Covenant of Hope
Genesis 3:14-19
At the point of utter despair and hopelessness, God establishes as new covenant – the Adamic Covenant. This covenant would again be made with Adam as the representative head of all mankind. But unlike the Edenic Covenant, which was conditional and bilateral, the Adamic Covenant is unilateral, made solely by God, and He would be the One to fulfill it. The Adamic Covenant opens with a pronouncement on the serpent. There are two aspects to this pronouncement. The first aspect is related to the animal-serpent. We know that the rebellious, fallen angel Lucifer was the ultimate source of the temptation of Eve, but the vessel used to tempt her was cursed first. We see that the serpent must have walked uprightly before the Fall, because the it would now be forced to crawl on its belly. It would also be hated and feared by mankind from that point forward. The second aspect of the pronouncement on the serpent is related to Lucifer, himself. And herein lays the hope of the Adamic Covenant. First, we see hatred between Lucifer and Eve that would continue throughout the history of mankind. It only takes a moment to look at the way that women have been treated over the centuries to see this illustrated. We also see a veiled prophecy of the virgin birth illustrated here. Simple biology teaches that the man brings the seed to the conception process, but here we see God make reference to the Seed of the woman - the only time this occurs is in the birth of Jesus. And the promise of the Adamic Covenant is that, although Lucifer would bruise the heel of the Seed, the Seed would ultimately crush Lucifer’s head. Before we look at the pronouncements of the Adamic Covenant upon Adam and Eve, we have to put ourselves in their place. At this point they have no hope; no future. We know that the serpent is Lucifer. We know that the Seed is Jesus. We know that Lucifer would “bruise His heel” at the Crucifixion. We know that Jesus would crush Lucifer’s head at the Resurrection and, ultimately, after the final rebellion of Revelation 20. Adam and Eve do not. All Adam and Eve know is that their rebellion has ruined Paradise. They know that the intimacy with God that they were created for has been broken. They know, for the first time, what good and evil are. But these words of God offer a glimmer of light. If there is enmity between the woman and the serpent, and between their seeds, than that must mean that humanity has a future? But that future would be difficult. For the woman, childbirth and conception would be hard, and she would be ruled by men. For the man, work would now be difficult and, at times, seem to be fruitless. And both would face physical death, just as they were now spiritually dead. They are expelled from the Garden, and a cherub with a flaming sword cuts off their ability to partake of the Tree of Life in the center. But not until after God has given them a covering for the manifestation of their guilt. Genesis 3:21 says, “Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. For the very first time, God slaughters an animal - maybe even a lamb - and uses that death to cover man’s guilt. It doesn’t take long for the reality of spiritual death to sink in. Cain kills Abel out of jealousy, and the downward cycle continues. Just a few hundred years pass before humanity has become so evil that God regrets creating it: Genesis 6:6-8 – “And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But even as the Creator of the Universe makes plans to wipe out humanity, His grace, mercy and faithfulness to the Covenant made with Adam, shine through: Genesis 6:8 – “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”
TomorrowA look at the Noahic Covenant - God's blueprint for the conduct of the Gentile world.
Showing posts with label paradise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paradise. Show all posts
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
The Faithfullness of God in His Covenants With Man - Part 2 The Edenic Covenant
Genesis 1:28-30; Genesis 2:15-17
Imagine a perfect world. No pain. No struggle. No conflict. There is peace. There is contentment. There is unity. This is the world of Genesis 1 and 2. This is the Garden of Eden. God the Creator has spent six days shaping a world where He could commune with mankind. He has created Eve as a perfect partner for Adam. The Bible says that God even walked with Adam and Eve in Eden in the cool of the evening (Genesis 3:8).
I know my tendency. I want to jump forward to Genesis 3, and the Serpent and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. But we must stop and resist that urge. A perfect creation - this is the gift that the Creator gave Mankind! He gave us perfect, complete communion with Himself. But this relationship was tied to a Covenant.
This is the Edenic Covenant. It is a conditional/bilateral covenant. It is characterized by the concept of, “if you…I will.” In this Covenant, Adam is the representative of all Mankind. He and Eve are the source of all humanity, and as a result, their actions determine the direction of man’s future. The first condition or provision of the Edenic Covenant is that man and woman were to be fruitful, multiply and replenish the Earth (Genesis 1:28). God had created a perfect world, and His desire was for mankind to populate that world.
