle of the street of the 1030s

church. This is the tree of life with its 12 kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month, 1041s

and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Nothing occurs, we will be found there 1048s

anymore. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it and his servants will worship him, 1055s

they will see his face and his name will be on therefore. 1063s

Does that description of heaven remind you of Genesis 2? 1073s

Do you remind you of that? 1080s

In Eden there was a river and in the new Jerusalem. 1084s

Heaven itself there's a river. In Eden there was the tree of life and in heaven. 1089s

There is the tree of life. God desires to spend eternity with us. 1104s

God's desire is to bring us back to Eden. The quest to find Eden. 1119s

Hmm. But you understand, right? That because of Jesus, because of Jesus, 1135s

Eden has found you. 1149s