Answers-Genesis - Part 2
"the gold of that land is good" Gen.2:11-12; Paradise Lost - ch. 3
Last week was about the 1st 2 chapters of Genesis. The main takeaways were that the Hebrew text clearly says the 6 days of creation were ordinary 24 hr days, human life is special and sacred, and the same can be said for the institution of marriage.
the foundation for the gospel is laid in the 1st 3 chapters of Genesis
first – a bonus – about goldbacks
Goldbacks instead of greenbacks
Since gold has basically held its value for thousands of years and is even mentioned in Genesis 2:11-12, and since paper currencies have always collapsed when the government that issued them collapses (What can you buy with a confederate Dollar?), a lot of cautious and prudent folks buy some gold coins as part of their savings. It’s kind of like insurance, and would come in mighty handy if the dollar collapses someday. Some financial advisors recommend having 10% of savings and investments in gold. It doesn’t pay any interest, and it has short term ups and downs like commodities, but it’s a wise precaution to have some. However, a 1 oz gold coin is now running about $1900. In an emergency, it wouldn’t be very practical for buying bread or milk or meat. (maybe if you bought the whole cow..)
Necessity being the ‘mother of invention’, one company saw the possibility that gold in much smaller denominations might be a good idea. Introducing Nevada goldbacks. Gold is very malleable, and can be made into thin sheets. Goldbacks are as thin as paper. They’re available as 1s, 5s, 25s, and 50s. A few states have even passed laws to make them legal currency, which surprised me. I ordered a few of the 1s, to see what they’re like, and to send one to each of my 7 grandchildren for novelty Christmas presents, along with a 2 page article explaining all about them, for their education. A ‘1’ contains 1,000th of a Troy ounce of 24K gold. So at present, the gold content in a (1) goldback would be about $2.00. However, I had to pay $3.50 for them. It costs something to manufacture them.
On to Genesis
Paradise lost
Genesis chapter 3 is crucial to understanding why we need a savior. Adam and Eve had been given only one rule, and they broke it! They had been told that the consequences would be death, but Satan deceived Eve into questioning God, and Adam went right along with rebelling against his creator. The death that resulted was twofold: immediate spiritual death (separation from God), and the beginning of physical death. From then on their bodies were prone to sickness, disease, and eventual death. This was passed on to all of us, because our genetic makeup traces back to the 1st man and woman.
If you skipped the 1st 3 chapters of Genesis, you’d have to wonder where all the sin and sickness in the world came from, if God said his creation was good. But most importantly, you might wonder why Jesus had to die? It was all part of God’s plan to provide a way for us to have our sin forgiven. He loves us.
The Fall
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” Gen.3:1
I know it sounds hard to believe. Skeptics scoff. A snake that not only talks, but in whatever language Eve was endowed with. But bear with me for a minute. There were many eye witnesses to the miracles of Jesus, including the big one – rising from the dead. And we read in Genesis One that all God had to do to create everything was to speak, and it happened. If Jesus could walk on water, heal the sick, and raise the dead, including himself, and if God can do anything, then of course he could make a snake speak.
But there’s more to it than that. This was no ordinary snake. Charlie Campbell, in “One Minute Answers for Skeptics”, puts it this way, reasoning from Rev.12:9 and 20:2:
“Scripture reveals that the serpent was actually Satan, an angel who had rejected God and was intent on leading the first humans to join the rebellion. And he’s still deceiving people today.”
Satan, in the form of the serpent, was a very clever liar. The most effective and dangerous lies are the ones that contain enough truth to deceive us. Satan planted the seed of doubt in Eve’s mind by questioning God. She fell for it. This was directly opposed to God’s instruction, and the consequences were awful. The implication is that Adam and Eve would have lived forever in paradise, where they had the Tree of Life, if only they had not disobeyed and disregarded the warning that they would die if they ate from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil.
The curse
Remember, God said that all that he had made was good. The Fall changed everything. The whole creation was affected. Thorns and thistles. The ground was cursed. It’s logical to figure that this is when some plants and animals became poisonous and carnivorous. This must be what my apple worms and peach leaf curl traces back to. I’m sure the apple trees in the Garden of Eden didn’t have to be sprayed with insecticides! We have the wonderful promise that when Jesus comes back and makes all things new, there will no longer be any curse! Rev.22:3 Yea!
The prophecy – Gen.3:15
“And I will put enmity (strife) between you (Satan) and the woman, and between your seed (offspring) and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head (a mortal wound), and you shall bruise him on the heel (a temporary wound).”
Jesus and Satan would be in a death struggle, and Jesus would take a hit, but he would strike the fatal blow. This is what happened when Jesus was crucified. It was only temporary, because he rose 3 days later. But Satan was dealt a death blow. Jesus led the way into heaven, so Christians don’t fear physical death. Paul wrote a wonderful passage that rings with this victory:
“But when this perishable (our bodies) will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” ……… thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1Cor.15:54b, 55, 57
The gospel
Adam disobeyed God, sin entered the world, we’ve all sinned, and so we all deserve the death penalty. The good news is that Jesus paid that penalty for us. Salvation and heaven are available to anyone who believes and obeys.
“that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” Rom.10:9.
In a future blog, I’ll write about how baptism fits into God’s plan of salvation.
Next week – Where did Cain get his wife?- the long ages, and the genealogy