The second requirement of the Edenic Covenant is also found in Genesis 1:28. It is the command to subdue the Earth. During the time of Eden, man was given authority over the Earth. He was to rule over the land, the seas, and all of its resources. Man was responsible for using these resources created by God in a manner that He prescribed.
The third provision of this Covenant related to all of the animal kingdom. Adam and Eve were commanded to take dominion over the Earth.
The fourth requirement of the Edenic Covenant was dietary. Adam was told he could eat of any tree, herb, or seed bearing plant. Man was originally prescribed a vegetarian diet. It is also important to note that Genesis 1:29-30 indicates that the animal kingdom was also originally intended to be vegetarian. Physical life was not to shed the blood of any other physical life. There was to be no death.
Genesis 2:15 gives man the responsibility to “dress and keep” the Garden. Man was given the command to work. We will see soon that this work was to become difficult, but only as the result of the violation of the Edenic Covenant.
Up until this point, all of the provisions of the Edenic Covenant were positive in nature. But the sixth condition of the Covenant was a prohibition. According Genesis 2:17, man was restricted from eating of one particular tree – the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This tree was placed in the Garden to give mankind a choice. God did not desire “robotic” followers who served Him by default. He took the risk of His creation rejecting His will in order to gain the opportunity of them choosing Him over everything else.
It is easy to have a negative view of this prohibition. Why did God do this? Didn’t He know that Adam and Eve would eventually give in to this temptation? Wouldn’t it have been better for Him to not give us this choice?
We can hardly begin to understand what God was thinking when He gave us the choice to reject Him. But let’s remember, that as horrible “the fall” is from a human perspective, it doesn’t begin to compare to the pain and hurt that the Creator must have felt. And we must also remember that nothing is hidden from Him. He knew the choice we would make. He knew the consequences of that choice. He knew what life on Earth would become. He knew that He would have to take on the flesh of His creation and live among us. He knew that on one hand, He would have to suffer unfathomable torture as He not only would suffer physically, but would become sin Himself, in order to atone for our choice. On the other hand, He would have to look down from Heaven and watch as His creation would reject His Son. In spite of this, He gave us the chance to reject Him, because living through the pain and agony of our fall was better than living without a relationship with us. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
Man Breaks Covenant
Genesis 3:1-8
It’s over. Eve is deceived by the serpent. Adam chooses Eve over obedience to the Creator. The covenant is broken. And justice must be measured out.
Stop and ponder the moments between Adam’s disobedience and the Creator’s arrival on the scene. Adam and Eve experience guilt for the first time. Man makes his first attempt to cover that guilt apart from God. Nakedness, in itself, is not sin, yet Adam and Eve feel it necessary to cover their nakedness. This attempt to cover their guilt with fig leaves is unsuccessful, as Adam and Eve still felt it necessary to hide themselves. We cannot hide from our guilt.
What must it have been like for Adam and Eve in those moments? Can you imagine the fear? The Creator had told them that they would die as a result of breaking this covenant. In fact, they are experiencing spiritual death for the very first time. And they are waiting. They are waiting for the Creator to make His way to the Garden. I’m sure they are consumed with dread.
What about the Creator? As we saw earlier, God knew before He uttered the words, “Let there be light” that this moment would come. So He waits on the edge of the physical, and considers what will soon take place. He enters the Garden: “Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, ‘Where are you’? So he (Adam) said, ‘I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself. And He (God) said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat’?” (Genesis 3:9-11)
For the first time, the fleshly instinct to blame others for our sin rears its ugly head. “Then the man said, ‘The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.’ And the LORD God said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate’.” (Genesis 3:12-13)
Tomorrow:
A look at the first promise of redemption - the Adamic Covenant.
Imagine a perfect world. No pain. No struggle. No conflict. There is peace. There is contentment. There is unity. This is the world of Genesis 1 and 2. This is the Garden of Eden. God the Creator has spent six days shaping a world where He could commune with mankind. He has created Eve as a perfect partner for Adam. The Bible says that God even walked with Adam and Eve in Eden in the cool of the evening (Genesis 3:8).
