Light from the Word

The Word of God

The Law of the Lord is perfect- restoring the soul

The testimony of the Lord is sure- making wise the simple

The precepts of the Lord are right- rejoicing the heart

The commandments of the Lord are pure – enlightening the eyes

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;

The ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether

They are to be desired more than gold; sweeter than honey

By them your servant is warned;

In keeping them there is great reward.

(Ps.19)

The Word of the God is our Savior and Lord YAHSHUA. John declared saying, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself (John 1:1). When He created the world, all He did was to call forth the world into existence and there it happened. It was through the power of His word that the world was created. The heavens stand up high declaring the glory of God through the firmament with twinkling stars, YAHSHUA’S handiwork. Their twinkles call our attention to the beauty and wisdom of our Creator. They are alive, proclaiming without speech, the knowledge of God. Silently, their voices echo throughout the entire world the beauty displayed in the dark of the night for all to see. “God commands the sun, and it rises not; He seals up the stars [from view]; Who alone stretchers out the waves and high places of the sea; Who made [the constellations] the Bear, Orion, and the [loose cluster] Pleiades, and the [vast starry] spaces of the south; Who does great things past finding out, yes marvelous things without number (Job 9:7-10). God made the Pleiades and Orion, Who turns the shadow of death or deep darkness into the morning and darkens the day onto night. Who calls for waters of the sea and pours them out upon the face of the earth- he LORD (ADONAI) is His name (Amos 5:8b). The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows and proclaims His handiwork (Ps. 19:1).

The written word of God is alive and powerful; it is sharper than any two-edge sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life and spirit, and of joints and marrow, exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart (Heb. 4:12). More precious than anything in this world, the Word of God is to be desired above gold and silver and all the riches of this world. The Word of God manifests itself in many ways; men are without excuse before the living God. Paul warns us, For that which is known about God is evident to them and made plain in their inner consciousness, because God has shown it to them. For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is. His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made. So, [men] are without excuse. Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks. But instead, they became futile and godless in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened (Rom. 1:19-21). Love of money is the root of all evil (I Tim.6:10). It is replacing God, in your life, for the god mammon- wealth or money. In Luke 16, YAHSHUA gives a parable of illustration of a rich man, who clothed himself in purple and made merry in splendor every day. Meanwhile, at his gate there was an utterly destitute man named Lazarus covered with sores, feeding himself from the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. The greedy heart of the rich man, selfishly ignored the poor man until the day came when they both passed away. The future that waited the rich man was a place of torment. Not because he was rich, but for his greedy way of life; the love of money, profited nothing for his eternal life, but anguish in the flame. YAHSHUA asked the question, what does it profit a man to gain the world and forfeit his soul? (Mark 8:36).

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Strong Bulls of Bashan Have Hedged Me In

Psalm 22 is a prophetic psalm concerning the suffering and death of our Savior, YAHSHUA. Verse twelve is of great significance for us to understand the meaning of the phrase “Strong bulls of Bashan have hedged Me in.” It requires us to know a piece of history of its past and why this prophecy included the mountain of Bashan in YAHSHUA’S trials. Mount Herman, a well-known mount, is identified with Mount Bashan, for it forms the northern border of the region of Bashan, a geographical reality found in Psalm 68:15-17: “Is Mount Bashan the high mountain of summits, Mount Bashan [east of the Jordan] the mount of God? Why do you look with grudging and envy, you many-peaked mountains, at the mountain which God has desired for His dwelling place? Yes, the Lord will dwell in it forever.”

