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SEED OF PROMISE In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (Gen 1:1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1) In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began (Titus 1:2) God's Plan of Redemption, which end is Eternal Life with Christ, is given in outline form in the creation account of Genesis. The things created in Genesis 1 were created according to its kind, meaning that reproductive power (seed) was within its body, whether they be plant or animal. In very broad terms, there are three ways that seed is produced in plant life: in grass species seed is formed within the plant and is released in external seed pods at full maturity; in fruit tree species seed is formed in the plant and released in flowers at maturity and encased within its fruit at pollenation; in herb species seed is formed in the leaf and is released in flowers and a seed pod at full maturity. In animal life seed is formed within the body and is fully matured at puberty. Another aspect of seed is the gender. In plant life male and female seed may grow from one plant or from separate plants, then are fertilized or pollenated in diverse ways to produce new seed of its kind. In humans male and female seed are joined in the female body to produce an embryo that is neither male nor female until the egg is fertilized by an X (female) or Y (male) chromosome from the male. IN THE BEGINNING GOD From the beginning God demonstrates that His ways are higher than man's ways, saying, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." I have learned recently how profound is this one short sentence, because nothing can exist in time and space without the three elements of this verse. Anyone who has studied the science of physics will recognize that all things physical have this beginning. Everything we can see, hear, smell, touch and taste is composed of the elements of time (in the beginning), space (the heaven) and matter (the earth). It's the first law of physics. I simply never put two and two together and came out with Genesis 1:1! Or maybe a better way to say it is, I never appreciated the full truth of Gen 1:1. Such knowledge made me step back in wonder at the simplicity with which Almighty God established His sovereign authority. It's an awesome thing to contemplate. Then at the opposite end of the spectrum, to consider that a mere handful of dust had the audacity to publish a book entitled The Origin of Species. Man has always been at enmity with God, from the time he ate of that one tree. "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." (1Jn 2:15-16). THE ALPHA AND OMEGA OF ALL THINGS When God had finished His work of creation, He saw that everything He had made was very good. On the seventh day God rested; He blessed and sanctified the day because He was satisfied in His creation and rested (took pleasure) in it. (31)And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (1)Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. (2)And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. (3)And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. (Gen 1:31-2:3) Saying that everything was very good in the fulness of time does not mean that everything created good was always good, for we know that sin entered in. But God knows the end from the beginning, so declaring it to be good can mean nothing less than full redemption, that it shall be made right and good by the Lord Jesus Christ. In Revelation we read, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Rev 13:8). Christ was declared slain for sin from the beginning, that the penalty of death might be satisfied through faith from the beginning. In the eyes of the Father, Jesus has always been the source of restoration of all things to original perfection. It's the only way all God's works are called very good, for God cannot deny Himself. By this we are assured of redemption in Christ and ultimate rest in God with Christ, which is confirmed by Paul (1Co 15:22-24) and again in Hebrews: Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, "And God did rest the seventh day from all his works." [Heb 4:1-4 (Gen 2:2)] This Hebrews passage says it all: a promise being left of entering His rest was made and finished from the foundation of the world; God spoke the beginning and the ending into existence and took His rest in the seventh day. He accepted the blood of His Son slain on the Cross as redemption for all the sin of man. Accordingly, all the days of Chapter 1, saying it was so and it was good represent God's eternal blessings upon the earth and every species of created life. In Gen. 2:1-3, He declares His satisfaction and takes His eternal rest. So Chap. 1 is a complete look at God's finished works in Christ, but not necessarily in proper time sequence. Then in Gen. 2:4 God begins to reveal His works in time sequence, the living and dying of plants and creatures that populate the heavens and the earth; to wit, the generations of the living in the order they were created, centered around man, the crown jewel of creation: (4)These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 5)And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. 6)But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. 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. 8)And the LORD God planted a garden [ sowed seed ] 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. [brackets added] (Gen 2:4-9) The context of verse 4 above is a stumbling block for many, saying that generations refers back to the six days of creation. However, the grammatical form of the Hebrew for "These are the generations" is used elsewhere in the OT twelve times; and in every case it is a heading for what follows. So we know that generations applies to what follows, which is the time sequence of things that live and die. In other words, generations applies to the LORD which gives life in the seed that regenerates after its kind through men of faith until the Seed of promise comes to give eternal life. Besides, to force-fit this upon Genesis 1 presents a contradiction about the day of Man's creation, day six versus day three! That should be a concern for anyone, even Covenant advocates, for God cannot deny Himself. In truth, the answer is within the context of the passage if one interprets it using an accurate Bible translation. Not all translations interpret the original manuscripts accurately; for instance, the NASB version reads: (4)This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven. 5)Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the LORD God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. (Gen 2:4-5 NASB) As you can see, a "period" separates verse 4 from verse 5 in NASB. Also, NASB has chosen to use "account" rather than "generations" for some mystifying reason. So the NASB translators have decided these were separate thoughts and not connected; but they also have violated the sense of the verse by using "account," because the meaning of the Hebrew word (H8435) is: descent, that is, family; (figuratively) history: - birth, generations. In view of this, the use of "account" is simply biased exegesis. And verse 5 tells us that no seed had yet been planted when Man was formed. Most of us cannot look at a seed and know what it will look like fully grown, except through experience with growing, for it is the LORD God that established the body of each seed according to His own good pleasure and power. And He made the activating agent for life in a plant seed to be water, and water symbolizes the word of God, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." (Joh 6:63). In other words, there was not a living plant on earth until the LORD spoke to the earth (see Gen 2:6) to bring up that mist. Therefore, we look to Chapter 2 for the genealogy (history) of living things in the heavens and the earth. At the same time, whatever conclusions that are drawn cannot conflict with what was revealed in Chapter 1, for we cannot change the word of God. Accordingly, we consider the generations of Gen. 2 as a timeline to be overlaid upon verses 1:11-25, understanding that "day" in verse 2:4 is not a 24 hour day. It's God's "day" or time period of creation, and He created Man male and female after His own image, according to His own good purpose. The principle that connects Genesis with the rest of scripture is stated, one of many such verses, in Isaiah, "Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them." (Isa 42:9). And since many scriptures point to God's works being done from the foundation of the world, the works of creation in Chapter One are in a pattern of God's completed works. There's no doubt in my mind that the creation of man in the image of God is a multifaceted revelation about God's Plan of Redemption. We know that making Woman from Man's rib is in a figure of the marriage union. However, there's much more to it than the joining of man and woman for regeneration. It's about Jesus and eternal life! CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF GOD Man's creation was unique: he is the only living creature that was not created according to its kind. Every other living species was created male and female with seed according to its kind. Adam, however, was created without a mate and thereby was dependent upon the grace of God. Being in the likeness of God separates man from all other life upon the earth. Being created in God's image is a blessing that confounds our understanding. If you ask ten Christians to explain what it means, I suspect you would have ten different answers. Nevertheless, God created Man male and female. Man was created in the image of God (Elohim, plural Hebrew Name), saying, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: ...and let them have dominion ...So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." (Gen 1:26,27). Man's beginning was plural yet singular. It was never to be repeated again until the coming of Christ. Jesus came, born of a virgin in the power of God, fully man and fully God united in one body. Indeed, the first Adam was also taken out of a virgin earth, male and female in one body, the woman yet being by promise. We know the creation of man is in the image of God, and