III.
Ge 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. {of the dust...: Heb. dust of the ground}
8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
...
15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. {the man: or, Adam}
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: {thou...: Heb. eating thou shalt eat}
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. {thou shalt surely...: Heb. dying thou shalt die}
18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. {meet...: Heb. as before him}
19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. {Adam: or, the man}
20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. {gave: Heb. called}
21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. {made: Heb. builded}
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. {Woman: Heb. Isha} {Man: Heb. Ish}
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
(KJV)
We've spent time covering humanity's attempts to discover itself and solve its beginnings and find all the physical solutions to our "curse." Now we do a bit more comfortable analysis of the situation. We go to the Word of God and see the Truth it presents.
Matt Henry:
Genesis 2:18 Ge 2:18
Here we have,
I. An instance of the Creator's care of man and his fatherly concern for his comfort, Ge 2:18.
Though God had let him know that he was a subject, by giving him a command, (Ge 2:16-17), yet here he lets him know also, for his encouragement in his obedience, that he was a friend, and a favourite, and one whose satisfaction he was tender of.
Observe,
1. How God graciously pitied his solitude: It is not good that man, this man, should be alone. Though there was an upper world of angels and a lower world of brutes, and he between them, yet there being none of the same nature and rank of beings with himself, none that he could converse familiarly with, he might be truly said to be alone. Now He that made him knew both him and what was good for him, better than he did himself, and he said,
"It is not good that he should continue thus alone."
(1.) It is not for his comfort; for man is a sociable creature. It is a pleasure to him to exchange knowledge and affection with those of his own kind, to inform and to be informed, to love and to be beloved. What God here says of the first man Solomon says of all men, (Ec 4:9, &c.), that two are better than one, and woe to him that is alone. If there were but one man in the world, what a melancholy man must he needs be! Perfect solitude would turn a paradise into a desert, and a palace into a dungeon. Those therefore are foolish who are selfish and would be placed alone in the earth.
(2.) It is not for the increase and continuance of his kind. God could have made a world of men at first, to replenish the earth, as he replenished heaven with a world of angels: but the place would have been too strait for the designed number of men to live together at once; therefore God saw fit to make up that number by a succession of generations, (Let me suggest that I don't really know God's motive for his design. I personally feel God meant it to show that even just one couple, with no other around, would eventually take the fruit of that tree. That one genetic structure could filter through all humanity. And that one structure could be corrupted by just one moment of disobedience. W.) which, as God had formed man, must be from two, and those male and female; one will be ever one.
2. How God graciously resolved to provide society for him. The result of this reasoning concerning him was this kind resolution, I will make a help-meet for him; a help like him (so some read it), one of the same nature and the same rank of beings; a help near him (so others), one to cohabit with him, and to be always at hand; a help before him (so others), one that he should look upon with pleasure and delight.
Note hence,
(1.) In our best state in this world we have need of one another's help; for we are members one of another, and the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of thee, 1Co 12:21.
1Corinthians 12:19 And if they were all one part, where would the body be?
20 But now they are all different parts, but one body.
21 And the eye may not say to the hand, I have no need of you: or again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
22 No, those parts which seem to be feeble are the more necessary;
23 And to those parts of the body which seem to have less honour we give all the more honour; and to those parts of the body which are a cause of shame to us we give the greater respect;
24 But those parts of the body which are beautiful have no need of such care: and so the body has been joined together by God in such a way as to give more honour to those parts which had need of it;
25 So that there might be no division in the body; but all the parts might have the same care for one another.
(BBE)
We must therefore be glad to receive help from others, and give help to others, as there is occasion. (Please recall this when we discuss relationships broken. W.)
(2.) It is God only who perfectly knows our wants, and is perfectly able to supply them all, Php 4:19. In him alone our help is, and from him are all our helpers.
(3.) A suitable wife is a helpmate, and is from the Lord. The relation is then likely to be comfortable when meetness directs and determines the choice, and mutual helpfulness is the constant care and endeavour, 1Co 7:33-34.
(4.) Family-society, if it is agreeable, is a redress sufficient for the grievance of solitude. He that has a good God, a good heart, and a good wife, to converse with, and yet complains he wants conversation, would not have been easy and content in paradise; for Adam himself had no more: yet, even before Eve was created, we do not find that he complained of being alone, knowing that he was not alone, for the Father was with him. Those that are most satisfied in God and his favour are in the best way, and in the best frame, to receive the good things of this life, and shall be sure of them, as far as Infinite Wisdom sees good.
