In This Issue:
Man and The First Sin
The Wages of Sin Loomed Overhead
Volume: 861 June 6, 2022
Theme: The First Sin
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Man and the First Sin
Bill Brinkworth
Sin’s first commission is the one event that changed the history of man. Genesis 2-3 details the first sin and how it affected the first people on Earth and all following generations.
Here is the biblical account of the first sin:
God made man from the dust of the ground. We find that when God made man, His creation was placed in a garden, which was probably created on the third day. The beautiful place of plenty was called the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:8). Eden was most likely located east of the Mediterranean Sea and West of the Persian Gulf. Although the exact spot is unknown today, it was near the Euphrates River, joined by three ancient rivers.
We also find one crucial detail about God’s prize creation, man. We learn of a feature of man that no other creature that God created had. The first man was Adam, and he was made with a living soul (Gen. 2:7).
“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Gen. 2:7
His Creator immediately gave Adam responsibilities. Some of the man’s jobs were to take care of the Garden God gave him (Gen. 2:15) and to name the animals (Gen. 2:19-20).
The first man was also given his first commandment from His Creator. Although Adam could eat any of the fruits in the Garden, he was forbidden to eat from the “Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil” (Gen. 2:17). Adam was warned that he would die if he ate of the forbidden tree’s fruit!
“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Gen. 2:17
We do not know what kind of fruit it bore. It could have been an apple, a pear, or some exotic fruit. Most people imagine the fruit was an apple only because that is what an artist painted many years ago.
Although the other animals had companions, the man had none. God saw that it was not good that man was alone (Gen. 2:18). The Creator put Adam to sleep and took one of his ribs (Gen. 2:16). God closed up the incision on the man’s side and made Adam a companion from that rib. When God brought what He had made to Adam, the man called her “Woman,” which means “she was taken from Man” (Gen. 2:23). Now Adam had someone with whom he could share his life and work. They were husband and wife (Gen. 2:25), naked and not ashamed of it.
In the Garden, there was a deceitful and crafty (“subtil”) serpent. That snake did not slither on its belly as we see them do today (Gen. 3:14), and it talked (Gen. 3:1). Perhaps, at the time, other creatures in the Garden also talked.
The sneaky serpent was Satan. We know that the serpent was Satan, as he is called a serpent in Rev. 12:9. Throughout the Bible, we see Satan’s intervention as one who tries to get mankind to do contrary to what God commands us not to do. He also is a deceiver (I Chron. 21:1, II Cor. 11:3, Rev. 20:2, 10).
“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Rev. 12:9.
Satan had a plan to get the man and his wife to break God’s commandment. He got Eve to question what God commanded Adam not to do.
“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?” Gen. 3:1.
The serpent’s ploy confused Eve, as she had only heard God’s commandment indirectly from Adam. She incorrectly re-iterated to Satan what God had said to Adam. God never told Adam not to touch the tree. Adam was to tend (“dress”) the trees, so he had probably come in contact with the tree. He was told not to eat the fruit of the tree.
“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. 3:2-3.
Satan continued with his deception. He got Eve to think that God was not telling the truth and that she surely would not die if she ate of the tree (Gen. 3:4). The enemy of God advanced his attack by convincing Eve that God did not want them to eat the fruit because if they did, they would know good and evil and be as “gods.” She was also tempted by the idea that she could be like God.
“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.” Gen. 3:5
Eve fell for Satan’s trickery. She ate the fruit and gave it to Adam to eat. Although the woman was deceived, Adam also partook of the fruit. That brief moment of his disobedience to God’s commandment changed his and Eve’s life, the world, and much that was in it. It was the biggest disaster that ever happened on this planet! The first sin was committed.
”And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.” I Tim. 2:14
Sin is the most destructive activity on Earth. It has ruined, destroyed, changed, and shortened lives. Iniquity has broken hearts, sent billions of souls to Hell, separated man from God, and had many other disastrous results. Because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience, sin was now in the world! The world would never be the same!
The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil did not have to be there. God put it there for a reason. It was an opportunity for the man and his wife to trust God and do what He had commanded. There was always and will always be a temptation to do wrong. It is always up to individuals to make the right decisions and not submit to temptation.
Although we have not walked and talked with God in person, as did Adam and Eve, we still have commandments that we should obey. The Bible is the source where we can learn al of sHis commandments.
Many of them we have already learned. We know that lying is against God’s commandment. We know that stealing is wrong. It is also understood that it is wrong to disobey our parents. Most may know what is right and wrong, but when they purposely commit those sins, we are deciding, as did Adam and Eve, to disobey God.
We can see how Adam and Eve ruined their relationship with God and hurt themselves, but we do the same too often. We may think that what the first man and woman did was more serious than our disobedience to God’s commandments; however, our sin is a life-changing iniquity in God’s eyes. Sin is against God. It hurts us and others around us, as did the first sin.
“If God put Adam out of the earthly Eden on account of one sin, do you
think He will let us into the Paradise above with our tens of thousands
of sins upon us?” — D. L. Moody
The Wage of Sin Loomed Overhead
C. H. Spurgeon
I am reminded of the story of Dionysius, the tyrant. He wished to punish the one who had displeased him. He invited him to a noble feast.
Rich were the foods that were spread upon the table and rare the wines he was invited to drink. A chair was placed at the head of the table, and the guest was seated upon it.
Horror of horrors! The feast might have been rich, but the guest was miserable. However splendid was the array of servants and rich the dainties, yet he who had been invited sat there in agony. For what reason? Because over his head hung a sword; a furbished sword, suspended by a single hair. He sat with the sword above him, with nothing but a hair between him and death. You may conceive the poor man’s misery. He could not escape; he had to sit where he was. How could he feast? How could he rejoice?
My unconverted hearer, thou art today in a similar position. You have all thy riches and thy wealth before thee, and with the comforts of a home and the joys of a household. You are in a place from which thou canst not escape. The sword of death hangs above thee. It is prepared to descend; and woe unto thee, when it shall cleave thy soul from thy body. Canst thou yet make mirth and yet procrastinate? If thou canst, then surely thy sin is presumptuous in a high degree.