Man – adam, and woman made from man to be one with man and with God – Eve: now have knowledge of good and evil.

NO more Paradise on earth – NO more Eden; no more garden of pleasure hedged in by the boundaries of righteousness. We must judge good and evil for ourselves (rather than simply obey God’s command).

James 1:23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.  24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.

Man is no longer the perfect, sinless mirror image of the Living God. Sin has clouded our vision and our judgement.

Yet the Lord is still near to those who will seek Him. Remember, the Lord God is a loving Father of all mankind; Creator of all that is good, corrector of all that is evil in the rebellious child.

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Genesis 4: ⁶ The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? ⁷ If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”

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The relationship has changed because of evil. Man is no longer naked in paradise, but revealed in our sinfulness to our Father of righteousness. And the loving Father advises those who would hear. Yes, obedience to God remains our option of doing what is good in the eyes of the Lord.

Yet we fail. As in Adam, so also in Cain and in the deceitful hearts, sinful flesh and rebellious spirit of every Adam… the misled heart of every Eve.

Our willingly broken relationship with God leads us further and further from Eden.

Genesis 6: ³ Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” …

⁵ The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. ⁶ And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. …

Do your intentions and choices of your heart ever grieve the heart of your heavenly Father?

Genesis 6: ¹² And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. ¹³ And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

What is God’s judgement of the wickedness of these last days?

Will God much longer endure sinful men without love and sinful women with callous hearts toward the love and righteousness of Christ Jesus?

God continued in faithfulness to those faithful in love and worship of the Father of all that is good. The LORD gave man a new hedge of protection in the Law – the Law of Moses, as it is called – The Ten Commandments.

Deuteronomy 4:  “And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live…”

⁶ Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ …

¹¹ And you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud, and gloom. ¹² Then the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, but saw no form; there was only a voice. ¹³ And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments, and he wrote them on two tablets of stone…

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The LORD no longer walks beside Moses or the leaders of God’s people. The LORD appears to the Hebrew people as an awesome and fearful sight! The LORD speaks from the darkness of what they cannot see and commands obedience.

The people confirm their faith; they make their solemn promise – a covenant not unlike the covenant of marriage – with the Lord their God.

Yet do they obey?

Is it so hard for us to NOT commit adultery?

Is it so difficult for us to follow even TEN clear Commandments of the LORD God?

To be continued…