DEATH AT THE ENTRANCE

Gene 3:22-24  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: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 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.

Exod 12:3-7  Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth [day] of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of [their] fathers, a lamb for an house: And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take [it] according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take [it] out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike [it] on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.

• He said "Lest man should go to the tree of life and eat and live forever...."  And then we read, "Therefore the Lord cast him out of the Garden of Eden."
• We studied this before one Sunday.
• We learned that God could only save man if man was able to die.
• God had to preserve the chance for man to die.
• Man would return to the dust that he was taken out of.
• God required this to save man.

• If Adam had tried to re-enter the Garden, a FLAMING SWORD, whirling in every direction, would have slain him.

Notice that God took Adam from dust that was outside the Garden and then brought the newly created man into the Garden.
 

Gene 2:7-8  And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

God did not take Adam from dust in the Garden's soil.
And then notice what God told Adam...
 
 

Gene 3:19  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.

Adam would return to the dust he was made from, and that meant BE BURIED AND DECAY AWAY IN IT.

• He would turn to dust again.
• This Garden is a Holy Place.
• We studied that the HOLIEST OF HOLIES was patterned after the Garden, with an only entrance on the east.
• We studied that the Cherubim blocking the Garden were depicted on a veil blocking man from getting into the holiest of holies.
• So the Garden was a Holiest of Holies.
• And SIN is not allowed in there. (That's is why Adam had to leave after he sinned.)
• And since sin brings DEATH, if sin is not allowed in there then DEATH is not allowed in there.

So we see two things in view here:
 

1. Adam had to be preserved with the ability to die.  (Had Adam eaten of the life fruit after he sinned, God said he would not die, so God got him out of there).
2. And Death could not get inside the Garden.

These two pictures have everything to do with New Testament salvation and they are brought to the forefront again, before Jesus came, in the story of the EXODUS.
 

Ezek 18:20  The soul that sinneth, it shall die. ...

Notice how death  comes because of sin.
 

Roma 5:12  Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

This above verse tells us that death comes by sin, also.

And THIS was the loophole to save man.

• God had to allow man to be able to die after he sinned so He could save man by it.
• One plan and one plan only would work.
• If Adam could no longer die, and sinned, then God could not help him.
• So he threw him from the garden to keep him from eating fruit of life to live forever.

• God wanted to get man back.
• God wanted man back in the Garden.
• Man was sinful and anything sinful that would try to enter the Garden would be killed by the flaming sword.
• So how was God going to get sinful man back into a Garden that had a sword that would kill sinful men if they tried to enter?
• EXODUS SHOWED A HINT OF HOW.

Egypt was completely in upheaval over a God who was showing His stand for a people that were persecuted and enslaved by a mad Pharaoh.

• Plagues had been striking that kingdom for days now.
• Pharaoh turned into an insane man of fury and refused to let Israel go, while God hit him again and again with warnings in the form of plagues.
• Finally, what God warned Pharaoh about before any plague ever began came to pass.

Exod 4:22-23  And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel [is] my son, [even] my firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, [even] thy firstborn.

Notice that this was said way back in Chapter 4 of Exodus.

• But before God did it, He sent plagues to try to change Pharaoh's mind.
• In Chapter 7 God begins by turning the Nile, they worshipped as source of Life,  river to blood of a dead man.
• Pharaoh refused to buckle, and God did what He said he would do in chapter 4.

• Get the picture.
• All firstborn children would die.
• But He told Israel to take a lamb that was spotless and kill it.
• Then take its blood and put it on the ENTRANCE of their homes, and stay inside the home until morning.
• When death would come by, it would not be able to enter past that ENTRANCE.
• The Blood of the lamb would indicate that a death already occurred there, and death had already been paid at that home.
• DEATH WOULD FIND THAT THERE ALREADY WAS A DEATH AT THE ENTRANCE.

Death was not allowed inside.

