These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, and every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew:
Creation
The pre-flood world had more usable land
The world of Adam and Eve was considerably better than the ruined world that we see today. The dirt had a layer of water underneath and the sky had a layer of ice above it. There was no rain, no storms, or clashes of lightning because the mist came up and watered all the plants, plus the plants grew better and bigger there than any of the hydroponic systems used today. The animals ate only plants and reached huge sizes due to long lives. Humans also were huge and ate only plants and fruit but were designed to live forever.
But because of man's sin God placed a limit on his life and changed the world drastically.
Genesis 6 v3 (KJV) And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. --- Click on the world to get to the Bible Geek's creation page ---
For the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
As a gardener myself, I would have really loved to have this mist rising from the ground under my garden.
--- Side note... Adam and Eve probably were giants.--- --- Large plants, insects and bones of all kinds are found fossilized around the world --- --- It has been said that the largest human bone ever found belonged to a man around 16 foot tall: I am still looking for more information on it. ---
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.
---Adam lived a total of 930 years on the earth.---
This would truly have been a Kodak moment had there been a photographer near by. The following section of scripture contains much more detail about the creation of man and women, it also contains a story about a beautiful garden.
And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
Pretty flowers .
A Flower Garden
Once again, I would love to have been there... to feast my eyes on a garden planted by God himself.
And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Some have viewed that last verse as a second creation story; I view it as God planting a Garden. The trees pleasant to the sight had flowers for sure.
--- Of the two trees specifically mentioned, notice that God does not forbid Adam to eat of the tree of life. It has been said that Adam and Eve could have been in the garden anywhere from 1 day to 100 years before failing. Were still searching for a little more information about this but for however long they were in the garden, they just never eat from that tree. --- When Adam and Eve woke up in the mornings, they needed only to pick fruit off of one of the hundreds of different types of trees, and enjoy; you and I don't have it quite as easy. How nice that would have been.
And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.
. God gives a descriptive map of the garden and surrounding areas.
This map will help you to understand the layout of the land as described in the Bible. However, the actual gardens location was lost and buried during the year long flood that destroyed the whole world. It is possible that the garden could be under water in a part of the earth that is now submerged. Although the Ark was built only to float, it could have moved anywhere in the course of a year. Some of the names of the rivers and lands have been carried over to the post flood era.
And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 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.
Adam had the very first job in the world, to (till, dress, or work) the land, and to (protect, or keep) it. But, God placed a stipulation on man that he could not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. One tree, that’s all that God said that he should stay away from. God had not originally forbidden man to eat of the tree of life, so the original plan of God appears to be, for man to live forever. Perhaps destroying man was the devils plan all along, He probably spent most of his time there in the garden keeping man away from the tree of life.
And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
This next section contains a longer explanation of what happened right before the creation of eve.
And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
By his word God caused Eden to form into a garden, and likewise God caused dust to be formed into more animals.
One by one God created another animal and bird out of the ground for Adam to name.
Some have called this a second creation story but upon reading it, he obviously recreated each animal this time specifically, to see what he would call them. Adam could have watched God in action as no other ever has.
And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
He was living in a paradise super garden of bright beautiful flowers, fruit and vegetables and after having just witnessed a rainbow of colors and shapes walk, crawl or fly by, Adam still finds no suitable mate, but God was not finished. God saved the very best for last. Eve, the mother of all people came to life and the very first marriage was preformed when her Father gave Adam her hand in marriage.
Cool Fact... The lower rib is the only bone that grows back. Many doctors take graphs from it over and over again to get bone for other areas of the body.
And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Naked without shame in a perfect world. how very different from the world of today. a time before sin had entered the world and before the curse on man and earth.
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
Eve listened to the serpents question and demonstrates beyond a doubt that she knew the one commandment that God had issued.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For 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.
New knowledge and delicious fruit
It’s the very first lie ever. 'Ye shall not surely die!! '
Adam and Eve did die, and so will you and I.
