Mercy And Expulsion

Καὶ ἐξέβαλε Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τὸν Ἀδὰμ, καὶ κατῴκισεν αὐτὸν ἀπέναντι τοῦ παραδείσου τῆς τρυφῆς.  Σκόπει πῶς ἕκαστον τῶν γινομένων ὑπὸ τοῦ κοινοῦ Δεσπότου φιλανθρωπίας ὑπόθεις ἧν, καὶ ἕκαστον τιμωρίας εἶδος ἀγαθότητος γέμει πολλῆς. Οὐ γὰρ τὸ ἐκβαλεῖν μόνον φιλανθρωπίας καὶ ἀγαθότητος ἧν· ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ ἀπέναντι τοῦ παραδείσου ἐγκατοικίσαι αὐτὸν, ἵνα ἀδιάλειπτον ὀδύνην ἔχῃ, καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἀναλογιζόμενος, οἵων ἐκπεπτωκώς εἰς οἵαν ἑαυτὸν κατάστασιν ἤγαγεν. Ἀλλ' ὅμως εἰ καὶ ὀδύνην ἀφόρητον ἡ θέα εἴχεν, ἀλλ' οὐ μικρᾶς ὠρελείας ὑπόθεσίς ἐστι, καὶ πρὸς τὸ ἐξης ἀσφάλεια τῷ ὀδυνωμένῳ ἡ συνεχὴς θέα ἐγίνετο, πρὸς τὸ μὴ τοῖς αὐτοῖς πάλιν αὐτὸν περιπεσεῖν. Καὶ γὰρ ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πλεῖστον τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως τοιοῦτον τὸ ἔθος· ἐπειδὰν γὰρ ἐν ἀπολαύσει τῶν ἀγαθῶν ὄντες μὴ εἰδῶμεν αὐτοῖς κεχρῆσθαι δεόντως, τῇ στερήσει τούτων σωφρονιζόμεθα, καὶ τότε διὰ τῆς πείρας μαθόντες αἴσθησιν λαμβάνομεν τῆς οἰκείας ῤᾳθυμίας, καὶ οὔτω διὰ τῆς τῶν πραγμάτων μεταβολῆς διδασκόμεθα τίνων μὲν ἐξεπέσαμεν, τίσι δὲ κακοῖς ἑαυτοὺς περιεπείραμεν. Ὥστε καὶ τὸ πλησίον καὶ ἀπέναντι τοῦ παραδείσου προστάξαι κατοικεῖν τὸν ἐκεῖωεν ἐκπεπτωκότα μεγίστης κηδεμονίας σημεῖον ἧν, ἵνα καὶ τὴν ἐκ τῆς θέας ὑπόμνησιν ἔχῃ, καὶ τοῦ ἐντεῦθεν κέρδους ἀπολαύῃ, καὶ μηδὲ ἐπιθυμίαν τῆς φιλοζωϊας ἔξω τυγχάνων, κατατολμήσῃ τῆς τοῦ ξύλου βρώσεως. Ὡς γὰρ πρὸς τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην ἀσθένειαν συγκαταβαίνουσα ἄπαντα διαλέγεται ἡμῖν ἡ θεία Γραφή. Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, Ὁμῖλία ΙΗ', Εἰς Την Γενεσιν Migne PG 53.152

'And God cast out Adam and made him dwell facing against the paradise of pleasure.' 1 Observe how our common Lord in each of his acts exhibits kindness and each of His chastisements are full of goodness. For not only was the casting out of Adam a matter of goodness and kindness, but He placed him facing against paradise, that the man would continually grieve every day thinking of his exile and into what state he had thrown himself. And although extremely grave this sorrow would be on account of what he saw, however it would be an occasion of great profit, that grieving with such continual sight, he be secured against falling into the same sins again. For as is the way of the nature of most men, that while we delight in goods we do not know how we should benefit from them, and the privation of them emends us, so by the experience we begin to be taught to know our state of thoughtlessness, and thus by such a change we are taught to be wary of the evils which now surround us. Thus He who expelled Adam ordered him to dwell near and facing paradise, which is a sign of great regard, that seeing the man be mindful how he had sought gain, and that he not live outside ruled by immoderate desires, which drove him to venture to eat from the tree. For the Divine Scripture tells everything to us, insofar as it touches on our weakness.   Saint John Chrysostom, On Genesis, from Homily 18  1 Gen 3.24 LXX