better men than I have wrestled with this concept, attempting to put it into plain and simple terms that can be easily grasped. The God concept is quite understandable, that God is One in essence three in person, or Father Son and Holy Spirit; yet translating this to Man in the image of God is a mind boggling challenge. Some have compared it to time: past, present and future. Others say it's like a man that is father, son and husband. Still others say it compares to a man as body, soul and spirit. But none of these are exactly self evident. In my view, the Bible itself defines the image if we let it. The most comprehensive description, it seems, is in Genesis 1:27, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." He's singular yet plural! but even this speaks of only two persons! So where do we go from here? Back to the Bible! IMAGE OF GOD: GENESIS ONE We see in Genesis 1 that the ground is the substance from which living species were created, for God brought forth grass and herbs and trees and living creatures yielding seed according to their kind, meaning that each species had the capability to regenerate itself. Again, man was not initially created after his kind; by verse 1:26 he was created one body in the image of God. Then verse 1:27 reveals the promise of regeneration by male and female. So man was created with a dual nature, so to speak. And was this not the nature of Christ? fully God and fully man in one body? plural persons/one body? (26) And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (27) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (28) And God blessed them, and God said unto them Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. There are a number of translation difficulties in these verses. The first is the seemingly inconse- quential connecting word "and" that begins verse 1:26. Literal translations of the Bible and KJV begin the verse with "and," while NASB and others use "then." Not a big deal, right? Wrong. The word "then" means an immediate following after while the word "and" joins ideas but does not necessarily determine sequence. Here's the deal: if Gen. 1 is a series of events that follow one after the other, "then" is appropriate; but if it is a mixture of sequential and non-sequential events, "and" is the appropriate choice. First off, let's establish that verse 1:26 is NOT sequential; it's a conversation within the Godhead and therefore could not possibly have occurred after all other species were created. The Bible tells us that all the decisions of the Godhead had been made from the foundation of the world. Also, the generations of living things in Gen. 2 reveal that man definitely was not created last, making the word "then" a doubly poor choice. Verse 1:28 presents several difficulties, one being the word "replenish." The definition is: to fill something that had previously been emptied. Most translators have seen fit to use "fill" rather than "replenish." While it's true the Hebrew may be translated both ways, let me point out that the Jewish translation JPS and the 1833 Webster bibles also use replenish. [ Author's Note: Perhaps a note is required here for those whose Bibles differ with the wording of the King James Version (KJV) used here. I make it a point to compare KJV wording with that of the NKJV in order that I can be aware of the least little translation discrepancy. Generally the NKJV refrains from changing words except to eliminate the Old English. But in this case they have chosen to use fill rather than replenish.. So my concern is that those who pooh pooh the value of the KJV Bible will have the excuse that I am hopelessly biased in these interpretations. And people are free to make such judgments, but let me say this in my own defense. As a literalist I want to be sure that I'm reading words that accurately translate the original Hebrew and Greek meanings, for they contain the infallible word of God. One thing I will say about the 1611 KJV translators, they had no axe to grind except to accurately trans- late the original manuscripts into the English of their day. For them the old English was natural and understandable. Today old English is awkward and difficult to read aloud. Later translators wanted to make the Bible read in the vernacular that people speak, and I don't argue with that objective as long as it doesn't change the meaning of words. But the temptation to insert words that are "better suited" to an assumed New Testament doctrine has been irresistible, judging by the latest versions. It's been my experience that the KJV more accurately translates the original manuscripts, but not so with the NKJV, unfortunately. Not only that, but the KJV cross references, at least in some editions, seem much more complete and accurate than other versions. But even expositors that translate by the KJV seem blind to many of these cross references, judging by their notes. Of course, if one does not believe the Bible is the word of God, then the literal translation of manuscripts makes no difference... in which case why worry? be happy! follow after your favorite translator! ] I believe the evidence for replenish is more than sufficient. I know most translators are not literalists, and it appears to me that they are predisposed to think that verses 26-28 must apply to the events of Gen. 2 and therefore are biased against using replenish. Before we get to that, however, let's deal with the repetition of dominion in verse 1:28 versus 1:26. I hope it is not tedious to point out these little nuances, but the majority of commentaries get so wrapped up in lengthy allegories that these distinctions simply get ignored. But I find this repetition stuff enlightening and relevant to sound interpretation! (26)And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (28)And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. The dominion statements of these verses are almost identical. First off, God has no need to repeat Himself; when He speaks a word, it does not return to Him void. Once spoken is enough. I've learned to pay close attention when a command appears to be repeated, for it's usually a tipoff to look elsewhere for the meaning. Secondly, there was no need in 1:26 to include anything about filling or replenishing the earth because dominion was "given to them" to rule over everything that God created. To say "be fruitful and multiply" is redundant, for that is assumed by dominion over multiplying kinds. It's redundant for Adam, but uniquely appropriate for Noah, for God destroyed the first filling in the great flood. The earth had to be replenished of man and beast alike: (1) And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. 2)And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. (Gen 9:1-2) Comparing verse 1:28 with 9:1-2, there are several points to be made. There's an exact match of the replenish phrase, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." As for dominion, it's effectively the same: the fish[es] of the sea, the fowl of the air, and over every living thing [upon all] that moveth upon the earth. Then there is the "subdue" reference of 1:28. When Noah replenished the earth with the creatures he preserved in the ark, they were made to fear man (animals in fear are in panic mode and a threat to man). At the same time, living creatures were to be a food source for Noah, so he had need to subdue them, whereas Adam did not. Nowhere in the generations account of Chapter 2 was Adam commanded to subdue the beasts which God presented to him for names; they were not a food source for him, only the trees of the garden were. Yet the most compelling evidence supporting the Noah connection is the generations of Adam given in Gen. 5, which extends only as far as Noah and his three sons. This explains the reason for repetition of dominions in Genesis 1: the first was spoken for Adam's generations and the second for Noah's, in order that the Seed of promise should have a line of inheritance extending to Abraham. Genesis 2 reveals unequivocally that Adam's food was limited to fruit of the garden; the trees were the only source of food for Adam and his wife. Herbs and living creatures were never mentioned for food until the judgment against Adam. Living creatures were brought to Adam for names, and by the definition of "brought" we can conclude they were brought in from outside the garden and returned there afterwards, since there was no food for them within the garden. The beasts only became a factor for Adam after he was removed from the garden and no longer had access to the fruit trees. Even at that, he was not given the beasts for food. There is more evidence yet for the Noah interpretation, from Gen. 1:22, for in God's blessing of sea creatures He commanded they should "fill" the waters; and because sea creatures were not affected by the flood of Noah's time the waters did not need to be "replenished" like the land; they only needed one filling. And verse 1:27 follows logically from 1:26; without question both are compatible with what is reported in Gen. 2! But verse 1:28 is a definite break from previous verses. And the commands of 29 and 30 follow logically and are perfectly compatible with verse 28, for God thereby provided food sources for Noah and the beasts until the coming of the promised Seed. (28)And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (29)And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. (30)And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. (Gen 1:28-30) Most noteworthy here is that when God creates creatures He also provides food for them, and the source of this food is the key to proper interpretation of these verses. Again, close attention to grammar is critical. You will note that the trees of these verses were upon the face of all the earth, that is, they were NOT within the confines of the garden, they were spread across the face of the earth. Therefore, verses 28-30 represent a different food source for a different generation, for in the flood God would destroy Adam's generations but preserve the line of faith for Noah's generations. IMAGE OF GOD: GENESIS TWO Genesis 2 reveals that the generations of creation began when the LORD God caused a mist to water the face of the earth. Before the mist there was only God, no rain, no plants, no creatures, no garden and no man to tend it. As John declared, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word called up the mist and formed Man from the ground:: These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 5)And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. 