II. An instance of the creatures' subjection to man, and his dominion over them, (Ge 2:19-20): Every beast of the field and every fowl of the air God brought to Adam, either by the ministry of angels, or by a special instinct, directing them to come to man as their master, teaching the ox betimes to know his owner. Thus God gave man livery and seisin of the fair estate he had granted him, and put him in possession of his dominion over the creatures. God brought them to him, that he might name them, and so might give,
1. A proof of his knowledge, as a creature endued with the faculties both of reason and speech, and so taught more than the beasts of the earth and made wiser than the fowls of the heaven, Job 35:11. And,
2. A proof of his power. It is an act of authority to impose names, (Da 1:7), and of subjection to receive them. The inferior creatures did now, as it were, do homage to their prince at his inauguration, and swear fealty and allegiance to him. If Adam had continued faithful to his God, we may suppose the creatures themselves would so well have known and remembered the names Adam now gave them as to have come at his call, at any time, and answered to their names. God gave names to the day and night, to the firmament, to the earth, and to the sea; and he calleth the stars by their names, to show that he is the supreme Lord of these. But he gave Adam leave to name the beasts and fowls, as their subordinate lord; for, having made him in his own image, he thus put some of his honour upon him.
III. An instance of the creatures' insufficiency to be a happiness for man: But (among them all) for Adam there was not found a help meet for him. Some make these to be the words of Adam himself; observing all the creatures come to him by couples to be named, he thus intimates his desire to his Maker:--
"Lord, these have all helps meet for them; but what shall I do? Here is never a one for me."
It is rather God's judgment upon the review. He brought them all together, to see if there were ever a suitable match for Adam in any of the numerous families of the inferior creatures; but there was none.
Observe here,
1. The dignity and excellency of the human nature. On earth there was not its like, nor its peer to be found among all visible creatures; they were all looked over, but it could not be matched among them all.
2. The vanity of this world and the things of it; put them all together, and they will not make a help-meet for man. They will not suit the nature of his soul, nor supply its needs, nor satisfy its just desires, nor run parallel with its never-failing duration. God creates a new thing to be a helpmate for man--not so much the woman as the seed of the woman.
(Trust me when say, it was so much the women, Matt. God made a perfect companion. Each meant as the others focus. W.)
So much here demands discussion but I will focus on our concern for our First Flesh. Some things bleed into it. Sorting it out will take us a couple of III's if I can keep the focus.
First, notice we previously had a history of creation in Gen. 1. What we have here is the history of the creation of Eden, Man is created, then Eden, then Eve. God puts everything good into Eden. The world already exists, but God creates the perfect fauna for humanity, It's all good to eat. There are no thorns or thistles (See the Curse.) . God creates specific animals to stock Eden. They seem likely to be the same as outside Eden since the Bible doesn't seem to indicate they were different, in fact, it seems logical by the statement that they were the same as outside. We don't know what kinds but we suspect what we know as animals today. Except in one case to be discussed later. Apparently the plants were selected for their kindness to man, but the animals were chosen so Man could name them. Once Adam did that, humanity claimed dominion over the animals. (See Henry above.)
This is the nature of the Biblical way: if something is named then the namer has power over it. Please do not assume, as many have, that that lets us use or abuse to our will any animal or person named by us. It means we own them and are responsible for that ownership and it's manner. God owns us. Today we never seem to fully understand the nature of that ownership, that completion of love. We dare ask why God let us make this mistake in Eden. As if it were His fault for letting us freely choose. We think His ownership means control, power over the person, bullying, the whip hand. we never understand his nature now as we must have then. Or perhaps we never understood even then. We are to act with Godly consideration toward all living things. Ownership has its responsibilities. It is always in our best interest to act with love toward everyone and everything as He has always acted toward us.
At the very beginning of the story we get the clue to our problem there in perfection.
the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
And the warning. The one rule:
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: {thou...: Heb. eating thou shalt eat}
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. {thou shalt surely...: Heb. dying thou shalt die}
See the glory of God. He never once told man that he couldn't eat from the tree of life. I remember an old comic book representation of the tree of life as a plant shaped like a cross with Jesus on the cross. Glowing. Surely that is our tree of life. Their tree of life, I couldn't say. I do point out it wasn't the tree of eternal life. We tend to read that in. Perhaps it extended life and, if humanity never sinned, it would have been blooming there for us to eat like the Greek idea of ambrosia and nectar. Right in the center of things.
