Sacred Space in Promise: The Introduction of Provisional Sacred Space

The Fall brought estrangement between God and His image-bearers, evidenced by Adam and Eve's expulsion from the Garden (Genesis 3:22-24). No longer would man be able to commune with His Creator in the close Father-son intimacy he enjoyed prior to his disobedience. Men would continue to encounter God in worship, but now their worship would be set in the context of relational distance. The divine-human encounter was no longer familiar and face-to-face, but carried a sense of remoteness and unease. Most importantly, man's alienation from God meant that his approach to God in worship now needed to be mediated, as is seen in the first act of worship following the Fall and expulsion from Eden (Genesis 4:1-7).