Questions for Thought
- How long did it take God to complete His creation?
- Why did God create Eve?
- Why did Eve listen to the serpent instead of to God?
- Where is the first mention of a promised seed in the Bible?
“Where did we come from?” is a question many of us have asked. Many of us have had to answer the same question for our children. The only answer to this question for the true believer in God is found in Genesis Chapters 1 and 2. Genesis 1:1 says “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” This chapter and the next one provide us with all God wants us to know about the creation. According to these verses, creation took a literal six days and on the seventh day, God rested from His creation. If we don’t believe this first verse in the Bible and take it just as it is written, then we will not see any need to learn about God and to teach others. In addition, if we do not accept God’s word here concerning His creation, we most likely will not accept His word on any other subject covered in the Bible.
God’s creation had an order to it. On the first day, He said, “Let there be light,” and he divided the light from the darkness (Genesis 1:3-4). God called the light day and the darkness He called night. On the second day, God divided the waters above from the waters below, creating the sky. On the third day, God separated the waters, creating seas and earth, and the earth began to bring forth plant life. On day four, the heavenly bodies including the sun, moon, and stars were God’s work. The sun was to rule the day and the moon was to rule the night. Then on day five, God created creatures that live in the water and those that fly in the air. On day six, animals that live on dry land were created and finally we find in Genesis 1:26, God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” So on day six, the human race was begun.
The first man was made from the dust of the ground and God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7). Shortly afterwards, God said man needed a help suitable for him and there was none to be found among the creation. So we read in Genesis 2:21-22 God caused Adam to go to sleep and He took one of Adam’s ribs and made a woman. In verse 24 we have the plan for woman and man. They were to be man and wife.
God gave Adam and Eve a garden to take care of as recorded in Genesis 1:28-29. In Genesis 2:16-17 God told Adam they could eat of all of the trees in the garden except for one. They were not allowed to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Now some people say this was the apple tree, but beware, no where does the Bible say the tree was an apple. We have to be careful not to add to what is in the scripture and this is one example of how easily we can fall into such a trap.
I enjoy working in our garden and I really enjoy harvest time. Can you just imagine what this Garden of Eden must have been like? Read Genesis 2:9-17. This garden had every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. It even had the tree of life. Imagine the tree of life growing in the garden you were responsible for keeping. There must not have been thorns and thistles in this garden because God did not mention those until Genesis 3:17-19 after Adam and Eve had sinned by eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
It seems there must have been a problem going on between the serpent and God from the beginning of man’s time on earth. In Genesis 3:1, we find this serpent talking with Eve. He asked her about the trees of the garden and if she was allowed to eat of all of them. She told the serpent they were allowed to eat of all of them except the one in the middle of the garden. She said they were not even allowed to touch it or they would die. The serpent did to Eve as he has continued to do to mankind throughout history. He lied to her. According to John 8:44 in the New Testament, this serpent, we call the devil, is the father of lies. The serpent told Eve she would not die if she ate of the tree but instead her eyes would be opened and she would know good and evil.
Instead of listening to God the Creator, Eve chose to listen to the serpent and eat of the tree. She found it to be pleasant to the eyes, good for food, and a fruit to be desired to make one wise. In other words, Eve was just exposed to the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, which are the same sins that get all of us (1 John 2:15-17). Eve gave some to Adam and he also ate. Their eyes were opened and they knew they had done wrong. The first thing they realized was they were naked. They even tried to make them some aprons of fig leaves to cover their nakedness.
It wasn’t long until God came walking in the garden and when they heard Him, they were afraid because they were naked. They tried to hide from God. Imagine that. They were trying to hide from the Creator. God asked them how they knew they were naked. Of course, God knew what had happened. Adam blamed Eve for giving him some of the fruit and Eve blamed the serpent for tricking her into believing it would be ok. In Genesis 3:14-19, we can read about their punishments. The woman was to have sorrow in bringing forth children, Adam was to have to labor in the ground which would now bring forth thistles and thorns, and the serpent was to go upon his belly and eat dust. In addition, Adam and Eve were thrown out of the garden and would eventually die and their bodies would return to dust.
Some question the fact Adam and Eve did not physically die the moment they ate of the fruit of the tree. Obviously, immediate physical death was not what God had in mind when He told Adam he would die the day he ate of the tree. Instead of immediate physical death, Adam brought upon himself a spiritual death in sin from which he would need a redeemer to rescue him. As we will see throughout this study, God promised that redeemer in Genesis 3:15 where he told the serpent there would be enmity between him and the woman and between the seed of the serpent and the seed of woman. The serpent would have his head bruised by the seed and the serpent would bruise the heel of the seed of woman. That seed, we shall see later, is our savior, Jesus Christ.
Each of us is born sin free, but once we fall into the trap Adam and Eve fell into of yielding to the serpent’s temptations, we too die spiritually and must have a redeemer. In Ezekiel 18:20, God told Ezekiel it is the soul that sins that shall die and the son shall not bear the guilt of the father nor shall the father bear the guilt of the child. Once we are spiritually dead in sin, we must find a way out. Paul explained how that can be accomplished in Romans 6 which we will study later. The seed promised in Genesis 3 is the only way out.
Before God sent Adam and Eve out of the garden, he made them coats or tunics of animal skins to clothe themselves so their nakedness would no longer show. Here too is a principle which is carried throughout the Old Testament and into the New Testament concerning how one is clothed. In the New Testament in 1 Timothy 2:9 we are told to dress in modest apparel. In Proverbs 7:10, there is an apparel that symbolizes a harlot. As part of our teaching others, we must be mindful of what our appearance symbolizes. While wearing shorts, bathing suits, low cut necklines, and short skirts and dresses may be the fashion of the day, what does God think about us showing our nakedness?
In the next post, we will look at the first murder and apply the principles to our lives today.
Christian Women's Responsibility in Sharing God's Word 