The Original Sin:
The man God so lovingly created, the man God breathed life into. The man God communed with daily. The man God provided every need for, even custom made his companion. The man to whom God gave authority over the rest of creation - creations head. The man God placed in a beautiful garden. The man, Adam. When confronted by the Tempter, the man and his wife failed to trust the All-Wise, Only-Loving, Creator God. The seed of "Did God really say…?" had quickly taken root. The decree of God was traded for what appeared delightful and desirable. Doubt had been sown, distrust sprouted and death was the fruit.
The Ensuing Bondage:
Death entered the created order, because the head of creation, the keeper and protector of creation, had fallen. Man and his wife would physically die, this was part of the judgment passed on them by God "you are dust and you will return to dust". God promised them the day they eat of the fruit of the forbidden tree, the day they chose to see God as a liar, was the day they would die "... for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die."; and they did. From the moment their eyes were opened they were very much alive to sin, and dead to God. While attempting to present God as a liar, the father of lies had convinced Man (the crown jewel of God's creation) to swap masters. In that moment they became slaves to sin. All of humanity was set on a path of death. From that moment on, the proverb rang true for all humanity, "There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way of death." (Prov 14:12) ; and it was immediately apparent.
The Aversion to Life:
When the Creator came looking for them, they hid. The Giver of Live, their loving Creator God, was searching for them and they hid among the trees. Taking the very parts of creation they were given to tend and care for, they used as accomplices to attempt to further separate themselves from God. "They hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden." They were ashamed, and while there is a godly grief that produces repentance (2 Cor. 7:10), theirs was not; rather they exhibited a worldly grief that produces death.Being separated from the God who is love, they now were full of fear, and ran away from the Life.
The Continual Disregard:
When confronted with their sin, being given an opportunity to confess and forsake, each chose to attempt to justify themselves by casting the blame on another party. When individually confronted by God, each chose to justify their own actions by making another appear to be the true offender. "The man replied, 'The woman you gave to be with me - she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate.'" "The woman said, 'The serpent deceived me, and I ate.'" Further proof that sin and death had quickly and firmly rooted in their hearts; their response was yet another sin. Neither denied the act. Both tried to justify themselves. The sin of distrusting God's good decree had quickly formed a distorted view of God as they hid out of fear, and now is followed with the sin of challenging God's just judgement. Their hearts were running down a path of refusing to agree with the Creator at every juncture. The man argued he should not be accountable due to the woman. The woman argued her "innocence" should be maintained as it was all the serpent's fault.
The Merciful Sentencing:
The Judge of all the Earth delivers His sentence on the offenders; but even in wrath, He remembers mercy. Within the very "curse" placed upon humanity and the ground there is a seed of hope. Mercy weaves together a three-fold chord of judgment, merciful reminding, and a gracious promise. The pain being dealt is not blind punishment. It is loving discipline. The ground will rebel against the man as a reminder of our rebellion against our God. Childbirth would become painful, and physical death will claim every life but we are told it should serve as a reminder of where we came from. These curses are wrapped in pointers. They are lessons to remind us of the God we have wronged. Then there is the judgement upon the serpent - the deceiver of the human race. In his judgement we are given a promise that gives hope to fallen humanity and despair to the serpent. There will be a seed of the woman who's heel will be bruised by the serpent, but this same seed will crush the serpent's head. Through the pain of childbirth, would come one who would deal the death blow to the deceiver. Through pain, deliverance will come.
The Second Generation (born in bondage):
The man and woman had two sons, Cain and Abel. The had clearly passed along the events of their sinful choice to their children. Both Cain and Abel had constant reminders of this story, Able, a shepherd, dealt with protecting his flock from predators as each death and each hurt animal reminding him of the death and pain his parents had let into creation and are now subject to. Cain worked the ground, every drop of toilsome sweat, every painful blister, every rebellious thorn was a reminder that his dad's rebellion against God has brought death and judgement into creation.
The Sin:
We also clearly see they have passed along the promise that was interwoven in the judgement as they both brought an offering to present to The LORD God. "Cain presented some of the lands produce as an offering to The LORD." He had brought to God the work of his own hands, the fruit of his own sweat, and even then it was not the first fruits, but just some of the lands produce. "Abel presented some of the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions." Able brought the lives of innocents, firstborns of the flock and sacrificed those lives; reminiscent of the lives given by God to his parents to provide a covering for them.