And he keeps offering the tree of life to man today. he expects s to do the offering in His name. We need to always remember that it was the first gift given wrapped in the paper of Eden. The center of Paradise.
And with it, the tree of knowledge. The knowledge of good and evil. And understanding of what it was to be on God's side and not on God's side. Obedience and disobedience.
Let's add John Wesley to the mix here. Read his notations on the Garden and the state of things then see his take on the trees, not seen so much literally as symbolically.
Genesis 2:8 Ge 2:8
V. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. Man consisting of body and soul, a body made out of the earth, and a rational immortal soul, we have in these verses the provision that was made for the happiness of both. That part of man, which is allied to the world of sense, was made happy, for he was put in the paradise of God; that part which is allied to the world of spirits was well provided for, for he was taken into covenant with God.
( See that the covenant was based on Adam serving God as the caretaker of the Garden. Not even the whole Earth. To tend the plants, As the commander of the animals of Eden that he named. As the mate of Eve who was created for him. Consider for the moment the way each of those relationships was broken by sin. We'll touch it later, but mull it over. W.)
Here we have, 1. A description of the garden of Eden, which was intended for the palace of this prince. The inspired penman in this history writing for the Jews first, and calculating his narratives from the infant state of the church, describes things by their outward sensible appearances, and leaves us, by farther discoveries of the divine light, to be led into the understanding of the mysteries couched under them. Therefore he doth not so much insist upon the happiness of Adam's mind, as upon that of his outward estate. The Mosaic history, as well as the Mosaic law, has rather the patterns of heavenly things, than the heavenly things themselves, Heb 9:23
Observe, (1.) The place appointed for Adam's residence was a garden; not an ivory house. As clothes came in with sin, so did houses. The heaven was the roof of Adam's house, and never was any roof so curiously cieled and painted: the earth was his floor, and never was any floor so richly inlaid: the shadow of the trees was his retirement, and never were any rooms so finely hung: Solomon's in all their glory were not arrayed like them. (2.) The contrivance and furniture of this garden was the immediate work of God's wisdom and power. The Lord God planted this garden, that is, he had planted it, upon the third day when the fruits of the earth were made.
( A moment of disagreement, in that it is clearly stated He made this Garden after Adam, but the reading of one story as general and the other specific and apart are not necessarily a universal idea throughout history or even today. Keep in mind this is Wesley's take and quite gifted and blessed, Any disagreements like can be put aside. As we approach the End Times, we see things differently. Perhaps more clearly or perhaps more filtered by the scraps of science we have. W.)
We may well suppose it to be the most accomplished place that ever the sun saw, when the All -sufficient God himself designed it to be the present happiness of his beloved creature. (3.) The situation of this garden was extremely sweet; it was in Eden, which signifies delight and pleasure. The place is here particularly pointed out by such marks and bounds as were sufficient when Moses wrote, to specify the place to those who knew that country; but now it seems the curious cannot satisfy themselves concerning it. Let it be our care to make sure a place in the heavenly paradise, and then we need not perplex ourselves with a search after the place of the earthly paradise. (4.) The trees wherewith this garden was planted. [1.] It had all the best and choicest trees in common with the rest of the ground. It was beautified with every tree that was pleasant to the sight-It was enriched with every tree that yielded fruit grateful to the taste, and useful to the body. But, [2.] It had two extraordinary trees peculiar to itself, on earth there were not their like. 1. There was the tree of life in the midst of the garden-Which was not so much a natural means to preserve or prolong life; but was chiefly intended to be a sign to Adam, assuring him of the continuance of life and happiness upon condition of his perseverance in innocency and obedience. 2. There was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil-So called, not because it had any virtue to beget useful knowledge, but because there was an express revelation of the will of God concerning this tree, so that by it he might know good and evil. What is good? It is good not to eat of this tree: what is evil? To eat of this tree. The distinction between all other moral good and evil was written in the heart of man; but this, which resulted from a positive law, was written upon this tree. And in the event it proved to give Adam an experimental knowledge of good by the loss of it, and of evil by the sense of it. (5.) The rivers wherewith this garden was watered, Ge 2:10-14. These four rivers, (or one river branched into four streams) contributed much both to the pleasantness and the fruitfulness of this garden. Hiddekel and Euphrates are rivers of Babylon. Havilah had gold and spices and precious stones; but Eden had that which was infinitely better, the tree of life, and communion with God.