Psalm 22 is a prophetic description of the sufferings of our Savior to take place many years later. You see, the atonement of mankind was in YAHWEH’S mind from the foundation of the world. The Old Testament pictures this event in various passages of its prophetic pages. Genesis 3:15: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her Offspring (Seed YAHSHUA); He will bruise and tread your head underfoot, and you will lie in wait and bruise His heel;” Psalm 22; Isaiah 52:14-15; Isaiah 53. In Psalm 22:12-13 the psalmist uses the bulls of Bashan as YAHSHUA’S foes coming to attack Him: He says, “Many bulls have surrounded me; strong bulls of Bashan have hedged me in. Against me they opened their mouths wide, like a ravening and roaring lion.” Prophecy from Moses concerning the tribe of Dan connects to the word of the Psalm 22:12-13. He said of Dan: “Dan is a lion’s whelp that leaps forth from Bashan” (Deut. 33:22). The Psalmist uses the term “a ravening and roaring lion.” Before the death of Jacob, he said this of Dan: “Dan shall be a serpent by the way, a horned snake in the path that bite at the horse’s heels, so that his rider falls backward…” (Gen. 49:17). That’s what Dan became and will become in the frame of time. In the book of Judges chapter 18, we read the idolatrous acts of Dan’s tribe’s idolatry. Separated from God through their rebellious and unfaithful ways, this tribe is excluded from the 144 thousand to be chosen and sealed for their protection in the tribulation time, as they become God’s messengers of the Gospel.

History tells us through the book of Enock that the mountain of Bashan and mount Hermon were places for spiritual evil, in particular the Watches- fallen angels. These mountains constituted the places where the giants chose to dwell and there they engaged with women. “There were giants on the earth in those days – and also afterward- when the sons of God lived with the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown” (Gen. 6:4).

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Prayer, the Cry of the Soul

The book of Psalms undouble expresses our cries in many ways. For that reason, we often go there to find comfort and learn how to present our cries to the Lord. They are testimonies of God’s faithfulness in every situation. Psalm 42:5 says, “Why are you cast down, o my soul? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, my Help and my God.” Reading the psalms, we find similarity with the writers of the Psalms. It is as if they were expressing our feelings in many cases. The book of Palms is filled with praises and acknowledgement of Whom God is. Merciful, loving, powerful, patient, etc. In Psalm fifty-one King David expresses sorrows for his sin with repentance, seeking God’s forgiveness. The cry of his soul is evident in the acknowledgment of his desire to be clean from his sin: “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and guilt and cleanse me and make me wholly pure from my sin, for I am conscious of my transgressions and I acknowledge them; my sin is ever before me… Create in me a clean heart, o God and renew a right, persevering and steadfast spirit within me” (Ps. 51:2-3,10).

The Patriarch Job’s testimony of faithfulness to God written in his book, is a book we must not overlook. One, where he expresses his feelings of frustration being confident of his innocence before God and to his friends who came to comfort him. He expresses himself saying, “Surely, I wish to speak to all Almighty, and I desire to argue and reason my case with God” (Job 13: 3). In his deep hurt, where his heart cried before God, he prayed, “Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come even to His seat! I would lay my cause before Him and fill my mouth with arguments; I would learn what He would answer me and understand what He would say to me” (vs. 23:3-5). That’s the prayer cry from his soul, when suffering was intense and there was no answer to his prayer. Job’s desperation brings home to us as we too ask, God, “where are You”? Day and night we find ourselves submerged in the agony of doubt, Where is God? Our sufferings are not to be compared with Job’s sufferings, but everyone’s soul go through a valley or a desert hard enough to call on God for help. That’s where prayers from the soul cries to God in intimacy, waiting for His deliverance as Job, did. In spite of his sufferings, Job still feared God. He had much to say that showed his faith and taught us patience. He so declared, “For I Know that my Redeemer and vindicator lives, and at last He will stand upon the earth and after my skin, even this body, has been destroyed, then from my flesh or without it I shall see God, Whom I, even I, shall see for myself and on my side! And my eyes shall behold Him, and not as a stranger!” (Job 19:25-27). That’s a declaration of faith knowing that his eternal future was secure in the hands of His God.

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YASHUA, the Source of Our Salvation

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16)

