Sometime ago as I was talking with my wife, we discussed the idea of God telling Adam he would die if he ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge. But, did Adam understand the concept of life ending? Did this mean anything to him? Lets look in Genesis and see what we can find out.
Genesis 2:17, and the Lord God said, But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shall not eat of it, for in the day you eat thereof, you shall die.
Adam was alone when God gave him this information. But, did he understand what it meant to die? Adam was created a mortal human being, and he would die eventually if he neglected to eat of the tree of life, which God put there for him to eat from. Adams stay in the garden of Eden must of been of short duration, as God says in Genesis 3:22 that Adam and Eve must leave the garden before they eat of the tree of life. Adams DNA was so perfect that he lived 930 years before he succumbed to physical death. Eve’s death is not mentioned.
I was reading what Answers in Genesis has to say about death. They are a very narrow minded group of people, who believe that they are the only ones who are right and everyone else is wrong. Typical religious thinking. Only Gods word is right.
None of us has it all right, not even me. If Adam did not know death, then why would God use such a hollow threat? Adam must of known what death meant by watching the animal and bug life. If he stepped on a worm it was dead, squashed by his foot. The book of Genesis does not say that there was no death. Surely bugs died or else they would of taken over Eden in a short time.
Human beings were created mortal (they would die), or why else did God plant the tree of life in the middle of the garden along with the tree of knowledge (Genesis 2:9). They had all the food they ever needed and only one fruit they could not eat, Guess what their choice was? They could of eaten from the tree of life anytime they wanted, it was good for them. Kind of like our healthy food verses junk food we all love. We still have to make our choices to this day. Good or bad, it is our choice.
The garden was a protected place, but we do not know how big it was. God gave Adam the command to replenish the earth and subdue it, and it was Adams dominion. We do have a good idea where it was, as God tells us in Genesis 2:10-14. All these rivers can still be seen today, but some are just dry river beds that are no longer there.
As you look at the words dress and keep in the Hebrew, you will find that the word dress means to till, labor or work as a husbandman. The word keep means to hedge about, to guard and protect, to beware and observe to watch over and preserve. Adam was to be a farmer and to use the land for his benefit. But why does it say to keep or protect it? What was Adam to defend?
Adam was created fully intelligent and he was not a cave man, nor was he a monkey or ape that God remade into a man. He was a perfectly made man, created in Gods image. He looked like God (Genesis 1:26-27). God allowed Adam to name all the animals and birds as God brought them to him. Sounds intelligent to me.
Adam is the one God gave the command to protect and guard. Did he do a good job? No! He failed miserably. (1) He did not teach Eve the correct words that God taught him. (2) He did not protect the garden from intruders. (3) He failed to protect his wife-mate from making a bad decision to disobey Gods command. (4) He failed to recognize Gods enemy and command him to leave. Adam had complete dominion, and the enemy would have to leave at Adams rebuke. Why is Eve blamed for mankinds fall? Adam was the one to whom God gave the command (Genesis 2:17), and Adam was alone or so it seems.
I have not heard anyone, other than me say, if only Adam would of taken the fruit out of Eves hand and thrown it away, nothing would of happened. Adam was still in charge. The Bible says in verse six of chapter 3 that Adam was with her when she messed up. Eve ate it before Adam, but nothing happened or changed within her. But, when Adam ate it after her, the eyes of both of them were opened.
Adam is the one who disobeyed God. Eve disobeyed her husband, and she misquoted Gods command. Either she added to it or Adam did when he told Eve, (Genesis 3:3). I believe I am correct in my assumption. Adam was the one who had complete dominion over the earth, and his words were law as he quoted the word of God. He gave his dominion away by disobedience and failure to obey Gods word.
Another point of interest for you to consider, our sin nature is transferred from the man to the child to whom the woman alone can carry. This is why Eve did not fall or die spiritually when she ate of the fruit of disobedience. But she along with Adam did die spiritually when he also ate of the fruit. Physical death would follow as time passed.
This is why God could use a woman to bear His child, Jesus. The seed of disobedience or dna of sin, is not within her to pass it along to her child. Only the man can do this. Otherwise Jesus would of been born just like us, fallen man, able to fail. But He was born of God and had a sin free nature just like Adam.
In 1 John 5:18, the Spirit of God assures us that once again, we have this reborn spirit within us that Jesus had. A new creation that never existed before. Not like Adam, but like Jesus. Our spirit can not and will not sin, as it is born of God.
Had Jesus failed as Adam did, all would of been lost. Thank God, Jesus did not fail as the second Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45-49), and you will not fail either. Remember, you will make it, just don’t give up. See you next week.
The Kilted Priest 