Genesis
2:16-18 (NASB):
18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”
Think about the choices you make everyday. You made
a choice about what time to get up this morning. You made a choice about what
to eat for breakfast: Pop Tarts, Frosted Flakes, or perhaps a granola bar. You made
a choice about what you were going to wear. The list goes on and on. Some
choices are trivial: chocolate Pop Tart or strawberry? The blue blouse or the
pink one? Jeans or khakis? However, some choices have long reaching
consequences: going on that dating site when you are married, taking one job
over another, buying that house or not.
Many times, we are given parameters on the choices
we can make. The reality is, we don’t like being told what we can and cannot
do. Inside each of us is a rebel. Let’s be honest. What is your first
inclination when you see a sign that says, “No Walking on the Grass?” You want
to see how nice and soft that plush Bermuda grass is. What about that sign that
says, “One Sample Only Please.” You act all sneaky and fill your pockets or
your pocketbook with those little delicious morsels. Don’t try and play it off.
Everybody has that little rebel inside fighting and clawing to be let loose. Jeremiah
17:9 (NASB) tells us: “The heart is more deceitful than all
else and is desperately sick; who can understand
it? Well, today we are going to see where that rebellious inclination
came from.
The Sovereign God gave the man the capacity and opportunity
to make real choices-choices with consequences. The first part of God’s initial
command to humanity was generous and liberating. “You are free to eat from any
tree” (2:16). The second part was designed to help the man obey God and avoid
grave danger. Adam was commanded to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil. But why? Was the fruit of the tree poisonous? No. In fact, the
woman later observed that the tree was “good for food and delightful to look
at, and. . .desirable for obtaining wisdom” (3:6).
What then, was God’s purpose for making this tree
off-limits to Adam and Eve? The answer lay in the choice to obey or disobey God’s
command. The man could experience the fullness of God’s goodness in the garden,
including the gift of the tree of life. The moment he disobeyed God’s command
however, Adam would know the reality of both good and evil. He would experience
evil and its life-destroying consequences.
God’s warning included a penalty for disobedience:
you will certainly die (“surely die” KJV, ESV). Obedience meant abundant life.
Disobedience would result in death. From the beginning, the wages of sin was
death (Romans 6:23). It is a certain penalty. God did not equivocate. He gave Adam
no other options. In the Hebrew phrasing, this certainty is indicated by
repeating the key verb. Literally, the phrase reads “dying, you shall die.”
Another important aspect of God’s warning was the
specific timing of sin’s result. The phrase “on the day” (“in the day” KJV,
ESV) “you eat from it” has been debated by many scholars. God’s Word is absolutely
true. Yet Adam lived to age 930 (Gen. 5:5). How was God’s warning fulfilled?
The passage suggests two possibilities, both of
which are true. First, when Adam sinned, death entered the world-to him first and
through him to all humanity (Rom. 5:12). Second, when Adam sinned, he
immediately died spiritually and also set in motion his eventual (and certain)
physical death.
Just as with the first man, today God not only
offers provision and protection to us but also holds us accountable for our
choices. Since the fall, all of us as Adam’s descendants are sinners by nature
and by choice. We would all be doomed to the certainty of death expect that “God
loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who
believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). To believe
(obey) leads to life through Christ; to reject Christ (sin) leads to death. The
choice is clear.
God does not give us parameters in His Word to be a
joy killer. He does it for our protection. Like any good and loving parent, He
knows left to our own devices we would not only destroy ourselves but everyone around
us. So, in His infinite wisdom He gave us the Holy Scriptures to guide us and
keep us from bringing unnecessary pain and negative consequences to our lives.
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by]streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
Notice that wisdom and success is tied directly to
how much we study and apply God’s Word to our lives. If you want to make better
decisions, then spend more time reading and thinking about the Word of God.
Not only does God realize we need parameters in our
lives to help us make good decisions, but He also knows we need relationships.
That is why in Genesis 2:18 God knew it was not good for Adam to be alone. Companionship
and intimacy are essential to human happiness, enjoyment, and fulfillment.
Loneliness is not always caused by an absence of other people. It can also be
the result of a lack of meaningful relationships. God wants people to live in
mutually fulfilling relationships.
Genesis 1:27 states simply that God created mankind
as “male and female.” In 2:21-25, Moses described in greater detail the amazing
“surgery” God performed to give Adam a helper. God put the man into a deep
sleep, removed a rib from his side, and use the rib to fashion a woman, later
called “Eve.” Adam immediately acknowledged that the woman was his perfect counterpart.
God also used the moment to establish the sacred bond of marriage between the
man and the woman. Adam and Eve had a wonderful place to live and work. Now
they could join together without shame in establishing a home and family.
In summary, God is the source of life for all
humans. Just as He breathed the breath of life into Adam and gave life to Eve,
even so God gives each of us the life we enjoy. Therefore, God can be trusted
to provide for our needs. His provision may not include everything we want, but
He desires to give us all we need.
In what ways is a prohibition or a warning a demonstration of love by the one giving it? Why do people often regard prohibitions in negative terms or as an infringement?
How does God use relationships to enrich our lives? What does our need for relationships reveal about our need for God?
Serving Christ, Loving Others, and Growing Together,
Dr. Bryan Cox
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