WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

Psalm 8

How Majestic Is Your Name

To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. ^[a] A Psalm of David.

 1O LORD, our Lord,
   how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
 2Out of the mouth of babes and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
   to still the enemy and the avenger.
3When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
   the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4what is man that you are mindful of him,
   and the son of man that you care for him?
5Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings ^[b] and crowned him with glory and honor.
6You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,
7all sheep and oxen,
   and also the beasts of the field,
8the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
   whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9O LORD, our Lord,
   how majestic is your name in all the earth!

I thought about where might be the best place to start, or with what character, and I decided that since the best place usually to start is at the beginning, that's where we would start. So it is that we begin with Adam and Eve, the two first human beings, the first family, that God placed upon the earth.

The story of these two characters is a story that is both beautiful and very sad. The story is found within the first four chapters of the book of Genesis. There is also some information given concerning them at a few places in the New Testament and we will be bringing some of that in as we go along.

The story opens with the story of creation with which we all should be pretty familiar. It is worth noting, I believe, that it was only after the creation of all other things that God created this creature known as Adam. This tells me that the planets, the stars, the moon, the constellation know as the 'Milky Way", and so on were created for the benefit of this Adam. If for no other reason than when he observed them he would be reminded of the power and the glory of his creator. "The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world." Psalms 19:1-4

As we read on we will find that there were other things created before and for the benefit of the last thing created. there were magnificent rivers and oceans virtually teeming with all sorts of fish and other creatures. Great majestic mountains from which cool breezes would blow in refreshing pure and unpolluted air for the sustaining of life and to give pleasure.

As he looked about he could see in every direction, lush vegetation of every kind and description. All kinds of fruits, berries, nuts and thousands of delicious and nutritious herbs, all sorts of cereal grain, just for the gathering. The man Adam was placed into a real, tangible paradise that had been prepared just for him.

As we have learned from our studies the word Adam, is a Hebrew word; and means "human" or man. It also has the meaning of "earthy".

In the Jewish language, even today, the word for "human being" is the term "ben adam". Eve was created as a female Adam or the counterpart to the male Adam, or a man with a womb.

Have you ever thought about the first time Adam was conscious, or realized that he was a "living soul."?

How it must have been to look around and see all the things we spoke of earlier and to marvel and to wonder. how amazing it was to be "born", so to speak, a full grown man. No toddling about or playing as a child, indeed no recollection of a childhood for he had none. I cannot help but believe Adam was aware of the fact that his creator looked upon him, and pronounced, after the creation of Adam. "And God saw everything that he had made and it was good."

This man was given some responsibilities at this time, even though he was in paradise. He is to be fruitful and multiply - he is to fill the earth and master it - he is to eat only fruits and vegetables - he is not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and is consequently told that if he does he will die that same day. It is after this that Eve is created.

If you recall in this story, it was Adam who would name all the animals of the earth. Although I don't know of any scripture that says so, I feel it is very likely that Adam did this by inspiration which God gave him and without which he would have been incapable of such a task.

I can not help but wonder as God looked upon Adam naming these creatures, who were both male and female, if his heart was touched by the fact that of all things that lived it was only Adam that had no companion of his own kind. Is it just a coincidence that it was at this point that God named the only thing that was "not good", and that was the loneliness which Adam was experiencing?

The lesson here for us is that even though many times we may have everything that the heart should desire, it is still possible to suffer from loneliness. We also can gather from this that we are in need of contact and communication with others of our own kind. There are many today who feel that they are on the outside looking in and never feel that they are a part of any group. We as Christians should do all within our power to help these kinds of folks and realize at the same time that we all need companionship, friendship and fellowship. We are a part of the body of Christ and in need of the other members of the body. I Cor.12 The human connection is shown also in Romans 14:7, "For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself." Then there are no "lone ranger" Christians!

We see at this point that God gave the man what he needed, a helpmate, the woman known as "Eve".. It may be worth mentioning that God gave him one woman which to me says that God's intention was for a man to have one woman for life and vice versa.

We do not know how long Adam and Eve enjoyed the bliss of paradise before trouble appeared on the scene. It came in the form of a "serpent" who, is described as being "more subtle than any other wild creature that the Lord God had made." 3:1

There are many speculations as to exactly what this "serpent" actually was, but, it really doesn't matter. Whatever it was, it was being used by the mastermind of intrigue and deceit, and the shrewdness that is exhibited here by the creature is used as an example by Jesus to tell his followers how shrewd we should seek to be. Matthew 10:16

We know of course, who was the manipulator and the one responsible for the action of this creature; whatever he may have been. He was the first of liars. He told the first lie ever told upon this earth. He was the first of murderers inasmuch as when he persuaded Adam and Eve to disobey God he murdered the entire human race. Jesus tells us in John 8:44 that it is Satan who was both these from the beginning and so we find him being referred to in Rev. 12:9 and 22:2 as the old Serpent.

