day no. 14,121: a crack in the seal

Genesis 3:2-3

And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’”

God never told Eve that she could not touch the tree. Eve added that. But when we defend God by adding to His instruction, we actually take away from His authority. It's called subtraction by addition. We give the serpent a crack in the seal into which he inserts some dirt into an otherwise pure environment.

day no. 14,120: information vs. insurrection

Genesis 3:1
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

It isn't a sin to ask God questions, but questioning God's intentions can lead to sin. The serpent wasn't looking for information, he was inciting an insurrection.

day no. 14,119: covenant oneness

Genesis 2:24-25
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

As attached as a son is to his family by the blood that runs through his veins, he becomes more attached to his wife by the oneness that runs through his covenant. By way of illustration, a grown man would be embarrassed to be naked in the presence of his parents, but excited to be naked in the presence of his wife.

day no. 14,118: men, mud and marriage

Genesis 2:18-23

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,

“This at last is bone of my bones

and flesh of my flesh;

she shall be called Woman,

because she was taken out of Man.”

All the Lord has made from the ground could not be found fit to help Adam. Only that which God made from him, that which shared his nature down to the bone, was sufficient to help and to complement him. While man was made out of the ground, woman was made out of man. Man had a relationship to the ground before he had a relationship with her. That from which he was formed held a particular place in his personhood. He was to work and keep, to conquer and cultivate the world. But not by himself. So woman was made from man and bears a particular relation to that from which she was formed. She was to help and to complete her husband.

day no. 14,117: life before wives

Genesis 2:15

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

Before the man was given a wife, he was given work: tp conquer and to cultivate. The garden needed to be worked if it was going to bring forth fruit and it required commitment if it were to maintain a state of fruitfulness. Planting and pruning were part of life before wives and before sin.

day no. 14,116: two commands with two distinct parts

Genesis 1:28
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Two commands: (1) be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth AND (2) have dominion and subdue over earth that you fill.

Each command with Two distinct parts: (1a) be fruitful and (1b) fill AND (2a) have dominion and (2b) subdue.

1a – Don't just fill the earth, fill it with fruitfulness. Don't just multiply something, multiply a particular kind of something – fruitfulness

1b – Don't just be content to be fruitful where you are, but be compelled to reproduce fruitfulness everywhere God has given to us. Do not limit your concern only to a particular plot of land, but expand by sending out some to guard and cultivate other plots so that the whole earth brings forth its fruit.

2a – Don't just enjoy the land, rule over it. You dishonor God when you either act like it's your world to rule how you please or when you leave the world to rule itself as though you had better things to do. The earth should not be abandoned or abused, but owned and operated by those under the authority its Author.

2b – Don't be ignorant of the threats to Eden. This warning to Adam was an indication of a threat to come. Adam was given reason to believe that danger was about to enter his dining room. We must sweat in times of peace in order to avoid blood loss during times of war. Tall, strong walls are not often built when they are under attack. God here gives Adam a hint of things to come that will require force in order to be subdued. This will not submit without a strong arm convincing it. So during this time, we must build muscle.

day no. 14,115: a first among equals

Genesis 1:26-27

26 Then 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 birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

 

27 So God created man in His own image,

in the image of God He created him;

male and female He created them.

 

God is an "Us" and an "Our." God is a plurality of leadership containing a first among equals in the Father accompanied by His Son and the Holy Spirit.