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Bible Bit

Read Genesis 1 & 2

I wish to consider, from the first two chapters of the Bible, the fact that God TALKED to Adam, the first human being created by Him. More than that, the things God actually said to Adam are of particular interest. We find God explaining to him that all creation had been given to him to have proper dominion over, and therefore Adam had a responsibility to work and to manage God’s world in a way which would please God. Also, God explains His covenant that He makes with Adam — that is, a binding agreement which both parties must adhere to. This was basically the command of God to Adam to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and that if he did the penalty would be death.

DEATH?! Ooh, that’s a bit harsh! Is it? Only one tree in the whole of the perfect garden of Eden! Hardly restrictive! The point was that Adam was to depend UTTERLY on God alone for his life, guidance and moral decisions. To do otherwise would be to claim authority (and hence the decision of what is right and wrong) for himself. This would therefore be to rebel against the very nature and being of God, Who is the infinite Creator, Sustainer, Provider, Father and Judge of all the universe. And that is something that surely merits death, if anything does!

Of course history turned out that Adam did rebel against God’s simple command, and so sin and the curse entered the world. Praise God that He sent Jesus to bear the punishment for our sin so that we can be free from all our guilt, with the prospect of a perfect eternity with Him after death! Now, the point of this article … I just want to single out one thing. This is the fact that Adam needed God’s clear direction in verbal form even though he was at that point totally sinless, and so couldn’t help being fully aware of God’s presence and reality from the creation around him. That is to say, a special revelation from God was needed even to understand the world properly. Notice how it was GOD Who told Adam that the world was His (1v29), GOD Who told Adam that the world was given to him on trust that he might subdue it (1v28).

The point is this — if Adam, while still pure and sinless, needed God’s clear revelation in order to live life to the max (as we might say today) and to understand all of reality aright, how much more will us sinners! Therefore how much we need His word the Bible to guide us, direct us and teach us about ourselves, God, life, reality, history, eternity, and also the true place and meaning of science, economics … well, pretty much everything in fact! (Of course I know the Bible isn’t a science textbook, but it provides us the philosophical and theological framework in which to undertake and understand science in a way which glorifies God and reflects His creatorship.) We need to trust Him Who is forever perfect rather than to arrogantly say we can know best, when we know full well our own failures, our shortcomings and our very finite understanding and knowledge! How good God is to provide His own infallible Word to us — let us take advantage of it!

Dave Skipper

Last modified: 25th November 2005