Published: 14/06/2020
The Second Sin: The Origins of Disobedience
In fact, Adam and Eve's first transgression, deemed the 'Second Sin' of God's Creation, forever changed humanity's path. Join me as we delve into:
1. Unpacking the Biblical Context: Understanding the significance of this pivotal event
2. Behind the Disobedience: Examining the motivations and circumstances that led to the fall
3. A Lasting Legacy: Exploring the profound impact on human nature and our relationship with God
(A) The Thief of Love:
Satan, stripped bare and restless, roams the world with his formidable power and twisted mindset. He is bare, having lost heavenly bliss - love, kindness, forgiveness, compassion, endurance, and peace - forever. Thus, he seeks to deprive others of the same, stealing their love, kindness, forgiveness, compassion, endurance, and peace. Restless, having been barred from heavenly bliss, he seeks to disrupt others' lives. Frankly, I have only one statement for him - he is a thief of love; he desires to steal love from humanity at all costs, injecting corrosive poison into their lives. He seeks to sow discord between God and humanity.
Therefore, beware of the thief, Satan. With his formidable strength and twisted mindset, he seeks to steal love from among humanity. He knows that where love resides, bliss, peace, and holiness flourish, and God's kingdom prevails. He also knows that stealing love will destroy bliss, peace, and holiness, allowing his kingdom of darkness and hatred – fueled by selfishness, anger, envy, adultery, lust, and forgery – to take hold.
(B) A Theft in the Garden of Eden:
Satan gazed intensely at the Garden of Eden and saw Adam and Eve, naked, yet living a blissfully peaceful life. Witnessing their happiness, his unease grew, for he was stripped bare, while Adam and Eve, unaware of their nakedness, lived innocently. God created them in His own image, clothing them with holiness, and they obeyed His command to avoid the central tree, as written in Scripture:
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die. (Genesis 2:15-17, NIV)
Satan’s Plot to Steal Love from the Garden of Eden:
Can you imagine how a thief tries to break into a securely locked home? They knock on every door, window, and wall to test vulnerability and exploit the weakest point. Similarly, Satan, the thief of love, sought to infiltrate the Garden of Eden. In this cunning endeavor, he would have reached Adam and would have said: 'Hello! God has asked you to refrain from the central fruit because you would become in likeness of Him." But Adam would have rebuked him, saying: 'Get away, we love God; we do not wish to equal God, but to live under Him." Adam's strong love for God made him an impassable link; Satan's cunning eyes scanned elsewhere. He disguised himself as the serpent, cunningest of creatures, approached Eve, as Scripture records:
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5“For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1-5, NIV)
Satan’s Chamaeleon Behavior:
Ugly Satan, the expert in Chamaeleon behavior, deceiver of humanity, disguised himself for the first time as a serpent, knocked at the wall of the Garden of Eden, encountered Eve, patiently awaited and observed her weakness, found the vulnerable passage to infiltrate, and successfully robbed the love from the Garden of Eden, as recorded in the scripture:
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. (Genesis 3:6, NIV)
Satan: Restless to Strip Off
Oh! Stripped bare Satan – with his immense negative strength and twisted mind, he left Adam and Eve naked; He is ugly, and spoiled the divine splendor that reflected God’s image and likeness, as stated in the Scripture:
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. (Genesis 3:7, NIV)
Bond of Love Matters:
Since Lucifer's and his followers (Satan's) bond of love with God was severed, he sought to sever Adam and Eve's bond of love with God. As long as their bond of love with God remained intact, they roamed freely in the Garden of Eden, enjoying life. But post transgression, the situation reversed, as stated in the Scripture:
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:8, NIV)
God Never Abandons Humanity:
Did God not know about the incident at the Garden of Eden? He knew everything, being the supreme power, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and only majesty. He was hurt as the incident severed His bond of love with Adam and Eve, leading them to hide in shame. Despite such a horrific incident that killed divine love, God didn’t abandon Adam and Eve. Instead, He wished to hear their repentance, to cover their nakedness with the cloth of holiness, as mentioned in the Scripture:
But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” (Genesis 3:9-10, NIV)
God wished to reestablish the holy relationship with Adam and Eve. He desired their wholehearted repentance for what they had done. Therefore, the most supreme power, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and only majesty, gave them a chance to repent, as recorded in the Scripture:
And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” (Genesis 3:11, NIV)
Humanity Abandons God:
Despite knowing everything, God asked questions repeatedly to prompt Adam to acknowledge his disobedience. But Adam, instead of accepting his mistakes and seeking forgiveness, harshly replied to God – I am astonished by this, and I’m sure you will be too, as his response to God is in the Scripture:
The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” (Genesis 3:12, NIV)
Meaning, it’s not my mistake; it’s yours. If you hadn’t given me this woman, she wouldn’t have eaten nor fed me. God observed Adam blaming Him instead of accepting his mistake; therefore, He banished them from the Garden of Eden, as recorded in the Scripture:
So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. (Genesis 3:23, NIV)
In Conclusion:
The consequence of sin is separation. Note that when sin occurred in heaven, Lucifer and his followers were expelled, and when in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve. Therefore, whenever we commit sin, we move far away from God's presence.
Therefore, in the next article, let's proceed to explore the profound consequences of sin, equipping us to resist its pull and walk in righteousness.
To be Continued…..
==> Stay tuned for our next article, where we'll uncover how 'Consequences of Sin’ that transforms our faith journey.
Amen!
Praise be to God, Thanks be to God.
Not being Unrighteous is Religion!!
India! Peace be upon you!!
Peace to the whole world!!