Genesis 3:16-19 Sin's Consequences Upon Adam and Eve

"To the woman he said,

'I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing;

with pain will you give birth to children.

Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.'

To Adam he said,

'Because you listened to your wife
and ate from the tree about which I commanded you,
"You must not eat of it,"
'Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat of it
all the days of your life.
It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are and to dust you will return.'

Genesis 3:16-19 (NIV)
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Sin has consequences.  For Eve, some of these would show up in the area of childbearing.  She would have increased pains during childbirth.  Yet this would not diminish her desire for her husband, and her desire to have him as a central part of her life.   

In a world where sin had occurred, there would no longer be the same easy level of companionship which Adam and Eve had previously enjoyed.  As sinners, they would both have to strive to keep their own selfish desires under control.  When decisions had to be made, it was likely that at times the couple might arrive at a standstill, where each wanted something exactly opposite from what the other thought was the best course of action.

God gives Adam, in effect, a second vote.  God appoints him to have authority in the couple's relationship.  This does not mean that Eve is any less capable, or mentally less able to make such decisions.  I think of it in the same sense that in the military, one man might be in charge of another.  Both might have the same training, experience, etc, but one has the authority over another because of his appointed position.  The one under authority is no less important or capable, yet he is subject to the one in authority in order that their mission may be completed.

Adam is also going to suffer the consequences of his own sin.  It was not that he had never had to work before -- God had already given him the job of taking care of the garden in which he lived (Genesis 2:15).  However, in a few verses after our current passage, Adam and Eve are going to have to leave this pleasant garden and Adam will have to work the uncultivated ground outside, which would produce thorns and thistles.  In addition to the laborious nature of this work, it is a constant reminder of his own mortality, for Adam had been created from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7) and would eventually return to it.  (Genesis 3:19)

It may seem that sin had wrecked everything.  Instead of unhindered intimacy, there would be an ongoing tendency toward toward strife and misunderstanding.  Instead of satisfying work which abundantly provided for the couple's needs, there would be laborious work with its frustrating reminder of  their own mortality.  Where before they would have lived forever, death seems to have the final victory.

However, the story was not over yet.   Before the world was even created, God had already devised a plan to redeem His people.  Before Adam and Eve even existed, or fell into sin on that terrible day in the garden, a Redeemer had made His decision to come into the sin-burdened world to make things right and to triumph over sin and death.

Genesis 3:14-15 Consequences and Hope

"So the LORD God said to the serpent,

 'Because you have done this,

Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.'

Genesis 3:14-19 (NIV)
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God is a holy God and cannot overlook evil.  Some people think that God is just some celestial grandfather, who will just say, "Oh, that's o.k.; I'm sure you didn't mean to do that sin."  If He did, He would cease being holy.  God is also loving, in that He provided a way for us to be forgiven from our sins.

Sin has consequences.  Sometimes these don't appear right away, but they will appear.  I remember a quote which says something like, "Sin comes in on horseback, but it leaves on foot."  In other words, the temptation to sin can come rushing upon us, like a rider on horseback.  However, the consequences of sin often can leave effects upon us for years.  Actually, sin can have eternal consequences, because unless a person repents, they would suffer eternal consequences.

Such is the power of sin that even forgiven sin can leave scars.  There was an old man named Mel who used to show up at our college-aged youth group from time to time, and he once remarked that sin was like a board which had nails hammered into it.  You could remove the nails, but the holes would still be there.  In other words, you could be forgiven, but still have lasting effects from sinful behavior.  I didn't like that analogy, because it seemed to make Christ's sacrifice on the cross for our sins less effective.  However, I think that what Mel was trying to impress upon us was that one couldn't flirt with sin and expect to escape unscathed.  Someone can be forgiven, but still have to live with the effects which sin can leave upon our lives.  For example, if a person was a bank robber, they might sincerely come to faith in Christ while serving time for their crime, yet still have to serve their sentence in jail.  Or, a person who murders someone might later come to Christ, yet he cannot give his victim's life back to him.  So those 'holes' remain, although by God's grace even these can become used by God for His purposes.

