The Discovery and the Fallout

By Noralyn Onto Dudt

"THEY HEARD  the sound of the Lord GOD walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord GOD among the trees of the garden. But the Lord GOD called the man and said to him, "Where are you?" He said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself." He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate." Then the Lord GOD said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said,  "The serpent tricked me, and I ate."

The man and the woman whom we now know as Adam and Eve were actually hiding from the One who had created them and placed them in that garden, the One who had been visiting them in the time "of the evening breeze" for a fatherly and friendly chat. They were hiding from the One who gave them "authority and dominion" over all living things. They were hiding from the One who gave them specific task of caring for the garden, a place where the Holy One  could come and commune with them in "the evening breeze."

The Book of Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament is the only source of information we have  on how God first interacted with the humans that He created.

Let's go to that garden and try to imagine what took place. How did Adam suddenly realize he was naked. What was on the Tree of Life ? Did Eve see a sign in front of  the tree  like this ?

          GREAT Tastings -- Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil.

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              Now! Don't get fooled. Get the REAL TRUTH from the

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                     Lucifer@ His Satanic-Majesty.Com

The woman alleged that she was tricked. Surely, the Devil must have been very persuasive and crafty as described in Genesis 3:1.  The fruit must have been very alluring. Without a doubt, it was quite a temptation. Eve  ate of the fruit, and passed on a piece of it to Adam. And suddenly they saw what they were—they were naked!

And then they heard the "sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the "cool of the day." What usually was a welcome sight and sound suddenly became terrifying. They hid. They were ashamed of their nakedness. And the Lord God called, "where are you?"

Did God suddenly not  know where to find them? Was God lost in the garden that He created for the man and the woman?  Was he really asking "where" in the garden they were hiding?  Or was he asking Adam whether he was aware of the magnitude of what he and Eve have done?  Was Adam aware that a close friendship and fellowship  with the One who had made him had been broken? Did Adam  recognize that he had betrayed God's trust ? Did he doubt that God had the best intentions for him?  Did Adam not  know that God truly cared about him?

God—“it is not right that Adam is alone. He looks lonely. He needs someone to help him."

Adam blamed Eve but let's move on a bit further from this blame game.  Adam... ate... the fruit. He could have said "No, God told us not to eat that particular fruit." But he went ahead.  Wasn't he just exercising his God-given independence? Had not God created him with a free will?

Independence—the status that God intended for humans—is a wonderful word. In his perfection as created by God—man was free—free even to disbelieve God and to reject His love and will.

Eating the fruit was a betrayal and disobedience that led to grave consequences. Adam and Eve were so ashamed of their nakedness. They "sewed fig leaves together" and made coverings for themselves.  But God provided them with better coverings. He sewed "garments of skin"  implying that an animal had to be slain and blood was shed. And then He told them to leave the garden, a place where it was secure, a place where God's provisions abound, a place where they had daily visits from God.

"Cursed is the ground because of you, through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.

By the sweat of your brows you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken, for dust you are, and to dust you will return."

And now they are independent of God, they were "free" at last !  They were no longer bound by the rules but only by "the sweat of their brows."

To be independent of God is to be dependent on circumstances, and victim of such circumstances. Adam and Eve were blinded to the fact that to be authentically independent, one must live in dependence upon God. Genesis 1:27 states that "God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."

I would like to imagine this scenario before Adam and Eve were evicted from their "garden home."

God—I am so sad to see you go. My heart breaks but you have to leave. I am God and My Name is Holy, so I can't let you stay here.

Adam and Eve—we are very sad too and we will miss our chats in "the cool of the day."

God—wherever you are, I will be with you. I will work out a way to get you back. It will take time but it will be done.

And for thousands of years, God worked out a plan. To us that may seem like eternity. But the Bible says that a thousand years are like a day to God. Unlike us humans, God is not bound by time.

A long meticulous plan that spanned 2,000 years of human history. In those 2,000 years, empires came and went.  The Babylonians who built beautiful and lavish structures, statues and other works of art; the Persians  whose cities were global hubs of culture, religion, science,  art and technology; the  Greeks whose leader Alexander the Great advanced Hellenism (Greek culture) precipitating  a major cultural change that had a great impact—the widespread use of the Greek language which became the lingua franca of the known world. And finally the Romans who brought peace and stability ( Pax Romana) throughout the Roman Empire in addition to building the roads that turned out to be an outstanding transportation network of the ancient Mediterranean world.

Peace and stability, roads, a common language. The time was ripe. It was in this political and cultural climate that Yeshua (Jesus), the Son of God entered our human sphere. He came that we may be redeemed.  He came that we may be reunited to the One who created us. He came that we may go back to that "garden." He came that we may have  life and live it to the fullest ( abundant life as described in John 3:16).

"But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive full rights of sons" (and daughters).

Although we may not recognize it, it's in our DNA (genetic code) to want to be reunited and be a part of Him.

Deep inside us is the yearning to be connected with the Holy One who created us in His own image. Because we are His children, "God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, Abba! Father!"

ABBA is the Aramaic word that means "Father." Aramaic was the language that Jesus spoke. Abba was a common term that expressed affection, confidence and trust. It signifies the close intimate relationship of a father and his child, as well as the childlike trust that a young child puts on his "daddy" or "papa."

When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He began with the words, "Our Father." What a privilege it is to have us call Him Abba, Father!

What amazing grace it is to offer us this wonderful invitation!

When we put ourselves under His authority and lordship,  we are His children and the Holy One is our Abba, Father !

Dietrich Bonhoffer, the German Lutheran pastor and  theologian  who was killed by the Nazis in 1945 wrote:

“The image (of Christ) has the power to transform our lives, and if we surrender ourselves utterly to him, we cannot help bearing his image ourselves. We become sons of God, we stand side by side with Christ, our unseen Brother, bearing like him the image of God."

 

It was a  life-changing moment 52 years ago  when the writer Noralyn Onto began to understand what it means to be able to call the one true God, our "Father" and what it means to be joint heirs with Christ.