Moments later they entered the Grove and immediately saw the Tree of Life, from which
they gathered fruit once a week, and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Serpent looked at her with malevolent eyes.
"See the Two Trees, Woman. Look at the fruit upon the Tree of Knowledge."
She found herself really looking at the fruit for the first time.
"It is beautiful," she acknowledged.
"Yea, it is beautiful and desirable. Yea, hath God said that ye shall not eat of every tree
of the garden?"
Woman looked longingly at the tree before answering 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."
Serpent smiled when she misquoted God. Great! She added ‘neither shall ye touch it.’
My plan is working! Now for the rest.
"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."
Woman tried to comprehend all that he had said. The tree seemed to draw her to itself.
Hesitantly, she took hold of one and smelled it. It smells good. It must be delicious like
Serpent has said.
Twisting the fruit off its limb, she examined it. Knowing good and evil! Be as gods!
She glanced back at Serpent, who smiled encouragingly back at her.
She took a deep breath and bit into the fruit. Closing her eyes, she experienced the most
satisfying flavor of anything she had ever eaten. It was wonderful!
"Are you dead?"
Momentarily confused by the question, she just looked at Serpent. Then as
understanding came, she smiled.
"I am very much alive, Serpent. And this is the best fruit I have ever eaten. Surely, God
would not withhold such goodness from us for ever?"
"Surely. Perhaps you should share it with Adam."
"Yes," she agreed. "We must hurry back to Adam and let him savor this fruit!"
&&&
Many years later, Adam would recall the tragic day when sin entered his life. "I had
returned from my own explorations and arrived home the same time they arrived. My wife
had some fruit in her hand as she approached me. I recognized it immediately.
"When she offered it to me, I knew it was wrong. I would be in direct disobedience to
God. He had warned us. Yet I chose to enjoy a moment of sinful pleasure. I was without
excuse. She did not trick me or fool me, but simply told me that she had eaten of the fruit
and no harm had come to her. God must somehow be wrong!
"But I knew better. I knew that such disobedience would bring death. That something
drastic would come between God and us. Just the same, I saw that the fruit was beautiful,
that it promised knowledge that I did not possess and, besides all else, I was hungry.
"To my shame and everlasting regret, I felt it but a small thing to disobey God. I guess I
thought He would not really mind. I was wrong!"
He bit into the fruit and a moment later it fell to the ground with but one bite taken.
Even as the fruit's taste was still in Adam's mouth he felt as if a shadow had passed
before his eyes. He looked at Woman and noted, with a jolt, her nakedness. An evil
thought eased its way into his mind, then the eyes and finally manifested itself in a wicked
smile. Before, he had always loved and accepted Woman in innocent desire, but now that
desire was polluted. A new awareness of her nudity flooded his mind bringing with it
unholy images, thoughts, and feelings.
Sensing his change, Woman instantly covered her genitals and breasts in
embarrassment, while becoming acutely aware of Adam's nakedness.
Realizing the futility of their actions, she spotted a fig tree, hurried over to it and
plucked large leaves off. Connecting the leaves, she was able to make a small garment,
which she wound around her waist. Her breasts still uncovered; she made another
garment, placing it around her neck, the leaves falling in place. This provided a degree of
modest covering, which Adam noted immediately.
"Make something for me too," he urged.
Nodding silently, she made a similar lower garment for him as well.
But both were agonizingly aware of how insufficient the coverings were.
"Where art thou?"
Adam and Woman looked at one another in panic. God was looking for them!
"Quickly," Adam whispered as he headed for some nearby shrubs.
Woman followed and they hid themselves.
"Where art thou?"
The voice of God penetrated Adam's conscience. For the very first time, he heard
disappointment and sadness.
"Where art thou?"
Adam knew it was no use to try to hide from God. Bracing himself, he spoke
hesitatingly and fearfully.
"I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid
myself."
"Who told thee that thou wast naked?" God asked. "Hast thou eaten of the tree,
whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?"
Guilt and shame washed over Adam. Stepping out from behind the shrub, he was
overcome with the holiness of God and could not even lift his eyes to Him. Desperately
seeking to avoid condemnation, he answered:
"The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat."
