The First Fence

The First Fence

8/14/16

In a time where a single word or simple phrase can ignite a firestorm of discussion and anger one might shy away from such a topic, but God is not in a habit of shying away from losing His children.  Having a protective boundary in place serves many purposes and through these purposes, security and safety usually follow as long as those borders are intact and kept up to date.  It is when we allow those protective boundaries to crumble or disintegrate that we become subject to anyone who wishes us harm. These types of protective surroundings are even mentioned in God’s Word and how important they are to our existence. However, as we see in the Bible what occurs when we do not maintain these boundaries our lives shall soon follow if we do not begin the process of mending those fences before the enemy comes washing through.

Oh boy, isn’t this topic becoming a heated discussion item?  It has sparked much debate, anger, hostilities and violence on a personal level as well as a public level.  As each day passes, we have the opportunity to watch some type of heated process unfold with some type of incident that concerns a fence, boundary, or some other border issue being discussed.  What I find so hilarious about this issue is that all of these people are taking sides of this issue, or they are on one side or the other which really describes a border or fence.  This means that they are actually lining up and separating themselves on one side of the fence which is what a fence does, but aren’t they arguing to have fences removed??

Anyway, whether these people realize it or not this issue is not a new one and when one looks down history’s way it is easy to find some type of border issue.  Many European countries have long histories that have had their borders written, changed, re-written and then changed again due to various causes and reasons.  In every case, these borders have served as a boundary or marker that symbolizes that one is leaving or entering a specific property or land.  Some of these boundaries have been placed into effect by the use of fences and with modern technology today those fences do not have to be physical but can be nothing more than lasers.  Whatever the case may be, the fence remains intact to outsiders and serves as a notice of impending confrontation without permission.  In every case, when a boundary or fence is unwillingly penetrated wars have began but it is another issue when those protective borders are voluntarily taken down or allowed to become obsolete, for all defensive mechanisms are then compromised and it is up to the enemy at this point to dictate who is protected and who is not.

One of the more famous fences of the modern era comes from the remnants of World War II in the city of Berlin.  The Berlin Wall was notoriously famous fo?r keeping hundreds of thousands of people isolated from the “free” outside world.  And while some of this famous wall was laden with steel and concrete a good portion of the wall was actually just a fence.  There is no doubt that fences are erected for a purpose and as a marker but do we really understand and grasp the concept that both sides are defined by these fences?  How can there be any true definition if no boundary is set up to mark property or land?  What constitutes a fence in the first place?  Does it have to be physically noticed in order to be effective and enforced?  All of these questions and much more like them do have answers and in some cases answers that are hard to handle but necessary.  Fences are not just a current political nightmare for this country for this type of concept of separation has been present since the dawn of civilization.  Another human funny before I proceed: I find it funny that people are screaming at some of the politicians concerning the fencing issue and how there should be no fences present, but on another side of things these same people scream and cry about separation of church and state.  The same arguments can be understood in this situation as a fence propaganda but has a heightened stance.

If this separation of church and state concept is to be totally accurate according to their screams then ALL who are involved in the state who have any type of religious stance must exclude themselves from the government activities.  Therefore, in this state those who are crying for separation of church and state are defeating their “no fence” proposals by their own double standards, a future topic to be written about.  Which brings me to what God says about having fences about us in His Word, and yes He does address the situation very clearly. 

A quick note before proceeding with this passage of Scripture and how important God believes this topic is to our lives.  Have you ever wondered why certain topics appear in our world and hang around for such a long time?  We must keep in mind and in our heart at all times when a passage from the Bible is specifically mentioned, and then that topic or subject is presented to us and then that verse being fulfilled almost verbatim during our lifetime.  In other words, everything that God’s Word should be taken as the dire and 100% truth because there is a reason God gives us information to protect ourselves against our enemy. This means that this topic is a Kingdom issue and when it comes to Kingdom principles we are dealing with our eternal future.  This also means that unless we look to His Word for the correct answer it shall not come.