But the serpent says more.... mixing truth with a Lie, Satan teases Eve with new knowledge, a knowledge that God has withheld from them, The knowing of good and evil. Somehow this ‘knowing of good and evil’ changed her level of awareness and she, they, sowed fig leaves together in order to cover themselves. Contentment left and all forms of desires and fears began flooding their minds as they hid from the presence of God. This change has been passed down from father to child ever since.
In Hebrew the words ('God' and 'Gods' H0430 ) are the same word in the verse above, and the context decides how it’s translated. I respectfully differ with the kings James use of the word 'gods' here. I feel they both should be 'God '
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat
Adam stood by and let his wife break the only commandment and then broke it himself.
Why do you see so many drawings with Eve eating an apple when the bible just says 'fruit'?
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
The life of Adam and Eve drastically changed from the very moment they held the fruit in their hands. The very blessed presence of God used to fill their hearts with joy and now they felt fear and shame. Attempting to cover themselves with leaves was not quite good enough… they also hid from His presence.
An appearance of Jesus Christ before his birth is called a Christophany, and many folks believe that Jesus is the one walking in the garden here. And It does make sense because no one has ever seen ‘God the father’, and ‘God the spirit, is spirit’, but Jesus is 100% man and 100% God.
Isaiah 44 v24 (KJV) Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;
Paul (in prison) wrote this about Jesus.
Colossians 1 v16-17 (KJV) For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
I'm not sure why the Kings James uses the word voice in the verse above, it's just a bit odd. 'hearing the voice of the Lord God walking'... In Hebrew the word( H6963 'voice' ) Can be translated 'sound' and it actually sounds better. 'hearing the sound of the lord God walking' Not that it makes a lot of difference, but if you hear a sound of walking... wouldn’t there be legs doing the walking.
And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
Flat out busted! Like a kid in the chocolate ice cream that forgets to clean her face… Adam and Eve were flat out busted with new knowledge that they were naked, a new understanding that had been understood by God but kept from man, the knowledge of good and evil.
And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
...And let the blame games begin... First Adam blames God and Eve, then Eve blames the snake, I'll bet the snake tried to blame someone also, but the deed was done and the consequences were to follow. Sin was rooted in that first couple and there was no return. Well God does have a plan to restore everything to perfect and that plan includes the seed of the woman (Jesus) bruising the head of the serpent.
And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And 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.
Snakes really do eat dust
Click here
The first part of the curse was for the serpent...It may be that the first snakes had legs like lizards, but that’s only a guess. It is for sure that 'girls don’t like spiders and snakes' as the lyrics go... Click on the snake picture and it will take you to a cool story that sheds some light on the digestive habits of snakes... you see, they actually do sample dirt all day long.
Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
The second part of the curse was for the woman, much more pain in child birth and a desire for the husband but not the head of him. I often wondered what child birth would have been like without this part of the curse. We may never know. I thank God that I am a man, I would rather use the rake and hoe than go through that pain even once... lol -- side note... Thanks Mom. --
And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field
The Third part of the curse was for Man, not only is the ground cursed with thorns and thistles, but man needs to work it and eat of it all the days of his life. No more perfect garden that supply's all the food needs. In my little garden I fight with bugs and temperature. First I need to work the ground with tools to break it so the roots will prosper, then if I don’t kill the bugs they will kill my plants or if I don’t water them they will wither. But I only grow a few tomatoes and cucumbers..… notice I used the word wither and not die, plants don’t have life so they can’t die.
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.
Hard work to get the food and a promise that death will follow one day in the future, that is what the man and his wife were given in response to their sin. Their sin has effected everything, the effect changed the very ground that we came from and to it we will return. Adam lived 930 years and then he died. the bible does not mention how long his wife lived so any number would be a guess. Women typically live longer then men in today's day and that may have been the case back then as well. Adam and his wife finished their lives with the sorrow of this moment most likely reoccurring their minds over and over again.