God ignored the implication that He was responsible because He had given Adam the
Woman. Turning to Woman, He asked, "What is this that thou hast done?"
She gazed at the ground not able to look at God. Her words were so low that Adam,
standing beside her, could barely hear her words.
"The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat."
God looked at the two of them sadly. Both had blamed someone else and by inference
had blamed Him since He had created both Woman and Serpent. It seemed an eternity to
them as God silently gazed upon them. Both kept their eyes to the ground.
Upon hearing what she said, Satan realized it was time to leave. Quickly, he extracted
himself from Serpent and sought a hiding place.
Turning, God's eyes lit upon 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:"
As soon as God mentioned "upon thy belly", Serpent fell to the ground. He tried to
speak but only a hiss came forth.
God continued to speak, although His eyes shifted to Satan.
"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."
The force of God's Word struck Satan and he fell to the ground. Quickly he got up and
fled. God watched him go and then turned his attention back to Woman.
“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.”
Tears rolled down her checks. Sinking to her knees, she fell prostrate before Him.
God looked upon her in silence. Then he turned to Adam.
“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.”
Adam fell to his knees as God’s Word struck deeply within.
“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.”
God fell silent. Throughout the world, on earth and in the heavens, angels mourned as
an awful silence penetrated the Garden. No animal stirred or sound was heard, as time
seemed suspended.
Suddenly Adam realized God had departed and they were alone. Slowly he stood.
“He is gone Woman. You can get up.”
She got up and looked at Adam. Her eyes said it all: What do we do now?
He looked upon her and tenderly placed his hands upon her shoulders.
“We deserve what God has said. We have sinned and forfeited God’s fellowship. You,
my wife, shall bear my children. Therefore, your name shall be Eve, because you shall be
the mother of all living.
“I do not know what the future holds, Eve. But we will still worship God, for He alone
deserves it.”
Suddenly God’s voice echoed in the garden.
“Because of your sin, you can no longer stand in My Presence. By the shedding of blood
shall your sin be forgiven and by the shedding of blood I shall provide thee coats of skin for
your clothing. Henceforth, thou shalt approach Me through the blood. You shalt prepare
an blood offering, which thou shalt offer once a year.”
Adam suddenly saw the hand of God holding a lamb, which was gently placed upon the
ground before the two of them. It didn’t struggle, although it was obviously still alive. The
hand reappeared, this time with a knife. Another hand gently held the lamb so that its
head was lifted up. In one swift movement the lamb’s throat was cut. He watched as the
blood was removed and taken away. By the shedding of blood shall your sin be forgiven,
thought Adam. Again the hands appeared and the dead lamb was skinned. Moments later
two coats of skin were lying on the ground. He and Eve quickly removed their leaf
garments, donned the new ones and the shame was lessened. They heard God speaking
again, but it wasn’t to them. He seemed to be talking to Others.
“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.”
Stunned at what he was hearing, Adam fell prostrate upon the ground and, with tears
pouring from his eyes, he looked up to heaven. Eve followed suit.
“O LORD God,” he cried, “give us another chance. We will not let You down!”
For a few moments there was no response, then God’s voice thundered.
“I have loved you before I ever created you. In Creation, I made you perfect and no scar
or blemish was found on you. I created this Garden for you in perfection to be your home.
By disobeying Me, you have sinned and are no more perfect. Your sin has not only affected
you, but all around you. Because of your sin, you can no longer live in the Garden, lest you
eat of the Tree of Life and live forever in sin. You must leave. NOW!”
Adam shivered as he and Eve stood. He wasn’t sure if it was because of the finality of
God’s statement or the sudden wind that arose.
“Adam, look!”
Out of nowhere a sudden, powerful, swirling wind was moving towards them. It was so
strong that Adam and Eve could not stand before it. It pushed them hard. Eve fell to the
ground and Adam reached down to pull her back up.
“We must leave,” he shouted, trying to be heard over the roar of the wind.
Doubt caused Eve to hesitate. The wind grew in strength, pushing them eastward. Soon
the two were running faster than they had ever run before. Even as they ran, Adam tasted
something foul, such as he had never tasted before, and knew it was fear!