It was God’s love that compelled Him to act in favor of mankind. His abundant grace overlooked men’s evil heart deserving of punishment, instead, He took all sins upon Himself and gave us life eternal through forgiveness by His shed blood. He submitted Himself to the most brutal treatment by those He was suffering for. There are no words to describe the extent of His sufferings. He was the sole source of our salvation and beside Him there are no other ways men can be saved. As the Way, He leads us to the Father; as the Truth, He teaches us His word, how to have a relationship with Him; as Life, He gives us life eternal that proceeds from Him. In His sovereignty, He rules over all from His throne in heaven. But men treated Him with contempt by placing a crown of thorns on His head, causing much bleeding. That was in response to His sacrificial love for them. The manner in which they treated Him was inhuman and abusive. In spite of that, He was fulfilling His Father’s will, that of “bruise Him, to put Him to grief and make Him sick.” (Isaiah 53). He suffered pains in His humanity, not in His divinity. He did that voluntarily to fulfill prophecy written about Him. When He entered into the world, He said, sacrifices and offerings You have not desired, but instead You have made ready a body for Me [to offer]; in burnt offerings and sin offerings You have taken no delight. Then I said, Behold, here I am, coming to do Your will, O God – [to fulfill] what is written of Me in the volume of the Book (Heb. 10:5-7).

Sacrifices according to the Law was annulled when He took the position of Redeemer of the world. He became God’s Lamb Who takes the sins of the world. That’s the way John Baptist introduced Him, saying, Look! There is the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world! (Jn. 2:29, 36). He came in the humble state of a stable where the chosen lambs that were to be sacrificed stayed. These were perfect lambs who fulfilled the demands of the Law. YAHSHUA, the Lamb of God found room there among them, and by a single offering, He has forever completely cleansed and perfected those who are consecrated and made holy (Heb. 10:14). YAHSHUA’S redemptive sacrifice was not the only thing He did or does for us. He became our Highpriest. We have freedom and confidence to enter into the Holy of Holies through the blood of YAHSHUA. We have such a High Prist, One Who is seated at the right hand of the majestic [God] in heaven (Heb. 8:1). He intercedes for us. The Bible says that when we pray, the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance. Through the redemption by His blood, we were made children of God, and as children of God we are entitled to all the spiritual blessings. He planned in love for us to be adopted as His own children through YAHSHUA Messiah, in accordance with the purpose of His will- to the praise and the commendation of His glorious grace, which he so freely bestowed on us in the Beloved (Eph. 1:5-6).

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Peace That Will Bring Destruction

Peace is sought to be attained today through the alignment of nations as the Mideast with their neighbors, most importantly Israel. They call it the Abraham Accords, and the Cyrus Accord. Israel is in the center of prophecy. A nation created by God, has broken the covenant with Him by walking away from His commandments to worship other gods and do what they pleased in their gross way of living an immoral life contrary to God’s commandments. They rejected their Messiah and chose the cruel King Caesar, as their king, when they shouted crucify him, away with Him! Away with Him! Crucify Him! Pilate said to them, Crucify your king? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar! (John 19:15). Israel is under coming judgment without escape. The Prophet Jeremiah so prophesized, Alas! For that day will great, so that none will be like it; it will be the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he will be saved out of it. (Jer. 30:7); Daniel 12:1b: “And there shall be a time of trouble, straightness and distress such as never was since there was a nation till that time.” No peace without YAHSHUA, the Prince of Peace, will last. Paul confirmed by saying, “When people are saying, all is well and secure, and, there is peace and safety, then in a moment unforeseen destruction will come upon them as suddenly as labor pains come upon a woman with child; and they shall by no means escape, for there will be no escape (I Thess. 5:3).

In spite of these peace accords Israel will be invaded by the Northern alliance countries. These invading forces are Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, of Meshech and of Tubal. Persia, Cush and Put or Libya with them, Gomer Togarmah in the uttermost part of the north. The Lord says, Behold, it is coming and it will be done, says the Lord; that is the day of which I have spoken (Ezekiel 39:9) These present countries are Iran, Cush or Ethiopia, Put or Somalia, Gomer or present-day Germany and Armenia with Russia as the leader.

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Forgiven, Healed, Redeemed, Provided For – Bless the Lord Oh My Soul!

When our Savior, YAHSHUA redeemed us, He blessed us with all the spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm. The moment we accepted His gift of salvation, we became His children and Elohim blessed us in Messiah with all the spiritual blessings (Eph. 1). It is to marvel at the fact that Elohim not only gave us the gift of salvation through His Son, but also made us heirs with Him. As such, we are partakers of all the privileges of children of God. Before the foundation of the world, He chose us to be holy, set apart, blameless in His sight before Him in love; We were adopted as His own children in accordance with the purpose of His will, so that we might be for the praise and the commendation of His glorious grace; we were saved through His blood and forgave us of our sins; we also have obtained an inheritance to the praise of His glory; we were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession to the praise of His glory (Eph. 1). We were made alive in our Savior and Lord, YAHSHUA eternally.