2. The command which God gave to man in innocency, and the covenant he than took him into. Hither we have seen God; man's powerful Creator, and his bountiful benefactor; now he appears as his ruler and lawgiver.
Our First Flesh found a perfect home and found a Father who loving gave them everything they needed for a perfect life, food, companionship of the animals, of each other.
With God.
In 2004, a study was published which posited the "God gene." What it essentially did was connect one part of our genetic makeup with the production of certain chemicals that are produce in the " religious experience." Under certain types of stress, these chemicals generate a feeling, a sense of other worldliness.
Dean Hamer is a molecular biologist at the National Institutes of Health, where he heads the Gene Structure and Regulation section at the National Cancer Institute. In his latest book, Hamer says certain brain chemicals affect higher consciousness and spirituality, and that the actions of these chemicals are linked to a gene his team has researched.
The article listed above connects these experiences with ALL the prophets and leaders from Mohammed to Buddha, lumping Jesus into the mix as iof he were just another religious leader. but the point made:
The God gene hypothesis is based on a combination of behavioral genetic, neurobiological and psychological studies. The major arguments of the hypothesis are: (1) spirituality can be quantified by psychometric measurements; (2) the underlying tendency to spirituality is partially heritable; (3) part of this heritability can be attributed to the gene VMAT2;[1] (4) this gene acts by altering monoamine levels; and (5) spiritual individuals are favored by natural selection because they are provided with an innate sense of optimism, the latter producing positive effects at either a physical or psychological level.
Of course, the idea the God created us with the inclination to seek Him out and that our sin led to a broken connection which seduces us to other gods would never be scientific hypothesis. Since the idea nature picks and chooses by circumstance would be the "scientific" approach, nature being a thinking entity and all. Do you see the way the scientists who founded this idea already had a god they sought out and chose without even realizing it? They would scoff at the notion even as they were burning offerings on their altars. The relationship broken from birth isn't even recognized as a relationship by those who have never had it, who long for it and find it in the things they say have nothing to do with it.
Which leads to the sin of our First Flesh,
We had everything. We wanted for nothing. We had safety and security and we walked in perfect union with God. We had it all!!!
Wait, go back a pace. We walked with God.
Ge 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. {of the dust...: Heb. dust of the ground}
8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
...
15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. {the man: or, Adam}
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: {thou...: Heb. eating thou shalt eat}
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. {thou shalt surely...: Heb. dying thou shalt die}
18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. {meet...: Heb. as before him}
19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. {Adam: or, the man}
20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. {gave: Heb. called}
21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. {made: Heb. builded}
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. {Woman: Heb. Isha} {Man: Heb. Ish}
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
(KJV)
We've spent time covering humanity's attempts to discover itself and solve its beginnings and find all the physical solutions to our "curse." Now we do a bit more comfortable analysis of the situation. We go to the Word of God and see the Truth it presents.
Matt Henry:
Genesis 2:18 Ge 2:18
Here we have,
I. An instance of the Creator's care of man and his fatherly concern for his comfort, Ge 2:18.
Though God had let him know that he was a subject, by giving him a command, (Ge 2:16-17), yet here he lets him know also, for his encouragement in his obedience, that he was a friend, and a favourite, and one whose satisfaction he was tender of.
Observe,
1. How God graciously pitied his solitude: It is not good that man, this man, should be alone. Though there was an upper world of angels and a lower world of brutes, and he between them, yet there being none of the same nature and rank of beings with himself, none that he could converse familiarly with, he might be truly said to be alone. Now He that made him knew both him and what was good for him, better than he did himself, and he said,
"It is not good that he should continue thus alone."
(1.) It is not for his comfort; for man is a sociable creature. It is a pleasure to him to exchange knowledge and affection with those of his own kind, to inform and to be informed, to love and to be beloved. What God here says of the first man Solomon says of all men, (Ec 4:9, &c.), that two are better than one, and woe to him that is alone. If there were but one man in the world, what a melancholy man must he needs be! Perfect solitude would turn a paradise into a desert, and a palace into a dungeon. Those therefore are foolish who are selfish and would be placed alone in the earth.