Ok, Genesis Chapter 2: 7-9 addresses this issue with complete clarity and we will begin there.  This is an incredible set of verses that explain many things about our lives and Kingdom and is just plain exciting too.  Verse 7 sets the stage for the main verse 8 with verse 9 ending the charge of the Kingdom principle here.  It is this verse (8) that sets the stage of the first fence being built as a protective separation from the outside.  The question that is asked here is this: why would God have to create a separate space and then put mankind into it in the first place?  The answer to that question is that God understood that there was an enemy who would wish harm on His prized creation and if God did not establish a safe haven with His protective covering first, man would automatically be subject to the enemy without any sort of protection through God.  See, God is a supplier, not an opportunist like our enemy which means that God must begin the process with full details before the objects are allowed to take shape.  There is a reason verse 8 states that the Garden was established and then the man was placed into it, we must remember that God is a complete God on ALL levels of existence.

The message here is that God had every intention of making the life of mankind easy, simple, pure and holy and that our lives would remain in that status forever.  But God also understood that through His love for us He could not control or dominate our lives and that in the manner to which He created us we would have a choice in following His ways or not.  Therefore, all protective devices had to be established first before God could place the man into His perfect conditions.  God states that He planted a Garden eastward in Eden.  This means that the Garden that God planted had definitive borders – a holy fence – because it would have not been feasible for Adam to be responsible for the entire planet.  This also means that God would not leave Adam and Eve unknowing of their responsibilities either; now it becomes a choice matter.

The next portion that is so very important occurs in the same chapter of Genesis and includes the verses 15 – 17, for it addresses the duties that Adam and Eve were to have over their dominion.  It is through these verses that God tells Adam how he is supposed to work and to keep the dominion that God has given him and to make sure that all is secure at all times.  Where does it say that in these verses?  Logically, one can conform to the fact that God showed Adam and Eve the entire Garden of Eden for they walked and talked with each other each day.  Remember, God is a complete God at ALL times on ALL levels, so it is also logical that Adam understood this all-encompassing command from God; and so should we. 

It is through these verses, especially verse 15 that gives us the boundary issues that God had set into place.  The dominion of Adam encompassed the entire Garden of Eden which means that while there may not have been a physical fence in place around the Garden of Eden Adam understood that it was his responsibility to protect everything that was inside this garden or area. This alone sets into motion a placement of a fence or boundary in which someone is responsible for and through this responsibility comes the overseeing of what or who enters and leaves it.  We also must understand that God did not seal off this Garden access it was a “free flowing” system if you wish to look at it that way, for it was Satan who was in the Garden of Eden establishing a relationship with Adam and Eve before the fall occurred; another witness to freedom of choice.  This example puts into place our part in maintaining the protective fences around us and it should bring into light the purpose of such a fence, it also defines our responsibility of keeping this fence up to date and current as time passes.  It is easy for us to think about performing general gardening duties when we talk about "keeping up" the Garden of Eden but maintaining the integrity of the fence around such a "ranch" or "farm" is essential for the stability of such area.

Can you now see why it is important that we have fences around our lives?  If one follows the story that unfolds in Genesis Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 it is easy to figure out that Adam and Eve did not keep the fence around the Garden of Eden maintained very well.  In fact, it is easily recognized that they ignored it long enough that our eternal enemy passed through this fence of God many times over a long period of time.  God understood this dilemma yet He kept His loving heart true to His command and allowed Adam and Eve to choose to disobey His first command or to abide by it and even though God knew one day that mankind would choose their own selfish ways instead of keeping His law, He did not waiver from this stance He took.  It was mankind who fell down on the job and not God.

What I find amazing here is that even though humans were created holy and pure their ability to choose how to handle situations still rival today’s activities.  It must have been a snap for Adam and Eve to think that since everything was in perfect order that when God spoke His law and command to them that it would be a breeze of a task.  So, why would God really need a tended and mended fence in the first place?  This is logical because Adam and Eve were human and we are human today as well, so the same thought processes were in place especially when our eternal enemy was allowed to pass in and out of the fence freely. Think about this for a moment and one can see this identical pattern being executed in our world today.  Over time, Adam and Eve came to the conclusion that they did not need God as much as He had said they did, yet used the gift of choice that He gave them to choose their own way instead.