The Aversion to Life:
"The LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but He did not have regard for Cain and his offering." God expressed displeasure at Cain's disregard for what was required as an offering. While we aren't told explicitly how it was passed down we can see it was known what would please God as Able brought an acceptable offering, and God exposed Cain's actions as sin, not goodhearted ignorance. This would seem almost like a cycle of sin, but sin is not a cycle; sin is a progression. The first sin changed the innocent heart into a heart bound to sin. Those born to the now fallen human parents were not born with the originally created innocent nature, they were born with the sinful nature inherited by their parents. Their parents being spiritually dead, gave birth to spiritual still-borns, who naturally walk according to the will of their slave master - the deceiving serpent. The confrontation of the first sin was met with shameful fear in the sinners, but this time there is no fearful shame, rather Cain expressed furious hopelessness. Cain refused to accept that the fault resided with himself. Entitled and self-assured, he was enraged that his merits, his sweat, the fruit of his labor was not good enough for God.
God graciously turns his attention to Cain, "Why are you furious? And why do you look despondent? If you do what is right, won't you be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door." God encourages Cain to amend his actions (repentance), "It's desire is for you, but you must rule over it." Where his parents hid in shame from life, Cain rage-fully rejected it.
The Continual Disregard:
Instead of repenting, instead of throwing himself on the mercies of the God who turned to him with loving correction, Cain lures his brother Able out into a field. Cain blames Able for his lack of acceptance with God. Now Cain is going a step further. Previously, he acted like his earthly father, Adam in disregard for what God had required. He now takes the mantle of his spiritual father, the serpent. (John 8:44) Just as satan sought to kill the crowning creation God loves, so Cain has plotted to murder the son of Adam and Eve that God accepted. Instead of amending his ways, he would remove the one that served as a constant reminder of his sin. When confronted by God, Cain is now an arrogant liar. "Then The LORD said to Cain,'Where is your brother Abel?' 'I don't know,' he replied. 'Am I my brother's guardian?'"
The Merciful Sentencing:
God tells Cain, "So now you are cursed, alienated from the ground that opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood you have shed." After reminding him of his sin and connecting the judgment being delivered, God tells Cain he will no longer receive any fruit from working the ground. The ground will not just force him to work hard to get sustenance, it will be outright rebellious to him, refusing to yield anything at all. Thirdly, he will be a wanderer on the earth. A three-fold curse: 1.Exiled from his home, 2.unable to work in the skill he had done his entire life and unable to recover it as the earth would return to him what he gave to it - death, 3. a restless heart, always moving about the earth. Cain cries out, claiming the curse delivered is more than he can handle. His sin enslaved heart doesn't seek forgiveness, he seeks a lightening of the sentence. God is merciful and places a mark on Cain that serves as a warning and deterrent to any who meets him that he is not to be killed, or they will suffer a seven-fold vengeance. This is merciful as Cain deserved death, but instead, while cursed with hardship, was still given a chance to live, have the joy of a wife, children, grandchildren. The goodness of God still graciously provided this murderous rebel with joys in life. "For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."
The Way To LIFE:
One of the lies the serpent would rather you believe is that sin is a cycle. That if you choose to indulge, if you choose to disregard the laws of your Creator God, that you can step off the merry-go-round whenever you choose. He would want you to believe that you can break the cycle at any point. We see within the first 3 chapters of Genesis that sin is not a cycle, it is a progression. The steps appear similar, but each stride is wider than the one prior. We are not only born into sin, not only bound by sin, but we are bound to sin. The fall of man started with Adam and we are still falling, ever deeper. Our response to God's correction will be that of our forefathers, unless "God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ…" (Eph 2:4-5) It is by grace we are saved. The merit of Cain's hard work wasn't enough. The shame of Adam wasn't sufficient. Nothing a fallen life can offer is enough to right the wrong of the created being's disobedience to The Creator. Able's sacrifice acknowledged that restitution, life for life, must come from outside his fallen self. God
became flesh - Jesus - and dwelt among men. Jesus, the promised seed of the woman that would crush the head of the serpent. He suffered the wrath of The Father, even though He was without sin, so that all who believe in Him would no longer be under condemnation. He arose from the grave three days later, proving he conquered death. Those in Him are no longer inadequately clothed with the works of their own hands. We are given the more than adequate clothes of His own righteousness. All those who are resting in His finished work, All those He is conforming into His own image, these are those who will inherit the new creation where all is set to right. No sin, no death, no pain, no sorrow, and most of all no separation in the relationship to the One who made us and Who we are made for. We will be in a world we were made for, with the God we were made for, living the life we were made for.
Jesus has broken the progression of sin for all who are resting in Him. Rest in Jesus.
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