With wind pushing them forward, they ran as fast as they could, entering an unexplored
area barren of trees, shrubs or even flowers. A feeling of foreboding filled his mind.
Above the wind, they heard a soft rumble, which grew in intensity until it was a roar. A
hedge towered before them. How are we going to get through that?
Immediately he saw the answer as a gate, made of the hedge itself, slowly swung open.
Gripping Eve’s hand, Adam plunged through the gate. And suddenly the wind was gone!
&&&
Running through the gate, they came to an abrupt stop. Hovering a few feet above the
ground and directly in front of them were four Cherubim angels with two wings covering
their bodies and two wings stretching outward. They had one likeness, as if a circle had
been in the midst of another circle. Whatever direction they moved, they moved upon their
four sides. Whatever direction the head looked, the cherubim moved that way without
turning their bodies. And their whole body was full of eyes round about so that they could
see in all directions.
Hovering between them and the humans was a large two-edged, flaming sword
suspended in air. It seemed to have a life of its own as it moved about. The Cherubim and
the flaming sword quickly circled around the humans and took up positions between the
gate and where the humans stood. Adam knew immediately they were preventing their re-
entering the Garden. The sword moved toward them threateningly.
At first alarmed, Adam realized the sword was merely emphasizing God's command
that they were forever banned from the Garden. Sadly, he turned away from the gate. It
was then he understood the great roar. He was stunned as he watched the River of Eden
pour over the cliffs to his left forming the eastern end of the Garden. The waterfall. Eden
Falls! Surprise lit his face. Immediately remembering the overview he had seen forty days
earlier he stood transfixed by the sheer power of this mighty falls. He estimated that it was
a quarter of a mile long or longer, while directly in front was an entirely different view.
While Adam and Eve had seen a waterfall before, they had never seen anything like this!
Land extending out from the Garden and arching over a great expanse. Adam instinctively
knew that it was a land bridge and that it was their path to a world new and different from
what he had known. He estimated it was 30 feet wide, allowing not only the two of them
ample room to travel, but also the animals exiting with them. A thick mist rising from
below partially affected their view.
"Follow me," he hollered as he took a step towards the trail.
Slowly the couple made their way down the rocky path. They almost fell as the trail
dropped sharply, but managed to hold on to each other and regain their balance. The trail
was so steep that each step downward seemed to jar their bodies resulting in aching legs
long before they were halfway down the trail. Pain was new and miserable to them.
As they worked their painful way down, Adam saw that below and to his right was a
great river, which he named the Euphrates River. Almost directly ahead of him (actually
slightly to the left) was another wide river, which he called the Gihon. Looking further to
his left, he saw two additional rivers. He named the eastward flowing river the Hiddekel
and the northerly flowing river, the Pison.
The steep trail forced his attention back to the path. He glanced at Eve. She was
showing the affects of running hard and now going downhill. Her breathing was rough
while her face was flushed. Tears coursed freely down her cheeks.
I have been such a fool! I am to blame for all this, not Eve. I was the one He told!
Stopping, he turned towards her and took her into his arms.
"Eve, we will be all right."
"B-but God is angry with us."
"Yes, He is," Adam agreed. "But He also loves us and has provided for us. Not only
these clothes, but a Redeemer."
"But w-what will we do?" she cried.
"We will still love, obey and worship Him. We can no longer talk to Him face to face,
but we can pray."
"Pray?"
"Yes," he answered. "We can talk to God and He will hear."
"Will we hear Him?"
"I do not know if we will hear or see Him. But I am sure He will let His will be known.
And one more thing, Eve. Do not blame yourself for what happened. I knew it was wrong
when you came to me with the fruit, but I chose to eat it anyway."
Eve didn't answer, but leaned against his shoulder. Gently he held her close and
caressed her hair. After awhile, he spoke:
"We must continue."
This time they descended as one.
&&&
Satan and his demons preceded the humans out of the Garden and were now watching
as they descended the ramp.
“What do we do now that we failed?”
Satan turned towards the demon that had spoken those words.
“Failed! Can you not see what has happened? I have succeeded in destroying man’s
relationship with God. No longer are they innocent. No longer do they worship God! His
great plan is in shambles. Who controls earth? I do. Who must man worship? Me!”