I know my tendency. I want to jump forward to Genesis 3, and the Serpent and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. But we must stop and resist that urge. A perfect creation - this is the gift that the Creator gave Mankind! He gave us perfect, complete communion with Himself. But this relationship was tied to a Covenant.
This is the Edenic Covenant. It is a conditional/bilateral covenant. It is characterized by the concept of, “if you…I will.” In this Covenant, Adam is the representative of all Mankind. He and Eve are the source of all humanity, and as a result, their actions determine the direction of man’s future. The first condition or provision of the Edenic Covenant is that man and woman were to be fruitful, multiply and replenish the Earth (Genesis 1:28). God had created a perfect world, and His desire was for mankind to populate that world.
The second requirement of the Edenic Covenant is also found in Genesis 1:28. It is the command to subdue the Earth. During the time of Eden, man was given authority over the Earth. He was to rule over the land, the seas, and all of its resources. Man was responsible for using these resources created by God in a manner that He prescribed.
The third provision of this Covenant related to all of the animal kingdom. Adam and Eve were commanded to take dominion over the Earth.
The fourth requirement of the Edenic Covenant was dietary. Adam was told he could eat of any tree, herb, or seed bearing plant. Man was originally prescribed a vegetarian diet. It is also important to note that Genesis 1:29-30 indicates that the animal kingdom was also originally intended to be vegetarian. Physical life was not to shed the blood of any other physical life. There was to be no death.
Genesis 2:15 gives man the responsibility to “dress and keep” the Garden. Man was given the command to work. We will see soon that this work was to become difficult, but only as the result of the violation of the Edenic Covenant.
Up until this point, all of the provisions of the Edenic Covenant were positive in nature. But the sixth condition of the Covenant was a prohibition. According Genesis 2:17, man was restricted from eating of one particular tree – the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This tree was placed in the Garden to give mankind a choice. God did not desire “robotic” followers who served Him by default. He took the risk of His creation rejecting His will in order to gain the opportunity of them choosing Him over everything else.
It is easy to have a negative view of this prohibition. Why did God do this? Didn’t He know that Adam and Eve would eventually give in to this temptation? Wouldn’t it have been better for Him to not give us this choice?
We can hardly begin to understand what God was thinking when He gave us the choice to reject Him. But let’s remember, that as horrible “the fall” is from a human perspective, it doesn’t begin to compare to the pain and hurt that the Creator must have felt. And we must also remember that nothing is hidden from Him. He knew the choice we would make. He knew the consequences of that choice. He knew what life on Earth would become. He knew that He would have to take on the flesh of His creation and live among us. He knew that on one hand, He would have to suffer unfathomable torture as He not only would suffer physically, but would become sin Himself, in order to atone for our choice. On the other hand, He would have to look down from Heaven and watch as His creation would reject His Son. In spite of this, He gave us the chance to reject Him, because living through the pain and agony of our fall was better than living without a relationship with us. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
Man Breaks Covenant
Genesis 3:1-8
It’s over. Eve is deceived by the serpent. Adam chooses Eve over obedience to the Creator. The covenant is broken. And justice must be measured out.
Stop and ponder the moments between Adam’s disobedience and the Creator’s arrival on the scene. Adam and Eve experience guilt for the first time. Man makes his first attempt to cover that guilt apart from God. Nakedness, in itself, is not sin, yet Adam and Eve feel it necessary to cover their nakedness. This attempt to cover their guilt with fig leaves is unsuccessful, as Adam and Eve still felt it necessary to hide themselves. We cannot hide from our guilt.
What must it have been like for Adam and Eve in those moments? Can you imagine the fear? The Creator had told them that they would die as a result of breaking this covenant. In fact, they are experiencing spiritual death for the very first time. And they are waiting. They are waiting for the Creator to make His way to the Garden. I’m sure they are consumed with dread.
What about the Creator? As we saw earlier, God knew before He uttered the words, “Let there be light” that this moment would come. So He waits on the edge of the physical, and considers what will soon take place. He enters the Garden: “Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, ‘Where are you’? So he (Adam) said, ‘I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself. And He (God) said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat’?” (Genesis 3:9-11)
For the first time, the fleshly instinct to blame others for our sin rears its ugly head. “Then the man said, ‘The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.’ And the LORD God said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate’.” (Genesis 3:12-13)
Tomorrow:
A look at the first promise of redemption - the Adamic Covenant.
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