original sin

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Continued From Posts No.178, 177, 175, 174, 170, 166, 163, 162, 155, 152, 151, 137, and 133


• Gen 3:16d . . and he shall rule over you.

That is probably one of the most hated verses in the book of Genesis. Eve's
daughters do not like to be subjugated to, and/or dominated by, men. It
really goes against their grain; and if the women's suffrage movement that
took place in America's early 1900's were to be thoroughly analyzed, it
would not surprise me that women's right to vote wasn't really a political
issue: it was rebellion against male supremacy; which of course is to be
expected in a world gone mad with evil.

The current "strong woman" attitude is no doubt another aspect of that
same kind of rebellion; which in reality is not only a standing up to men, but
also a standing up to God seeing as how Gen 3:16d is a divine requirement
rather than human.

My guess is that the purpose of Gen 3:16d is mostly to discourage wives
from making life-changing decisions on their own, independent of their
husband's feelings about it.

• Gen 3:17a . .To Adam He said: Because you did as your wife said,

It appears the man would never have eaten the forbidden fruit on his own
had not the woman somehow broken down his resistance and talked him
into it. I sincerely wish I was there to overhear their discussion.

In the end; Adam wasn't deceived by the Serpent; instead he was made a
fool by his wife.

An element of God's gripe with Adam was that the man put the woman's
wishes over and above the wishes of his creator; thus forcing God to
compete for Adam's loyalty. Unfortunately, when it comes to choosing
between pleasing women or pleasing their divine sovereign; men all too
often sell their souls to the women. (cf. Luke 14:26)

NOTE: Neither the woman nor the man were under the influence of the
so-called fallen nature while all this was going on.
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• Gen 3:17b . . Cursed be the ground because of you

That was unexpected; it isn't specifically listed in Gen 2:17 as a
consequence for tasting the forbidden fruit. It's very likely discipline relative
to Adam discarding God's explicit instructions and yielding to his wife's
persuasion.

Not only would Man himself be effected by a curse upon the ground, but
every living thing that depends upon the ground for its survival would be
effected too; from lowly nematodes and earthworms right on up to the top
of the food chain. The whole animal world, and all the seed-bearing plant life
too, would suffer collateral damages for Adam's mistake.

God somehow manipulated the soil's fertility so that it now no longer
produces as well as it did in the beginning. Seeing as how He invented soil's
fertility in the first place, then it likely wasn't too difficult for Him to alter it.

Unfortunately the abundant swarms of life that God created in the beginning
would, at that point, begin to thin out as the competition for available
natural food stuffs would begin to intensify.

• Gen 3:17c . . By toil shall you eat of it all the days of your life

Adam was no stranger to work because God already had him tending the
garden. But matters worsened with a new ingredient. The word for "toil" is
from 'itstsabown (its-tsaw-bone') and means the very same thing as it did in
Gen 3:16.

The element of 'itstsabown took some of the pleasure out of Adam's
existence. Where before his daily routine was relatively care-free, now he'd
begin to worry and fret over things that are especially pertinent to farmers
e.g. weather, insects, and plant diseases; which, among farmers, are
common causes of anxiety and feelings of insecurity.

• Gen 3:18a . . thorns and thistles shall it sprout for you.

God finished the entire cosmos in six days; and no more creating took place
after that because He's been on sabbatical ever since day 7: so thorns and
thistles already existed prior to the events of chapter 3.

But in the beginning, noxious plants doubtless weren't so dominant. Today
they're a nuisance because if ground is left fallow, it will soon be covered
with dock, mustard, dandelion, chaparral, wild flowers, brambles, reed
canary grass, and stuff like that. Those kinds of plants may be okay for
wildlife, but humanity needs something quite a bit more nutritious.

• Gen 3:18b . . and your food shall be the grasses of the field;

Apparently Adam was a fruitarian at first, and then his diet later expanded to
include other kinds of vegetation. However, I don't think Man is supposed to
graze on pasture like buffalo or deer and elk. Many of the grasses God
intended for him to eat fall into the food group we call cereals; which are
raised primarily for their grain; e.g. corn, wheat, oats, and rice; et al.

In their natural form-- whole grain --cereals are a rich source of vitamins,
minerals, carbohydrates, fats, oils, and protein. After refinement grains are
pretty much good for nothing but carbs unless they're fortified with artificial
supplements.

