#190: Exile: Our Journey Eastward
...and so began our exile; thus began our journey Eastward. Driven away from "home sweet home".
Before now, man had access to God's holy presence. The garden of Eden was where heaven came down to earth; where God communed with man. All these were lost when man fell. We were banished from the presence of the LORD.
Everything changed; the tug of war from the knowledge of good and evil began. Because in man's spiritual anatomy, his essence was to commune with his Creator and please Him; but even though we desired this good thing, our methodology was evil.
Then entered Cain, he killed his brother because his offering was not accepted:
...but for Cain and his offering, God had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted?... (Gen 4:5-7)
It was that longing to be accepted by God, indeed the feeling of rejection that led Cain to commit the first murder. Even when God pronounced judgement on Cain, it was obvious that his innermost desire was to be in God's presence:
Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, You have driven me today away from the ground, and from Your face, I shall be hidden... (Gen 4:14)
Yet, what followed was even more tragic:
Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, East of Eden. (Gen 4:16)
He went further East; further from the presence of God.
The journey East has a significant biblical meaning, because:
- the next time that heaven would come down to earth was in the form of the tabernacle. And by divine design and wisdom, the only way into the tabernacle courtyard, holy place and most holy place is from the East gate. Almost to simulate a returning from the Eastward journey back to the presence of God (Exodus 27:13-16).
- the same design was carried on to Solomon's Temple and Herod's Temple which replaced the tabernacle and was the new dwelling place of God on earth.
- In Ezekiel's vision of the Temple, when God was going to revive the earth, He would come in through the East gate and fill the temple (Ezekiel 43:1-5).
And Exile has come to be the nature of man. We feed our longing for God with self-indulgence, self-gratification, self-glorification and idolatry. This leads us all the more East - deeper into exile, away from the presence of God. We all, by nature, are born in exile. and we continue this way of life. This is how the new testament describes this exile:
And you were dead in the trespasses and sin, in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience - among whom we all once lived in the passion of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (Eph 2:1-3)
And you, who were once alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds... (Col 1:21)
...They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to the hardness of heart. (Eph 4:18)
There is no better way to describe exile than to say that we were alienated from God.
Even as believers in Christ, we do not enjoy God's presence at its fullest. That is why The Bible always makes reference to the last days when God would make a new heaven and a new earth and He will dwell once again among men [just as it was in the beginning at the garden of Eden]. Peter describes our Christian journey this way:
Therefore, preparing your mind for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as He who has called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct...And if you call on Him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourself with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. (I Pet 1:13-19)
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. (I Pet 2:11)
So Paul urges us:
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things that are above, not on things that are on earth...When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. (Col 3:1-4)
Therefore, while we await our glorious return home, we should think less of this earth as our home; for while we still live in it, though we are saved, we are still in exile. When Christ comes in glory, our Exodus home which began on the day of salvation will get to its manifestation and fulfilment.
In the coming weeks, by God's grace, we will continue with the study of our exile. We will be graced with seasoned writers who will weigh in on our exile and what hope we have of ever returning if we have any.
God bless you.
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