We saw in part 1 of this series that God made man in His image and likeness and sort of passed on the family business to him, but on a much smaller scale. He granted us dominion over a part of His creation. Humanity (remember, I’m using the word humanity instead of adam) was given the following god-like abilities: The power to create life, dominion over and power to subdue the earth, and authority over every living thing on the earth. God asked for very little in return. The only things He asked for were relationship and obedience. However, we see in Genesis 3:1 the beginning of humanity’s fall. A serpent suddenly enters the pictures and engages the woman in dialogue. I mention that it’s the woman not because of her sex, but because it was the man who received the admonition directly from God. It was obviously passed on to her somehow, since she has some knowledge of God’s command. But before we continue, we need to acknowledge a few things. Okay, first things first. There’s a talking snake. That’s a bit weird. Am I right? Well, we’ll dig deeper into that later because there is so much to cover outside of the talking beast. The second thing we need to acknowledge is that the world is upside down. To understand what I mean, let’s take another look at Genesis 1:28.

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Take a look at the last sentence of Genesis 1:28, then take a look back at Genesis 3:1-4 and tell me what’s wrong with that picture. Genesis 3:1-4 is both a world turned upside down and a look into our own future. Humanity was given ruler-ship and authority over all the living things on the earth, including the beasts of the field. However, instead of exercising authority over the snake, Eve instead decides to commune with it. I use the word commune instead of communicate because commune implies something deeper. It implies something spiritual or contemplative. The serpent on the other hand is communicating with the intent of reaching Eve on a deeper level. He is trying to get her to question God and get her to make a paradigm shift. But let’s be clear, just creating doubt is oftentimes enough to start the ball rolling. The paradigm shift is the icing on top of the cake.

Here is what I mean by a paradigm shift. We see in verse 6 that the woman “saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye”. Keep in mind that previously, it was God who saw and determined what was good. Although humanity hasn’t yet tasted of the fruit of the forbidden tree, their gaze has shifted. Instead of trusting in God, who has thus far only identified and presented good to them, they now begin to lean to their own understanding. This is a terrible shift in humanity’s story. A friend of mine recently reminded me of Proverbs 14:12: “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” I doubt that truer words have ever been spoken.

But before we jump on Eve and blame her, remember that she and Adam represent humanity as a whole. We often make bad choices. We often feel that we know better. However, we cannot see all ends. Our vision is limited. We are simply too myopic when it comes to making decisions. God on the other hand, sees all things and knows all outcomes. In 1 Samuel 23:9-12, while in Keilah, David hears that Saul is coming and wisely consults God about what may happen in the future. After consulting God, David is able to escape capture and possibly death. Isn’t it comforting to know that there is one who knows all ends? More than that, He is accessible, if we only seek Him out.

There are some who would argue that everything is predestined. However, foreknowledge isn’t the same thing as predestination. David had a choice to either listen to God or not. He chose to listen to God. Did God know what he would do? Of course He did. However, that’s only because He saw/knew what choice David would make long before the choice was made. That’s different than forcing David to make a certain choice. If that were the case, God would have forced Adam and Eve to make the right choice form the very beginning. That would have saved us and God a lot of heartache.

Okay, back to verse 6. Here we see that Eve gave some of the fruit to Adam. There is no indication that she had to speak to him or convince him to take the fruit, although he is the one who received the admonition directly from God. Furthermore, it’s sort of implied within the text that Adam was nearby, even while the snake was talking to Eve. If he was, then he should have exercised authority over the beast as well. I know it’s hard with our daily lives to remember who we are as children of God. However, bear in mind that a lot of what happens on a daily basis is there to distract you. Do you really need to know what’s happening with every celebrity? How many hours do we spend on social media each day? How does that compare to the amount of time we spend with God each week? Is it just limited to a couple (literally meaning 2) of hours on Sunday? I’m not saying that you have to attend church everyday. I don’t do that. However, I find time on a daily basis to at least read His word. That nourishes me, provides wisdom, and helps me to put things in perspective in a world that generally lacks perspective.

I used to call certain books I read “brain candy”. They were fun books that didn’t require any deep thinking or provide any profound takeaways. The reason I used the term “brain candy” is because candy usually has no real nutritional value. It’s just sweet and satisfies a perceived need. Remember that food pyramid our teachers showed us in school. I’m dating myself, I know, but it’s changed over the years. As we’ve learned more and more about healthy living, we’ve made appropriate updates to the pyramid. But no matter how much it’s changed, you still can’t live a healthy life on a diet of candy and sweets. We need to cut some of the sweets out of our daily lives to make room for things that are more nutritious. Its only through reconnecting with God (prayer) and consulting his word (the bible) that we are reminded of both who He is and who we are. And just like we generally eat everyday, we should incorporate God into our daily diet. Every meal we eat isn’t a big sit down meal. Some of our meals are merely snacks, but they keep us going. My challenge to you, dear reader, is to at least find time to take a spiritual snack everyday. You may find at times that it may be the most nourishing meal of the day. We were given authority over so many things, but we forget. And in forgetting, we allow circumstances and things that should be under our authority to take advantage of us. Be well.