“So what do we do?”
“For now, nothing. We will let man wallow in his own blood and sweat. For now I shall
wait and watch. Later, I will give man the opportunity to worship and serve me.”
&&&
Reaching land, they collapsed in sheer exhaustion and watched as the animals
descended. Adam was bemused by the animals' behavior. All except the snake followed a
similar pattern. Some reached the bottom first and dutifully waited for the humans to
arrive. Others followed Adam and Eve down the ramp. But now each approached and
sniffed the humans with a forlorn look in their eyes and departed.
Later Adam would recall: "It was as if each animal remembered the fellowship we had
enjoyed in the Garden. The curse of sin affected them as well. Those who had been able to
speak could no longer do so.
"But more importantly, they had been expelled from the Garden and it was not their
fault. Looking at them, I saw something in their eyes I had never seen before - fear. It was
as if they were afraid of me.
"Then I watched as each turned and headed into the nearby woods. All except the sheep
and goats. They stayed."
Finally, Adam stood, helping Eve to her feet and studying their new home.
Before him was the giant arch he had just descended. It seemed to tower over the
Euphrates River. He was amazed by its size as the entire arch was constructed of huge
boulders one atop another. In the middle was an opening that allowed the Euphrates River
to flow through. He estimated that the distance between the river's surface and the arch
was perhaps a hundred feet or more. He couldn't begin to understand what held them all
together and kept the boulders from falling into the river.
He could still see the cherubim and the flaming sword, while Eden Falls, looking more
magnificent as viewed from below, crashed against the rocks and into the churning pool.
From where he stood, he could see the beginnings of all four rivers.
Looking up again, he could see the hedge rimming the cliffs, while towering above were
many of the giant trees he had known so well. Tears welled up in his eyes.
Shifting his gaze, he looked to the west and watched the Euphrates as it raged and
foamed in apparent anger. Adam decided this was probably the most dangerous river.
Turning, he looked at the Gihon gently flowing south. The land along side it was heavy
with a variety of trees. He recognized the Oak, the Fir, and the Aspen. The ground itself
was covered with knee high grass, shrubs and flowers.
It is beautiful. But not as beautiful as the Garden. Nothing will ever match that!
He bowed his head and prayed.
"O God, how foolish we have been. Our disobedience is ever before us. Your fellowship
our hearts crave.
"My face is wet with tears. My heart brakes, sadness envelops me.
"O God, we have lost the Garden, Thy Garden. Pain, sweat and tears are our due. We
have lusted after the flesh, craved the forbidden and listened to the lies of the Tempter.
"You have chased us from Your Presence and placed a guard about Your gate. Yea, You
have wrapped Yourself in mystery; You have hidden Your face.
"Yet have You slain a lamb for a covering and given us a promise. O that the Redeemer
would come. Prepare the womb of my wife, hasten the day when He shall be born."
He stopped and wiped the tears from his eyes, but they continued to flow.
"Adam."
He turned towards Eve, but she shook her head.
"Adam."
It is God speaking! He fell prostrate upon the ground while Eve did the same.
"Yes, God. Speak, for Thy servant listens."
"You are on holy ground. Gather unto yourselves rocks and build an altar unto Me. Its
height shall be four feet, its width two feet and its length three feet. The rocks shall be
mortared together within and without that Mine altar shall stand. Sanctify it with the
blood of a lamb, a lamb with no blemish.
"Moreover, thou shall come before this altar and worship Me once every year. If thy
heart is tender towards Me and your desire is to pray unto Me or seek Me, you shall bring
a sacrificial lamb, without blemish, to be offered for your sins. See, I have slain a lamb and
poured out its blood. I have clothed you even as thy Redeemer shall clothe you with
righteousness. I am Elohim, your Creator that gave you life and nourished you. If you
obey Me and worship Me in truth, every time you offer a lamb I will remember My
promise of a Redeemer and what He shall do. I shall forgive your sins and watch over you.
"By and by, you shalt travel south. When this altar is too far for thee to come, thou shalt
build another altar like unto this one. There you shall meet with Me once a year with an
unblemished lamb. Then will I hear you and bless you with blessings.
