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● Gen 3:17a . .To Adam He said: Because you did as your wife said, and ate
of the tree about which I commanded you; "You shall not eat of it"
A portion of God's gripe with Adam was that he put a creature's wishes over
and above the wishes of the creature's superior; thus forcing God to
compete for Adam's affections; i.e. a rival. Unfortunately, when it comes to
choosing between pleasing women or pleasing God; men all too often sell
their souls to the women.
● Gen 3:17b . . Cursed be the ground because of you
That was unexpected; it isn't specifically listed in Gen 2:17 as a
consequence for tasting the forbidden fruit.
Not only would Man himself be effected by a curse upon the ground, but
every living thing that depends upon the ground for its survival would be
effected too; from lowly nematodes and earthworms right on up to the top
of the food chain. The whole animal world, and all the seed-bearing plant life
too, would suffer collateral damages for Adam's mistake.
God somehow manipulated the soil's fertility so that it now no longer
produces as well as it did in the beginning. The abundant swarms of life that
God created in the beginning would, at that point, begin to thin out as the
competition for available natural food-stuffs would begin to intensify.
● Gen 3:17c . . By toil shall you eat of it all the days of your life
Adam was no stranger to work because God already had him tending the
garden. But matters worsened with a new ingredient. The word for "toil" is
from 'itstsabown (its-tsaw-bone') and means the very same thing as it did in
Gen 3:16.
The element of 'itstsabown took some of the pleasure out of Adam's
existence. Where before his daily routine was relatively care-free, now he'd
begin to worry and fret over things that are especially pertinent to farmers
e.g. weather, insects, and plant diseases; which, among farmers, are
common causes of anxiety and feelings of insecurity.
● Gen 3:18a . . thorns and thistles shall it sprout for you.
God finished the entire cosmos in six days; and no more creating took place
after that because He's been on sabbatical ever since day 7: so thorns and
thistles already existed prior to the events of chapter 3.
But in the beginning, noxious plants doubtless weren't so dominant. Today
they're a nuisance because if ground is left fallow, it will soon be covered
with dock, mustard, dandelion, chaparral, wild flowers, brambles, reed
canary grass, and stuff like that. Those kinds of plants may be okay for
wildlife, but humanity needs something quite a bit more nutritious.
● Gen 3:18b . . and your food shall be the grasses of the field;
Apparently Adam was a fruitarian at in the beginning, and then his diet later
expanded to include other kinds of vegetation. However, I don't think
humans are supposed to graze on pasture like buffalo or deer and elk. Many
of the grasses God intended for Adam to eat fall into the food group we call
cereals; which are raised primarily for their grain; e.g. corn, wheat, oats,
and rice; et al. In their natural form-- whole grain --cereals are a rich source
of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats, oils, and protein. After refinement
grains are pretty much good for nothing but carbs.
● Gen 3:19a . . By the sweat of your brow shall you get bread to eat,
Whereas the Adams before had a beautiful productive farm complete with
orchards that required minimal maintenance, they became faced with
stubborn soil that needs plowing, sowing, and weeding. Very few natural
grains exist abundantly in nature. These days; if he wants them in any
sizable amount, Man has to farm.
Those of us who live in 9 to 5 leisure-intensive America really don't
appreciate just how laborious and time consuming the work is to grow your
own food. Early humanity's days were hard. They're still hard in many
developing countries. Adam had to get out there with a hoe and a plow to
provide for his family. Today, only about 2% in the USA work the ground for
a living.
● Gen 3:19b . . until you return to the ground-- for from it you were taken.
For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.
Did God have to smite Adam in order for him to stop living? No; it was only
necessary to deny Adam access to the tree of life and let nature and hard
work take their toll; in other words: it was only a matter of time before
Adam simply gave out and passed away from wear and tear and old age.
It's often assumed that Adam was created immortal; but no so. Adam was
created an air-breathing creature. Smother him and he'd die. Hold his head
underwater and he'd die. But as long as Adam supplemented his diet with
nutrients form the tree of life, he'd not die of natural causes.
But what happened to Adam when his body returned to dust? Did he return
to dust too? No; and that's because Adam wasn't entirely organic. The
human body came from the ground; but according to Gen 2:7, human
consciousness came from God. The afterlife disposition of human
consciousness is one of life's greatest mysteries. Heck, even the origin of
human consciousness is mystery enough for some, let alone where it goes
when people pass away.
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