Genesis 1:

In Genesis 1, we see that that which was shapeless, empty and dark, vs 2, was made into something so beautiful that God could call it ‘good’ and ‘very good’, vs 4,18, 25, 31! So, what was it that brought this difference? It was nothing but the dual action of the Spirit of the Living God and the Word of God, vs 2, 3; working in unison over this formless, empty and dark mass that brought about this miraculous change! Being moved by the Spirit of God, as we too speak His Word over our situations we are bound to get the similar result, provided we do so in faith, patience and with a clear conscience. Why not begin today?

Genesis 2:

God created man and woman in His image and likeness, and gave them dominion over everything that He created on Earth, vs Genesis 1: 26-28. However, their right to rule over the works of God’s hands depended on their walking in obedience to God’s commandment. They had just one commandment to obey at that time, which said, ‘Do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day you eat if it you shall surely die, Genesis 2: 16, 17. As man walked in obedience to that commandment, all their needs (food, job, place to live in, marriage, etc.) were well looked after by God Himself, and, although they were expected to tend God’s garden, their was no ‘sweat’ involved in the work they did, vs 8,15!
However, God intended them to do no work with out first spending time with Him, in His presence, for which He instituted the Sabbath day, a day of rest, (after God had worked for 6 days in creating the heavens and the earth, vs 1) which was Adam’s first day on earth, vs 1-3. Thus we see that our right to our God-appointed place of dominion only stands if we live and move in God’s presence and His rest, as well as, walk in obedience to His commandments! How is it with us today?

Genesis 3

This place of rest and provision was indeed too good to be true, and Satan, the fallen Angel, could not stand it! Being determined to infest God’s creation with the seeds of pride, rebellion and unbelief, he approached the woman and wooed her to use her reason and eat from the forbidden tree, Genesis 3: 1-5. His manner of talk and words were so convincing that the woman unknowingly fell for his plan and lived to suffer from the consequences together with her husband, vs 6. The inevitable immediately took over, just as God said it would, and spiritual death ensued, and their consciences were activated, which made them feel guilty, and therefore, hide from God, vs 7-10! The curses followed and eventually they were banished from God’s presence. And yes, the ‘blame -game’ did not give them any respite, as far as, the punishment for their sin went! Now they were left to till the ground by the ‘sweat of their brow’, and the woman would bring forth children in pain and be dominated by her husband, vs 11-19! Yes, God did cloth them with garments of skin, but they were driven out of God’s presence and denied access to the tree of life, lest they would eat of it and live forever in their sin, vs 21-24!

Genesis 4:

The outcome of the fall of man was carried forth from generation to generation, among those who did not realise that they had to get back into obedience and fellowship with God and enter into His rest once again, so as to break those curses that were operational in their lives as a result of the fall and because of their own sin. In this chapter we see right from the onset, the attitude of Eve being reflected in Cain. She said in vs 1, ‘I have created a man just as the LORD did ‘! This depicts a self-sufficient spirit that does not recognise God as his/her source! Cain being the first born, unconsciously imbibed this spirit and although he brought a sacrifice to the Lord, his heart was not right before God, so as to recognise God as His source! Further, we also see that the inability of Adam and Eve to acknowledge their sin in Genesis 3, without putting the blame on others, rubbed off on Cain too, such that, even when God cautioned him of his heart’s condition, he did not acknowledge his sin, repent and set his way right, vs 5-8! We also see the progression of the sin of murder in this chapter, which is called ‘the way of Cain’, in Jude 1:11. When we find that our offering is not accepted, we get angry, are filled with hatred and jealousy and are downcast because we feel rejected, vs 5. If we don’t repent at this point, as the Holy Spirit speaks to us, vs 6,7, but instead justify our carnal feelings, we end up becoming hypocritical in our relationships and eventually murderers of those whom we hate, vs 8! We also need to realise that a lack of concern for our brothers and sisters welfare, is also a sign of hatred and jealousy, as can be seen in vs 9. Once we have entertained this spirit of murder, we reap certain consequences, those being that we are driven away from God’s presence, our businesses don’t prosper and it becomes difficult for us to live in fellowship with others, vs 11-14! It was only when Eve gave birth to her 3rd son, Seth and acknowledged that he was given by God, that after the birth of Seth’s son Enosh, people began to worship God once again, vs 25,26. These things are written for our instruction, so that we may avoid the same mistakes or repent of our sin, if we have followed the way if Cain and Eve in ignorance, so that we can break these curses over us and our family line and become partakers of the blessing of Abraham through faith, in Christ Jesus our Lord, Galatians 3:13-14.

Rowena Thomas
Mumbai,
India.