The Seed Come to Fruition

With that seed of doubt firmly planted in the woman's mind, the serpent than fertilizes and waters that seeds with partial truth. This develops a lie that ultimately brings Eve and all of mankind to destruction. The enemy simply tells Eve "You will not die. For the Lord knows that in the day that you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God knowing good from evil"

1) "You will not die". Death does not come when you eat of the fruit. This is the half-truth. Death did not come immediately when she ate of the fruit. In fact Eve's death did not come for a long time. However, in that day death occurred. Eve brought death on herself and her husband. Many times the consequences to our actions are not immediately evident. We may never see the ultimate results of our actions in this lifetime at all. That doesn't mean that they don't exist. Every sin has consequences. It amuses me when i hear people with the mentality that as long as what i do doesn't hurt someone else, it doesn't matter. Nothing that we do doesn't affect the people we are closest to one way or another. Everything we do has consequences and affects others. When we attempt to justify our sins we hurt ourselves and everyone else around us. The enemy knew that what God said was the truth but purposefully led Eve to believe that it wasn't. Eve took that seed of doubt and allowed it to grow until it ultimately destroyed her and her life. Instead of trusting her God and her husband, she sought her own way. She sought to have more.

2) "For the Lord knows that in the day that you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God knowing good from evil" This is another half-truth. Yes, God knew that when Adam & Eve ate of the fruit their eyes would be open and they would know good & evil. The implication / statement here is that by doing so Eve would become like God. That God was threatened by this idea, and was purposefully holding her / them back. Logically, if God had truly been threatened by Adam & Eve eating of the fruit of this tree, he could have removed the tree as easily as he created it. No God was not threatened by man and when you take a step back to look the very idea and principle it is just silly. However, this had stopped being an issue of logic a long time before. The seed of doubt had taken it's hold, and the issue was no longer about what was right. It was about desire. It was about wanting what was not hers to take. It was about not being satisfied with who she was and where she was. It had become about one-upping her husband and God. Thus the seed of doubt watered and fertilized was creating the tree of destruction and the fruit of death.

This is the way it occurs even today. Every thought we don't control. Every rash decision we make has the potential to produce fruit unto destruction. Nothing we do is without consequences.

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The Fall: Step 1 - Doubt!

So how does it all begin? What leads up to sin entering the world? There are numerous small steps that occur that bring this destruction and end.

Step 1) Doubt. The serpent, who is more cunning than the beasts of the field, comes to Eve and plants a simple seed in her mind. It is a seed of doubt. "Did God really say not to eat of the tree?"

It's interesting, something as tiny as a seed can have so much power. An oak seed (acorn) is so small that you can hold fifty of them piled up in your hands. Yet any one of those seeds can produce a tree so large that it takes multiple men and heavy machinery to bring it down. By itself, its roots can degrade and compromise the foundation of a home, ultimately causing that home to collapse.

That is what you see here. The enemy simply plants one seed. A seed of doubt! That one seed in turn brings down the entire human race. What makes this seed, this simple thought so powerful? It's what it brings with it.

The enemy asks, "Has God really said, 'you shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" It's a simple question with a simple answer, and Eve gives the simple, correct response. However, that seed begins to dig into the very foundation of her relationship with her husband and her God. With that question comes doubt. Did God really say that? My husband, Adam, told me that God said this. Why would it not be true? What if he got it wrong? What if it's not true? What if he lied to me? Maybe he's trying to hold me back? It's a question that at it's very core is the design to bring doubt and corrode the very stability and foundation of those relationships. It's a question that once asked, if not properly dealt with at the start, brings irreparable damage, and in turn cannot be undone. The seed begins to dig in. It gains a hold of that foundation of those relationships and does not let go.
Thus the end begins!

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Roles & Responsibilities

I think that there are some important things to consider when looking at the creation of man and the roles and responsibilities of man and woman as they were created. God created man. God instructed / blessed man saying "(1) be fruitful and multiply, (2) fill the earth and subdue it, (3)have dominion over..." These were the instructions that defined man, gave him a purpose, and gave him direction in his life. Later God created the garden, placed man in it, and instructed him that he could eat of every tree but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This instruction was simply that; an order, instruction.

In time God took sections / key parts of man from himself and formed woman from them. He than brought the woman to man and presented her to him. Notice that God did not instruct the woman as He had man. I believe that he did not instruct her to be fruitful and multiply, etc. because these were ingrained in her. They were a core of her purpose. However, the instructions not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was not as ingrained in her. It was a later instruction not a purpose. He simply presented her to Adam. It became Adam's role to teach, instruct, and lead her above and beyond their ingrained purpose. Which he succeeded at in part, but only in part.