• Like the story of Genesis, death could not enter the Garden.
• Death's domain is outside the Garden.
• Death can go anywhere it pleases, but one place and one place only.
• Death could not enter the Garden.
• Graves would only be found outside the Garden.
• God sent Adam out to one day die in the dust outside the Garden from which He originally took man from.
• Beyond the Garden entrance is eternal life.
• A tree of life with fruit giving eternal life to the eater.

• Sinners must die!
• The soul that sins must die!
• How can sinful man enter into a place that death cannot get him?
• So long as man has sinned, death has a right to stalk him his entire life!
• The soul that sins shall die.
• And death is not barred from any moment man might accidentally endanger his fragile life.
• Death doesn't care when man dies, so long as man dies.
• WHY IS MAN BEYOND DEATH?

• The same wonder is applied here, too!
• The Garden has a flaming sword blocking sinful man out, for those who can die would DIE should they try to enter the Garden.
• The sword would slay them.
• How can sinful man be inside a barrier that slays sinful men from entering?!

• "See the flaming sword at the entrance, death?"
• "Any who might try to enter past, with sin, will experience DEATH AT THE ENTRANCE."
• "Right there, no closer than the doorway, will they die."

• There was a death at the entrance there.
• Just like in the Garden's entrance, should a sinner have attempted to pass.
• And why is the one who sinned inside the house alive?
• Was that his blood?
• HERE IS THE GOSPEL, DEATH.  THAT BLOOD CAME FROM ONE WHO DID NOT SIN.  A SINLESS SPOTLESS LAMB.
• THAT LAMB GAVE ITS LIFE TO PAY THE PENALTY OF DEATH FOR THE SINFUL ONE.
• THERE MUST BE A DEATH FOR EVERY SINFUL ONE.
• AND NOBODY SAID ANOTHER COULD NOT DIE IN THE PLACE OF THE SINFUL ONE, SO THE SINFUL ONE WOULD NO LONGER HAVE THE BOUNTY ON HIS HEAD, AND COULD ENTER.

• But none of the Israelite's children were slain.
• Because a Lamb had died in their places.

John 1:29  The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

• John Called JESUS the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.
• That room represents the Garden.
• Death cannot enter there.
• We were sinful but can now dwell in a sinless Garden, because Jesus died for us.
• The only thing that barred us out was our sins.
• And death pays for sins.
• So Jesus took that rule and died for us, so we could enter.

• See the sword at the door of the Garden?
• See the once sinful soul inside?
• Put the two pictures together, and realize that the Lamb, Jesus, took the death we would have received had we tried to enter.
• That blood says that the ones inside entered because ANOTHER SINLESS ONE DIED FOR THEM.
• Death only needs to be paid once for every sinner.

• Jesus can say "You would have died at the entrance, but I died there for you!!!"
• The blood at the doorway represents Jesus who took the death we would take had we tried to enter the Garden, so that we could indeed enter, and having paid death already, REMAIN ALIVE, free from the fear of death.

THE HIGH PRIEST'S EXAMPLE

I had an interesting experience last Friday night and while sleeping I dreamed that I was preaching to you people here in this church.  And I said these words:

• I preached about entering the land of Canaan, and how the Israelites doubted God in Moses day to do so.  And then in the dream I remember preaching of the holiest of holies.  And I distinctly said in my dream, " We need a high priest so we can enter the holiest."

• The high priest entered the holiest ONLY IF HE HAD BLOOD.
• He had to walk past the veil with cherubims on it, with the same creatures that stood by the sword in the Garden, because  death would occur by the cherubims should anyone enter.
• And death had to know there was already a death.
• LET THIS MAN PASS!
• Se the blood in His hand?
• He is showing you that death already was paid for Him.

• But there is the blood there right at the entrance, in place of what would be mine, so I can pass the entrance and not die!

• Unless you believe this so strong that you will begin to live a life in obedience to everything the Bible says to live by, you will die in your sins.

Acts 2:37-38  Now when they heard [this], they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men [and] brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.