6)But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. 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. 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. (Gen 2:4-9) First we note that man was not created in the sixth day, for there was nothing but a barren landscape and a mist when God created man. It reminds me of the lunar landscape that was viewed by the first man on the moon. So man became the first living creature on the face of the earth. He was the first son of God and he was formed from the dust of the ground of a barren earth in a figure of the virgin birth of Jesus. And the LORD God planted a garden. Does this mean that God planted seed to create the garden? Yes, as a matter of fact, for the dictionary definition of plant is to sow seed. And why not? The only way around this is to flat out deny literal interpretation. Note that it does NOT say, as in Gen. 1 verses, that the LORD spoke the garden into existence, like Let there be a garden and it was so. Yet I think this is the way most people understand it. I confess that I did at one time. However, the words say that the LORD God planted. Accepting the words as written, the first work that Man observed was the LORD sowing seed for His garden. Then he watched the miracle of seed sprouting up to life out of the ground. Now, we know it takes water and warmth to germinate seeds and that they don't grow overnight, so what did Man eat while waiting for the garden to grow? This stumped me at first, but then I was reminded that God fed millions of Jews for forty years in the wilderness with overnight settlings of dew that became manna. By reverse extrapolation of God's singular ways and patterns, we may presuppose that the LORD God provided manna from heaven while the garden was sprouting up. Since the LORD created man, it was a small thing for Him to provide food as well. Jesus called Himself the Bread from heaven, the source of all life! He was there in the beginning to give life on earth by the word of His mouth. Created seed was the source of regeneration. In other words, until that first seed that the LORD God created falls into the ground and dies, there was no plant nor herb of the field, for the LORD had not caused water to come up from the earth. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. (Isa 55:9-11) Jesus said that no man has seen the Father (Joh 6:46), which surely must include Adam. So if no man has seen the Father, we can safely conclude that the Father was not the LORD God of the garden account. Also, Jesus said no man comes to the Father except by Him, meaning that Adam had to be made a son of God by the Son. By this we know that pre-incarnate Jesus Christ was Adam's Creator, exactly as the opening verses of John's Gospel stipulate, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." (Joh 1:1-3). Returning now to Adam's life in the garden, there was only one law that he and his wife had to obey to have eternal life in a perfect environment! Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. The LORD God commanded the man, saying, From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die. (Gen 2:15-17) Both the tree of forbidden fruit and the tree of life were unique among the trees, for they were separately identified and located in the midst of the garden, as revealed a few verses before this, "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." (Gen 2:9). These two trees were just there with no apparent origin but the Word, and their fruit was spiritual food.. Several points here. Being a literalist, it seems to me that in the day that you eat from it implies that the LORD expected Adam to eat of that tree and die. And the fact that the tree of life was in the garden supports this; otherwise there would be no need of it, since all of Adam's needs were provided by the food trees. In other words, Adam and his wife could have stayed forever in the garden by simple obedience, even could have eaten freely of the tree of life. So the only purpose of the tree of life appears to be eternal life. However, we know also that all life comes by Jesus Christ, which means the tree therefore is eternal life in Christ. Redemption from sin and death was in the Plan of God from the beginning! Beyond a shadow of a doubt the LORD God knew that Adam would eat of that tree and be redeemed because it is written that Jesus Christ is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Rev 13:8). And it is written also, "the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." (Joh 6:63). This also is an eternal truth and I shall use all Jesus' words accordingly herein. The tree of knowledge was there for man's test of obedience, i.e., for a temptation of his free will. It makes sense that the garden should include the sources of death and life both. To obey the LORD's command was to enjoy fellowship with Him forever, to disobey meant spiritual death and separation from God. Again, man could have spent eternity in the garden by obedi- ence. And because of sin Christ shall come again to restore the garden like it was at creation: Not for your sakes do I this, saith the LORD God, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel. Thus saith the LORD God; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. And they shall say, "This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited." (Eze 36:32-35) Eternal life with Christ is precisely what Jesus told His disciples to pray for, "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." (Mat 6:10). Knowing that no man has seen the Father except the Son, it's logical to conclude that the LORD (Jehovah) Jesus Christ created Man and created all things. (18)It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for 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. (20)....but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. (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. (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. (Gen 2:18-23) Verse 24's therefore doesn't seem to follow from verse 23. It is, in fact, the conclusion to the entire creation passage that began in verse 4, These are the generations... (Gen 2:4). So we see that generations are involved, and therefore that man must separate and cleave as part of God's divine Plan for passing their kind through future generations. This is the master pattern for regeneration of man in God's image. Man was created by Christ and woman was taken out of man, also by Him, so all things are of God who is faithful to fulfill all His promises, praise His holy name. With the bone and flesh of the woman also came the line of promise that leads to the Seed of Promise. PATTERNS OF THE PLAN OF REDEMPTION PATTERN: One in marriage: Surely Adam had to ponder over God's promise of a wife. Adam's immediate response to the woman was that she was taken out of him, which demon- strates prior knowledge. Surely the LORD must have revealed it to him. Looking for other occurrences of deep sleep, I found that the land promise was confirmed to Abraham in a deep sleep (see Gen 15:12). Now knowing God's faithfulness to be consistent in His ways, we can be fairly certain that the deep sleep of Adam included a vision from the LORD. In both cases the Seed of promise was placed in the wife, the Woman first then Sarah. In any case, Adam had prior knowledge that his wife would come out of his body. When the Pharisees tried to entrap Jesus with a question about divorce, Jesus shamed them into silence with these Genesis verses. They were silenced because these words were the words of Moses, their most revered prophet: And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, [Gen 1] And said, "For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?" Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. [Gen 2] They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. [brackets added] (Mat 19:4-8) Herein Jesus confirmed the literal truth of both Genesis 1 and 2, and confirmed the way that two are made one flesh in the image of God. He thus established that man and woman should be joined together in holy matrimony in the fear of the LORD to create one new flesh in the image of God. I would hope most Christians believe in the inherited sin nature, but I suspect there are few that truly believe woman was originally taken out of Man in the power of God; more than likely they treat the creation scriptures like a distant allegory or even as a fable. Yet the Lord's relationship to believers is in the pattern that woman was taken out of Man by the LORD God, the living Word. Paul certainly understood these truths literally, he often cited the Genesis account of creation in his epistles. The marital relationship is one of the most powerful images in all of scripture, going way beyond marriage between man and woman. Those who would change the nature of the marriage relationship should realize that they essentially are spitting in the face of God, even in unlawful divorce. God created man in his own image to establish a holy relationship between Himself and man. We are members of Christ's body in one Spirit in the same manner as two spirits were created in one flesh and were made man and wife: Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power. Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. (1Co 6:14-17) PATTERN: One in Christ: The pattern is this: as a man leaves his father and mother to be joined to his wife in one flesh, so shall he do spiritually in Christ. We are to be separated from family and be joined to Christ in one Spirit, by the same power of God that separated the woman from Adam. Christ declared this in His prayer for all believers, "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." (Joh 17:21). And Paul confirmed it, "Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God." (Rom 7:4). Yet seldom do we hear that eternal redemption comes by Christ being raised from the dead. It's usually the Cross that is preached for eternal life, but in reality it's both. Thus the believer is joined to Father and Son, a triune relationship in the power of the Spirit. According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. (Eph 1:4). Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: (Eph 4:13). He saved us to eternal life in His image, as Paul said, For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. (Rom 8:29). The deep sleep of Adam is a figure of Christ's death, and taking a rib from his body to make a help meet in his own image is a figure of Christ's broken body raised up in power to a glorious body in His self same image. And the raising of Christ's body is a pattern for them that die in Christ, that He might also raise them up to have a glorious body in a self same image on the day of resurrection! Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature, (Col 1:15). And Paul made reference to Christ as the Husband in 2Corinthians, and continued to apply the image of God pattern to the man's and woman's role in the Church itself in his pastoral letters to Timothy and Titus, by which he meant the image of God in creating man as male and female, the man first and woman out of man. It's a double birth process, as in, one must be born again to see the kingdom of God. For truly, this image is not restricted to man joining woman in holy matrimony: Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. (2Co 11:1-3) PATTERN: The Chosen People: The LORD's relationship to his people also came from the pattern of creation of Man in His image and Woman in Man's image, bone of bones and flesh of flesh. It was followed in passing the promise through the generations of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The key to the pattern is the intervention by the Spirit of God. Adam was unable to procreate because he had no wife and it took the intervention of God to create him a wife. This then was the effective essence of creating the tribes of Israel. It began with a promise to Abram to become a great nation, a people for the LORD's name. God intervened with Abram's 90 year old wife to produce the promised son Isaac. And both Isaac and Jacob had barren wives where the LORD also intervened. But it's Jacob's seed that produced the 12 tribes of Israel and is our chief concern here. Isaac blessed Jacob and commanded him to take a wife from the family of his mother's brother Laban so he could have a wife of his own flesh and bone. "Inbreeding" was not a problem in those days, although it is discouraged in our day. And as the LORD would have it, when Laban recognized Jacob he said, "Surely thou art my bone and my flesh." (Gen 29:14). So Isaac and Laban were following the patterns of the LORD given in the garden account. The pattern set by the LORD in creating Adam and was used again in creating a people for Himself, the twelve tribes of Jacob. And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him. And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land. (Gen 35:9-12) PATTERN: Second Sons of Promise: Second born sons became the evident pattern of sons of promise in the generations of Adam, Abraham and Isaac, and points to the resurrection of Christ and begetting sons by the Spirit of promise. At the first, there was Adam's fall from grace, and the failure also of firstborn Cain to please the LORD, so favor was granted to Abel, the second son of Adam. But Satan knew of God's plan and drove Cain to slay him. But the LORD took Satan's scheme and turned it into good for His glory, giving Eve a replacement for her son of promise, called Seth: And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD. (Gen 4:25-26) The pattern of the immutable LORD is this: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD. This was part of the pattern pointing to the Seed of Promise! When Satan tried to kill off the Promised Seed by scheming to get Him crucified, God then raised Him up again and sent His Spirit to make new sons of promise, And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Act 2:21). Thus, the replacement of Abel with Seth and his generations in Enos caused men to call upon the name of the LORD, pointing to the resurrected Christ and making sons by His name. And this extends to a second (glorified) body for the sons of promise: (42)So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: (43)It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: (44)It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. (45)And so it is written, "The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit." .....(49)And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. (1Co 15:42-45, 49) What could be better than being born a second time? So the second born sons were a pattern of being born again, because they were the sons of promise that were born by the power of the Spirit. Amen. PATTERN: Body of Christ: The pattern was repeated in the virgin birth of Jesus. It took the intervention of the Spirit of God in great power to bring the Seed of promise into the world. In a further likeness, as the first son of God was formed in the image of God from the dust of a virgin earth, so the Son of God was born in the image of the Highest from a virgin woman: And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And,behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. (Luk 1:30-35) The woman was not formed from the dust of the ground but from her husband's body; again, it was by the intervention of the LORD God. Thus, it became the pattern for the Church formed to be the body of Christ. For example, Paul cites the unique roles of man and woman in the Church from Genesis, "Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels. Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God." (1Co 11:9-12). And again, Paul uses the creation account to establish authority in the Church, "But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonour- eth his head." (1Co 11:3-4), which is God's established line of spiritual authority within the family and puts the man at the head under Christ. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to your- selves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. (Eph 5:18-32) God's creation of Adam male and female was a foreshadow of Christ and the Church, being bone of His bones through the Spirit of Christ. In this passage, Paul declares the Christian to be a member of Christ's body and the husband to be head of the wife, as Christ is Head/Husband of the Church and Savior of the body, by which Paul means that the Church shall be raised up and presented without spot or blemish in the day of resurrection. Paul calls it a mystery in Ephesians, but in 1Corinthians it was made clear by what the Lord Jesus gave to Paul that, as Adam's wife was taken from his body, so the Church was formed from the broken body of Christ. "And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me." (1Co 11:24). And in Colossians also, "And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence." (Col 1:18). Then in the book of Acts is revealed that the LORD through Paul would take out a people for His name from the Gentile nations, which Paul also confirms in several places including his pastoral letter to Titus. And furthermore, the pattern for this also was set by the LORD when He took the woman out of Man! (7)And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. .....(13)Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them. (14)And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, "After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, a all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things." (Act 15: 7-9, 13-17) For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, ...we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. (Tit 2:11-14) Man is distinctive among living creatures because he is created in God's image, he is formed by the LORD, and, as Woman was formed out of the bone of Man, so shall we be formed a new body of the Lord Jesus, a people for His name, even the Church, and Christ Jesus shall be the Head and the Cornerstone. Indeed, were it not for this very unique nature, there would be nothing to set mankind apart from any other living creature with seed, for we procreate in the same manner. Next we shall evaluate living creatures and their relationships with Man. |
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ETERNAL REST IN THE NAME OF THE LORD (1)And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. (8)And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. (Gen 4:1-12) The second born son Abel found favor in the eyes of the LORD, for he was a shepherd and brought his firstlings to the LORD, while Cain brought the fruit of the ground that did not please the LORD. The blood of the favored son Abel cried out to the LORD from the ground and Cain was cursed from the earth, thereby having his livelihood cut off. He was made a vagabond, completely dependent upon others to live, cursed with life-long suffering for shedding righteous blood. Cain lied to the LORD, felt no shame in what he had done, thus displayed the spirit of the serpent in his response. It is such a contrast to the answers of his parents, who readily confes- sed their deeds to the LORD. Cain symbolizes the utter despair of evil ways, and from his generations came the seed of unbelief, the seed of the serpent. And the judgment of Cain was likewise related to the curse upon the ground for Adam's sake. His generations would be completely destroyed in the great flood. Having then no righteous first or second born sons, Adam knew his wife again: And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: "For God," said she, "hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD. (Gen 4:25-26) Note carefully the language used in the birthing of Seth, appointed me another seed instead of Abel, that he was recognized as coming by the intervention of God to replace her favored son Abel. In other words, Seth was to be her appointed son, he begat Enos, and men thereafter began to call upon the name of the LORD in faith. This is the complete pattern of God's Plan of Redemption: the one second son was slain, the earth swallowed up his righteous blood that cried out to the LORD God; so the LORD appointed a replacement for the favored son Abel, and they called his name Seth. And Seth begat Enos: then men began to call upon the name of the LORD. This incorporates the pattern of death of the anointed One [ first son Cain (Israel) slew favored son Abel (Jesus, Son of David) ] that God raised Him up again [ favored son Seth (Jesus, Lord and Christ) ] to send the Promise of eternal life by faith [ through favored son's seed Enos (Gospel of Christ, baptism of the Holy Spirit) ], as declared by Peter at Pentecost: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. ...This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. ...For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. (Act 2:21, 32, 39) Beginning in Chapter 5 we see the generations of Adam from Seth to Noah and the destruction of all living creatures except Noah's eight and his chosen beasts and fowl. In a pattern of Israel in the last days, Noah was saved "through" the LORD's judgment. Blessed be the name of Jesus, Lord and Christ! Amen. |