NOTE: The Hebrew word translated "grasses" also includes shoots, i.e.
sprouts. In point of fact, some plants are better eaten as sprouts rather than
adults. For example asparagus and cattails.
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[Benadam]

It's very likely discipline relative
to Adam discarding God's explicit instructions and yielding to his wife's
persuasion.

Not only would Man himself be effected by a curse upon the ground, but
every living thing that depends upon the ground for its survival would be

Man abandoned his proper place. The powers of nature that served man became hostile. Man's relationship with God was severed so was man's relationship with nature and himself were severed too. Even his own body rebelled against him. The dignity that God endowed man with was no longer visible. In the lion's den Adam is now food . The ground isn't cursed for the lion.

 

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• Gen 3:19a . . By the sweat of your brow shall you get bread to eat,

Adam was given a farm complete with orchards already in place and
producing before he came along; all he had to do was take care of it. But
now, if he wanted a farm, he was going to have to construct one of his own,
on his own; and from scratch. Plus he'll be faced with stubborn soil that
needs plowing, sowing, and weeding. Very few natural grains exist
abundantly in nature. These days; if he wants them in any sizable amount,
Man has to farm.

Those of us who live in 9 to 5 leisure-intensive America really don't
appreciate just how laborious and time consuming the work is to grow your
own food. Early humanity's days were hard. They're still hard in many
developing countries. Adam had to get out there with a hoe and a plow to
provide for his family. Today, only about 2% in the USA work the soil for a
living.

• Gen 3:19b . . until you return to the ground-- for from it you were taken.
For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.

Did God have to smite Adam in order for him to stop living? No; it was only
necessary to deny Adam access to the tree of life and let nature and hard
work take their toll. In other words: since he was no longer immortal, it
would be only a matter of time before Adam simply gave out and passed
away from wear and tear and old age.

But what happened to Adam when his body returned to dust? Did he return
to dust too? No; and that's because Adam wasn't entirely organic. His body
came from the soil; but according to Gen 2:7, his consciousness came from
God.

The afterlife disposition of human consciousness is one of life's greatest
mysteries. Heck, even the origin of human consciousness is mystery enough
for some, let alone where it goes when people pass away.

• Gen 3:20 . .The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of
all the living.

According to the Bible, humanity wasn't created in swarms like the other
creatures. The human race was created in its entirety via a singular, solo,
male specimen. Every human being since, including the first woman
became, and will become, from the constitutional elements of that one lone
male.

"He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the
earth" (Acts 17:26)

The word "nations" is translated from the Greek word ethnos (eth'-nos);
from which was derived the English word "ethnic" --defined by Webster's as:
of, or relating to, large groups of people classed according to common racial,
national, tribal, religious, linguistic, or cultural origin or background.

Everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every
human being who ever was; every hunter and forager, every hero and
coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant,
every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor
and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every
superstar, every supreme leader, every saint and sinner in the history of our
species; is related to Eve. (Adapted from Carl Sagan's "Pale Blue Dot")

NOTE: The Phylogenetic Tree Of Life is an interesting diagram that traces all
forms of life back to a singular genetic heritage regardless of species. In
other words; if you started with a raccoon, and followed its branch down the
tree far enough, you'd eventually intersect with another branch that you
could then trace to mushrooms. The tree is sort of the equivalent of a Big
Bang of living things.

The branch on that tree that interests me the most is the one that traces
human life. According to the diagram; any two people you might select-- no
matter what their age, race, or gender --if traced back far enough, can
eventually be linked to a common human ancestor; which of course is no
surprise to Bible students.
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• Gen 3:21 . . And the Lord God made garments of skins for Adam and his
wife, and clothed them.

Precisely what species of animal God slaughtered in order to make the
Adams their first suit of real clothing is unknown.

That day, humans learned something about the advantages of leather
goods. Most of it is produced from cattle hides: calfskin, goatskin, kidskin,
sheepskin, and lambskin. Other hides and skins used include those of the
horse, pig, kangaroo, deer, crocodile, alligator, seal, walrus, and of late;
python. Humans have used animal skins for a variety of practical purposes
since ancient times, and to this good day leather is still a useful material all
around the world.

The exact cut and design of their garments isn't specified; the Hebrew words
kethoneth (keth-o'-neth) and/or kuttoneth (koot-to'-neth) just indicate a
shirt, or covering; as hanging from the shoulder.

A garment hanging from the shoulder indicates that Eve's topless days were
over; although that wouldn't necessarily rule out the possibility that she may
have become the Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel of her day and created some
interesting necklines.