I want you to remember that Eve evidently did not hear God give the restriction concerning the tree but got her information from Adam for she had not been created when the command was given. Genesis 2:15-24

It appears that Adam added to what God had said in retelling it to Eve and it may very well be that this gave the very opening that Satan needed to plant the seed of doubt in the mind of the woman.

Eve in talking to the creature adds that God not only had said for them not to eat of the tree but also that they could not touch it under penalty of death. Now God never told Adam that they could not touch the tree, or if he did I don't know where he did, do you? Now if the serpent could persuade her to reach out and touch the tree or perhaps even gently push her against the tree, without anything happening, has not enough doubt been planted in her mind that what God said is not true? and so she eats of the tree.

Is there a lesson here for us? How important is it for us to be aware of what God has said instead of what someone said that God said? "Faith comes by hearing the word of God." Rom. 10:17
"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world." I John 4:1

Eve was deceived so says scripture while Adam did what he knew to be wrong. "Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor." I Timothy 2:14

Now the question comes up as to all people today being sinners when they are born because of the sin of Adam. So called great theologians speak of the Adamic nature and having the sin of Adam upon us when we are born. This goes back now to what we just said, and that is, what has God said about it? Are we sinners because of Adams sin, or are we sinners because we sin as Adam did? Jesus answered this question many years ago, beyond any shadow of a doubt, when he said; "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." - and - "See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold the faced of my Father who is in heaven."
 Matthew 18:3 and 10.  Another lesson we learn here then is that each one of us is responsible for our own actions. Adam for himself and Eve for herself. See Roman 2:6-11 and II Cor. 5:10

We find at this point though that another element is involved that is so common among us, and that is the unwillingness to admit that we are wrong and that we are at fault. We remember that Adam began to blame it all on Eve and to even infer that it was God's fault because it was God that had given him the woman to begin with. I can hear him now; "If you had not given me the woman there would have been no problem, you shouldn't have done it." Eve on the other hand passes the buck to the serpent. Harry Truman had a sign on his desk which read, "The buck stops here." So it is with the things we do or don't do, the buck stops at our feet. Have we really changed all that much? Are we not passing the buck when we try to put it off on Adam as the reason we don't serve God as we should?

This raises another question; Did Adam have to sin when presented with the temptation or was he just as capable of not sinning? Did he not have the power of choice just as Jesus had in the desert? Jesus like Adam was capable of sinning or else there was no temptation, yet also like Adam he was capable of not sinning and of course, he did not. We are capable when any temptation comes of saying no, the power is there even when we choose to say yes. I pray we will all remember that each day and each time temptation comes our way.

Lastly, let us think of Adam as having everything that he would ever need, yet he wanted one more thing. It is this way of thinking that has gotten many of us into trouble. he had everything, but he gave up everything to have one thing God told him he could not have. This is sin of a nature that is condemned throughout the scriptures.

David the great king of Israel had wives, concubines, position and wealth, yet when he saw Bathsheba he wanted one more thing, another man's wife.

In the early church, a man named Ananias and his wife Saphhira had a part in the church of God but in coveting for recognition they not only lost their place in the family of God but also lost their lives.-
James 1:12-15

We read the following in Hebrews 13:5; "Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have." I Timothy 6:6 "There is great gain in godliness with contentment."

Oh, if Adam had but been more aware of what he had and what he stood to lose by wanting such a small thing.

In closing, let me say that the Devil has not changed his tactics and unfortunately we just keep on falling for it.

• When he came to Eve he began to plant doubt in her mind about what God had said.
• He used what she thought God had said as a door through which He entered to create that doubt.
• He questioned and got her thinking, whether or not it would really be a sin.
• He denied that there was any danger connected with touching or eating.
• He suggested to her that they would be better off than before if they did eat of the tree.
• They would be more Godlike, wiser and perhaps even on a level with God himself.

Let us be aware that just like Satan has not changed, neither has man changed very much since Adam. What do you think you would have done in the same circumstances and under the same conditions?

When we think of the basics of this scenario, we can see that we can see that encounter them quite often. Before we are too hard on Adam and Eve, let's ask ourselves how we are handling the same basic problem, and that is, choosing between obedience and disobedience.

Come on, be honest!