And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
Is Eve everyone's relative?
God himself made coats of animal skins and clothed them... Wow... It may be just me but in my mind one would need a body with hands and feet to do this although I know that nothing is beyond God. I believe that God was not only present visibly, audibly, and physically, but also good friends with this first married couple. The coats were skins of animals, this is a shadow of how the death of the animals would temporally cover their sins. and a picture of the final sacrifice that God(Jesus) would make to save us all. Click or touch the photo to read a cool articular about genetics.
And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
I have heard several prominent pastors build huge sermons completely forgetting or ignoring that last verse... saying 'man was lied to by the serpent when the serpent said 'you will become as God knowing good and evil.' First of all, the serpent does say you will become as God knowing good and evil. but God also agrees with him by saying 'Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil' This is not saying that man will become God nor does the serpent say that. only the knowledge of good and evil is the topic of discussion.
Sent out in shame, barred forever from the beautiful garden that God planted. Never to eat from the tree of life that would have kept them alive forever had they taken one bite. Sent to the spot that Adam came from, to work the soil for food. Their new lives under the curse had just begun.
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.
Completely closed, Adam and Eve Could never enter the garden again. Fortunately the fruit trees were not limited to the garden, as we read in the creation story the whole world was filled with plants and trees of all kinds except the two special trees found only in the mist on the garden. The cherubim's are a very special symbol throughout the scripture and in order to fully understand scripture we need to take a small stop here and examine this creature. They are found mentioned in Ezekiel and Revelations as well as other books in the Bible, and are probably the most misunderstood. There is a link connected with the image of the sword... Touch or click on the sword to open a article. Please read the article attached to it. You see cherubim's block the way to eternal life. The very first cherubim mentioned in the Bible is the serpent himself, then some put as guardians to block entrance a place where Adam would fellowship with God(the garden). They are found on the mercy seat and they are sown into the Vail that tore in two when Jesus gave up his ghost. From that day to today the path to eternal life is open.
In Conclusion
God created a beautiful world, and then God created a beautiful garden, and then God created a beautiful family and placed them in the garden where they had everything that they needed including fellowship with Him. (I believe we all need fellowship with him as well) A cherubim tricked the family into believing that God was lying about death and it tempted them to gain the knowledge of good and evil. That family disobeyed Gods only commandment! God responded by punishing them, forcing them to leave the garden and blocking the way to the entrance; If you should continue to read about the birth of the children of Adam and Eve you will see that there was a relationship that continued with God, although changed. A sacrifice was commanded of them which was called the first fruits.
This is the very first teaching about tithing in the Bible. And as you continue reading through chapter 4 you might see as I did that Cain did not understand why the sacrifice was needed, perhaps he thought it was being wasted. The two (Cain and Abel) were taught by the same father, (Adam) and it is possible that they both did not completely understand the offering yet one honored God by giving his best and the other decided to cheapen it. shouldn't we just set our offering down and stop thinking about it.
Say you give a tithe to God through the church and later you believe that the money was wasted on a project that you didn't care for; well as soon as you put the offering in the plate God judges your heart, so why the regrets. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't talk about how you feel, but it does mean that you should stop thinking of the offering as your money because its Gods. Get involved with the church so you can bring your ideas to the table and Gods money will be spent in light of your concerns. Remember who threw the first punch aimed at that the destruction of the family and the fellowship with God, and pray daily for the strengthening of your home and church family's.......
The Bible Geek
Here is a little poem that I just wrote...kind of fits here...
----- Death gained by Adam's stain. to man, cattle, beast, and foul, took the head of the first cherubim and now with four can howl. The Geek.-----
That completes the study on the life of Adam and Eve, I hope that you go away with a greater understanding of their life's and a thirst to learn more of the history packed into Gods Word. Join us next as we take a closer look at the life of Cain and Able