(2.) It is not for the increase and continuance of his kind. God could have made a world of men at first, to replenish the earth, as he replenished heaven with a world of angels: but the place would have been too strait for the designed number of men to live together at once; therefore God saw fit to make up that number by a succession of generations, (Let me suggest that I don't really know God's motive for his design. I personally feel God meant it to show that even just one couple, with no other around, would eventually take the fruit of that tree. That one genetic structure could filter through all humanity. And that one structure could be corrupted by just one moment of disobedience. W.) which, as God had formed man, must be from two, and those male and female; one will be ever one.
2. How God graciously resolved to provide society for him. The result of this reasoning concerning him was this kind resolution, I will make a help-meet for him; a help like him (so some read it), one of the same nature and the same rank of beings; a help near him (so others), one to cohabit with him, and to be always at hand; a help before him (so others), one that he should look upon with pleasure and delight.
Note hence,
(1.) In our best state in this world we have need of one another's help; for we are members one of another, and the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of thee, 1Co 12:21.
1Corinthians 12:19 And if they were all one part, where would the body be?
20 But now they are all different parts, but one body.
21 And the eye may not say to the hand, I have no need of you: or again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
22 No, those parts which seem to be feeble are the more necessary;
23 And to those parts of the body which seem to have less honour we give all the more honour; and to those parts of the body which are a cause of shame to us we give the greater respect;
24 But those parts of the body which are beautiful have no need of such care: and so the body has been joined together by God in such a way as to give more honour to those parts which had need of it;
25 So that there might be no division in the body; but all the parts might have the same care for one another.
(BBE)
We must therefore be glad to receive help from others, and give help to others, as there is occasion. (Please recall this when we discuss relationships broken. W.)
(2.) It is God only who perfectly knows our wants, and is perfectly able to supply them all, Php 4:19. In him alone our help is, and from him are all our helpers.
(3.) A suitable wife is a helpmate, and is from the Lord. The relation is then likely to be comfortable when meetness directs and determines the choice, and mutual helpfulness is the constant care and endeavour, 1Co 7:33-34.
(4.) Family-society, if it is agreeable, is a redress sufficient for the grievance of solitude. He that has a good God, a good heart, and a good wife, to converse with, and yet complains he wants conversation, would not have been easy and content in paradise; for Adam himself had no more: yet, even before Eve was created, we do not find that he complained of being alone, knowing that he was not alone, for the Father was with him. Those that are most satisfied in God and his favour are in the best way, and in the best frame, to receive the good things of this life, and shall be sure of them, as far as Infinite Wisdom sees good.
II. An instance of the creatures' subjection to man, and his dominion over them, (Ge 2:19-20): Every beast of the field and every fowl of the air God brought to Adam, either by the ministry of angels, or by a special instinct, directing them to come to man as their master, teaching the ox betimes to know his owner. Thus God gave man livery and seisin of the fair estate he had granted him, and put him in possession of his dominion over the creatures. God brought them to him, that he might name them, and so might give,
1. A proof of his knowledge, as a creature endued with the faculties both of reason and speech, and so taught more than the beasts of the earth and made wiser than the fowls of the heaven, Job 35:11. And,
2. A proof of his power. It is an act of authority to impose names, (Da 1:7), and of subjection to receive them. The inferior creatures did now, as it were, do homage to their prince at his inauguration, and swear fealty and allegiance to him. If Adam had continued faithful to his God, we may suppose the creatures themselves would so well have known and remembered the names Adam now gave them as to have come at his call, at any time, and answered to their names. God gave names to the day and night, to the firmament, to the earth, and to the sea; and he calleth the stars by their names, to show that he is the supreme Lord of these. But he gave Adam leave to name the beasts and fowls, as their subordinate lord; for, having made him in his own image, he thus put some of his honour upon him.
III. An instance of the creatures' insufficiency to be a happiness for man: But (among them all) for Adam there was not found a help meet for him. Some make these to be the words of Adam himself; observing all the creatures come to him by couples to be named, he thus intimates his desire to his Maker:--
"Lord, these have all helps meet for them; but what shall I do? Here is never a one for me."
It is rather God's judgment upon the review. He brought them all together, to see if there were ever a suitable match for Adam in any of the numerous families of the inferior creatures; but there was none.
Observe here,
1. The dignity and excellency of the human nature. On earth there was not its like, nor its peer to be found among all visible creatures; they were all looked over, but it could not be matched among them all.
2. The vanity of this world and the things of it; put them all together, and they will not make a help-meet for man. They will not suit the nature of his soul, nor supply its needs, nor satisfy its just desires, nor run parallel with its never-failing duration. God creates a new thing to be a helpmate for man--not so much the woman as the seed of the woman.
