Creation and Fall

Genesis 1-3

He awoke with the warm sun on his face and the cool dew of the morning grass on his back.  When he first opened his eyes, the sunlight blinded him, and he reached with his hand to shield his eyes from the light.  He had no memory of how he came to be, or of who he was.  Nearby, he heard someone walking about, and he turned his head to see a tall figure of light and grace walking toward him.  Somehow he knew who it was, without a word's being spoken.  He sat up abruptly, stretching his hands above his head in the sheer pleasure of being alive.

"Your name is Adam, for you are the first man, every man resides in you.  I formed you from the dust of the earth.  Arise, and know the joy of fellowship.  I am Yahweh, now and forever more the same, and the creator of all that is."

He extended his hand down to the man, who took it, and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet.  They walked together then, through grass covered meadows alive with the brilliant colors of flowers.  Curious creatures of every form stopped from the business of grazing and frolicking to see who this might be.  Some came to see, while others returned to their chosen tasks.  Overhead flashed more creatures on swift wings, or gliding lazily on the currents of air far above.  In the sparkling brooks yet other forms of life darted from the shallows to the deeps and back again, blissfully unconcerned of the world of land and sky around them.

"I have given you authority over all of this, " the Lord said, his hand sweeping from earth to sky, into the waters, and back again.  "You will name the creatures of the field and forest, the waters and the air.  Whatever names you give them will be their names forever."

For much of that day, and many days thereafter, the man Adam named the creatures he saw, from the placid cow in the deep meadows to the swift cheetah on the plain, to the multi-hued trout that danced in the currents of the brooks.  The Lord left him that first evening at dusk, and he rested in the night.  When the next morning came, he felt a sensation inside him, and realized the need to feed like the animals around him.  He first tried grass, and quickly spit it out.  The leaves of the trees looked appealing, but they did not satisfy either.  His eyes lit finally on the fruit among the leaves, and this at last satisfied his hunger.  Another craving seized him then, but this was easily satisfied at a nearby brook.  He knelt down, and bent his head to lap up the water as he had seen Dog and Deer do.

The Lord returned in the cool of the evening, and they walked again through the shadow-dressed garden.  God explained to the man how he had created the earth, and all that was in it.

"In the beginning, there was nothing but emptiness.  I spoke, and gave form and shape to the stars and planets, the darkness and the light, the waters and the dry land.  I created the angelic hosts who worship me, and all living things you see.  When all was prepared, I created you as well.  It is in you that my plans rest, for I wanted someone to fellowship with, as we do now.  I made you in my own image, and like me you have the ability to choose what you will become."

When the man Adam looked about in the first days of life, he saw that the creatures that he had named had companions like them, yet different somehow.  He saw the animals touch and nuzzle one another, and play together. He loved his time of fellowship with the Lord more than life itself, yet he longed for someone like himself, a man creature but not like him exactly, to share his time with.  He mentioned this one day to the Lord, who smiled and reached out to touch the man's shoulder.

"I have made the plan already for you to have a helpmate.  When next you sleep, I will do what needs to be done, and you will not be lonely anymore."

That night, Adam fell into a deep, dreamless sleep, unaware of what happened in him, and around him.  When he awoke again, his eyes quickly fell, in great astonishment and joy, on another man; mot a man, really, but like him, nonetheless.  God was there to greet her when she awoke, and he spoke to them both.

"I have created this one to be your helpmate and companion.  She was made from a rib that I removed from your side as you slept."

"Then she is flesh of my flesh," exclaimed Adam.  "I will call her woman, because she was taken out of man.  I will show all that you have made, and she will help me in caring for the creatures of the garden."

In the days that followed, days unnumbered because joy has no timetable, Adam walked with his wife over all the vast expanse of the garden, which he called Eden.  He showed her the fruit of the trees that served as their food, and each new variety was a source of joy and wonder to the woman.  When God walked with them, he pointed out the trees to them, but especially spoke to them about the tree at the center of the garden.

"You may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden but this one," he told them.  "This is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and it is forbidden for you to eat it.  If you do eat the fruit, you will die."

