Reprint of a 25Jan98/03:27 reply to a Curious Questioner--
>CQ> 17 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.
>CQ> Inquiry: If God did not want Adam to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil then why did He bother to create it and why place it right in the middle of the garden?
He didn't: The "tree of life" was "in the midst" in Gen.2:9p. It was the woman, who was DECEIVED, that thought the forbidden tree was "in the midst" in Gen.3:3p. The forbidden tree, was in fact "good for food" as the other trees. The tree was simply a test of OBEDIENCE! Adam, who "alone" was commanded not to eat of "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" failed the test. He chose to hearken unto the voice of his wife, instead of to the LORD God. (What voice do you hearken unto instead of the voice of the Lord? :)
>CQ> Genesis 3:1 states:
>CQ> 1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
>CQ> Inquiry: Why did "the LORD God" make the serpent? He makes the tree, he makes the serpent... looks like "the LORD God" is setting up some kind of sting operation here.
Wrong question. The Lord did not make the serpent evil, but gave him a measure of freedom of choice! The serpent chose to do evil. Eve chose to eat. Adam chose to eat. We all answer for our own choices.
>CQ> And what kind of serpent talks?
The dragon kind: "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan..." (Rev.12:9p) Genesis is the book of BEGINNINGS, the seeds of the word of God that grow to a complete REVELATION in the end! Instead of trying to crack the seed open under a microscope, you should "let these sayings sink down into your ears", and keep God's words in a fertile HEART until the seed that is sown comes to maturity in full understanding. (Amen? :)
"But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." (2Cor.4:3.4)
(REM: Read Every Message, before replying, please. Thanks! :)
>CQ> 9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him,
>CQ> Where art thou?
>CQ> Inquiry: Wouldn't he know where Adam was?
The Lord saw Adam "under the fig tree" (learning to SEW! :) before he called to him. Haven't you ever asked a question you already knew the answer to, just to "see what" someone would answer? Where are YOU? Why are you HIDING from the light? What are you WAITING for?
The word of faith says, That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Be truly scientific for once in your life: Taste and see that the Lord is good! "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." You have not, because you ask not! Call upon him and see for yourself! ("LORD, I know that I'm a sinner! Save me for Jesus' sake. Amen." :)
>CQ> He can create an entire universe but can't locate a puny little man hiding amongst some trees in a small garden on a single tiny planet.
Tiny? It is the largest terrestrial planet in the known universe! (Sometimes people make statements like the above just to "see what" a person's reaction will be! Did you catch all the qualifying words the first time you read that statement? Be honest! Scientists do not classify Jupiter as terrestrial, but as a "gas giant" planet. The "known" universe is "tiny" compared with the entire universe. :)
([-2] Please see next message. Thanks. :)
>CQ> Genesis 3:16 states:
>CQ> 16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
>CQ> Inquiry: So are all other female animals (dogs, cats, horses, etc.) without sorrow during childbirth or are they being punished too?
"Animals"? (No such Bible word. The Creator creates creatures! :)
Sorrow is more than just physical PAIN, which all creatures share.
TEARS! Dogs, Cats, and Horses cry with sound, but not with emotional TEARS! Dust and other irritants produce tears in all creatures with tear glands, but there is no known case on record of any other creature but MAN and WOMAN whose emotional or physical sorrow may be accompanied by TEARS! Women cry on average FOUR times more than men.
Emotional tears contain more proteins (enzymes, hormones, etc.) than irritant tears. Prolactin, from the pituitary gland, at times of intense emotion or STRESS, shows up in tears. Too much prolactin is TOXIC, so crying is a way of cleansing the body. The majority of people say they "feel better" after crying, and studies show that men who don't cry are more likely to have stress related illnesses. The shortest verse (that says MORE than any other) is John 11:35--
"Jesus wept."
A man's tear glands are "structurally different" than a woman's. Prolactin that shows up in tear glands is essential for promoting milk secretion in nursing mothers. (First milk is best milk! :)
WOMAN is a SPECIAL creation. The RIB woman is the only creature that was not brought forth from either the waters or the earth!
Punished? Why do you imagine that the common sorrow of childbirth is punishment? Instead of having one child at a time and the sorrow that naturally goes with birth, the Lord GREATLY multiplied her CONCEPTION! She had to go through the sorrow TWICE with Cain and Abel. When Cain came out first, her sorrow was turned to JOY, and she exclaimed, "I have gotten a man from the LORD"! When she had to wearily go through the sorrow again, to bare his brother, she just sighed, "Whew!" (Grin: The name Abel means "exhalation"! :)
Average life expectancy before the flood was above 900 years. With MULTIPLE conception, (two or more,) 9 months carrying to term, and three months rest in between, "the mother of all living" was a one woman POPULATION EXPLOSION! (Be fruitful and multiply... GREATLY! :)
"A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world." (--the Lord Jesus, Jn.16:21) (Tears of JOY are good for you! :)
([-3] REM: Please see next message. Thanks. :)
>CQ> This verse also seems to establish the point at which men rule over women, but didn't God already imply this in Genesis 3:9 when he called unto Adam but not Eve?
"Ha, ha." (The Lord's translation of a horse laugh in Job.39:25p. :)
Where else would a bride on her honeymoon be, but "with" (Gen.3:6p) her husband? (Doesn't your copy of the Bible have Gen.2:24 in it? :)
Besides, Gen.5:2p says that God "called their name Adam"!
As for the "rule" of the first man over the woman, notice that the Lord did not command the man to rule over the woman! The woman would "desire" her husband to "rule" over her. Governments ought to rule by the consent of the governed. (People do DESIRE to be ruled, even if they don't like how they are governed! :)
Both Adam and Eve were given JOINT "dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." (Gen.1:28p) And even there, the Lord did not say "take" dominion, but "have" dominion!
The words "desire" and "rule" show up again in Gen.4:7b concerning Abel's "desire" unto his elder brother Cain. The hereditary right of the firstborn to "rule" is a common thing. Esau gave up his birth right to his twin brother Jacob when he sold his birthright; and the prophecy that "the elder shall serve the younger" is even fulfilled in heaven in Gemini, the twins, (called "Castor and Pollux" in Acts.28:11p.) Castor (which is actually 6 stars) used to be, by far the brightest "star" of Gemini, but now Pollux is BRIGHTER!
([-4] Whatcha waitin' for? Please see final message. THANKS! :)
>CQ> (Eve at this point didn't even have a name but was known as "woman" and "wife")
The word Adam means man. The word "woman" has "man" as a part of it. Adam and Madam were the first MAN and (WOmb)MAN. When she became a mother, Adam called her name Eve (LIFE!) Men call their wives all sorts of names like Honey, Darling, "My beloved", "O thou fairest among women" (Solomon's song), "My better half", etc. (Sweety Pie? :)
>CQ> Conclusion: Just a few chapters into Genesis and this whole story is starting to sound stupid but morons all over the country swallow this pap as if it could not possibly have been any other way.
You did not mention any other way in your message. Is it right to call people morons and attack their faith but offer nothing better?
"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." (--Solomon, Ec.12:13,14)
Don't you think it is high time to come out of the darkness of the WOMB in "this present evil world", being born again by the word of God; and quit causing so much sorrow and travail in the hearts of the many people whose loving prayers for you are continually before the Lord? There is JOY in heaven over one sinner that repenteth! What are you waiting for? (Be GLAD, not sad! - Tears of JOY! :)
Just as I am, thou tossed about,
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!
Grace be with your heart, in love for Jesus' sake. Amen. --Richard
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