There they were. Alone. Unaware. Unaware of the world before them. Unaware of the superlative promise beneath them. Unaware of the immense grace granted to them. Unaware of the magnitude of a rebellious choice. Unaware of the dire, swift, and irreversible consequences of disobedience. Unaware of how far this moment would reach. Unaware of death. Unaware of separation. They had only known sweet fellowship with their Creator. A life of perpetual goodness, harmony, and most of all intimacy with their God. It was theirs for the keeping–or forgoing. The opportunity to expand and create. To subdue, to cultivate, and to multiply beyond their initial garden plot. To take the image of God, and His creativity to the entire created order. There the opportunity was, and there the opportunity was fumbled. More than fumbled–it was scorned and disdained.
A tree–with fruit–untouchable and protected. Off limits–but, O, the fruit. Its enticement was too much to bear. Their resistance had worn too thin. The temptation was inexorably strong. It would draw them closer…and closer…and closer. The serpent–crafty and wild in rebellion–made the decision all too easy. Their end was in sight–immediate spiritual death would shortly ensue, followed by physical death–a lurching decay of heartache and turmoil. She heard the words–the infamous and insidious words–“Indeed, has God said…” What contortion. What manipulation. What arranging of God’s word to achieve one’s own end. The beginning of the end. The end of the beginning. Absence of discernment. Sense thrown aside. Seeking to continue a quest to know the unknowable God was discarded. To walk with Him in the cool of the day. No, it was rather a twisting of His words to satiate ambition. What ignorance. What stupidity. What foolishness. What weakness. O, the deceitfulness of the devil. What an insipid and heinous promise. To be liberated. To be “…like God…” O, the devil’s empty promise. And now…man’s pierced heart. He conceded. He capitulated. He acquiesced. Irreversible. Immediate. Their consequence? Death.
Now, the immediate consequence of such a disobedient and rebellious consuming of this so-called fruit of liberation was spiritual death. A death that can be correlated to separation. In other words, an instantaneous severing of fellowship with God. A spiral out of control with collateral damage that would leave no created thing untouched. A tsunami of enmity enveloped all of creation. There they were, “…the eyes of both of them were opened…” naked and ashamed. The serpent’s promise was found to be null and void. O, the sinfulness of sin. Incomplete. Insufficient. But, what promises it posits. The false-guarantee left the first man and woman–the pinnacle of creation–empty. This won’t be the last time. No, it will continue to be the story of humanity. The vice-regents of the created order were stripped of their dignity and position. They died–spiritually.
And their death has continued throughout their progeny. Every human that has since been born now has within their DNA a gene of sin–evil. A disposition to rebel. A desire to serve themselves. To make gods of their liking–the image of their desires. Look at history. Look at your own life. “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins…” The reality of spiritual death? “…you were slaves of sin…” “…you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air…” Fellowship that was once shared with the good Father has been replaced by suffering a new master–the serpent himself. The author of rebellion and heartache. Of turmoil and empty vows. His end was accomplished. He won. Or so he thought. This devil now has a new humanity–at his beckon call. A spiritually dead humanity set apart by his will to accomplish his desires. There will need to be another humanity created. Not a recreation, but a regeneration. A new birth must be set forth. But when? But how? Standby. The good news is yet to be realized.
A baby was born. It’s a boy! O, beautiful Cain. So much promise. So much life. Man and woman–Adam & Eve–first humans, now first parents. There they were with their little child. So much joy. So much hope. So much to look forward to. She felt every ounce of pain. Every contraction bore with it a piercing reminder of their past choice. Despite the pain of birth, a life was brought forth. The fruit–the pain. The rebellion–the desire. The separation–the loneliness. But, now with their child, they can start over. They can forge ahead–a new beginning. We shall cultivate. Subdue. And do our best to carry out God’s initial command. Yes, there is “…toil..”, there are “…thorns…”, and there is “…sweat.” But, there is new life–Cain is here–“…a manchild.” The created created. Incredible. Creation now plays a role in creating. What beauty of God’s design. What wisdom of God’s order. What application of God’s intention. “…be fruitful and multiply.” The opportunity to create–what privilege. What appreciation.
And then…another boy! Abel. Yes, the one who will be a “…keeper of the flocks.” Such joy. Such delight. The pain was felt again. Another reminder of their rebellious choice. The empty promise. The devil.
Not now! God speaks again with man. Listen Cain, your firstborn…“sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” But will he? He can’t…he serves a new master. The serpent strikes again. “And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.”
Spiritual death brought separation from God. The intimacy of God’s presence…His love…His care, was shunned. It was severed. And now, man, in his spiritual deadness brings about the first physical death. Cain killed Abel–man’s blood was spilled. The life emptied from the wounds with every last heartbeat of this first victim. This won’t be the last time man rises up against another. No, history will be replete with this contagion of cowardice. The slaves of sin rebel just like their parents. The DNA is riddled within, and the malignancy of sin is immedicable. Man continues to show his hand. He bears his heart, and the cycle of death continues.
But, perhaps as man learns and grows he will become less evil? Less rebellious? Less like his new master, the devil? O, we shall see in the next installment of this series that the reality is quite the opposite. Until then, marinate on the spiritual deadness of man in his sinful condition. Remind yourself of your propensity to evil. Let this reality weigh upon your thoughts. Don’t shrug it off. Its penalty will soon be dealt with, but its power is present. We press on.
— May 26, 2016