Adam

A human corpse decomposes into elements just like ordinary dirt. Adam was not a clay sculpture. God used dust. Maybe He transformed dust particles into stem cells, then constituted an embryo, and in a matter of moments quickly advanced it through infancy, adolescence, puberty and adulthood! Who knows? From mere dirt to sophisticated and complex skeletal, muscular, nervous, cardiovascular, digestive and respiratory systems, we are fearfully and wonderfully made!

Genesis 2:7 – “…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.”

The Creation Of Man

1,400 years before Christ, Moses declared that God formed man from dust. Muslims believe that 2,000 years later, the angel Gabriel told Mohammed to recite that Allah created man out of “a mere clot of congealed blood,” (Qur’an 96:2 Yusufali translation). So, is Moses a liar or is Mohammed? Judaism and Christianity say Moses was right. So do I.

Genesis 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.”

You HAVE A Body, But You ARE A Soul

It was nothing more than a dirt sculpture until God breathed into it. Our bodies are nothing but lifeless elements without the soul that God gave us. The body is a shell that houses a real man. You HAVE a body, but you ARE a soul. Your earthly body is destined for the grave – ashes to ashes, dust to dust. But your SOUL will NEVER die. In the resurrection, God will give His saints a new, immortal body.

Genesis 2:7 – “And the LORD God …breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

The Garden Of Eden

Adam was created before the Garden of Eden was planted. God put Adam in it afterward. Ezekiel 28:13 depicts Lucifer in the garden, too – before he sinned! Satan did not arrive from a failed pre-Adamite society of evil angels. He came sinless. All the sins of men and angels began in the garden. Utopias do not prevent sin. Your health, success and prosperity could be your greatest temptation. Beware!

Genesis 2:8 – “…the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.”

Adam’s Rib

God put Adam to sleep and performed surgery. He removed one of Adam’s ribs and made a woman from it. From the bone marrow came Adam’s DNA, making her the first clone – a female version of Adam. An identical twin. Same eyes, same hair, same size. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them,” Genesis 1:27. Two people. One image.

Genesis 2:22 – “And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman.”

The Tree Of Knowledge

God did not want Adam and Eve to know evil in any way. He forbade Adam to partake of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God knows that bad lessons cannot be unlearned and evil knowledge is never an asset, but a liability. Whatever you learned from your mistakes would have been much better unlearned. Shun the very appearance of evil.

Genesis 2:17 – “…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.”

Eve

She must have been beautiful. I cannot imagine God creating less. From Adam’s rib came his helpmate. Woman. Wo-Man (man with a womb). First wife. First mother. Satan deceived her. She transgressed, then handed a portion of the forbidden fruit to Adam. For that, God cursed womankind with pain in childbirth. Graciously however, the seed of the woman would one day conquer the foul Tempter: God’s son, “…made of a woman.”

Genesis 3:6 – “…she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”

Obedience

In the Garden of Eden, God pronounced a blessing on Adam and Eve, coupled with commands to fill the earth and rule over it. Before Eve was created, however, God spoke singularly to Adam and commanded him not to eat of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Therefore, the first virtue God required man to practice was obedience. Some things never change. Jesus said, “if you love me, keep my commandments.” God STILL requires obedience.

Genesis 3:11 – “Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?”

The Tree Of The Knowledge Of Good And Evil

Adam and Eve really missed the point. The Tree of Life was standing near the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Presumably, if they had eaten of the Tree of Life first, they would have lived forever. God did not want them to taste of the knowledge of evil. They chose evil over life.

Genesis 2:17 – “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.”

The Forbidden Fruit

People commonly call it an apple, but nobody knows what the forbidden fruit was. It doesn’t matter. It might have been anything. Tragically, people always think they will be better off when they get it, but that is NEVER the case. Lucifer tells all kinds of lies to tempt people with anything he can find, but obedience to God is ALWAYS more rewarding.

Genesis 3:5 “And 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.”

The Serpent

This is not your ordinary snake. He talks. He is subtle. He has a hidden, sinister, diabolical agenda. Lucifer violated that poor mindless creature. How was the first woman on earth supposed to know that snakes do not talk? More importantly, how can YOU or I know when Satan enters into someone to deceive us? Lies. Lucifer’s trademark is lies. “Hath God said…?” “Ye shall not surely die.” There’s your sign. Satan is ruthless and plays by nobody’s rules.

Genesis 3:1 – “…the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field.”

Satan’s Doom

The very first Bible prophecy was two-fold and awesome. Messiah would come, and Satan would be doomed! “The devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, …and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever,” Revelation 20:10. John clearly said the Serpent was the Devil (Satan) in Revelation 12:9. God had told the serpent,

Genesis 3:14-15 – “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.”

Thorns And Death

For Adam’s sin, God cursed the ground to bring forth thorns and thistles. But there was more. Adam was sentenced to die and return to the dust from which he was created. Before he sinned, Adam might have lived forever. Now, life is hard, then you die. The great hope is beyond the grave. Are you ready?

Genesis 3:19 – “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.”

The Man Is Become As One Of Us

God wanted Adam to always be pure, untainted, and innocent. God knew that was the best life. He warned Adam not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. But Lucifer taunted them saying, “Ye shall be as gods!” Adam and Eve both yielded. Till then, only God and Satan understood the sickening awfulness of sin. Nothing good comes out of it. Nothing is better than innocence. Flee temptation!

Genesis 3:22 – “And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil.”

The Tree Of Life

Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, so God cast them out of the garden. In the heavenly paradise of God, the tree of life bears twelve fruits continually for the healing of the nations who keep His commandments and enter the gates of that city (Revelation 22:2).

Genesis 3:24 – “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.”

Cherub At The Gate

Apart from Lucifer, the first angels in the Bible were the Cherubims with the flaming sword that guarded the gate to Eden. Angels are said to be ministering spirits for those who shall be the heirs of salvation. Those Cherubs were preserving eternal life for those who will properly have it; for you and me.