LIVING CREATURES The Man was first called Adam when the LORD formed living creatures. The LORD brought them to Adam to see what he would call them, in effect giving Adam dominion over all beasts and fowl. (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. 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. (Gen 2:18-19) The LORD said it was not good that man should be alone. But then He brings the beasts and fowl to Adam before forming the woman! Why? Perhaps it had to do with the Noah connection of Genesis 1, for God preserved with Noah the seed of all the living creatures that were in Adam's domain. It's a fair assumption that living creatures were not part of the garden environment, for they were BROUGHT to Adam for names. They were no doubt created and brought from outside the garden and afterward returned there to eat off the land. One reason is that green herbs were given the living creatures for food and we know that herbs were not part of the garden and another is that Adam was not instructed about using them as a source of food. But they were in Adam's domain, part of his property realm, if you will. The LORD God formed them out of the ground, the same substance from which He formed Man. So the living creatures had ties to Adam in substance as well as in name. In fact, the offering of creatures was the means for worship and pleasing God after Man was removed from the garden. Through sacrifice they were the source of life for the soul. In fact, the Hebrew word for life in Gen 1:30 may also be interpreted as living soul. God put the breath of life into the souls of beast and fowl alike, and He directs their ways as He chooses; else how could He rain down fowl from the sky meat to feed Israel in the wilderness, or direct the raven to feed Elijah by the brook? Furthermore, there are other ties revealed in the story of the flood: (5)GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. ......(17)And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. (Gen 6:5-9, 17) And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. (Gen 9:1-4) Now we have a better picture of the connection between Man and living creatures. All the descendants of Adam and the living creatures he named were destroyed in the flood, except for Noah's family and the creatures he saved in the ark. Now with Noah and his generations these are the commonalities with the creatures: 1)both were created from the ground; 2)both were given the breath of life; 3)clean creatures became a means of atonement through sacrifice; finally, 4)the flesh of creatures was made meat for Man. Amazingly, living creatures were made nourishment for the flesh and atonement for the soul after the flood. Furthermore, the curse on the ground was to be lifted through Noah; this was revealed by the Holy Spirit to Noah's father at his birth: And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son: And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed. (Gen 5:28-29) Then one week before the flood is the first mention of clean and unclean creatures. Like the case with Adam and his foreknowledge of the woman's creation, here again we are not told how Noah knew to separate clean from unclean beasts, but we accept that the LORD must have informed him: And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. (Gen 7:1-3) And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. (Gen 8:20-21) After the flood Noah built an altar and offered burnt offerings to the LORD; it was a free will offering to worship the LORD. The burnt offering was of clean beasts and clean fowl having fat removed and burnt with it, which caused a sweet aroma to rise up toward heaven, and it was pleasing to the LORD (see Lev 1). It touched the heart of the LORD, and He promised never to smite every living thing again as He did in the flood. In Leviticus 11 the LORD defines clean and unclean beasts; in Leviticus 20 He draws parallels between unclean beasts and peoples of other nations: Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the and, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out. And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them. But I have said unto you, 'Ye shall inherit their and, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey:' I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people. Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean. And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine. (Lev 20:22-26) The curse on the ground for Adam's sake was lifted for Noah's sake. Man and creatures were relieved of God's wholesale wrath, and all moving things were provided to man for meat. Note that Noah was forbidden from eating meat with blood in it. The clean creatures' blood later would be accepted (under the Law) on the altar for atonement of the soul. Also under the Law the people of Israel would be separated from other nations to be a holy people unto the LORD. Like the distinction between clean and unclean creatures, there was this separation of peoples between holy Jews and unclean Gentiles. Before leaving the subject of living creatures, there is one more point regarding clean and unclean. Compare now the time after the flood with the time after the resurrection of Christ, in particular the sheet vision of Peter: And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually; And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa. On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven. Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in mind as to what the vision which he had seen might be, behold, the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions for Simon's house, appeared at the gate; and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there. While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them. (Act 10:7-20) And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him. But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man. And as he talked with him, he went in, and found many that were come together. And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. (Act 10:25-28) (34)Opening his mouth, Peter said: I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him. ....(44)While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered, Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he? (Act 10:34-35, 44-47) I've always wondered how Peter came to the conclusion that the creatures in the sheet repre- sented unclean Gentiles. But because the death and resurrection of Christ freed him from the Law, Peter was told not to call them common and to go with the three men. Peter knew im-mediately what the vision meant and went and preached the gospel to the Gentile dogs. Alas, they spoke in tongues and amazed the Jews that were with Peter. Surely it was this experience that Peter referred to in the Acts 15 passage above. It is written in another place that Jesus called Himself the bread of life: I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. ....63)It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. (Joh 6:50-56, 63) What does it mean to eat His flesh and drink His blood? These words are so obviously metaphorical that we shouldn’t stumble at all. Many of Christ's followers left Him after this; they were accustomed to hearing Him speak in terms of prophecy, but He was speaking figuratively here to illustrate a point. These were of the same 5,000 people who the day before had been fed on the mountain, Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. (Joh 6:26). Certainly, saying about His words that they are spirit and they are life, and also saying that the flesh profiteth nothing, should have been sufficient to make it clear that He did not intend that His flesh should be literally eaten. Without doubt Jesus intended them to be understood in the way of an ordinance. Jesus was referring to Himself as the Passover Lamb (which must be eaten), and to the Last Supper whereby He offered His body and blood to the disciples in the form of broken bread and a cup of wine. Explaining the ordinance of the Lord's Supper, Paul said, For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. (1Co 11:26-27). After the flood, Man could eat the meat of living creatures but not the blood; after the Law was given, the meat of clean creatures sacrificed was food for the priests and their blood was atonement for the soul; after Christ the Paschal Lamb shed His blood, the meat and blood of all creatures was made clean for food. By these truths are revealed the full import of Man's relationship to living creatures. The close ties between man and living creatures was essential to the survival of man, because they were a source of food for the flesh and the clean ones were atonement for the soul. Living creatures pointed to Christ as the Lamb and the Bread of life! FALL OF MAN Most everyone knows the basics, how the serpent beguiled the woman to eat from the forbidden tree, and how she and the man tasted disobedience and fell from grace. In many commentaries they stumble over Where art thou? because it seems so out of character with the all-knowing nature of God. They usually conclude that the God of creation had to know where Adam was and launch off into extended allegory to explain how God could ask such a paradoxical question! But this has only served