It is not clear of just how much time passed from Genesis Chapter 2 until the completion of Chapter 3.  It is also not clear of the details of how Satan and the humans established their relationship – even though it is ascertainable of how it came to be - but it is known that a relationship did occur and it was strong enough that Eve succumbed to the temptation when the time arose, which means that the security of the fence around the Garden of Eden had enough “holes” in it that it was a comfortable fit for the enemy to take a hold without any difficulty.  It was through these holes that our enemy gained his access to Adam and Eve and eventually turned the tide of our existence for eternity.  One really has to consider what must have gone through Adam and Eve’s heads when the truth of their choices came about.  With all of the evidence that is laid out for us in this Garden of Eden setting, you know they must have had the thought that God was not THAT serious when He said we would surely die, I mean, nothing had ever died before, right?  Nope and it is this point that we will be extending upon shortly but we must recognize that Satan had already experienced death and he knew exactly what he was doing at that point in time with Eve.

This brings us to Genesis Chapter 3:22 – 24 and the end results of what had occurred between the participants in the Garden of Eden and we are going to focus on verse 24.  This verse states: “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.”  It is this verse that confirms that there was a boundary to the Garden of Eden and this verse also tells us that while there was no real physical fence present a boundary was in place and with the judgment of the participants in the garden, that boundary had been voluntarily taken down by the residents and the enemy had stolen from God.  And the world that Adam and Eve had known physically, spiritually and violently changed.

It is easy to read this passage and to dismiss the notion that any other piece of land, property, state, nation or continent could ever represent what the Garden of Eden did so long ago.  But the Bible gives us another account of a blessed land with a boundary and that land was recorded as the Land of Israel.  Yet, Israel decided to follow the ways of Adam and Eve and allow their selfish wants and whims dictate their existence.  So, God had to once again demonstrate to His people that He built a fence for a purpose and when humanity allows His fence to become dormant or unnecessary in the minds of those who live within that confine He must remind those involved who He really is.  It is evident that Israel not just once but countless times ignored God and His ways and chose their own path and their ultimate time came when God allowed an enemy to totally wipe their physical boundary off the map and enslaved them for centuries.  Not until 1948 did Israel be recognized as a nation again and considering it was in the BC era that Israel lost her true physical identity, there was a long time that had passed.

Why is this important to us today?  As it has been pointed out a few times over the course of the articles that God has shared with us, our nation was created for the exact same reason as Israel.  I am NOT saying that we have replaced Israel; in NO WAY EVER AM I SAYING THAT.  However, God saw the need and heard the cry coming from His people – Jews and those people who wished to truly worship Him – and He established this nation accordingly.  God chose the right people to complete this task long before the “Founding Fathers” came into being, but it was the work of our enemy that stole that calling and mission, and we fell back into the columns of adversity and have remained there ever since.  Just as God allowed Adam and Eve time to make things right and as He did the same for Israel in the Old Testament He has done the exact same thing for our nation’s existence.  But as the previous two examples played out so will ours and it looks like the same destructive reasoning on our part will follow history.

Any reasonable non-God fearing person would have to marvel at how this nation has been blessed.  Even with the mistakes we have made over the centuries, our lives have been blessed through God’s mighty fortitude.  Our nation has lived out just as the Garden of Eden and the nation of Israel did and it looks like through these blessings from God that we are also going to suffer the consequences of our selfish and wicked choices.  We have forgotten that when one small hole is left unplugged that our enemy will see this hole as an invitation and when that invitation has been fulfilled he is then allowed to bring his friends in as well.  Our eternal enemy is an opportunistic beast and he will take his opportunity every time we give it to him, and look at all the opportunities we are giving him.

God has not asked to live for Him without giving us a chance to defend ourselves.  It is not His choice that we should suffer and die because of our physical enemies or because of our eternal enemy.  It was clear that Adam and Eve did not speak with God with an earnest and faithful heart.  It is also understood that Israel did not have a fervent prayer life with God and it remains absolutely clear and evident that this blessed and holy fenced nation wants nothing to do with praying to its Creator either.  So, there is nothing left to do but pray that we turn things around before God says “enough”.  Our future looks bleak since the Church has herself created so many gaping holes in our protective hedge over us.  Just as Adam and Eve had warnings, along with Israel as well, so too have we had our warnings; so the question remains, how long oh Lord will you hold us in contempt without showing us your eternal existence?

DLB