Adam

With the new year happening I decided to do a 365 day photography challenge and reading my entire Bible for one year. A shaky start because unfortunately, I'm sick. :P Not exactly the way I wanted to start the year but hey! It'll pass.

So I wanted to talk a little about what I read yesterday. I'm basing my reading schedule off of what was printed in the back (my Bible comes with a daily reading plan...kinda like homework, huh? ;)) and I began with Genesis 1:1-3:24.
It's interesting the account of Creation. I am a huge lover of nature and wildlife so reading this again after awhile...well, it was refreshing to read. The herbs and flowers, night and day, animals, firmaments...there was almost a song in reading of what God did when He created the world. I could visualize the flowers coming out of the soil and budding, lions walking through the dew of morning. And God breathed life into man. He gave him control over Creation and the responsibility to tend the garden. Everything was his to take care of.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ²⁷ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸ Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
-Genesis 1:26-28

Chapter 2 of Genesis goes into far more detail of life in the Garden. Here we read the commandment God gives Adam which was not to eat of the tree of knowledge. There were two trees, the tree of knowledge and the tree of life.

...The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
-Genesis 2:9
Two trees, waiting to be chosen. Were they next to each other? How did they look? I think it's interesting that even though it was God who placed the tree of knowledge He commanded not to eat from this tree.
In this chapter, I find it so neat the fellowship God had with Adam. It was face-to-face and no doubt Adam considered God a friend. Even more than a friend because He was the Creator. I mean, could you just imagine what it must've been like to talk with God, sit with Him everyday and discuss whatever? WHAT WAS IT LIKE??? I think that's amazing. No distractions, no polluted cities or worldly ideas...nothing but you and God.
God, possibly in these conversations,saw that Adam needed a helper. Did Adam even know he needed a helper? I can just see it...God brings these animals before Adam to name and He observes that Adam needs somebody.

¹⁸ And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” ¹⁹ Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. ²¹ And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. ²² Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
-Genesis 2:18-22

And here comes Eve. :) God brings Eve to Adam...What must've that been like? Go to sleep, and BOOM, wake up and find that God has a helper and a lifemate for you. Someone He designed and created specifically for you. I think there's a lesson in that for single folks but I don't want to get into that...it requires a longer post. Maybe another day.
Now it's Adam and Eve who have these conversations with God. Everyday! There is a relationship that is just so blissful.
However, it is about to end.
There is a serpent, undoubtedly Satan himself, in the garden. Was he observing the relationship of God and mankind? It's a sickening but true, thought to think, he planned a way to cut off this relationship. God was very much aware of this, though. In fact, He allowed him in the garden...God didn't create robots. He created two beings who had a choice to make...but I'm getting ahead of myself.
In Genesis 3:1-6 we see what happens.

3 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” ² And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; ³ but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”

 ⁴ Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. ⁵ For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
 ⁶ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

Eve is deceived by the serpent and she shares the fruit with Adam. This is the most tragic turn in this account. Suddenly the perfect world they once knew is crumbling and they know something dark just happened. God gave these two, the will to choose. And they chose the tree of knowledge.
They make coverings for themselves and then they hear God walking through the garden. He knows what happened...but He still looks for them.

⁸ And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.⁹ Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

I think there is sadness in that question. "Where are you?"
It's not a voice of condemnation or judgement. Instead it's a voice filled with sorrow because the fellowship is over. Two people, His Creation! are now cut off from Him. Adam confesses but puts the blame on Eve. Eve puts the blame on the serpent. No one owns up to what they did.
God then tells the consequences of their sin but there is a promise and a message of hope. (Read Genesis 3:14-19)

¹⁴ So the Lord God said to the serpent:

“Because you have done this,
You are cursed more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you shall go,
And you shall eat dust
All the days of your life.
¹⁵ And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”

 

There is a promise given right here in verse 14. God will bring Someone to bruise the head of the serpent. And it will be accomplished.

 In the next verses, I felt like there was a rush to get the couple out the garden as soon as possible. There is an urgency in the verses and one can understand why. The couple is still in the garden and so is tree of life. The tree of life, once eaten could give the couple a chance to live forever. However, because they disobeyed God, they would live forever in a state of sin, seperated from God. They're already cut off from fellowship with Him...but there's still a chance for redemption. A chance to have fellowship with God again. If they were to eat of the tree of life now and be forever in sin, well that chance would be gone. There would be no redemption.
²² Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— ²³ therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴ So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

In verse 23, it says God sent the man out of the garden. I can imagine God told them to go...but in the very next verse, it's almost like they refused. Why do I say that? Because God, in verse 24, drives them out! To drive them out, I'm thinking He had to chase them out. Not because He was angry, but because He did it for their safety. What was God feeling to drive them out? Was it painful? Was it painful for Adam and Eve? I believe so.
God takes a further step and places an angel to guard the tree of life. There is no way, anyone could get to the tree now.
Super long post...but I encourage you to read the passages and I really pray and hope they speak to your heart like they did to me.