In His sufferings to atone for our sins, YAHSHUA was despised, He carried our diseases and sorrows, He was smitten of God and afflicted; He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him and by His scourging we are healed. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet, He did not open His mouth; by oppression and judgment He was taken away (Isa. 53). Suffering the agony of hell in our instead, He cried to His Father, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? He suffered insults from those whom He was giving up His life to save them. He was poured out like water and all His bones were out of joint; His heart was like wax; it was melted within Him; His strength was dried up like a potsherd, and His tongue cleaved to His jaws; And (God) laid Him in the dust of death, they pierced His hands and His feet; He could count all His bones… (Ps. 22).

The entire world was under condemnation; sick, hopelessly chained up under the control of the evil one. The Bible says, “As it is written, none is righteous, just and truthful and upright and conscientious, no not one. All have turned aside; together they have gone wrong and have become unprofitable and worthless; no one does right, not even one…” (Rom. 3:10-16). We all have sinned and are fallen short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). We were dead in our trespasses and sins; we were then by nature children of [God’s] wrath and heirs of [His] indignation; but God – so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us…He made us alive with Christ; it is by grace that you are saved (Eph.2). In His love and compassion, He forgave us with His precious blood; He healed us with all the stripes He received in His body. Many were they; we cannot fathom the terrible acts from sinners against Him; He redeemed us for Himself and raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together in the heavenly sphere in Messiah YAHSHUA (Eph.2). He provides for all our spiritual and physical needs. In what manner should we show Him our gratitude? Must we live as if nothing happened? While He carries in His body the marks of His sufferings a testimony of His love? We, a speck of dust, made of clay, deserving eternal death, must realize that we were purchased with the precious blood of Messiah, like that of a sacrificial lamb without blemish or spot (I Peter 1:19). We were purchased; so, we belong to YAHSHUA, Who shed His precious blood as a ransom for us; it is by His grace through faith that we are saved; salvation is not of ourselves, but it is a gift of God (Eph. 2:8). Therefore, Paul says, we live, not us, but YAHSHUA lives in us. That gives Him the complete right to own our soul: will, emotion and the intellect, or the mind. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me (Gal. 2:20). That means, we died to the desires of the flesh that is not pure or according to the will of God. It is a life of faith that compels us to please our Savior, in return for what He did for us. Now, the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death. But the mind of the Spirit is life and peace. The mind of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God’s Law; indeed, it cannot (Rom. 8:6)

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Would That You Had Known

This is a solemn phrase of regret to those at the end the road. Facing the consequences, without a way to mend the decision made. We often regret certain decisions when facing the results of them. But the regret coming to us from God is serious and concerning, because it involves decision He is making against our actions. At the end of our Lord’s life on the earth, He called the attention of Israel, exclaiming, “Would that you had known personally, even at least in this your day, the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For a time is coming upon you when you enemies will throw up a bank about you and surround you and shut you in on every side; and they will dash you down to the ground, you [Jerusalem] and your children within you ; and then will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not come progressively to recognize and know and understand the time of your visitation [that is, when God was visiting you, the time in which God showed Himself gracious toward you and offered you salvation through Christ]. (Luke 19:42-44).

The days were getting closer for our Lord to offer Himself as the ultimate sacrifice for His people and the world. A warning was given, but not received well, for there was not belief to apply to YAHSHUA’S words. His heart was bleeding for the people, as He wept over the city (Luke 19:41). Israel was deaf and blind spiritually to the reality of YAHSHUA’S prophetic words. O how He tried to save them from the coming disaster! His love flowed audibly over the city of Jerusalem; the city of God. Destruction was eminent if they did not repent; YAHSHUA saw the stubbornness of their hearts and wept, as He saw the consequences of their hard hearts looming in the near future. Another time He warned them saying, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who continue to kill the prophets and to stone those who are sent to you! How often I have desired and yearned to gather your children together as a hen [gathers] her young under her wings, but you would not! Then He declared, Behold, your house is forsaken (abandoned, left to you destitute of God’s help)! And I tell you, you will not see Me again until the time comes when you shall say, Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Luke 13:34-35).