to cloud the real meaning. The LORD God did not feign ignorance of Adam's whereabouts, else the LORD would be like a man. There is no paradox; there is a better explanation. We'll need to go back before the Fall and walk through it. Of course, the Seed of the woman refers to Jesus Christ, but that's not the issue in question. We need to probe the fall itself by literal interpretation. (1)Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (2)And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of 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 hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. (Gen 3:1-3) (4)And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: (5)For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. (6)And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. (7)And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. (Gen 3:4-7) You will note that the woman is not called Eve until after the fall. And neither is the husband called Adam during the act of disobedience. They are merely the woman and her husband, leaving it open for interpretation. Paul partially interprets this for us, "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." (1Ti 2:14). I submit that the Fall of Adam was according to God's Plan! We know that Jesus was fully aware of the Father's will, and humbled himself unto the death of the Cross. If Adam was not deceived, perhaps he ate the fruit for his wife's sake in the knowledge that they were created one flesh. If so, Adam rightly accounted himself guilty of his wife's sin of the flesh because he was keeper of the garden and responsible for its proper care. That's one possibility; we'll look at others as we go. As for the woman beguiled by the serpent, it seems clear that she gave in to the lust of the flesh rather than obeying the LORD. However, let's not sell short the power of the serpent to beguile. He was permitted in the garden by design. (11)Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 12)Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, "Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13)Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; ....15)Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. 16)By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17)Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee." (Eze 28:11-13, 15-17) The Man and the Woman were acting out of their own free will, but by the foreknowledge of God it was in accordance with His Plan of grace to redeem man from the bondage of sin. The Fall was in the mind of God from the beginning. The Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world, and Noah was preserved from judgment that the promise should be passed in his generations by faith to Abraham. PATTERN OF THE FALL There are parallels between the Fall of Man and the passion of Christ. To set the stage for this interpretation, let me cite these verses where Jesus breaks from His own family. This is an important factor in the pattern, for it shows how He would establish a new family of God (kingdom of heaven) via His death and resurrection: Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. (Mat 12:47-50) The way of the Fall and the way of the Cross follow the same pattern. In this scenario the Man represents Christ, the woman represents the people of Israel, and the serpent is Lucifer. As the first Adam brought sin and death into the world through transgression, so the Last Adam took sin and the power of death away through righteousness. Following is the common pattern for the Fall/Cross: On the Sunday before the Cross the people of Israel welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem with palm branches and Hosannas = [Here is the Man and his wife enjoying fellowship in the garden]. Now the leaders of Israel were filled with jealousy at such adoration and plotted to kill Jesus, threatening followers with expulsion from synagogues and spreading false accusations in the days before Passover = [Now the serpent was more sly and wily than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made]. And the leaders bribed Judas, a member of His chosen family of twelve, so he took 30 pieces of silver = [The serpent beguiled the wife of the Man, and she took the fruit]. Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss and the people of Israel turned against Him as they cried out, Crucify Him! = [And she did eat, and gave also to her husband]. Jesus did not resist the Father’s cup but was obedient to drink it = [Her husband did not resist but did eat in silence]. The pattern leads to death in both cases, for the penalty of sin is death. With the first Adam, his sin brought corruption upon his soul (his shame) and spiritual separation from God, followed by death and corruption of the body. With the Last Adam, His righteous soul was made an offering for sin with temporary spiritual separation from the Father, followed by immediate death, but His body saw no corruption because of righteousness. The travail of His righteous soul was a propitiation for sin; He made intercession for the trans- gressors and led captivity captive when He arose from the dead. Christ is called the Last Adam because His righteousness prevailed over sin and His resurrection brought victory over death; He was obedient unto death and countermanded the condemnation brought upon man by the disobedience of the first Adam. Just as the body of Christ did not see corruption, neither did the wife of Adam suffer condem- nation. Just as Christ bore the sin of all mankind upon His soul, so Adam was made to bear the full responsibility for the sin of his wife, for she was taken out of him. And just as Jesus forgave Israel from the cross, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do, so the woman was forgiven of the curse against sin. RETURN OF THE LAND OWNER LORD God called to Adam His garden keeper Where art thou? This question seems to cause so much confusion. The garden was Adam's place of residence, his leased quarters so to speak, and he could roam the garden at will as long as he didn't eat of the forbidden tree. My point is that the LORD is a respecter of free will and individual liberty; He does not force Himself upon anyone but calls to them first, e.g., Samuel! Samuel! Even if one thinks that the LORD knew where Adam was hiding, does that influence what follows? no, not unless one entangles himself in a web of allegory. So let's not fret over how the LORD called to Adam. Read it and believe it. As a literalist I believe it was a straight forward query. When the LORD God called to Adam, let's assume it was like any landowner dropping in to check on his property! (6)And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7)And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. (8)And they heard the voice 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 amongst the trees of the garden. 9)And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10)And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11)And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12)And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. (Gen 3:6-12) It wasn't Adam's nakedness that gave him away, it was his shame: but what is the connection between nakedness and shame? As soon as their eyes were opened they had a conscious awareness that something was wrong within. Perhaps it was a sense that an oppressive spirit had entered into them, maybe through the human conscience (spirit) oppressing the soul. This would be consistent with what Isaiah says about the burdened soul of Christ, for sin put His soul in travail: (5)But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6)All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7)He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8)He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9)And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. 10)Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11)He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. (Isa 53:5-11) Apparently the shame of nakedness is a built-in response to transgression through the working of the human conscience (spirit). Perhaps the shame of nakedness is a God given reflex to a soul in travail, one which is no longer at peace with the spirit, and that covering one's naked- ness is a form of relief for the associated fear and guilt. There is another connection with iniquity and the soul in scripture. When God took Israel out of Egypt, He instituted the Law and gave them a sacrifice system to deal with their fallen nature, specifically the blood of sacrifice. By the blood of unblemished creatures there was atonement for the soul, For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that maketh atonement by reason of the life. (Lev 17:11). Without blood the flesh dies, and so the blood of sacrifice was given for atonement of the soul in order that man could live on in the flesh. Adam's response to the LORD was a quick status report, that the woman gave him of the tree and he ate. Not quite, for he added a sly little preface, that the LORD might show mercy, for He had given her to be with him. Then the LORD gave the woman opportunity to confess and she did, identifying the serpent as the source of her temptation: (11)And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? (12)And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. (13)And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. (Gen 3:11-13) By mentioning both the woman and God, Adam was probing for some relief from his own culpability for disobedience. The woman of course blamed the serpent. Nobody accepts blame easily, I think, it's very human to want relief from a burdened soul. My understanding of the Fall is as follows: being deceived by the serpent, the woman yielded to the desires of the flesh and disobeyed; once the oppressive spirit of the serpent entered in, she then was compelled to offer the fruit to her husband; Adam joined with his wife, for whatever reason, and ate without comment. Paul says Adam was not deceived, Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. (1Ti 2:14). But if not deceived, then why he did not forbid his wife from eating and himself likewise? JUDGMENT AGAINST THE SERPENT AND TRAVAIL FOR THE WOMAN (14)And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15)And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 16)Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. (Gen 3:14-16) First off, we observe that the serpent was cursed but there was no curse in connection with the woman. The woman was burdened with sorrow in childbirth and her desire was directed to her husband who shall rule over her. We will discuss how this squares up with Paul's view, that the woman was deceived in the transgression but not the man. Nevertheless, the serpent is cursed immediately and ultimately by the LORD. He moves directly against the serpent without asking for his motive, for what is the point of asking the father of lies to speak? And this judgment sets the pattern for all judgments to come: the condemnation of his deception and the blessing in her Seed are in the judgment against the serpent. The pattern is that deliverance comes by judgment. Accordingly, the serpent's ultimate judgment was put under the heel of the woman's promised Seed; his power over sin and death would be crushed by Christ. Jesus took the sting of death away and sent the Comforter, the Spirit of life, And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. (Joh 16:8-11). The enmity is representative of Satan's continued efforts to block the passing of the seed of faith in the generations of Adam, Noah and Abraham, e.g., as with Abel's death, and when Pharoah commanded that all the Hebrew firstborns should be drowned in the Nile, and when Herod commanded the death of all Jewish children under the age of two. But the woman was not cursed, she was burdened with pain in childbearing. In fact, she was forgiven of her transgression before the judgment was made. No doubt about it, this is an absolute necessity by virtue of the LORD's favor in putting the Seed of Promise in her lineage before she was ever judged. Yes, she was the original sinner but by grace she was not held accountable for that transgression, as explained in the next section. Travail in childbearing was uniquely a woman's burden in all of creation, for no other living creature suffers so in birthing their offspring. Firstborn sons were a joy to the people of God, yet the coming of that joy was burdened with much pain and suffering. The symbol of birth pangs is incorporated in many prophecies concerning the nation of Israel, for the way of deliverance is as the way of the Cross. The promises to Abraham would not come to Israel except through much tribulation: And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. (Jer 30:4-7) And Jesus also used this symbolism to strengthen His disciples' resolve, that they should endure the immediate sorrow of separation from Him, for it shall be turned into everlasting joy when they shall see Him again: Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. (Joh 16:20-22) Concerning the pain of childbirth, some time ago it was discovered that putting women to sleep during delivery led to postpartum depression. Apparently, the absence of any memory of pain in delivery brought about immediate depression. We might conclude from this that the LORD's chastening of sorrow in childbirth was given to induce joy in the birth of a child, and joy in the birth of the Man child Christ. This pattern of delivery anticipates that He would labor first as the Suffering Servant and return in glory as King of kings. The other part of the woman's correction was that her desire should be to her husband who would rule over her. Because she was enticed by the serpent's appeals to her fleshly desires, and acted without consultation with her husband, she definitely stepped out of her role as help meet. She had sinned against her husband as well as disobeying the LORD God. Her sins are so obvious. Why did the Lord let her off so easily? Read on. JUDGMENT AGAINST THE MAN The LORD cursed the ground for Adam's sake, because he had heeded the voice of his wife and had eaten the forbidden fruit: (17)And unto Adam he said, "Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, 'Thou shalt not eat of it': cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt eat of it all the days of thy life; 18)Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19)In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." (Gen 3:17-19) Because of sin the whole of creation was corrupted and peace was taken from the earth. Adam was formed from the dust of the ground. In God's wisdom the ground was cursed for his sake and he was returned to the ground at death. But he was not directly cursed, he would live long before he died. Therefore, Adam and the woman were chastened to live with sorrow and labor in their generational roles, Adam as the provider of food (creatures and crops) and the woman as the bearer of seed. The judgment upon the man brought sorrow in working the earth and passed on the curse of sin to his generations. Paul has an interesting observation in regard to childbearing, and I include it below because it demonstrates the image of God in the marriage bond, that the power of God may prevail over other spiritual powers through either husband or wife. Also included is Paul's statement about Adam not being deceived: And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy. (1Co 7:13-14) And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the trans- gression. (1Ti 2:14) Notable in Adam's judgment is that the LORD God rebuked him first for heeding the voice of his wife and then for his disobedience. Actually, we are not privy to the voice of his wife, but we might presume that she repeated the serpent's words. In any case, Adam was held fully accountable for his wife's transgression, for not a word was directed to her about heeding the voice of the serpent nor eating of the fruit. She was chastened like a child of God but not cursed. The big mystery is why did Adam eat if he wasn't deceived? My theory is that he ate in the knowledge that he was joining his wife in disobedience. Perhaps it was because she was flesh of his flesh and he did not want to separate from her. Then again, maybe he considered that he was responsible for her trangression anyway, either because he was the keeper of the garden or because it was the husband's duty to protect his wife. And maybe the LORD had given him special instructions about which we are unaware. This last one seems to be the most feasible answer to me. It's a baffling thing, but so is the Cross to them that take pride in being "self made" people. In any case, the fact remains that Adam raised no objection to his wife's disobedience and disobeyed himself. But since they both disobeyed, why weren't they both punished equally? Good question! and the Bible has an answer! There is a passage in Numbers 30 which applies here; it deals with legal authority between husband and wife, also between father and unmarried daughter. We can apply it here under the stipulation that God's ways are unchanging and eternal: And Moses spake unto the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded. If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth. If a woman also vow a vow unto the LORD, and bind herself by a bond, being in her father's house in her youth; And her father hear her vow, and her bond wherewith she hath bound her soul, and her father shall hold his peace at her: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand. But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth; not any of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand: and the LORD shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her. (10)And if she vowed in her husband's house, or bound her soul by a bond with an oath; And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her, and disallowed her not: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she bound her soul shall stand. But if her husband hath utterly made them void on the day he heard them; then whatsoever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows, or concerning the bond of her soul, shall not stand: her husband hath made them void; and the LORD shall forgive her. Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void. But if her husband altogether hold his peace at her from day to day; then he establisheth all her vows, or all her bonds, which are upon her: he confirmeth them, because he held his peace at her in the day that he heard them. But if he shall any ways make them void after that he hath heard them; then he shall bear her iniquity. These are the statutes, which the LORD commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, between the father and his daughter, being yet in her youth in her father's house. (Num 30:1-5, 10-16) According to this Law, the opportunity for Adam to disallow the woman's iniquity was when she took and ate the fruit in his presence. By his silence he accepted accountability for whatever vow that she made; by this law, he had to disavow her vow that same day or he was legally bound by what she agreed to. Such being the case, the next day Adam was accountable for her sin by law; that same law states that the LORD shall forgive her iniquity. We may presume at least one day elapsed before the return of the LORD, for the LORD is heard walking in the cool of the day (the early morning hours), so one night most certainly had passed. Does this seem unfair? By God's law it was just. We know that Jesus fulfilled the Law in all respects. Therefore, Adam had to be fully accountable for the Fall. Otherwise, Jesus could not have countermanded the effects of the Fall as the Last Adam. In other words, for Jesus' death to lawfully pay the full penalty of sin, it was necessary that the transgression of the woman should be fully charged to Adam! This is the very foundation of the Plan of Redemption. Think of it this way: if it was not fair that Adam should take upon him the iniquity of the woman, then how is it fair that Christ should take the sins of the whole world upon His soul? Was it because all were righteous? no, not one! So lest we be too quick to begrudge the woman being cleansed of her transgression, remember that Christ died for us while we were yet sinners! That's GRACE! Remember also that the woman is the figure of Israel, and Jesus forgave them from the