The story of Adam and Eve sinning against God in Genesis 3 is no doubt the saddest (and most universally devastating) story in all of the Bible. God let the woman (3:16) and the man (3:17-19) know what their physical punishment would entail.
Then the text says that “God sent him out of the garden…So He drove out the man” (3:23-24). I remember as a child being captivated by that verse and wondering what God was driving. I always figured it was a rugged, army green Jeep, and that He put them in the back, drove them out to the edge of the garden and then dropped them off.It was not until later that I realized that this was the true punishment for their sin. In the grand scheme, the punishment of verses 16-19 was merely temporary. But, being driven from the presence of God and experiencing that separation from Him—that was the real punishment. And it could last forever (Matt. 25:46). If you’ve been driven from God’s presence by your sin, please, please repent and find your way back to Him!