01-CHAPTER 1 ADAM

Chapter 1

ADAM

What are houses made for? What a foolish question! Of course, they are made for people to live in.

When a house is built, what is the next thing to be done? Furnish it. Right! For it isn’t much of a place until it is fitted with tables, chairs, beds and other things. And then what? It needs people to live in it. Right again!

GOD wanted someone to love Him and so He made man; but before He created this man He had to make a place in which he could live. So He made the earth, with its mountains, valleys, plains, rivers, lakes and seas, and in some places He hung up as decoration lovely foliage and sparkling waterfalls; in other places were playing fountains, like the geysers; and again there were beautiful rock gardens hidden away in lonely spots and corners.

After this the animals were made, and not one of them was cross or fierce. Some of them were made to be man’s servants, as the donkey, camel, horse and dog. Some were very beautiful, as the birds and the fur-bearing animals; and some were very strong, as the elephant and the lion; but each one however made, had its own place to fill.

And then, right after GOD’s great house, the earth, was all finished and everything was in place and comfortable, He said, "Now, I’ll make the greatest of all My creations, I’ll make man, the one for whom I have prepared this beautiful place, and I’ll give it to him and let him rule it under My guidance."

Then GOD formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into him life so that man became alive and GOD made him in His own image. This man had not only life with a physical body and a mind, but also a spiritual life. Only through this spiritual life could man have fellowship with GOD, could he understand Him and love Him and know and appreciate all He has done for him in making this world, furnishing it and putting him here to live. This, which He gave only to man, is called GOD consciousness. In this way men know GOD, animals do not.

I think that after Adam had been living on this earth for a little while as GOD was talking things over with him one day, He said, "Adam, look at all these birds and animals, and not a name for any of them. How would you like to find a name for each pair?" I wonder if Adam looked around for a dictionary to help him.

Anyhow, the Bible says that GOD brought all the animals and birds to him to be named. I think they must have had a parade, and all the animals walked or flew, in pairs, past Adam’s home, and as they came along, Adam had their names ready. It looks as if Adam was very wise to be able to do that, but I think he had been going to school to GOD and had learned much about this world from Him, just like we should do.

Now, back again to the great animal parade. Did you ever stop to think how Adam must have felt when he saw all of those animals? There they were, and each one had a partner, someone to talk to him in his own language; Adam only, had no one, and I think that for the first time in his life he was lonesome and disappointed.

But GOD knew all about this, and had a plan for Adam all ready in His mind. One night when he went to bed GOD caused Adam to sleep unusually hard. While he was asleep GOD took out one of his ribs and with that rib He made a helper to be Adam’s special partner -- a woman. You want to know how GOD did that? GOD can do all things, but He doesn’t often tell us how, and all that we know is the fact that He did it. So far as that goes we don’t really know how He made anything.

I am sure Adam was very glad to have a wife to love him and whom he could love. It is just like GOD to want to make His people happy.

Because GOD wanted Adam and his wife to know that He was over them and all creation, He had to test them. He said to them, "Now, here is all this beautiful garden, I want you to live in it and carry out my instructions. You will find fruit and nut trees that will furnish you with food; you may eat of all but one. Over there is the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Do not eat of its fruit, for if you do you will surely die." Thus they were warned lest they should lose both the physical life and the spiritual life that GOD had given them.

Adam and his wife, Eve, seemed to think that was all right and were very happy. Did you ever think of that garden? Every leaf and limb on every tree, every rose, every lily, every flower of every kind was perfect. Adam didn’t have to go around spraying and sprinkling things with Paris green to keep the harmful bugs away, for there were none; neither were there any weeds to pull. All he had to do was to till, plant and cultivate the garden.

They got along very well for no one knows how long, and were satisfied and happy. I think GOD came down every day and took a walk with them through the garden and talked things over. They loved GOD very much and He loved them.

Time went on and one day Eve was working around in the garden when she met a very beautiful creature who began to talk with her.

"Did GOD tell you not to eat of every tree of the garden?" he asked her.