Adam had never really thought about death, because there was none in the garden.  Without being told, though, he knew what it meant.  In death, there would be no more fellowship with the Lord, no enjoyment of the pleasures of Eden.  He would no longer be a companion to God, and the body the Lord had made for him would return to dust from which it was made.  He and the woman talked about it at great length, and both of them agreed that death was too terrible to contemplate.  It was hard to believe that a God so full of love, as they knew him to be, would really do such a thing, but they knew he would not lie.

One of the creatures in Eden was Serpent, a beautiful, sinewy creature who moved among the trees with grace and ease.  He became one of their constant companions, especially to the woman.  One day a marvelous thing happened; he actually spoke to them!  None of the other animals did that; the serpent told them it was a special gift God had given him so that they could have another companion to fill their days.  Adam thought they should tell God how grateful they were, but Serpent said they should let the Lord mention it first.

On that fateful day that changed everything, the man and the woman were wandering about, as their custom was, plucking fruit, and eating their fill.  Serpent then said a most peculiar thing, though he surely knew better.  "Is it true that God has said you must not eat fruit of any trees of the garden."

"No, that's not so," Eve said.  "We may eat fruit from any tree except for the one in the middle of the garden.  God told us that if we eat the fruit of that tree, we will die."

"You will not die," the serpent replied, his voice now a hiss.  "God knows that if you eat that fruit, you will be like him, and doesn't want that.  He wants you to stay ignorant, just the way you are. Just look at the fruit; see how lovely and delicious it looks?  Go ahead, take a bite.  Nothing will happen, except that you will grow wise.  God will reward you for being so bold."

Eve looked longingly at the fruit, and the serpent continued to speak.  Finally, she could resist no longer, and she plucked one of the fruits from a low-hanging branch, and took a bit.  Serpent was right; it was delicious.  She looked anxiously about, expecting to be struck down, but nothing happened.  Emboldened, she offered a bit to Adam.  He saw nothing had happened to Eve, so he took a bit as well.

Serpent moved away into the shadows of the trees, leaving them alone.  Immediately, they felt ashamed; perhaps it was because they had not covering like the birds, or the creatures of the forest, they thought.  Looking about, they found leaves large enough to cover their nakedness.  They spent the rest of the day looking fearfully around them, expecting God to appear at any moment.  In the cool of the evening, they heard his approaching footsteps, as always, and went to hide in the bushes, knowing all the while it was useless.

God's voice called to them.  "Adam, where are you?  Where is the woman?"

"We were naked and afraid to show ourselves," Adam called back in a small voice, "so we hid."

"Who told you that you were naked?" the Lord replied, his voice like thunder.  "Did you eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, even after I told you that you would die if you did?"

"The woman you gave me offered me a bite of the fruit," Adam replied, anxious to shift the blame.  "And I ate it."

"The serpent tricked me," the woman replied, her voice choked with fear.

There was a long moment of terrible silence, and the Lord spoke again, his mighty voice tinged with sorrow.  "Because you have disobeyed me, you will return to the dust from which you were made.  You may no more live in the garden, or have fellowship with me here.  I will cast you forth into the world about.  Adam, you will spend your days earning your living by the sweat of your brow.  You will till the hard earth, and it will yield thorns and briers along with the food that sustains you.  The woman will spend her life in toil and trouble as well, and her desire will be in you, her husband.  She will bear children, and her joy will be in the pain of childbirth.

"Serpent, come forth!  As for you, you will no longer walk upright.  Instead, you will crawl about in the dust on your belly.  You and the woman's son will be enemies; you will strike at his heel, and he will crush your head.

"Now, be gone.  There is no place for you here."

Fearful and trembling, they left the garden, looking back in longing as the gates closed behind them.  The Lord killed a wild animal, because, he said, blood must be shed, and a life taken, to cover their sin.  The skin that covered the beast now covered their own bodies.  They tried to go back into Eden once, but the way was blocked.  Two mighty angels with flaming swords guarded the gate.  Paradise was lost to them.