(Trust me when say, it was so much the women, Matt. God made a perfect companion. Each meant as the others focus. W.)
So much here demands discussion but I will focus on our concern for our First Flesh. Some things bleed into it. Sorting it out will take us a couple of III's if I can keep the focus.
First, notice we previously had a history of creation in Gen. 1. What we have here is the history of the creation of Eden, Man is created, then Eden, then Eve. God puts everything good into Eden. The world already exists, but God creates the perfect fauna for humanity, It's all good to eat. There are no thorns or thistles (See the Curse.) . God creates specific animals to stock Eden. They seem likely to be the same as outside Eden since the Bible doesn't seem to indicate they were different, in fact, it seems logical by the statement that they were the same as outside. We don't know what kinds but we suspect what we know as animals today. Except in one case to be discussed later. Apparently the plants were selected for their kindness to man, but the animals were chosen so Man could name them. Once Adam did that, humanity claimed dominion over the animals. (See Henry above.)
This is the nature of the Biblical way: if something is named then the namer has power over it. Please do not assume, as many have, that that lets us use or abuse to our will any animal or person named by us. It means we own them and are responsible for that ownership and it's manner. God owns us. Today we never seem to fully understand the nature of that ownership, that completion of love. We dare ask why God let us make this mistake in Eden. As if it were His fault for letting us freely choose. We think His ownership means control, power over the person, bullying, the whip hand. we never understand his nature now as we must have then. Or perhaps we never understood even then. We are to act with Godly consideration toward all living things. Ownership has its responsibilities. It is always in our best interest to act with love toward everyone and everything as He has always acted toward us.
At the very beginning of the story we get the clue to our problem there in perfection.
the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
And the warning. The one rule:
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: {thou...: Heb. eating thou shalt eat}
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. {thou shalt surely...: Heb. dying thou shalt die}
See the glory of God. He never once told man that he couldn't eat from the tree of life. I remember an old comic book representation of the tree of life as a plant shaped like a cross with Jesus on the cross. Glowing. Surely that is our tree of life. Their tree of life, I couldn't say. I do point out it wasn't the tree of eternal life. We tend to read that in. Perhaps it extended life and, if humanity never sinned, it would have been blooming there for us to eat like the Greek idea of ambrosia and nectar. Right in the center of things.
And he keeps offering the tree of life to man today. he expects s to do the offering in His name. We need to always remember that it was the first gift given wrapped in the paper of Eden. The center of Paradise.
And with it, the tree of knowledge. The knowledge of good and evil. And understanding of what it was to be on God's side and not on God's side. Obedience and disobedience.
Let's add John Wesley to the mix here. Read his notations on the Garden and the state of things then see his take on the trees, not seen so much literally as symbolically.
Genesis 2:8 Ge 2:8
V. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. Man consisting of body and soul, a body made out of the earth, and a rational immortal soul, we have in these verses the provision that was made for the happiness of both. That part of man, which is allied to the world of sense, was made happy, for he was put in the paradise of God; that part which is allied to the world of spirits was well provided for, for he was taken into covenant with God.
( See that the covenant was based on Adam serving God as the caretaker of the Garden. Not even the whole Earth. To tend the plants, As the commander of the animals of Eden that he named. As the mate of Eve who was created for him. Consider for the moment the way each of those relationships was broken by sin. We'll touch it later, but mull it over. W.)
Here we have, 1. A description of the garden of Eden, which was intended for the palace of this prince. The inspired penman in this history writing for the Jews first, and calculating his narratives from the infant state of the church, describes things by their outward sensible appearances, and leaves us, by farther discoveries of the divine light, to be led into the understanding of the mysteries couched under them. Therefore he doth not so much insist upon the happiness of Adam's mind, as upon that of his outward estate. The Mosaic history, as well as the Mosaic law, has rather the patterns of heavenly things, than the heavenly things themselves, Heb 9:23
Observe, (1.) The place appointed for Adam's residence was a garden; not an ivory house. As clothes came in with sin, so did houses. The heaven was the roof of Adam's house, and never was any roof so curiously cieled and painted: the earth was his floor, and never was any floor so richly inlaid: the shadow of the trees was his retirement, and never were any rooms so finely hung: Solomon's in all their glory were not arrayed like them. (2.) The contrivance and furniture of this garden was the immediate work of God's wisdom and power. The Lord God planted this garden, that is, he had planted it, upon the third day when the fruits of the earth were made.