"Yes, we may eat of the fruit of all the trees excepting that one over there in the middle of the garden. He said we shouldn’t eat any of that fruit, or even to touch it, lest we die," she answered.

Who was that good looking creature talking to Eve? It was Satan who had entered into one of the beautiful animals of the garden and in this form spoke to her. Satan is a liar and he told Eve a lie, for he said, "Oh no, you won’t die if you eat that fruit."

GOD had certainly said to them that if they ate it they would surely die. Eve made a great mistake in listening to this fine-looking, but deceitful creature, and another mistake she made was that she didn’t quote GOD’s Word rightly. She said that GOD had told them they were not to eat this fruit, or even to touch it. She added that, and then she said, "lest ye die," or in other words, if you do you may die; which was not as strong as what GOD had said.

It didn’t pay Eve to lie about what GOD said and to listen to Satan, but the more she listened the more she wanted to hear what this evil creature had to say.

The next thing he told her was that GOD knew that if they ate this fruit, their eyes would be opened and they would be as gods and know good and evil. Eve was greatly interested and thought that sounded fine. Thoughtfully, she went over and began to look at the fruit of this tree; she saw three things about it; it was good for food, it was nice to look at, and it would make them wise. So she ate some and along came Adam and she tempted him to eat some, too.

Oh, what a mistake they made in listening to Satan and disobeying GOD! The moment they disobeyed GOD, sin came into their hearts and they saw that they were naked, a thing they had not known before. Instead of receiving all of the blessings Satan had promised, they were very unhappy and all of their joy was gone. They lost the spiritual life, the fellowship with GOD, that He had given them. They really died spiritually as GOD had warned. They had lost a great deal!

"We had better make ourselves some clothes," said Adam, and they sewed some fig leaves together for aprons.

That evening when GOD came to walk with them, Adam and Eve ran away and hid behind the trees. They knew they had sinned and they did not want to see GOD.

"Adam, where are you?" GOD called.

"I heard you call, but I am naked, and so I ran away and hid," answered Adam.

"Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I told you not to eat?" said GOD. Then Adam was such a coward that he blamed his wife and said, "She gave me of that forbidden fruit and I ate it."

Turning to the woman, GOD said, "What it this you have done?" She tried to lay the blame on Satan, and said he had fooled her and that she did eat. Then GOD said to the serpent which had allowed Satan to live in him, "Because you have done this thing, you are cursed above all cattle and above every beast of the field; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life, and I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel."

That speech is rather long and hard to understand, so I’ll put it into simpler words. GOD said to the serpent, "Because you let Satan speak through you, you are cursed, and instead of walking upright as you do now (he must have had legs), I’ll make you crawl on the ground and eat dust all of your life." The next time you see a snake, think what it was before it was cursed. Some snakes have beautiful colors and all are very graceful, but that is about all that is left of their first beauty.

Then GOD went on to talk to Satan. He said that Satan and the woman would be enemies and that Satan’s followers and the children of the woman would hate each other. By the seed of the woman GOD meant His own SON, JESUS CHRIST, who should be born of a woman and who would bruise Satan and overcome him, but until that time Satan would keep right after the heels of the LORD JESUS when He would come to earth.

All of this word came true, for when He was here on earth Satan ran after Him all of the time until He died on the cross. And on the cross, Satan even bruised His heel, just like GOD said would happen! Then JESUS arose from the dead and Satan could do no more to Him, but he still goes after His people.

JESUS is coming to earth again, and when He dies He will bruise Satan’s head. That is, JESUS CHRIST will overcome Satan so that he cannot trouble us any more. That was a great promise to make, wasn’t it?

After GOD got through talking to Satan, He told Eve what her punishment was to be for disobeying Him. He said that through great pain and suffering her children would be born, and also Adam would rule over her and be the head of the house.