In Genesis 3:14-19, God outlines to Satan, to Eve and to Adam the consequences of their sins.  Because this is a very significant passage in the Scriptures, I just wanted to deal with Genesis 3:14-15 in this post.  I will cover verses 16-19 in following posts.

Satan would be cursed above all the livestock and wild animals.  It appears he possessed the body of the snake, for he was originally an angelic being.  Snakes would henceforth be reduced to crawling on their bellies (thus the 'eat dust' part of the curse.)

I have read that snakes have within their bodies some remnants of limbs, possibly evidence that they once possessed some type of limbs.  However, other animals have had similar vestigial 'limbs' which were later found to be structures which had functions of their own apart from locomotion, so we should be careful not to say more than that which the Scripture says about this matter, which is that a change took place as a result of God's curse which forced the snake to crawl upon its belly.
This seems to at least indicate that at one time, snakes did not do so.

There would also be enmity between Satan and Jesus, and between Satan's 'offspring' and that of the woman.  While Satan would strike at the woman's offspring's heel, the 'seed' of the woman would crush Satan's head.  This indicates a fatal blow.  The enmity which is referred to is the enmity which exists between Satan and Jesus, who is the seed of the woman.  In other words, there is a battle going on even to this day between good and evil.  However, when Jesus died on the cross and then was resurrected, He triumphed over Satan and the battle was already won at that point.

Genesis 3:8-13 Hide and See God Knows Where You Are

"Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God

as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day,

and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

But the LORD God called to the man, 'Where are you?'

He answered, 'I heard you in the garden and I was afraid

because I was naked; so I hid.'

And he said, 'Who told you that you were naked?

Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?'

The man said, 'The woman you put here with me --

she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.'

Then the LORD God said to the woman,

'What is this you have done?'

The woman said, 'The serpent deceived me, and I ate.' "

Genesis 3:8-13 (NIV) 

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It seems that God would regularly meet with Adam and Eve in the garden which He had provided for them.  However, this time things were different.  Instead of running out to meet with God, Adam and Eve were playing a rather serious bit of hide and seek as they attempted to avoid God's presence.

God called out to the Adam, asking him where he was.  Psalm 139 makes it quite clear that God always knows where we are, and that we cannot flee from His presence.  Here are just some of its verses, but I urge you to read the whole Psalm:

"O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. (v.1-3)

...Where can I go from your Spirit?  Where can I flee from your presence?" (v.7)

I am sure that God knew exactly where Adam was, but He was giving Adam the chance to reveal himself.  To his credit, Adam answered.  He explained that he had heard God in the garden and had hidden himself because he was naked.

Again, God's question was one of which He already knew the answer:  "Who told you that you were naked?"  God knew very well who was behind this matter.  The answer to God's next question was obvious as well:  "Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"

At this point Adam throws Eve under the bus.  Not literally, for as of yet this form of public transportation [or any other, for that matter] did not exist.  What I mean by 'throwing someone under the bus' is that Adam passed the blame onto someone else [God, Eve] to save his own skin.  "That woman you put here with me -- she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."  It seems that Adam is blaming God for putting Eve in his life, and blaming Eve for giving him the fruit.

Eve is no less to blame.  God also confronts Eve with her actions.  God is giving her the opportunity to own up to her sinful behavior. By now, Eve knows that she had been misled by the serpent.  She admits that she had been deceived and that she ate from the tree.  She may also be passing the blame a bit by saying that the serpent was responsible for the deception.  However, at least she admits exactly what she did.

Genesis 3:1-7 Deception vs. Truth: The Fall of Mankind

"Now the serpent was more crafty
than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made.

He said to the woman,

'Did God really say, "You must not eat from any tree in the garden"?'

The woman said to the serpent,

'We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say,

"You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden,

and you must not touch it, or you will die." '

'You will not surely die,' the serpent said to the woman.