It's interesting to me, not surprising, just interesting, that marriages tend to work better when one spouse has the final say. If in the marriage both partners have completely equal footing, it creates problems. When a disagreement occurs and a decision has to be made, democracy doesn't work. One spouse has to give-in, which in turn tends to create anger, bitterness, and resentment. When the couple decides ahead of time that one spouse will have the final say and make the final decision, that anger and bitterness may still occur, but it does not as easily spiral out of control and destroy the marriage. As a result the person who has the final say also has the responsibilty for the ultimate consequences of the decisions as well. So the responsibility of final-say is a two edged sword. It carries with it the decision and the responsibility.



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"Let's Talk about Sex Baby"

"Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
And they were both naked, the man and his wife and they were not ashamed"

I really don't understand it. Why the stigma about sex? It seems like it is such a fired up topic. It's like there is a shame stigma that everyone has attached to sex, and fighting that stigma is a way to rebel and express your individuality (just like most everyone else). The media uses sex and sexual issues to draw in consumers. Many times people who view themselves or want to be be seen as "counter cultural", "bucking the system", "being their own (wo)man", "fighting social acceptabilities", etc. attempt to do so with sexual issues. There seems to be this issue of shame when looking at sex that shouldn't or doesn't need to be there.
One of the things i find especially amusing when i talk to someone who has outspoken liberal views or listen to the liberal media and they attack Christians or the Bible by making it appear that Christianity & the Bible believe & teach that sex = sin. But that is far from the truth.

There is a world of information in these last three verses of Genesis 2. What happens when Adam and Eve meet for the first time? What is the reaction and response? How does this all play out? I am convinced that when God brought this yet unnamed creature to him, Adam was in awe and amazement . So here's how it plays out...
"He brought her to the man. And Adam said: 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh'" (1) He recognizes that she comes from and is wholly a part of him)
"She shall be called Woman because she was taken out of man." (2) He also recognizes that she is very distinct and different from him as well)
At this point we have a recognition / command "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall be one flesh" Thus sex becomes not just acceptable, but instruction and a command. "And they were both naked, the man and his wife and they were not ashamed." Sex is not a sin. The fact is that we have been designed and formed with sex as a part of our very core. Sex, in and of itself, is not a sin. In the proper context it has no need of shame. Of the stigma most people place on it.

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What do Our Actions Say About Us?, or Out of the Mouth of Babes

On more of a personal side note, i had an interesting incident with my younger daughter on my way to work yesterday. I currently have 2 jobs. My (temporary) primary job is with the phone company, and my second one is currently only on Saturdays with a video game store. When i go to work at the phone company i always bring my Bible. I have an hour long lunch break and rather than waste 45 minutes i figure i may as well be productive. I don't do that at my video game store job because breaks are not regular and not long enough for me to be productive.

So yesterday as i was heading out the door to my second job my younger daughter, who is almost 2, cries out, "Da dy wait! Da dy wait!" I figured she was wanting to give me another hug goodbye so i told her, "You already gave me a hug. I have to go." So here she comes around the corner out of the great room, with tears just about to burst forth, trying very, very hard to lug my Bible to me. She did not want me to go to work and forget it. So i told her, "It's all right i'm not bringing it to this work today". With that her frown got even lower and the tears started to form. So after a second of contemplation and decision i scooped her and my Bible up, said "Thank you very much", and gave her another big hug. With that she got down, said "You're wel come da dy", and ran off to play with sister.

It's amazing what kind of impressions our littlest habits can have on our family and children. When daddy going to work without his Bible is reason for great concern and angst. We know we must be doing something right.

What's the Difference?

So God put man to sleep, removed a part of him, formed a new being from him, and brought her to him. Now it's interesting in comparing & contrasting men & women how this text explains some of the differences.
Man was created in the wild. He was created out in the wilderness of the world. That was his first experience and what he based his life on. He was not placed into the garden until later. Woman on the other hand was formed in the garden, and in the luxury and ease of the garden is where she began her existence. Everything that she could want or need was there already provided for her.
Man was given instruction. He had a purpose and direction prior to woman. God had instructed him and laid down the rules for him. Woman was formed and given to man. It was his job to lead and direct her as to what God's instructions were and what He had said previously. (This will be very significant later on)
When man was created he saw who he was in comparison to God and the rest of creation. His definition of himself was seen in relation to his creator and the world around him. When woman was created she was brought to man and saw herself in comparison to him. Her definition and direction came from her similarities to, differences from, and relationship to this man.
It's interesting looking at this and then in turn looking at the nature of man and women. Where we tend to focus and lean, our passions and desires, and how we live our lives. Looking at this text explains a great deal of who we are, what drives us, and what we want in our lives.

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