TUESDAY, July 7, 2009                                                       READ: Genesis 2: 15 - 20                                                                                                        

IMPLICTIONS OF GOD’S COMMAND GIVEN TO ADAM

MEMORIZE: ‘And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”’         Genesis 2: 16, 17

Please complete this sentence, “To know is to ….” Yes, “To know is to be responsible.” God informed Adam, while he was still alone, before He provided him with his adequate helper, his wife, that he was free to eat the fruits of all the trees of His garden, with the exception of one tree, “… the tree of the knowledge of good and evil….” By informing him, God made Adam responsible and accountable for his actions and behavior. There is ample evidence that Adam was in a position to understand that command. He knew that God had his best interest in mind. He knew that God wanted him to obey Him and to live in reliance upon Him. God wanted him to avoid the danger, about which he was warned, that of thinking that he could do as well, or even better on his own. He knew that God would reward him for obeying His command. He also knew that God was capable of carrying out His plan and that he would not continue living forever, if he did not choose to maintain his fellowship with God. Adam knew that God was testing his willingness to live in dependence on, in fellowship with Him. Adam knew that it was up to him to choose to obey and enjoy God’s fellowship and benefits, or, to disobey God and give up what benefits trusting God had brought and would bring to him. We do not know how long after God gave the command to Adam that He provided him with his needed adequate helper, his wife. Once God provided his adequate helper, Adam was then also responsible to communicate to her what God had told him and was holding him responsible for obeying. There is no indication that, once God built her, He repeated His command to her. God required Adam to tell it to her and to hold her responsible. Did God know that Adam was capable of obeying His command? Look at vv. 19, 20, of our text! Adam was able to think like God wanted him to, and to do what God wanted him to do, in the way that God wanted it done. God made Adam and his wife, his adequate helper adequate and competent to be and do what He had in mind and in His will for us to do. We are able to see in vv. 21-23, that God purposefully created, built the woman, using the rib which He had taken from the man. He created her to fulfill a God-appointed purpose (cf. 1 Corinthians 11: 7-12). Both the man and the woman were to be related to each other dynamically. Note that it was Adam, the man who identified, named the woman. He proclaimed her, “… bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh….” It was Adam who declared that she shall be called “… Woman….” In v. 24, we can see that there was the potential for them to become what God had in mind for them to become. God intended that there should be a willful and committed involvement of and by both individuals. He did not make them to be robots. He made them with a will with which to commit to purpose. In v. 25, we see the editorial comment. There was harmony between God and His creation, so there was openness and harmonious disclosure between the man and the woman, between Adam and his wife. There was no need to hide from each other and there was no sense of shame.

PRAY:LORD, God Almighty, I am praising You for who You are. You made us to live with Your purpose in view. LORD, with all of my heart I am telling You that I want to open my heart so that You can fulfill Your purposes through me. Please work in me today, LORD! Set my feet in the right path. I am asking this in Jesus’ strong name. Amen.