'For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened,

and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food

and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom,

she took some and ate it.

She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Then the eyes of both of them were opened,

and they realized they were naked;

so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves."

Genesis 3:1-7 (NIV)

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Some observations:

• "The serpent"  (Genesis 3:1):  This verse makes it sound like God created the devil as a serpent from the beginning.  However, Satan is a spiritual being, a former angel who tried to usurp God's authority.  He used to have a high position, but lost it, since God threw him (and the 1/3 of the angels who joined Satan in his rebellion) out of heaven.  Apparently he just assumed the form of a serpent when approaching Adam and Eve.
• "Did God really say...?" (Genesis 3:1):  Satan first tried to distort God's Word.  He made it sound like God had forbidden Adam and Eve from eating from any tree in the Garden.  Actually, the truth is nearly the opposite of this.  They could eat from any tree in the Garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
• Eve corrects this distortion.  (Genesis 3:2-3)  She correctly asserts that she and Adam could eat from the trees of the Garden.  However, she acknowledges that they were forbidden to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  She also adds something to God's Word by saying that they were not to even touch that tree.  It would probably be a good idea to avoid the temptation by staying away from the tree.  However, as far as we know, God had never said this to her.
• Satan's next move is bolder.  (Genesis 3:4-5)  He insists that Adam and Eve would not die if they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  This is in direct opposition to what God had told them.  Not only that, but Satan accused God of not wanting Adam and Eve to share in the wisdom which eating the fruit would impart.
• Eve fell for it.  When she saw that the forbidden tree's fruit was good for food and looked good and would give her and Adam a source of wisdom which would be independent from God, she took and ate some of it.
• Adam fell, too.  He also ate from the forbidden tree.  Notice that Genesis 3:6 says that Adam was there with her during these proceedings.  Adam was also the one to whom God had originally given the command to not eat from the tree.  (Genesis 2:15-18)  At that time, Eve had not even been created.  So, far from being deceived, Adam also knew that what he was doing was wrong.  Check out these other Scriptures which deal with this matter:

2 Corinthians 11:3 (NIV)  "But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ"

I Timothy 2:14 (NIV)  "And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner."

Now before someone accuses me of anything, let me say that all Scriptures must be understood in their context for the fullest picture of what is taking place.  However, one main point which Scripture seems to be making is that Eve was deceived, and Adam wasn't.  They both ate, so they both sinned, but somehow Adam did it with a fuller recognition of what he was doing.  Does that make it a worse sin on his part?  Actually, I think that all sins are equally rebellion against God and thus equally evil, so in a way it doesn't matter.  Both sinned.  Furthermore, why did Eve give some to her husband?  Why didn't Adam try to stop Eve from acting upon the Devil's lies?  We do not know.

• At any rate, Adam and Eve's eyes were opened, but not quite in the way that Satan had implied.  Although they had known the difference between right and wrong even before they sinned, they had sought an independent wisdom, a wisdom which they could grasp for themselves instead of the wisdom which God gives.  However, now something was terribly wrong.  Instead of wonderful insights and lofty wisdom, they realized with some sense of embarrassment and discomfort that they were naked.   Immediately they sought to remedy the problem by constructing coverings for themselves out of fig leaves.  Anything in a pinch, I suppose, but to me those garments don't seem like anything which would last.
• One more thing:  God had said that if Adam ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would die. (Genesis 2:1-17)  I think we can safely assume that this applied to Eve as well, for at some time after her creation Adam must have told her of these matters.  She certainly seemed to know all about it when she was answering Satan.  Yet there they were after eating from the tree, alive and sewing their fig-leaf garments.  Well, God hadn't said that they would drop dead immediately.  However, they would eventually experience physical death, which they wouldn't have if they had not sinned.  Also, as we will see in the coming passage, their relationship with God was fractured.  From the moment they had sinned, they were in some sense separated from God, and spiritually dead.  
• As usual, Satan had lied and deceived, while God had told them the truth.     