( A moment of disagreement, in that it is clearly stated He made this Garden after Adam, but the reading of one story as general and the other specific and apart are not necessarily a universal idea throughout history or even today. Keep in mind this is Wesley's take and quite gifted and blessed, Any disagreements like can be put aside. As we approach the End Times, we see things differently. Perhaps more clearly or perhaps more filtered by the scraps of science we have. W.)
We may well suppose it to be the most accomplished place that ever the sun saw, when the All -sufficient God himself designed it to be the present happiness of his beloved creature. (3.) The situation of this garden was extremely sweet; it was in Eden, which signifies delight and pleasure. The place is here particularly pointed out by such marks and bounds as were sufficient when Moses wrote, to specify the place to those who knew that country; but now it seems the curious cannot satisfy themselves concerning it. Let it be our care to make sure a place in the heavenly paradise, and then we need not perplex ourselves with a search after the place of the earthly paradise. (4.) The trees wherewith this garden was planted. [1.] It had all the best and choicest trees in common with the rest of the ground. It was beautified with every tree that was pleasant to the sight-It was enriched with every tree that yielded fruit grateful to the taste, and useful to the body. But, [2.] It had two extraordinary trees peculiar to itself, on earth there were not their like. 1. There was the tree of life in the midst of the garden-Which was not so much a natural means to preserve or prolong life; but was chiefly intended to be a sign to Adam, assuring him of the continuance of life and happiness upon condition of his perseverance in innocency and obedience. 2. There was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil-So called, not because it had any virtue to beget useful knowledge, but because there was an express revelation of the will of God concerning this tree, so that by it he might know good and evil. What is good? It is good not to eat of this tree: what is evil? To eat of this tree. The distinction between all other moral good and evil was written in the heart of man; but this, which resulted from a positive law, was written upon this tree. And in the event it proved to give Adam an experimental knowledge of good by the loss of it, and of evil by the sense of it. (5.) The rivers wherewith this garden was watered, Ge 2:10-14. These four rivers, (or one river branched into four streams) contributed much both to the pleasantness and the fruitfulness of this garden. Hiddekel and Euphrates are rivers of Babylon. Havilah had gold and spices and precious stones; but Eden had that which was infinitely better, the tree of life, and communion with God.
2. The command which God gave to man in innocency, and the covenant he than took him into. Hither we have seen God; man's powerful Creator, and his bountiful benefactor; now he appears as his ruler and lawgiver.
Our First Flesh found a perfect home and found a Father who loving gave them everything they needed for a perfect life, food, companionship of the animals, of each other.
With God.
In 2004, a study was published which posited the "God gene." What it essentially did was connect one part of our genetic makeup with the production of certain chemicals that are produce in the " religious experience." Under certain types of stress, these chemicals generate a feeling, a sense of other worldliness.
Dean Hamer is a molecular biologist at the National Institutes of Health, where he heads the Gene Structure and Regulation section at the National Cancer Institute. In his latest book, Hamer says certain brain chemicals affect higher consciousness and spirituality, and that the actions of these chemicals are linked to a gene his team has researched.
The article listed above connects these experiences with ALL the prophets and leaders from Mohammed to Buddha, lumping Jesus into the mix as iof he were just another religious leader. but the point made:
The God gene hypothesis is based on a combination of behavioral genetic, neurobiological and psychological studies. The major arguments of the hypothesis are: (1) spirituality can be quantified by psychometric measurements; (2) the underlying tendency to spirituality is partially heritable; (3) part of this heritability can be attributed to the gene VMAT2;[1] (4) this gene acts by altering monoamine levels; and (5) spiritual individuals are favored by natural selection because they are provided with an innate sense of optimism, the latter producing positive effects at either a physical or psychological level.
Of course, the idea the God created us with the inclination to seek Him out and that our sin led to a broken connection which seduces us to other gods would never be scientific hypothesis. Since the idea nature picks and chooses by circumstance would be the "scientific" approach, nature being a thinking entity and all. Do you see the way the scientists who founded this idea already had a god they sought out and chose without even realizing it? They would scoff at the notion even as they were burning offerings on their altars. The relationship broken from birth isn't even recognized as a relationship by those who have never had it, who long for it and find it in the things they say have nothing to do with it.
