March 16
“Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return,” Genesis 3:17-19.
These words were first spoken by God to Adam some thousands of years ago. The Bible does not give us the exact age of the earth. These words were revealed to Moses by the Holy Spirit, and they were written by Moses about 1,500 years before Jesus was born. However, in spite of the years gone by, these words are as true and applicable today as they were when they were first spoken and written.
Adam and Eve, our first parents, were created by God. They were each given a body and soul. Both of them were created in God’s image; they were holy and perfect, as was the entire creation. The first people and everything else in the world did not evolve in the course of time from some other form. Everything was created by God in six normal days.
There are people who reject the account of God’s creation and who teach a theory of evolution. The theory of evolution is just that – a theory. It is not based on any facts. There is nothing scientific or factual about the theory of evolution, and it does not belong in the science classroom. It really does not deserve a lot of attention.
Returning to the account of the creation by God, we have to tell the rest of the story. Adam and Eve listened to the devil’s voice of temptation, and they sinned. They ate the fruit of the forbidden tree which God had put in the Garden of Eden. The result was the curse of God recorded in the text above. It was a curse on the whole creation. Life became one of toil and tribulation. Since the day that Adam and Eve sinned, the perfect creation ceased to be perfect, and it brings forth thorns and thistles. Each time you go out to weed in your garden or lawn, just remember that it is the result of sin.
Everything evil, everything bad in the whole world, is a result of sin; the suffering and sorrow, pain and heartache, sickness and disease, anger and hatred, wars and terror, lying and dishonesty, drunkenness, illegal drugs, divorce, backbiting, lovelessness, and the list goes on and on! Beyond all that and much more, we are faced with death! God told Adam, “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die,” Genesis 2:17. The prophet Ezekiel wrote, “The soul who sins shall die,” Ezekiel 18:4. The apostle Paul wrote, “The wages of sin is death,” Romans 6:23. Adam was told, “You are dust and to dust you shall return.”
If all of the above were the full story, we would have no hope for love, peace, and joy now and in the life hereafter. However, our amazing, gracious God provided a way of salvation. Already to Adam and Eve He promised to send a Savior. That promise has been repeated to every generation, and finally fulfilled when God sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into the world. On the night He was born, the angel announced to the shepherds on Bethlehem’s field, “There is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord,” Luke 2:11. Each of us is invited to trust in Him for the forgiveness of all our sins. He fulfilled the Commandments in our place. He shed His blood on Calvary’s cross to wash them away. He rose from the dead, and has conquered sin, death, and the devil. Believe and trust in Him, and you have the promise for eternity, “You shall live!” You will live in the halls of heaven eternally!
We pray: Thank you, Lord, for the forgiveness of all my sins! Keep me in the faith in Jesus. Amen.