The Lord God said - “What have you done?”

Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Genesis 3:13

Some things are not easily undone...

It is often the case that we have no real idea of the consequences of our actions. On a whim, on a dare, on an impulse...we are convinced to do something without regard for the outcome. As a youngster I rushed into the kitchen with my hand bleeding profusely. "What have you done!" my mom asked. Well, on an impulse, I had decided to ride my bicycle down the steepest hill I could find...with no hands. The front tire hit a stone and the outcome was predictable.

Had I known about the ensuing doctor visit, the probing forceps painfully removing debris from a gaping wound, the shots and the long process of healing...I might have rethought my plan. But, people don't often think that far ahead. We tend to think about what is right in front of us. It takes years of painful experiences to develop the "long view". At the age of seventy, I understand walking around the fence is more prudent than trying to hop over it.

So...what had Adam and Eve done?

The Lord God said to the serpent,

And I will put enmity (hostility) between you and the woman,

To the woman God said,
“Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

Then to Adam God said, “Cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you will eat of it all the days of your life...till you return to the ground because from it you were taken; For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return."

 

Consequences should not be viewed as punishment. They are simply the logical outcome of events according to cosmic law. Occasionally we get lucky and dodge consequences but...not generally.

 

Consequence number 1: Sin is addictive. Once Adam and Eve tasted the temptation they were hooked. "I will put enmity between you and the woman" lets us know that the hostile lure of sin will hound us forever. And, just as addiction is passed from a mother to her child, you and I still fight the hostile attacks of Satan every day.

 

Consequence number 2: Sin distorts relationships. I surmise...as Adam began to understand what had actually happened...he began to hate his wife for tempting him. "Yet your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” is a picture of Eve doing everything she can to make up for her misdeed and Adam refusing to let it go. The human need for forgiveness and the human refusal to grant it still haunts us thousands of years later.

 

Consequence number 3: Sin kills us. We see a new image of Adam. We see him as a product of the dust rather than the Image of God. When the Lord God formed Adam of dust from the ground (Gen. 2:7), He "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being". This was a transformative act that delivered the eternal breath of God into Adam.  We saw Adam living in communion with God...no hint that this relationship would not go on forever. Perfect tranquility. After sin, His perfect life in God's world changed radically. Yahweh banished him from Eden before he could partake of the Tree of life and live (physically) forever. We understand man is terminal...he will eventually cease to exist as a living image of God. What a profound tragedy. “Cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you will eat of it all the days of your life...till you return to the ground because from it you were taken; For you are dust, and to dust you shall return." pictures a life of hard labor that is sustained solely by human efforts. When those human efforts fail...we die. God is no longer there to manage our lives.

 

But...that's not the end of the story. As you recall, God created us as eternal beings...with a living soul. When our soul is liberated from these earthly trials by our physical death, we will face God and He will surely ask..."What have you done?" 

 

God has designed a way back but He has not chosen to liberate us from daily consequences of sin. We long for the day when we will see Him face to face and our trials end. Until that time we have a choice. We can curse God for not removing the consequences or we can bless God for the redemption he has offered through His Son.

 

Live boldly out there today...