Genesis 2:15-25 Adam and Eve

"The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden

to work it and take care of it.

And the LORD God commanded the man,

'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;

but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,

for when you eat of it you will surely die.'

The LORD God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone.

I will make him a helper suitable for him.'

Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground

all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air.

He brought them to the man to see what he would name them;

and whatever the man called each living creature,

that was its name.

So the man gave names to all the livestock,

the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.

But for Adam no suitable helper was found.

So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep;

and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs

and closed up the place with flesh.

Then the LORD God made a woman

from the rib he had taken out of the man,

and he brought her to the man.

The man said,

'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;

she shall be called 'woman,'

for she was taken out of man.'

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother

and be united to his wife,

and they will become one flesh.

The man and his wife were both naked,

and they felt no shame."

Genesis 2:15-25 (NIV)

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I just realized that I got ahead of myself in that last post in the telling of the story of Adam and Eve and their sin in eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  I had been trying to distinguish between the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and ended up giving away most of the information of the story before its time.  For at that point, all we had was a man and the Garden of Eden, where God had placed him.  Let me continue:

God had placed the man in the Garden of Eden to work in the garden and take care of it.  He had given Adam permission to eat from any tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  God warned Adam that if he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would die.

God brought all the beasts of the field and the birds of the air to Adam and allowed him to name them.  Naming these animals was an act which demonstrated Adam's position of authority.  However, none of these creatures was a suitable helper for Adam.  So God made him one.

Putting Adam into a deep sleep, God removed one of his ribs and made a woman from it.  Then He brought her to the man.  The man realized that she had been fashioned from part of his own body.  The word 'woman' in Hebrew sounds like the word for 'man', which seems to have been Adam's intent in naming her.  She was separate from him, but also intimately a part of him -- "bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh".

The text goes on to assert that this is why a man and wife leave their parents and establish their own family unit.  It also indicates that monogamy is God's intention -- that a man and woman would be so united -- so 'one flesh' -- that as long as they live they would be only for each other.  Sexual union is a God-given, physical expression of that oneness.  In the context of a marriage between a man and a woman, there is nothing shameful about it.  However, outside of such a marriage, sexual union would be a perversion of that God-given intent of indicating the 'one flesh' and lifelong commitment which exists between the husband and wife.

Another aspect which should be considered is that a Christian believer is considered part of Christ's body.  In the New Testament, some people were claiming that it didn't really matter what they did with their bodies -- that it didn't affect their inner spiritual life.  However, in I Corinthians 6:12-20, the apostle Paul says that this is not so:

"...The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the LORD,

and the LORD for the body.

By his power God raised the LORD from the dead,

and he will raise us also.

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself?

Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!

Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body?

For it is said, "The two shall become one flesh."

But he who unites himself with the LORD is one with him in spirit.

Flee from sexual immorality.

All other sins a man commits are outside his body,

but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit,

who is in you, whom you have received from God?

You are not your own;

you were bought with a price.

Therefore honor God with your body."

I Corinthians 6:12-20 (NIV)

There are some quotes from the NIV Study Bible on these verses (I Corinthians 6) which I found helpful:

"Paul here declares the dignity of the human body:  It is intended for the LORD...a body destined for resurrection should not be used for immorality...It is not merely one's spirit that is a member of Christ's body; it is the whole person, consisting of spirit and body...There is a higher union than the marriage bond:  the believer's spiritual union with Christ, which is the perfect model for the kind of unity which should mark the marriage relationship...Christians should also realize that by the Spirit's presence and power they can be helped against such sins as sexual immorality."

OK, I kind of went off on a tangent there.  However, it does relate very much to our passage.  It also helped me to be able to explain why sexual immorality, in whatever form it takes, is so serious.  Despite what our culture may tell us, God says that sex is not just a physical thing, a temporary pleasure, a meaningless pastime.