cross, saying, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." (Luk 23:34). Many yet accuse the Jews as Christ killers, not realizing that they themselves are poor and blind and naked and in need of forgiveness. ETERNAL LIFE IN CHRIST After the LORD's judgment come two verses which were replete with faith, hope and love: And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. (Gen 3:20-21) In calling her Eve, Adam took a giant leap of faith. No longer did Adam look upon her as Woman (taken out of Man) but as Eve, "the mother of all living." This shows that Adam recognized that because of her there was hope for his seed; it also testifies to his faith in the LORD God and his hope for eternal rest. Hearing Adam's confession of faith, the LORD was pleased to make atonement for Adam's transgression and covered their shame. Obviously, the LORD had killed living creatures, thus redeeming Adam's soul from spiritual death. By this the LORD set the pattern for salvation by substitute death. This was uniquely His prerogative since He is the Lamb "slain from the foundation of the world." Now this is another test for a literalist, like the interpretation of the woman being forgiven before her judgment, only being discerned by close attention to grammatical rules. In this case, it follows from an analysis of "Unto Adam also" (KJV). Of the twelve other Bible versions that I was able to compare, only the Geneva translation also interprets it this way. The key word is also, believe it or not. Parsing this sentence means that Adam was also being included with his wife, who already had been forgiven. In calling his wife Eve he was confes- sing his faith in the LORD and was accounted as righteous, as we learn from the calling of Abraham. Adam and Eve were forgiven by grace because of the Lamb that was slain. Furthermore, the words that Jesus spoke in His day were also eternal and therefore apply to the garden events, Jesus saith unto him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.' (Joh 14:6). To wit, by this truth we see that the Lord Jesus was the way of reconciliation to the Father for Adam and Eve through Adam's faith in the LORD! Nevertheless, the promise of bodily redemption in the likeness of the risen Christ would await the day of His ascension to the right hand of the Father, the day Jesus became the only begotten Son. [see Psa 2:7, Joh 1:18, 1Pet 1:3, Rev 1:5.] In the wisdom of God, the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world for the salvation of souls, and, when the Father saw the travail of His Servant's soul (see Isa 53:11), Jesus became the first begotten from the dead for the resurrection of saints. Please don't misconstrue what I am saying. The Cross of Christ was the central event of all creation, praise His holy name. Jesus is the name above every name in heaven and in earth. The point I want to make about the Cross is this: yes, His shed blood brought remission of sin forever and separated man from the bondage of law, the travail of His soul satisfied the Father's wrath against sin. But what is often overlooked is the associated power of His resurrection; Jesus said, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you." (Joh 16:7). The coming of the Holy Spirit was dependent upon Christ being raised up to the right hand of the Father as the begotten Son. From this position of power He sends the Holy Spirit to baptize believing souls in His name and seals them with the promise of resurrection life. When mention is made of Christ the begotten Son, it refers to the fact that He was begotten from the dead, the firstborn of many to follow. John opened his Gospel account and noted that Jesus was with the Father when he wrote His book: No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. (Joh 1:18) And when John penned the most well known verse of the Bible, John 3:16, he was using the term "begotten" in the same manner! A word as important as begotten is not used one way in chapter one and another way in chapter three. Jesus was the begotten Son when the Father sat Him at His right hand as the firstborn from the dead! Saying, "What think ye of Christ? whose son is he?" They say unto him, "The Son of David." He saith unto them, "How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 'The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?' If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?" (Mat 22:42-45) Christ answers this in Revelation, ...I am the root and the offspring of David,... (Rev 22:16). Be it known that there are no scriptures that associate "begotten" with Jesus' birth. Being the "risen Son" uniquely defines the term begotten, for it was by the power of God alone that Jesus was begotten from the dead, whereas His birth required the participation of a virgin woman. Yet my suspicion is that most people assume begotten Son refers to His birth; I know I once believed that. And again, when John received his vision on Patmos, he wrote and greeted the seven churches of Revelation thusly: John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (Rev 1:4-6) In other words, Christ sent the indwelling Holy Spirit that believers might live forever in Him and He in them. The indwelling Spirit redeems living souls in the flesh and in the day of resurrection is sent to raise their bodies to glory. Paul gives us the relationship of the cross and the resurrection in his first letter to the Corinthians: For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. (1Co 15:16-22) Paul says faith is in vain without the resurrection, for our hope is beyond this life in the flesh. Again, the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world to wash away sins for them that have faith. But the promise is for an inheritance of eternal life, which came after the Father saw Christ's travail of soul; thereby the Father was pleased to raise up His Son from the dead and send the Spirit of Life to all that believe: Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. (Joh 16:7) For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. (1Co 15:21-25) But we needn't call upon Paul's testimony to verify the need for resurrection. This distinction also is revealed in the last verses of the garden account: And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. (Gen 3:22-24) A careful rendering of these verses leads to the inescapable conclusion that atonement for the soul (remission of sins) is not the same as the Spirit of life from the tree. Remission of sin makes one righteous in the flesh, but the tree is the source of life everlasting by the Spirit of Christ. Although Christ was slain from the beginning, the Father withheld the Spirit of life until He burdened Christ's soul with the sins of the world. Christ glorified the Father and the Father Him in the resurrection. Now to those who might have understood this doctrine before, I must apologize for beating this subject to death. But there are many Christians who do not understand the full significance of the resurrection, so I felt the emphasis was necessary in order that I might reach the widest possible audience from my website. Back to the garden topic, although we have inherited our sin nature through Adam's fall, yet Christ's genealogy also is traced back through Mary's seed to Adam the son of God: "Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God." (Luk 3:38). Christ is the beginning and the end of all things. But how can this be? how can the seed of sin and the Seed of righteousness originate in the same person? It was only possible by creating Man in the image of God, male and female with an unblemish- ed spirit. Adam was the first son of God only as he was originally created, before woman was created. In other words, the generations of Christ are traced back to Adam, the Man created male and female. By this we see how the godly line and the ungodly line come from the same Man, one before the Fall and the other after. To this point in the garden account, we have seen the patterns established for the way of the Cross/the way of the Fall, the faith of Adam in-the-promised-Seed/naming-his-wife-Eve, the remission-of-sin/substitute-death, and the protection of eternal-life-in-Christ/ejection-from-the-garden, but we see no pattern pointing to the resurrection. And isn't this the point of the matter? The garden account reveals the creation and Fall of man, yet not without the Light of hope; this is what the resurrection of Christ was all about, the sealing of the Promise. The pattern for the risen Christ is given in Genesis Four. The book of Hebrews includes many assurances about promise and inheritance, for it was written to Jewish converts to Christianity. The Jerusalem converts were the most heavily persecuted of all the churches, directed by the leaders of Israel. They were under constant pressure to return to Judaism: Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. (Heb 4:1-4) Hebrews was written to reassure these Jewish converts that Christ had fulfilled every law and ordinance given them by Moses, that He was their great High Priest and eternal Mediator in heaven, and that He would come again with the covenant promise: And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. (Heb 9:15) But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. (Heb 10:12-17) Not to belabor this, but Hebrews is one of the most controversial books of the New Testament. Interpretations vary from one extreme to the other, but in my simple mind, it has an exclusively Jewish orientation, and when read from that perspective its major themes fit together nicely. It presents Christ as a greater Mediator than Moses, having a Priesthood superior to Aaron, providing a better covenant in His blood, and offering the perfect sacrifice that washes away sin forever and promises eternal rest. Yes, Christ did fulfill all the promises of the prophets, but He then left the earth to join with His father as One. So the Jew had to come to grips with the reality that Christ was a living Messiah among them, yet they did not receive the kingdom. But they that afterward believed on His name received the Spirit of Life, the seal of the promised kingdom. Likewise with Adam, who at the last believed in the Seed of Promise, and walked by faith for 930 years and begat sons and daughters. |