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The Adam Story Still Has Lessons To Teach Us

by Dr. Henderson Ward  
2/28/2016 / Christian Living

Some people have the habit of rejecting all things past as obsolete, dated and of no practical use, even when history suggests otherwise. It is true that teenagers tend to see anything or anybody over a couple of decades old as positively archaic, and as a teacher I heard a 16 year old student called a 21 year old student "decrepit" and "granddad". To add to this tendency is the habit of high-tech manufacturers branding their products as obsolete when the product has been in use for a few short years.

We do not have to guess why manufacturers would want you to see their "old" products as obsolete, or why they build products that barely outlive their warranty, or that they will exaggerate their new products as leap years ahead of the previous one, because we know their reason. Money.

So why, for example, would a person that have a perfectly good, well-working cell phone, that does all he requires, change that cell phone for a new one, that have features that he does not need, and for a cost that he can scarcely afford. I think you know the answer.

Whatever you may think, it is true that people get caught up in modernity to the extent that they become craven slaves to its progress, or maybe the word progress should be called change. Mark my word, the time is coming when people would have lost the art of cooking, when a generation would not know what matches are for, when conversation in a household would be regarded as intrusion, and where common decency would be regarded as a relic of a bygone age.

There is a huge difference between progress and change, and all around us evil people, among them nincompoop elements, are muddying the waters of understanding, so that people are mistaking one for the other. If our progress is killing the world that we live in, is that true progress? If we have a better lifestyle because two or three people in the family have to work rather than the one as before, is that real progress?

Some of us think not.

So how far have we come from the Adam Generation? Can we look back at the failures of the Adam Generation and say that we have learnt our lessons and have progressed to where we are? Are we any different from the Adam Generation? Let's find out.

Some time before the 4th Century BC, according to Archbishop Ussher the year was BC 4004, God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the idyllic Garden of Eden. God gave them everything they needed, not just to survive but to thrive, with the intent that they would live in a state of bliss forever. But God, being God, knew that living in perfect bliss when there was no choice, was not the perfect choice for humans.

To solve this conundrum the Bible, Gen 2: 8-17, spells out what God did.

"And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

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.

And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.

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.

And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

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."

Adam was no intellectual, how could he be, for there were no learned text to memorise, no esoteric jargon to unscramble, no standard of excellence to attain and no academics to please. But Adam was not stupid and, like most on earth, could understand simple, clear instructions like don't eat from that tree over there for if you do you will die.

So why did Adam eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? It is true that Eve was the one deceived by the serpent but Adam had the choice of refusing the fruit offered. In Genesis 3: 1-24 we learned how Eve fell to the wiles of the serpent and so disobeyed God, and Adam siding with Eve, over the clear instructions given, also disobeyed, and we see also God's reaction to their blatant disobedience.

But why disobey God?

The truth is that if you look at the situation in the world today, if you examine the perilous journey the world is taking, then you will see a carbon copy of the disastrous mindset that dominated the first family and the folly of their unenlightened thinking.

Their motives to disobey God are plain for all to see:

First, they relished a desire to be independent. It is good, even noble, to want to stand on one's own feet, to be self-reliant and able to cope without crutches, but what Adam and Eve thirsted for was more than that. Remember what the serpent said in Genesis 3:5 "ye shall be as gods" and that struck a chord.

To Adam and Eve, being independent and going their own way, being separated from God and doing their own thing as gods, was to them too good to overlook.

The truth is that many today want to steer their own ship through the perils of life, they want to say "I did it my way" and in truth they end up grounded on the rocks. True success in life, making it through to a blessed eternity, is assured when we do it with God, the Bible's way, and with help from each other. The sentiments expressed in the hymn 'Jesus saviour pilot me, over life tempestuous sea' is more in line with rational thought, but is abhorrent to the independent and unruly.

Second, they wanted to rely solely upon themselves. The serpent knew that he was making a strong point when it told Eve that it would make them wise to eat of the forbidden fruit. Adam and Eve did not have the luxury of looking back, as we do, and see that wisdom is not all its hyped up to be. Were they in our position they would have seen that the man touted to be the wisest man ever lived, i.e. King Solomon, died separated from God and doomed to eternal perdition.

Third, they were over fixated on self gratification. Looking at our world you will undoubtedly see that all vices seem to come supersized and perpetrators have gluttonous appetites. The relish to indulge, even to painful extremes, gratuitously, seem to be the hallmark of modern living. The serpent knew well the appeal to Eve when she saw that the forbidden fruit was "good and pleasant" (Genesis 3:6)

The world today has not progressed one whit beyond the follies of Adam and Eve, and the consequences will be no less severe. Materialism, waywardness and self-absorption are prime characteristics of a people heading to perdition; and the decline seems unstoppable.

Is there hope? Yes, and just like Adam and Eve, God has given us a clear choice, "I've set before you life and death... choose life... that ye may live." (Deuteronomy 30:19)

Enough said.

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Dr. Henderson Ward received his Doctor of Divinity in theology, with distinction, from Masters International School of Divinity, USA, where he is currently a post-doctoral fellow. Dr. Ward's career involved pastoring, evangelism, and teaching. Copyright 2017

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