Meanwhile, back at the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve felt no shame in their nakedness.  As of yet (Genesis 2:15-25), they had not disobeyed God by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 2:8-14 The Garden of Eden

"Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden,

and there he put the man he had formed.

And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground --

trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food.

In the middle of the garden were the tree of life

and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

A river watering the garden flowed from Eden;

from there it was separated into four headwaters.

The name of the first is the Pishon;

it winds through the entire land of Havilah,

where there is gold.

(The gold of that land is good;

aromatic resin and onyx are also there.)

The name of the second river is the Gihon;

it winds through the entire land of Cush.

The name of the third river is the Tigris;

it runs along the east side of Asshur.

And the fourth river is the Euphrates."

Genesis 2:8-14 (NIV)

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God planted a garden in the east as a home for the man he had created.  What does "in the east" mean? East of where?  Well, in the Bible, Jerusalem is considered the center of the world.  Check out these verses:

"This is what the Sovereign LORD says:

This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations,

with countries all around her."

Ezekiel 5:5 (NIV)

The NIV Study Bible note on this verse says in part: "God had chosen for his people Israel and for his earthly temple a place at the crossroads of the continents of Africa, Asia and Europe so that Israel and what he does for them might be a strong witness to the nations that he is the one and only God with whom all peoples have to do and from whom alone come life and blessing."

Another verse in the Bible says this:

"I will plunder and loot

and turn my hand against the resettled ruins

and the people gathered from the nations,

rich in livestock and goods,

living at the center of the land."

Ezekiel 38:12 (NIV)

This verse is predicting the thoughts which will be coming from Israel's enemies in the last days as they consider invading Israel's land.  A mighty army will advance against Israel, yet God plans to show himself  as being holy and great in the sight of many nations when He delivers Israel from these forces. (Ezekiel 38:16,20,23 and Ezekiel 39:6-7,21-23,27-28)  From that day forward, Israel would know that He is the LORD their God. (Ezekiel 39:22)  An account of these matters is written in Ezekiel chapters 38-39.

When Jerusalem is spoken of as being at the center of the world, it is not just some ethnocentric statement or nationalistic cheerleading.  Israel has been set by God at the center of the world stage so that they can be a witness to all nations of the power and holiness of God.

God made a garden paradise in Eden.  No doubt there were many beautiful things in this garden, but in  our passage, Genesis 2:8-14, it is the trees which are singled out.  There are trees which provide beauty.  Located at the middle of the garden are particular trees which are mentioned:  the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

First, we will take a look at the tree of life.  Of course, only God can impart life.  However, apparently the fruit from this tree would enable that God-given life to continue indefinitely.  Why do I say this?  Well, later, when Adam and Eve sin by partaking of the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis chapter 3), God decides to remove them from the garden, because otherwise, if they also decided to take some of the fruit from the tree of life, they would live forever, while still remaining in their sinful, rebellious state.  We can only begin to imagine what kind of  ever-increasing sin and wickedness would result.

The fact that this tree of life was even in the garden at all indicates that God intended to allow them to eat of its fruit.  He had never forbidden Adam and Eve to eat from the tree of life -- it was only the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which they were to avoid. They were meant to live forever with God.  However, by sinning against God, they were now in a state where such everlasting life would only bring increasing sin and misery to them and to the rest of God's creation.

It is not that God was afraid of what they might accomplish with an unlimited lifespan.  After all, He is God and could wipe them out at any time if He ever wanted to do so.  Perhaps God was limiting mankind's lifespan so that a person might be drawn back to Himself.  If mankind had a source of unlimited life, why would they care if God didn't like how they were living?  But if they were subject to death eventually, they would be more inclined to be careful about how they were living, and to consider what might be beyond this life...and to seek God, who can give eternal life.

