Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden of Eden because sin had entered the world, and God would not allow them to eat of the tree of life and live forever in that sinful condition.
After Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit, sin and death entered and the fellowship with God was broken. God then sent Adam forth from the garden, and Les Feldick teaches this was so he could not take of the tree of life and live forever in a body of sin. Outside the garden they now lived under the curse, working by the sweat of their brow.
Genesis 3:22 — God's own stated reason for the expulsion: man had become as one of Him, knowing good and evil, and must not eat of the tree of life and live forever.
Genesis 3:23 — The direct action — the Lord God sent Adam forth from the garden of Eden.
Genesis 3:24 — God drove out the man and placed cherubim and a flaming sword to keep the way of the tree of life.
The Bible states the reason for the expulsion in the words of God Himself. After the fall, 'the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever' (Genesis 3:22). The very next verse records the action: 'Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken' (Genesis 3:23). Verse 24 adds, 'So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.' The Bible also shows what Adam and Eve now faced outside the garden. God told Adam, 'cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground' (Genesis 3:17-19). Scripture presents the expulsion as an act of God — He sent the man forth and drove him out — so that he would not live forever in his fallen condition.
Les Feldick teaches that the removal from the garden was necessary because 'sin had now entered.' In the garden, Adam and Eve had only one restriction — do not eat of the tree — and everything else was for their enjoyment; they knew nothing of sin or death. But once they disobeyed, everything changed. Sin entered, death entered, and they were separated from their daily walk with God. Les emphasizes that it was not a matter of God changing — 'God didn't change, Adam and Eve did.' Les also points out that even after God brought Adam and Eve back into fellowship through the slain animals and clothed them with the skins — and even though God in mercy sought them out in their hiding — they still had to be removed from the garden. He draws attention to God's words in Genesis 3:22: if Adam had been allowed to eat of the tree of life, he would have lived forever 'in this body of sin,' which would have been terrible. So God sent him forth and placed the cherubim and the flaming sword to keep the way of the tree of life. Outside the garden, Les explains, life was a 'whole different set of circumstances.' They were now under the curse and had to work by the sweat of their brow; the ground brought forth thorns and thistles, and the curse fell on all of creation as a result of Adam's rebellion. Yet, as soon as the curse fell, God came back with a remedy — the promise of a Redeemer in Genesis 3:15. Les sums up the whole event as the vortex of the human problem, the fall of Adam.
Les teaches that everything was different once they were outside. In the garden they were under a 'light, easy keeping' with only one prohibition. After the expulsion, sin and death had entered, they were separated from the daily walk with God, and they had to work by the sweat of their brow. The ground itself was cursed — it brought forth thorns and thistles — and Adam would eventually return to the ground. Les summarizes, 'God didn't change, Adam and Eve did.'
Les points out that although God brought Adam and Eve back into fellowship through the slain animals and clothed them with the skins, sin had still entered. God said, 'Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever.' Les emphasizes that if Adam had partaken of the tree of life and lived forever in a body of sin, that would have been awful. So God sent him forth from the garden and placed cherubim and a flaming sword to keep the way of the tree of life.
No. Les shows that even though Adam and Eve hid from the presence of the Lord, God came and found them, calling, 'Adam, where art thou?' and restored them — that is mercy and grace. God also came right back with a remedy: as soon as the curse fell, He gave the promise of a Redeemer in Genesis 3:15.
God told Adam, 'cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee... In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground' (Genesis 3:17-19). Les teaches that this curse did not fall only on Adam or only on the ground — it fell on all of creation. The planet is what it is today as the result of Adam's rebellion, not the way God originally created it.
Sin Requires Expulsion
Les directly connects the entry of sin with the forced removal: 'since sin had now entered, they had to be removed from the garden of Eden.'
Everything Changed After the Fall
Les contrasts the easy garden existence with life under the curse after expulsion — sin, death, separation from God, and sweat-of-the-brow labor — noting that God didn't change; Adam and Eve did.
A Totally Different Era Begins
Les explains that in the garden Adam and Eve knew neither sin nor death, and that after the expulsion life was totally different — beginning the period leading to the flood.
Tree of Life Reasoning
Les emphasizes God's own reason for driving Adam out — that he must not eat of the tree of life and live forever in his body of sin — and describes the cherubim and the flaming sword guarding the way back.
Fellowship Broken by Sin
Les shows that sin broke the spiritual fellowship with the Creator; the fig leaves were useless, and Adam and Eve hid from God, unable to restore the relationship themselves.
God's Mercy and Grace
Les describes how God did not abandon the guilty pair — He found them hiding, called to Adam, and restored them, which Les calls mercy and grace.
The Curse and the Remedy
Les frames the fall of Adam as the vortex of the human problem and stresses that as soon as the curse fell, God came right back with the remedy promised in Genesis 3:15.
The Curse Over All Creation
Les reads the curse God spoke to Adam — thorns, thistles, sorrow, and sweat — and explains that the curse fell on all of creation, not just Adam or the ground.
Genesis 3:22: And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
God's stated reason for not allowing the fallen man to remain — he must not live forever in his sinful state.
Genesis 3:23: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
The direct biblical statement that God removed Adam from the garden.
Genesis 3:24: So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
God sealed the garden so the way to the tree of life was forever closed to fallen man.
Genesis 3:17-19: And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
The curse that defined the new circumstances outside the garden.
Genesis 3:15: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
The first promise of a Redeemer, which Les highlights as God's immediate remedy after the curse fell.
God sent Adam forth after the fall because man had 'become as one of us, to know good and evil,' and God would not allow him to eat of the tree of life and live forever in that condition. Genesis 3:22-24 says He sent him forth, drove him out, and placed cherubim and a flaming sword to keep the way of the tree of life.
Yes. Les Feldick teaches that sin broke the spiritual fellowship with the Creator. Even with fig leaves, Adam and Eve hid from God because they were in no shape to meet their righteous Creator. God, however, sought them out and restored them through the blood sacrifice of animals.
According to Les, it was a whole different set of circumstances. They were under the curse and had to work by the sweat of their brow. Sin and death had entered, the ground brought forth thorns and thistles, and they were no longer under the easy existence of paradise and Eden.
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