The garments actually facilitated the people's association with God. They
were unbearably uncomfortable around their maker in the buff, even in the
semi-buff, and that was principally the reason they hid from the Lord when
He came calling. However, fig leaves aren't very durable; they're merely an
expedient. God showed them a much better way-- actually a way they would
never have thought of all by themselves because who would have guessed
that animals could be killed and stripped of their hides for clothing until God
showed them?

The point to note is that the clothing that humanity's maker crafted for the
Adams didn't cost them one red cent nor did they have to contribute even
the slightest bit of labor to its construction. God slaughtered the animals,
treated the hides, and fabricated the garments Himself; and gave the
clothing to them totally free of charge and no strings attached. However, I
wouldn't be a bit surprised if the couple watched how God went about the
whole business so they'd know how to take care of themselves.

NOTE: They'd eventually have to know how to make fire; no doubt God
showed them how to do that too.

I believe God went to all that trouble for a couple of reasons.

First; because He wasn't indifferent to their situation; rather, God felt
compassion for the Adams-- defined as sympathetic awareness of others'
distress together with a desire to alleviate it. And secondly; He didn't want
anything hampering His association with the humans. In other words,
Adam's felt-shame and embarrassment over undress was a barrier between
himself and his maker, so God showed him a really good way to overcome
it: a way that not only improved the quality of Adam's association with God;
but also greatly enhanced his limited survival skills.
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• Gen 3:22a . . And the Lord God said: Now that Man has become as one of
us

Humanity was created in the image and likeness of its creator (Gen 1:26
27). But its creation stopped short of "one of us". i.e. a fellow deity of
equal status.

The Serpent promised Eve that she could improve her status and become
divine by eating the forbidden fruit; which was true; she became a deity, but
not the same kind of deity as her creator. There are no other deities like the
creator. (Isa 43:10, Isa 44:8, Isa 44:5-6, etc.)

From the limited amount of information we're given, it's readily seen that it's
fairly easy to make one's self a deity; it's only necessary to rebel against
constituted authority; viz: go your own way instead of complying with the
laws, rules, and dictates of a higher power; viz: anarchy. (cf. Judg 17:6 and
Isa 53:6)

• Gen 3:22b . . discerning good and evil,

Actually, the Serpent had predicted that very thing.

"God knows that when you eat [from the tree in the midst of the garden]
your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
(Gen 3:5)

Now, the problem is; this newly acquired conscience of theirs wasn't from
God, it was obtained from the Serpent who, we're told, has the power of
death and the ability to tamper with the human mind and body in ways not
easily detected. (Heb 2:14, Luke 13:16, Mark 5:1-5, and Eph 2:2)

As such, humanity's sense of right and wrong is unreliable. Due to its satanic
nature rather than truly divine, the human moral compass easily deviates
from true north by means of emotional, social, cultural, and ethnical
influences. We rationalize a lot too.

• Gen 3:22c . . what if he should stretch out his hand and take also from the
tree of life and eat, and live forever!

The Hebrew word translated "forever" doesn't always indicate infinity.
Normally it just means perpetual as "in perpetuity" viz: indefinitely; which
Webster's defines as: having no exact limits.

Adam contracted mortality via eating from the wrong tree. Had God allowed
him access to the tree of life, it's fruit would've healed the mortality infecting
his body and restored it to perfect health.

The thing is: God predicted Adam's demise; so in order to ensure that the
prediction came to pass; God had to cut off his access to the tree of life;
which is a pretty interesting tree seeing as how it's not only an elixir, but
also a remedy for whatever ails you. (Rev 22:2)

• Gen 3:23-24 . . So the Lord God banished him from the garden of Eden, to
till the soil from which he was taken. He drove the man out, and stationed
east of the garden of Eden the cherubim and the fiery ever-turning sword, to
guard the way to the tree of life.

The east side of the garden faced towards sunrise; which may, or may not,
be significant in some way; for example when Christ returns, he'll approach
from the east (Mal 4:2, Rev 22:16) and also make the tree of life available
again. (Rev 2:7, Rev 22:14)

• Gen 5:5 . . And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty
years: and he died.
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[TheWaytoGo]

Original sin is representative of the mark of the beast in a way, if the beast is the world system filled with sin and corruption from Eve and Adam's disobedience. Some have been chosen to overcome it. Those will bear the image of Christ.

1Co 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.