There are more verses about this tree of life in the Bible:

Genesis 2:9   "And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground -- trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food.  In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." (NIV)

Genesis 3:22-24  "And the LORD God said, 'The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.  He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.'  So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from
which he had been taken.  After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life." (NIV)

Revelation 2:7  "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life which is in the paradise of God." (NIV)


Revelation 22:14  "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city..." (NIV)
 
Revelation 2:19  "And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book." (NIV)


I don't think we read any more about the other tree -- the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Most of the verses about knowledge in general which I saw in a concordance were indicating that God has perfect knowledge and is the source of our knowledge about Him and about other matters.  The Bible says that "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." (Proverbs 1:7 NIV)

II Peter 3:18 (NIV) says:  "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ.  To him be glory both now and forever!  Amen."

One other thing which I read somewhere regarding these matters was that in choosing to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve were trying to assert their independence from God by taking hold of another source (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) to determine what was good for themselves, instead of relying upon God's continued guidance.  Even before they ate from that tree they already knew the difference between good and evil -- at least enough to know that it was good for them to listen to God's command to avoid eating from that tree and bad for them to insist upon doing so.  Apparently they wanted the ability to know about such things without reference to God.  That is a rather familiar theme, isn't it?  At times we all have thought that we know best, instead of listening to our Creator.


Location, Location, Location:

The passage in Genesis 2:8-14 tells us some things about the location of the Garden of Eden:

• It was to the east, in Eden.
• A river which watered the garden flowed from Eden and separated into four headwaters.

These headwaters were:

• 1)  the Pishon, which wound through the entire land of Havilah, where there was gold, aromatic resin and onyx.
• 2)  the Gihon, which winds through the entire land of Cush.
• 3)  the Tigris, which runs along the east side of Asshur (at one time a capital city of Assyria)
• 4)  the Euphrates.

Of course we would love to figure out just where this Garden of Eden was, but we only know the general area.  No doubt great changes occurred later during the Flood, so the current physical geography is probably quite different from the original.  We are familiar with the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, but the other two rivers are not definitely known, which gives us some idea of the great geographical changes which may have occurred.  This is just as well, for one has to wonder if the cherubim which had been stationed with his flaming sword to guard the way to the tree of life (Genesis 3:24) has ever been relieved of his duty!

Fortunately we have access to this tree of life through Jesus' death on the cross in our behalf.  I will be having much more to say on this matter, but for now this verse sums things up nicely:  "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (I Corinthians 5:21 NIV)  Jesus, who had no sin, atoned for our sins by his death on the cross.

Jesus' resurrection indicated that God had accepted this sacrifice.  When we acknowledge and repent of our sins and accept that Jesus is God and has made this atonement on our behalf, it is as though Jesus' righteousness has been deposited in our account.

Of course we have to accept this gracious gift on an individual basis.  When we do, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us and begins His work of sanctification in us.  By the Spirit's power we can overcome sin which used to hold us in bondage.  This work will not be completely finished until we go to heaven, but out of gratefulness to our Savior we will have a new desire to obey and live for Him.  Then one day, as Revelation 22:7 (see above) indicates, we will have the right to eat from the tree of life which is in the paradise of God.

Genesis 2:4-7 Zeroing In, Not Doing Over

"This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created.

When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens --

and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth

and no plant of the field had yet sprung up,

for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth

and there was no man to work the ground,

but streams came up from the earth

and watered the whole surface of the ground --

the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground

and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,

and the man became a living being."

Genesis 2:4-7  (NIV)
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Our first reaction to this part of Genesis may be to wonder why it seems that the book is starting over again.  After all, didn't we just get through Genesis 1:1-Genesis 2:3, which dealt with the six days of creation, and the creation of mankind?  Why now does it seem that the author is beginning to repeat himself?

Critics are quick to point this out with the attitude of  "Aha...see, Genesis is just an assemblage of myths about creation."  Others see this as an indication of  what I will call a "do-over" -- that is, that God created mankind and then there was some kind of gap of time between the two accounts, in which there was a second creation of mankind.  Some have thought that perhaps this allows for evolution and accounts for the supposed branches of mankind (i.e., Neanderthal, etc.).