Which leads to the sin of our First Flesh,
We had everything. We wanted for nothing. We had safety and security and we walked in perfect union with God. We had it all!!!
Wait, go back a pace. We walked with God.
Before we go any further, Last time I asked you to ponder what was lost in the Garden among these relationships. We always arrive at the broken relationship with God. I recall a movie called
"The Bible". the narrator "voice of God" speaking to Adam and Eve, Talking with Adam. But read this verse after the fall:
Ge 3:8 And there came to them the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the evening wind: and the man and his wife went to a secret place among the trees of the garden, away from the eyes of the Lord God.
(BBE)
God walking in the garden in the evening. Strolling. One could think it was the sound of the wind or thunder, but then there is that thing about "the eyes of God."
Return to John's Gospel.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. {comprehended: or, did not admit, or, receive}
(KJV)
Jesus was always with God, there at the beginning.
Many theologians refer to the appearances of God in these passages, and others like them, as “theophanies” (Greek: theos = “God” + phaino = “appear”) or “Christophanies.” So these words mean “appearances of God” and “appearances of Christ,” respectively.
The Old Testament also mentions “the Angel of the Lord”1 on several occasions.
...
Christians generally agree that the above passages and many others that mention “the Angel of the Lord” are appearances of the pre-incarnate Christ (Christ before He came in the flesh).2 Let’s take a look at some of the characteristics of this “Angel” as given in the various passages.
- The “Angel” is referred to with masculine pronouns (Genesis 16:13; Judges 6:21).
- He is identified as God (Judges 6:11, 14; Zechariah 12:8).3
- He performed miracles (Judges 6:21; 13:20).
- Gideon and Manoah thought they would die because they saw the “Angel” face to face (Judges 6:22; 13:22).
- The “Angel” accurately foretold future events (Judges 13:3).
- His name is “wonderful” (Judges 13:18; cf., Isaiah 9:6).
- He destroyed 185,000 soldiers of the Assyrian army in one night (2 Kings 19:35).4
While angels have occasionally performed some of these actions, such as miracles and prophecy, there are clear examples when “the Angel of the Lord” cannot be viewed as a normal angel. He is occasionally identified as God, accepted worship, and at least two people who saw Him thought they would die for seeing Him face to face. These same attributes and activities are clearly attributed to God elsewhere in Scripture.
And the author arrives at a similar conclusion to mine here:
The Bible does not tell us this, but based on the many other theophanies discussed earlier, we know that the person usually recognized “the Angel of the Lord” soon after seeing Him. The very first theophany may have occurred when God pronounced the Curse. Remember, after Adam and Eve sinned and sewed fig leaves together, they “
heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day” (Genesis 3:8, emphasis added).7 The implication is that God appeared in physical form since they heard Him walking in the garden prior to confronting Adam and Eve.
I find that "eyes of God" statement even more revealing of his being there then.
But the implication of that becomes staggering. We can have th idea we betrayed a distant God, a spiritual being we couldn't touch of fell. couldn't hug or kiss. And we can kind of live with that. But now we must face another thing entirely.
Our First Flesh betrayed a God who held their hands, who had a drink of water and ate with them as he later did with the disciples, who knew everything they had was good because he tasted it, breathed it, petted it, smelled it, saw it himself. He had every felling we had then.
That math and science we play around with, that quantum physics thing. That suggests a being with sufficient power can stand outside out time stream, observing, be the distant observer deists suggest God to be, but can also step into the time stream anywhere He would want. Meaning Jesus could have been born 2000 years ago but then, once reborn, could have physically stepped into the time stream anywhere He wanted.
But the staggering implication is: our First Flesh betrayed Jesus first. Before Judas or the apostles that abandoned him or any of us that sin after salvation. Jesus was likely the one who explained all the things to Adam like his job as caretaker, may have been the one to tell him to name things. Jesu walked in the garden even as he would later pray in the garden at Gethsemane. Was betrayed in the first garden even as in the later one. The Bible never breaks from the moment when he finds them naked to the time the flaming sword casts them out. Jesus was the one who explained the curse, was the one who offered the first temporary covering of an animal sacrifice, by killing the animal for the skins to cover their nakedness. From the start, He told them what they had done, what the consequences were and told them there was a way back. He even told them He was coming to crush the serpent's head.
Our First Flesh betrayed our Final Flesh.
Now let's get to the betrayal and the end of our First Flesh.
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