Adam, too, had to bear his punishment. GOD told him that since he had sinned, life would not be so easy; that weeds, thorns and thistles would grow up in the field. Until that day, Adam could have gone outside and picked his wife beautiful roses and he would never have stuck his finger on the sharp thorns on them, because there were no thorns. And because of Adam, JESUS CHRIST would one day have to wear a crown of those very thorns that were the result of Adam’s sin.

Adam would now have to work very hard to make a living for himself and family; and also that this should continue as long as he should live, and, that when he died his earthly body would go back to dust again, for that was what it was made of in the beginning.

For all this disobedience and sin Adam was very sorry, and he must have begun to think of that promise GOD had given to him about the seed of the woman. Anyway, we know that when he came to name his wife, who up to this time had no name, he called her Eve, which means "life-giver." So GOD must have given him faith in the One to be one day born of woman, even His own SON, JESUS CHRIST. However, this terrible thing sin had been planted in their hearts and there it stayed.

Do you remember that I told you before, Adam and Eve made themselves some clothes of fig leaves, but GOD wasn’t satisfied with that kind of a dress, so He made them some clothes out of the skins of animals. I wonder why He did that? Do you remember that GOD had said if Adam sinned he would die? In making coats of skins, wouldn’t that mean that some animals would have to die? It was as though GOD was saying, "When you sinned, death entered your body. But now you are sorry for your sin, and when I look upon these coats of skins I will accept the death of the animal in your place, and the coat will cover your nakedness."

It was a picture of how JESUS CHRIST, GOD’s SON, would one day shed His blood on the cross that we spoke of earlier. Then, if men would believe on Him, GOD would accept His death in place of the sinner and would give him eternal life. That is what conversion, or salvation means. When we repent of our sins and ask GOD to forgive He restores that spiritual life, that fellowship with Him, which Adam and Eve lost.

Last of all, GOD said, "This man knows good and evil, and for fear he may eat of the tree of life and live forever with evil sin in his heart, I will have to put him out of the garden."

He drove Adam and Eve from their home and lest they go back again, He put cherubim, that is, cherubs or living creatures, sent from Heaven, to stand at the gate and keep them away.

Poor Adam and Eve! I can see them as they left the garden. The Bible says that GOD drove them out, for I am sure they did not want to go. I think they looked the garden all over for the last time, and were sorry they had listened to Satan and disobeyed GOD. But it was too late now, for their beautiful home was gone forever, and they had to go out into the dark world and work very hard to make a living.

After a while GOD gave them two sons, Cain and Abel. When the boys grew up and were old enough to bring an offering to the LORD, Cain brought fruit, grain and vegetables, and Abel brought a lamb for sacrifice.

GOD was not pleased with Abel’s offering but not with Cain’s. What was the difference? It was as if Cain said, "Well, GOD, here are the products of my farm. I’m glad to give them to you. I think I am a pretty good fellow." And as though Abel said, "LORD, here I am a great sinner and worthy only of death. Here is a lamb to die for me. Will you accept it in my place?"

GOD was pleased to accept Abel’s offering, but He was not at all satisfied with Cain’s and that made Cain very angry. GOD said, "Cain, what makes you so angry? All you have to do is to bring an offering for sacrifice and all will be accepted." In fact, GOD even told Cain to look outside his door. He had brought a lamb to him and all he had to do was to accept it. But Cain wouldn’t listen, and all of this made him very, very angry. And a few days later out in the field, his anger was so great toward his brother that he killed him.

GOD punished Cain by sending him into a far country away from His presence forever.

So Adam and Eve had great sorrow. One of their sons was dead and the other, because of sin, was driven away from them. But, before a great while, GOD gave them another son whom they named Seth, and through whom many years later, came the promised REDEEMER.

Adam and Eve sinned and the curse of death came upon them in spirit and in body, just as GOD said it would. Because we are their children we have been born with sin in our hearts also, and the curse of death rests upon us. Perhaps some of you are thinking this punishment isn’t fair since we cannot help the evil that was done.

That is the very reason that GOD sent the LORD JESUS CHRIST to earth to die for us and to take away the curse of death so that all who believe in Him will live with Him forever.

~ end of chapter 1 ~

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