The Bite of Food that Sealed the Fate of Man
Food brought a curse upon the earth
It was over food that the whole universe was cursed and death entered the world. Forever the future fate of mankind was destined to death from birth because of one tiny bite.
You remember the story; we talk about it often. In fact, this is one of the most important stories in the Christian faith.
The Story that Explains Evil
The fall of mankind explains why there is evil in this world. It explains the reason that we need a Savior to redeem us. And it explains why, even after redemption, Christians still battle sin.
God had created a perfect world, full of beauty and foods that delighted the senses. He gave man to eat freely of all the bounty He had created. After all -- it was His. He created it. And He created it for man to enjoy, for man's good.
God Owned it All
But as Creator and owner — God was not obligated to share any of His tasty food with His creation. He could have caused man to plant their own trees. Or He could have rained down food from heaven that was tasteless and boring. But that is not what He did. God loved His creation and wanted good for it.
Do Not Taste
But God did restrict the first man and woman from eating from one tree, which grew in the center of the garden. This was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God warned Adam that the day he ate from that tree, he would surely die. It was the ONE tree that God restricted Adam and Eve to eat. And He restricted it because it would not be good for them to partake. And it was a test of obedience.
He Could Have Said No
Adam was created with the ability to refuse the temptation. He did not have a sin nature as those who are born today under the curse. Adam was made with the first DNA. His DNA would have been uncorrupted by sin and mutations. He was mankind's best chance at obeying God's commands unto eternal life.
Satan Seeks to Destroy
Satan hated God and all that God created — especially the man and woman which bore God's image. So Satan hatched a plan to trick the first couple into disobeying God's commands. Satan tempted Adam and Eve to be their own source of law — to decide for themselves what was right and what was wrong.
"Surely you will not die. God knows that in the day you eat, you will be like Him — knowing good and evil," the serpent told Eve.
Eve Was Not Wearing Her Armor
Eve listened to Satan's polluted advice. She agreed that she had the power to determine right from wrong. She ignored God's warning to not eat from the tree. And instead decided that it looked good for food and was pleasing to the eye. Contrary to what God had said.
So she ate. And her husband foolishly joined in. And it was Adam's eating that brought death into the world — because he was the representative of mankind — the First Adam.
And so, it is over the taking of food, the eating from the forbidden tree, that the fate of mankind was sealed to death and a curse.
But we know that is not the end of the story. There was another tree in the garden, another food source that would allow the man and woman to live forever. But God banished them from the Garden so they could not eat of it. They would have to find redemption another way, through faith in the True Tree of Life, the Second Adam.
We will talk about the Tree of Life in the next post in this series.
Next: The Food that Could Have Saved the Human Race
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