The Worst Day in Human History, Part 3 (Finale)

No man is an island, entire of itself. 
Each is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. 
If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less. 
As well as if a promontory were. 
As well if a manor of thine own. 
Or of thine friend's were. 
Each man's death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind. 
Therefore, send not to know for whom the bell tolls, 
It tolls for thee. - John Donne

Genesis 3:19-24

A final note here on Genesis 3. We've looked at the crucial moment in man's history where he disobeyed God, (sin), and experienced the corrupting curse of his choices. This is also known as the Fall of Man, or simply The Fall, by theologians. The world is now broken. Man's relationship with one another is broken. Man's is now broken inside by sin. He no longer relates to God rightly, views himself rightly, or know how to rightly relate with his Creator. What began by God as "very good" has now fallen because of man.

Last time I noted the depressing and discouraging nature of Genesis 3. Truth maybe hard, but it is still truth. We can't hide from the honest nature in which the Bible explains what happens. Nor can we ignore that the Bible accurately diagnosis man's condition. This is why man "can't just get along" with one another, why marriages disintegrate, why evil exists in the world, and why the world in which we live nor our bodies work as we want them to. But we remember the promise, or glimmer of hope seen in God's promise to the woman (3:14). It is the promise of the seed of woman, (not of man), who will one day come and crush the offspring of Satan, even though he will be wounded in the process. The identity of this man is not yet known, but God does provide hope for the future of mankind.

Keeping all of this in mind, let's look at the end of Genesis chapter 3.

"By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return." (19-20)

"Death comes to us all" -
said to Edward the Longshanks

The final proclamation of God's curse on man because of his sin is that man will live a difficult life in a broken world until ultimately, he will die. Man's mortality is a reminder of the effects of sin. Death is a reminder that the world and we are not as we should be. A funeral procession is a distressing thing because it is a reminder to everyone that "death comes to us all". "You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die," (Genesis 2:17). The curse of sin is death. Sin requires death. (Keep this in mind as it will be a running theme throughout the Bible).

V20-21, "The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. The Lord God made garments from skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them."

A few very important things to see here:
- God, though the offended party in the relationship, nevertheless moves to care for, protect, and provide for sinners, (Adam and Eve). Once again, it is God who initiates help and care to sinners, not the other way around.
- Death is required to cover up the effects of sin. God made clothes for Adam and Eve. Did he just create them out of thin air? He could have, but I don't think so in this case. I believe animals were killed and clothing from skins were made from Adam and Eve. I believe God did it that way to show them that dealing with the effects of sin, (in this case nakedness), requires death. An animal had to die to deal with the problem. God is establishing a pattern here that sin requires death. This will be seen throughout the rest of the Bible story.

Sin is unpleasant and so are the consequences.

V22-24, "And the Lord God said, 'Behold, the man  has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever-' therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that they turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life." 

More VERY important stuff:
- God talks to himself again like he's got multiple personalities. Man has become like one of "us". Another revelation of the Trinity of God, (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).
- God sends man out of the garden because a holy and perfect God cannot tolerate the presence of sin. Man has become unrighteous by his sinful actions and therefore cannot stay in the presence of God. Man is therefore expelled from the garden.
- What if God allowed man to eat from the tree of life and live forever? Wouldn't that be great? I don't think so. If man lived forever in a corrupted and sinful state he would only destroy himself and others. Man already does a pretty good job of that anyways. Man needs to be healed and saved from the corrupting influences of sin. He needs to be restored. An undying sinful man cannot return to fellowship with God. Death is required to deal with sin.
- Man is expelled from the garden and cannot return but by the way God provides. Man is going to spend the rest of his days trying to get back to and right with God by his own education, efforts, sacrifices, and accumulation. Every religious system but one exists on the premise that man has to get right with God by his efforts in one form another, be that living a good life, obeying a sacred book, sacrificing appropriately, telling enough people about "the truth", keeping oneself unstained from evil things/places/activities/words, purifying yourself from bad karma, and on and on ad infinitude. Man is going to try and do it his way. (Another running theme). There is only going to get to the tree of life and it will be God's way. 

Lego pics found on the Bricktestament.com

Thus ends the age of innocence of man. Man has been expelled from the presence of God because of his sin and disobedience. What is hopeful about the story is that it could have ended right here, but it didn't. God could have wiped out Adam and Eve and the entire creation, but he didn't. He could have killed Adam and Eve and been justified in doing so, but he didn't. God is going to work to restore man to fellowship to him. He is going to come to him, just as he did in the garden, seeking restoration. He is going to provide for man, just as he provided clothes for Adam and Eve. What's that going to look like? We don't know yet. You have to keep reading the Bible...(and less importantly this blog), to find out.