CHAPTER 1
The Creation and the Fall
"In the beginning," the Holy Book tells us, "God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss while a mighty wind swept over the waters" (Genesis1:1–2). This book of Genesis explains that God created everything and kept them in their proper places. He made a decision to create man: "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness'"(Genesis 1:26). God obviously had a very clear picture of people before He created them. At creation, man was clean, pure, and innocent, just as God the creator desired him to be; he was made in the image and likeness of God Himself. God gave him authority over everything. He had created: plants, animals, birds, and the fish in the sea, which the Bible says were created in "their own kind." They were not created in the image of God, and so people were superior to them. Animals, birds, and all other creatures were made in a very simple way; God did not mold them as He did Adam. He simply made them by a divine fiat: "Let there be," and they came to be. Humans, as superior beings, had to be made by a creative act, and the Holy Scripture captures that historic moment:
The Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)
There you have it: "the clay of the ground" and God's "breath of life" created living beings who were endowed with wisdom. As the only rational creatures in the world, humans had the privilege of talking with God as children talk to their father. Sometimes God came down and walked around the garden with them. It was a glorious moment for them, who had nothing to fear and enjoyed moving around the garden, admiring other creatures that God had created and given them authority over. It was a privilege that would have lasted a lifetime. The book of Genesis tells us how God used to stroll in the garden in the evening. I try to imagine such a sight: God walking around and smiling at Adam as they exchanged pleasantries. Man was truly in paradise. Everything God created was good. There were no electronic gadgets, no high-speed Internet, and yet our first parents enjoyed life to the fullest. This was because God was their source of happiness. It is a lesson for modern men and women who think that life consists of possessions. They walked around and played with animals and birds in the garden, and no one was hurt or attacked because of the mutual harmony that existed among them. There was a perfect unity and peace among the created things of this universe, something a modern mind finds it difficult to imagine. It was such a glorious moment for humanity, the devil became jealous. Humans were the first to be created, but they had the singular privilege of being created in the image and likeness of God. They had a very cordial relationship with God until the devil entered the picture. The devil tempted them, who were a special creatures of God, and unfortunately they fell and were separated from God. They no longer enjoyed the comfort of His presence as they once did. After they disobeyed God, the relationship was no longer what it used to be; They were now afraid of God due to their guilty consciences. The book of Genesis records their first encounter with God after they disobeyed Him:
When they heard the sound of the Lord God moving about in the garden at the breezy time of the day, the man and his wife hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees in the garden. (Genesis 3:8)
The presence of God scared them because of their guilt. They had been ambitious, they wanted to be like God, and for this illicit ambition, they had made the biggest mistake of their lives, i.e., they listened to the devil. They lost paradise. God sent them out of the Garden of Eden. They had been close to God's heart when they listened to Him, but they were out roaming in an uncultivated land and with a curse on their heads. The evil one who deceived them, now out of sight, was happy that they had lost their good relationship with God.
Darkness fell upon the earth because the light of God, which had always led the people, was extinguished by their inordinate thirst for knowledge. God loved them and gave them everything; He made them rule over other creatures, who were subject to man and woman. They lacked nothing, but they were greedy and wanted to be like the One who created them — just because the evil one put that idea into the woman's head. That is the case even today: we always want more and are never satisfied with what we have.
God used to walk with them in the garden, but He no longer showed up. Adam and Eve were forced to confront the consequences of their disobedience. Once friendly animals and birds became hostile to one another, and some became wild and dangerous to humans. The earth that was once a very peaceful habitat became a place characterized by the survival of the fittest. Evil, sickness, and death entered the world. This was exactly what the devil wanted, because he was threatened by the cordial relationship that existed between God and humans. The devil would have lost his place in the world if people were totally obedient to God. The devil wanted disciples he could use to oppose God and perpetuate evil in the world. He is happy and takes credit when people sin against God. By obeying the devil and disobeying God, people alienated themselves from God and were condemned to roam the earth without Him.
However, God still cared about humanity. Generations later, He would use a strong hand to remove His chosen people from the pharaoh in Egypt, but He no longer dwelled with them as He once did in the garden, because of their obstinacy. Moses, the chosen leader of the people, prayed and entreated the Lord to dwell with them once again, but He would not. God said that if He were to live among them, He would have exterminated them, because people refused to acknowledge His authority and often rebelled against Him. Moses told this to the people. This is how the book of Exodus reports it.
The Lord said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites: you are a stiff-necked people. Were I to go up in your company even for a moment, I would exterminate you. (Exodus 33:5)
However, the Lord did not totally walk away from the people. He decided to dwell in the Ark of the Covenant, which was positioned in the Holy of Holies in the temple, where only the high priest was allowed to enter. The people were not holy enough for the Lord to dwell with them. The question was, would there ever be a way out? What would happen to the people? Would they ever return to the garden and dwell with God? When would this be resolved? A statement by psalmist describes the situation...