I don't believe that they have that correct.  There is a much simpler explanation of what appears to be two accounts.  This can be summed up in two words:  literary device.  Instead of Genesis being just a collection of several accounts of man's history, it seems instead that God is just a very skillful Author.  [Which makes sense, because if Someone is God, you would think that He would be quite skilled at, well, everything.]

In this case, the first section of Genesis (1:1- 2:3) covers an account of the story of creation in general (which obviously includes the creation of mankind).  What appears to be a "different" account of  the creation of mankind (Genesis 2:4 and following) is simply a zeroing in upon the history of mankind specifically.  In others of the ten 'accounts' which we find in Genesis, this "zeroing in" continues.  We read accounts of Adam, Noah, Shem, Terah, and Abraham, with whom God made a covenant.  Further Scriptures in other books of the Bible will continue to point ever more specifically to the One who had been promised to Adam and Eve after they had fallen into sin -- the Redeemer who would deliver them, the Messiah.  We will read of Abraham's son Isaac, Isaac's son Jacob, and Jacob's twelve sons who form the nation of Israel.  Judah, one of these sons, has further descendants which lead to King David.  As you probably already know, the Messiah is prophesied to come through the line of David.  Eventually, Jesus Christ comes from this very line.  I will discuss these things in far greater detail eventually, but here I am just trying to give you a quick overview.

It may seem that I have spoiled the story by going all the way to the end where Jesus is revealed to be the Messiah. However, there are countless beautiful and intricate things and events which God has built into His Word which will lead to that conclusion, and I want you to see them.

Just as one example, there are Old Testament scriptures which point to the coming of the Messiah to the temple in Jerusalem.  Remember that account in the Bible [Matthew 21] where Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, and people are waving palm branches and shouting "Hosanna!"?  Well, other OT Scriptures had predicted in greater detail both the precise time period and the way that this event was to take place.  For this was no ordinary ride into Jerusalem.  This was the Messiah coming unto His own people.  [Which is also why, when the authorities told Jesus to silence the crowds and the children who were proclaiming him as Messiah, He replied that if they were silenced, the very stones would cry out. (Luke 19:28-44)]

Some might say, that Jesus just purposely 'fulfilled' this prophecy by choosing to ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, as prophesied.  However, there is more background to this story.  Do you know about the prophecy in Daniel which indicates that the Messiah would come prior to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple?  If Daniel was a true prophet, then the Messiah would have had to come by the time the destruction took place -- in 70 AD.  There is no other person who both fulfilled the Messianic requirements and arrived before that time, besides Jesus of Nazareth.  I will write a post about these things in greater detail.  Yet I want us to remember that Daniel is respected as a prophet, and that the succession of four major world powers was revealed to him way back in his own time when Babylon was the superpower.

It was revealed to Daniel that Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece and then Rome would fill that position of dominance -- which is exactly what happened.  The test of a true prophet was that their predictions always came to pass.  Daniel had a flawless track record in this regard.  Imagine yourself trying to figure out which nation will be the next superpower.  Then think of how Daniel was able to predict four such superpowers.  Not to mention that he included such detailed descriptions of certain events that critics automatically assumed that the predictions had to have been written after the events, for otherwise they could not understand how such knowledge could be possible.

I believe that Jesus is the only One who could have fulfilled that prophecy about the Messiah coming before the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.  I know of no one else whose name has been submitted instead for that position and who perfectly fulfilled all the prophecies about himself, including ones which a person could not fake, like those about their ancestry [It's pretty difficult to arrange one's own ancestors!], the time and place of one's own birth and the precise manner and details of one's death.  As I wrote before, other posts will be needed to flesh out these prophecies and the way Jesus fulfilled them, but if one is willing to look, the evidence is graciously, wonderfully, and quite specifically there. 

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OK, now back to the passage (Genesis 2:4-7).  Some observations:

• Man was made by God, who formed man's body from the dust and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.
• At that point, it seems that rain had not yet occurred.  Instead, the plants and trees were watered by streams which watered the surface of the ground.