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And The Peace of God…

Peace is the world’s cry from the time sin entered it. Peace is the presence of God, bringing joy, happiness and tranquility to the soul. There are many enemies of peace, which are ever trying to destroy the mind’s ability to function. There is a battle for the mind of men in order to separate them from God’s principles, His peace and joy. To discredit His attributes and Who He is, to doubt His love and His word. We live in a world of confusion for not embracing His Word as true and powerful as we read in Hebrews 4:12: “for the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power; it is sharper than any two edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life and spirit, and of joints and marrow, exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.” YAHSHUA warned us saying, “Do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble” (Matt. 6:34). The path of life is many times uncertain. In many ways it will lead us where we don’t want to be. Decisions we make significant or not, will have consequences good or bad. The least will take us out of our comfort zone sometimes for a long time. When we embrace anxiety and everything else in its family, they will control our emotions and disease our body. The will of God is that we be free from anxiety. We are to make our requests known to Him by prayer, supplications and thanksgiving. Then He will bless us with His peace, the peace that transcends all understanding and He will guard our hearts and minds in Christ YASHUA (Phil. 4:6-7). That’s a promise worthy of our consideration as part of life. But as it is, we keep asking for things God has already promised or given us. The missing link here is lack of faith in many cases, denying us the fulfillment of His promises.

Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God; and God’s peace which transcends all understanding shall guard your hearts and minds in Christ YAHSHUA.” Because sin has taken peace away from us and replaced it with anxiety, worries and fears, these are the first things that come to the mind in times of trouble. It is certain that physical diseases will follow, if we do not correct our feelings. As it is said, worries lodges in the stomach and heart; fear in the kidneys, anger in the liver. We stay sick because we do not consider the word of God to have answers for our problems. It should be embarrassing to every Christian to live a life doubting the Word of God. The Lord said to the Prophet Jeremiah, “I am alert and active, watching over My word to perform it” (Jer. 1:12b); “For as the rain and snow come done from the heavens and return not there again, but water the earth and make it bring forth and sprout, that is may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but It shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent” (Isa.55:10-11). What our Lord God promised us; He will fulfill in His time. “God is faithful by Him you were called into companionship and participation with His Son YAHSHUA Messiah our Lord” (I Cor. 1:9). “The Word of the Lord is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens” (Ps.119:89). It was by the Word of God that the world was created. The Bible says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and Word was God Himself. All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being” (John 1:1-4).

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A Moabite Woman Who Would Not Give Up

In those days when the judges ruled the nation of Israel, there was a famine in the land. (Ruth 1:1a). Elimelech, his wife Naomi and family moved to Moab at that time. However, their future became uncertain with the death of Elimelech and his two sons, who were married to Moabite women named Orpha, and Ruth. Naomi decided to move back to Israel with her two daughters-in-law. However, she insisted on them staying, but as she was leaving, they wept aloud; Orpha, one of the sisters, kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. She said, urge me not to leave you or to turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people and your God my God (Ruth 1). Ruth’s decision to leave everything behind, including her gods, family to follow the God of Naomi and her people was an attitude of sacrificial love. This action was prophetic in itself of a beautiful future. A future so special, she never dreamed of. Descendent of Lot, Abraham’s nephew, from a nation with an embarrassing beginning, nonetheless, God had a future and a hope for Ruth in a far and distant future, although she would not have a chance experience the excitement of it. Ruth was a chosen one unknown to her. She was both a widow and an alien, touching the heart of God. With courage and determination, she entered an unfamiliar territory, where a Moabite was not looked at with favor. But she performed all that her mother-in-law suggested her to do in that foreign land. Strong physically and emotionally, Ruth remained faithful to the end. Where she was gleaning was in the field of Naomi’s husband kin, Boaz.

