In order to live a life of liberty and to establish understanding, a foundation needs to be established. If you come to understand God in this beginning chapter of human history, you will see that God establishes
His message to us that carries through all of His plans and purposes. A message of freedom and a purpose for our lives.
This article examines the creation story and the fall of mankind in the beginning.
THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, CALLED
GENESIS
CHAPTER 1
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Here, the Hebrew word “God” is Elohim. However, the actual Hebrew character form is different from other occurrences. It appears to be the plural of the word.
Other scripture gives insight to this creation:
Isaiah 45:18 – For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.
Here we see that it was not created in vain or in disarray. Nor was it created uninhabitable. Yet we see the next scripture about the condition of the earth:
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
Here the term “without form and void” in the Hebrew infers “ruined and worthless”. Yet, Is 45:18 tells us that it was not created in vain or in disarray. Nor was it created uninhabitable.What happened? Other scripture gives us insight.
Jer 4:23 – I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.
2 Pet 3:5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
Ez 28 -1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:
13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
Jer 4:24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.
26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger.
27 For thus hath the LORD said, the whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.
Is 14:12 – How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
So we see that in between Genesis verses 1:1 and 1:2 Lucifer was cast to the earth and tore the place up. I personally believe that this period of time between the verses is where the dinosaurs, the cavemen, and other things occurred
Now as we move forward through the rest of creation, it is imperative to note some repetitive phrases. Taking note of these repetitions is an important skill in understanding the bible.
Take note of the repetitive phrase “ God said”:
3 And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
3 And God said,Let there be light: and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
5 And God calledthe light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
Many would think that this is the sun and the moon and the stars… However, it is not. That part of creation occurs in Gen 1:14. So this “light” in Gen 1:3 “let there be light” hints to something else. As we study throughout the scripture, we will learn what “light” is.
Symbolism is a major theme with God. Therefore, to understand His mind as it is exclaimed in scripture, accurate understanding of what certain symbols mean gives us great insight into our relationship with Him. Communication is the road to intimacy, while vulnerability is the currency.
6 And God said,Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
9 God said,Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called the Seas: and God saw that it was good.
11 And God said,Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
Once again, we determine that the “light” in verse 5 is not the sun, the moon, the planets, and the stars
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
20 And God said ,Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
24 And God said,Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it wasgood.
26 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.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
What does it mean to be “created in His image”?
Through the repetitive phrase “and God said” we see that God creates by speaking. When we take our first breath, we call it “the breath of life”. Is it any mystery that the breath of life is also the method by which we speak?
Heb 1:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.
3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Gen 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
God gives man complete authority over the earth and the physical law that governs all living things.
Ps 8:6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
Ps 115:16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.
Gen 1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
We see the process of procreation.
Gen 1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth on the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
CHAPTER 2
Now we see the concept of the “Sabbath” or the “rest” is introduced. In a later study on the Sabbath, we will discuss what the Sabbath was before Jesus coming to the earth and what the the Sabbath is today.
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,
5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Once again, as mentioned before, the breath of life. The original language suggests that the term “living soul” can be interpreted as “speaking spirt”The next section presents an interesting concept about a place called ”Eden”.
8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
We see a garden created in Eden. We also see two “trees”.
11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.
13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.
14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.
Next, we see God places the man where?
15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
Remember who else was in “Eden”?
13 Thou hast been in Edenthe garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
An interesting concept. God placed man in downtown Satan-ville. But God gave dominion rights, authority, and power to the man.
Ps 8:6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
Ps 115:16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
Adam exercises his “creator” authority:
20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
How did Adam exercise his “creator” authority? He spoke. He spoke over the animals with his voice. With his “breath”.
21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Satan tempts the woman (and the man who is standing there too).
How does he do it? He does it with lies, distortions, confusion. Here we see Jesus dress down the religious, comparing them to Satan:
John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar,and the father of it.
Note the deceptions and distortions:
CHAPTER3
1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
One concept that is very important is accuracy and fully embracing the scope of God’s promises. Here we see she omits the word “freely”. God said “you may eat freely”
3 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.
The woman errs by not accurately quoting God, by adding the phrase “neither shall ye touch it” (man was to take care of all the trees). It is possible, but not provable, that she heard them from Adam. Finally, she mitigates the consequence of eating from the tree. “lest ye die”.God was unequivocal on the topic. God didn’t say you “might” die. He said you will “surely” die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
Satan lies. He is the father of lies (Jn 8:44).
5 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.
We see the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
It is problem solving and moral judgments by “reasoning” vs revelation of the God’s Word and the leadership of His spirit.
Gen 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
We once again note that Adam was right there during the process:
1 Tim 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
This is an early adoption of religion. Some rite, ritual, or process that substitutes God’s righteousness and provision with man’s futile attempt to appease his own conscience.
When you play God and decide that you can determine what is morally right versus operating in scripture and the holy spirit, you become “naked”, or better, “uncovered”, “exposed”, “vulnerable”, and “fearful”
Gen 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
When you engage in religion, you are trying to appease an angry God (who isn’t mad), through your own efforts. Additionally, you live by fear and not by faith. It’s impossible to please God without faith.
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Also, the Kingdom of God has no room for the fearful:
Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Why? Because they did not embrace God’s free gift of right standing, redemption, and abundant life.
Gen 3:11 Who told you that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
Adam blames God:
12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
Because of Adam’s authority in the earth:
14 And the LORD God said unto the 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:
15 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.
16 Unto the woman he said, 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.
But thank God for Jesus Christ:
Rom 5:15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.
17 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one (Adam); much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life (not “might”, but “shall”) by one, Jesus Christ.
18 Therefore as by the offence of one (Adam) judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one (Jesus) the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
19 For as by one man’s (Adam) disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded grace did much more abound:
21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, evenso might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
We see that righteousness, or right standing with God cannot be earned. It is a free gift and simply must be received by faith.More insight into Adam’s transgression shows us that Adam has entered into idolatry by “worshipping” or “following” the woman more than God:
Gen 2:17 And unto Adam he said, 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;
18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
19 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.
Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
And we know that Adam gave his authority away to Satan and that Jesus came to get it back:
Luke 4:6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee,and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
So Adam “delivered” his authority to Satan
Gen 2:20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
So God places a “covering” over them by the shedding of blood through animal sacrifice until the day of Jesus Christ.
Heb 9:19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.
21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.
22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Heb 13:12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
And now, we live free.
1 Cor 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
12 All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
1 Cor 10:23 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.
But God is not imputing sin to us:
2 Cor 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation
In a later study, we will learn that all things are lawful. In other words, prohibitions are removed. However, consequences of actions are still available because spiritual and physical law cannot be changed. Gravity is still gravity. Jump off a building, get hurt or die.
Some may say “that’s just a license to sin”. First, no one needs a license, they can just do it. Second, if you live a life of genuine love, real working faith, and relationship, you don’t want to. Not because of religion, but because of the love and liberty you actually walk out your faith.
If you believe God will provide for you, you won’t “thou shall not steal”. Not because you are religiously afraid, but rather that the notion of stealing becomes foreign and detestable to you.
God was concerned now that Adam would exist in an eternal fallen state. So the plan to send Jesus to save is put into motion.
23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned everyway, to keep the way of the tree of life.