"Lo, I have this day given you My Word. Treasure it, guard it and read it. Teach it unto
your children and children's children. Thus say I, your Lord and your Creator."
As the roar of the Falls fell upon their ears, they stood. Eve reached up and wiped the
tears from Adam's face while ignoring her own. Adam started to say something and froze.
She turned to see what he was staring at so intensely. Only a few feet away they saw the
finger of God writing upon the flat side of a large rock. Stunned, they watched.
When the writing stopped and the finger disappeared, Adam drew closer and read the
words aloud.
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without
form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved
upon the face of the waters."
He looked backed at Eve, smiling radiantly.
"Eve, this is God's Word, His very own writing. It tells of the creation!"
He turned back and eagerly looked it over. Finally he stopped.
"Listen to this," he said to Eve, who had moved closer. "And God said, Let us make
man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every
creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."
He exhaled deeply.
"Eve, this is a great responsibility. I remember when God gave us this charge," he said,
pausing as Eve nodded indicating that she also remembered it. "God is not through with
us, Eve. We have sinned and grieved Him immensely, but He still loves us. He has given us
this His Word and an altar to worship Him."
"What do we do now?"
"This is His Writings, Eve," he spoke in a voice full of awe and wonder. "I will break
this piece off the rock and we shall treasure it forever. And I will also begin keeping my
own record so that our children and children's children will know what happened."
"What will you write?" she asked.
"The truth. Everything from this moment forward. People will need to know about the
Garden, our sin, and God's provision. They especially need to know about His promise of a
Redeemer! And that Redeemer will need to know whatever else God chooses to reveal."
"And the Redeemer shall be of my seed," she added, excitedly.
"Yes, your seed. But first we must obey Him. Help me gather rocks to build His altar."
&&&
1AC
For several weeks they simply lived in a cave existing under the arch that was 7 feet
high, 7 feet wide and about 15 feet deep.
For two people the cave was a comfortable fit. By taking Ram’s skin, Eve was able to
make her first rug to be used as a dining area. Here she would place her few cooking
utensils and when finished eating, she would wrap them inside the rug (after first scraping
them clean in the river).
Everyday they would wake up to a clear blue sky. The slight dampness in the air was
refreshing. Eve would get up early to find Adam had already left to gather wild grapes,
fruits, and other edibles, which he would bring home at day’s end.
Except for the noise, Eve was contented, but Adam knew that God wanted them to move
south. After six weeks of living in the cave, they packed up their few belongings and
headed south following the Gihon shoreline.
Moving created its’ own problem. Although they owned few possessions, they didn’t
want to leave them behind. Adam had Eve enlarge the rug, which enabled them to place
many of their belongings in it and roll it up into a tight bundle. Then Eve fashioned straps
for Adam to carry the rug on his back. She made a smaller rug for herself and carried the
remaining tools in it.
When they had traveled a few days journey, Eve complained. She kept remembering
the cave and the abundance of fruit. But Adam was firm.
“God wants us to move south. ‘Why’ was never told me. So we must continue south.”
“But surely we can stay here a few days and rest.”
“I know this is tiring. But if we stop now, we might never leave. We must continue.”
Continuing south for a few more days, they found an ideal place to build a new home.
With an abundance of birch trees nearby, he put in action a plan that he had been thinking
about for the past several weeks.
Using saplings, he built a framework for the new home by bending them over in a curve
until they met at the top. Tying them together with spruce roots, he was able to fashion the
frame into an arch. Next, he went to work on the sides of the structure. This time the
saplings didn’t touch the top, but were secured with more spruce roots to the arches.
Once he had the framework completed, he lashed sheets of bark to the outside. When it
was finished, he invited Eve to check it out. Overjoyed with her new home, tears streamed
down her face. At first, Adam thought she was unhappy with it.
“O no, my lord. It is wonderful. Our first home and it reminds me of the cave.’
It was comparable in size to the cave measuring about 8 feet high and about 15 feet
deep. The door was 6 feet high. Although only big enough to comfortably house the two of
them, it would suffice. Adam had a strong suspicion they would only be here temporarily.
Click Follow to receive emails when this author adds content on Bublish
Comment on this Bubble
Your comment and a link to this bubble will also appear in your Facebook feed.