Naomi stayed behind the scene teaching Ruth how to behave in that culture, not knowing how she was being used to bring about God’s plan for Ruth’s life, a plan in which Naomi would be part of. She would no longer be alone. Her life would be filled with joy in the fulfillment of God’s plan for Ruth, whose life was an ordinary life with an extraordinary future ahead of her. Ruth was in the right place in the space of the right time for all to happen as God planed. She had to be willing to leave behind all that was important to her, including her religion and her family. YAHSHUA said, Truly, I tell you, there is no one who has given up and left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for My sake and for the Gospel’s who will not receive a hundred times as much now in this time- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecution – and in the age to come, eternal life (Mar. 10:29-30). Although, Ruth did not have in mind this concept YAHSHUA presented, she took a path of obedience for God to fulfill His plan through her. In spite of being a foreigner, she was respected for her act of compassion toward her Jewish mother-in-law Naomi. When the time came for her to marry Boaz, the people rejoiced with her and Naomi, saying, May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachael and Leah, the two who built the household of Israel. May you do worthily and get wealth in Ephratah and be famous in Bethlehem, (prophetically of YAHSHUA) and let your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which the Lord will give you by this young woman (Ruth 4:11-12). Ruth’s future as well as Naomi’s took root in these prophetic words uttered by the people which took thousands of years for its fulfillment, while generations multiplied. God, however, in His appointed time brought all to fulfillment.

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The Tree that Changed the Destiny of Mankind

The serpent in that perfect garden of Eden served as an instrument for Satan to fulfill his plan against God’s creation in his fallen state. Obviously, he hated men, whom God created as His image and wanted them condemned to hell. Eve became his target and was deceived by the serpent which was crafty and she was prone to listen to the devil. A battle for men was happening at that time, and Eve made it easy, for not perceiving the reality. Was she aware of whom Satan was and his enmity against God since they did not have the understanding of good and evil, with the exception of not “to eat from the tree in the middle of the garden.” Obviously, Satan hid himself behind the voice of the serpent to deceive Eve and bring them to condemnation of the curse. The battle raged on and he won. The beautiful garden, pure and perfect, where there was the presence of God was painted black; its shinning disappeared in the waves of sin; men’ destiny shifted to Satan’s control. So, it was that the earth bent to him lost its beauty, peace, and love. Now, violence, hatred, homicide and everything evil took the form of the curse.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil and blessing and calamity was not to be eaten from (Gen. 2:17a). That command sealed God’s agreement with men. Obviously, Adam was the recipient of that command, for Eve to fall for the serpent’s idea without defending God’s command. When the prohibited fruit was yanked from the tree it felt the pain, as If it knew what was happening to the human race from eating that prohibited fruit whose message carried consequence to all who ate it for generations to come. When Eve listened to the serpent’s voice, disregarding God’s voice, she lost her relationship with Him, for she had believed the serpent’s words, doubting God’s word and breaking the agreement with Him to obey. As a result, she brought down the entire world with her, including her husband.

The tree was disregarded and dishonored by Eve. So, God sent Adam out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. So, “He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim with the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life” (Genesis 3:22-24). In this, we see nature changing, as well as the ground being cursed. Life was left marked by sin and a curse. Men multiplied, so did their iniquity, while nature of all kinds suffered the consequences of their evil acts. “How long must the land mourn and the grass and herbs of the whole country wither? Through the wickedness of those who dwell in it, the beasts and the birds are consumed and are swept away… “says Jeremiah “because the ground is cracked and the tillers are dismayed, since there has been no rain on the land, the plowmen are put to shame, and they cover their heads. Yes, even the hind gives birth to her calf in the field and forsakes it, because there is no grass or herbage and the wild donkeys stand on the bare heights; their pant for air like jackals or crocodiles; their eyesight fails because there is no grass. O Lord though our iniquities testify against us, deal and work with us for Your own sake! For our backslidings are many; we have sinned against You” (Jer. 12:4; 14: 4-7). In Romans 8:19-23 Paul says: “For the creation waits expectantly and longs earnestly for God’s sons to be made known, for the creation was subjected to frailty, not because of some intentional fault on its part, but by the will of Him Who so subjected it with the hope that nature itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and corruption into the glorious freedom of God’s children . We know that the whole creation has been moaning together in the pains of labor until now, and no only creation, but we ourselves too…” (Rom. 8:19-23a).

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