04. The Period Of Innocence

CHAPTER FOUR

THE PERIOD OF INNOCENCE

“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it" (Genesis 1:28).
The first period of time is called “The Period of Inno­cence,” as shown on the Chart. It extends from the creation of Adam and Eve to their expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

Adam was created in the image of God and he had close fellowship with God. During this period, he was innocent of any transgression of the laws of God for he had no knowledge of good or evil. He was created for the purpose of companionship with God.

God said unto Adam, “Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat" (Genesis 1:29).

And God planted in the Garden of Eden the tree of life, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God com­manded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die"

God gave Adam and Eve an existence on earth under the most favorable circumstances. The hills, the valleys, and the plains, which were covered with herds of cattle and with flocks of sheep, were theirs. God saw everything that He had made for man, and behold; it was “very good"

God made his first covenant with Adam. It included seven requirements which were:

- Replenish the earth.
- Subdue the earth.
- Have dominion over the animal creation.
- Partake of a vegetable diet only.
- Till the soil in the garden.
- Abstain from eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
- If they disobeyed, physical death would be their punishment.

Satan, who was working in opposition to God’s plan for man, came to the Garden of Eden to tempt Eve. He came in the form of a most beautiful creature, a serpent. In tempting Eve, he questioned God’s word about the for­bidden fruit. He said to the woman, “Thou shalt not surely die" He lied to her, and lured her to eat of the forbidden fruit.

Eve listened, she looked, she desired, she took, she ate. She gave it to her husband, Adam, and he “did eat"

The result was that both Adam and Eve disobeyed God. The eyes of both were opened. They saw that they were naked. They made for themselves aprons of fig leaves. Fearing the voice of God, they hid themselves. Adam placed the blame upon Eve, and she, in turn, blamed the serpent. Nevertheless, they became children of Satan in­stead of children of God. They were expelled from the garden. God kept Adam and Eve away from the tree of life, because of their sinful condition.

It is wise for Christians not to go to places that are for­bidden, so that they will not be tempted by Satan to look, to listen, to desire and to indulge in the forbidden thing.

Eve had met Satan, the most powerful enemy of God and man. Here began the conflict of the ages between the forces of God and the forces of Satan. Satan laid plans to destroy God’s plan for man by tempting the woman. The forces of evil have been trying to frustrate God’s great plan of re­demption for man ever since that time.

God immediately made a second covenant with Adam and Eve, after their sin of disobedience, called the Adamic Covenant. It included a curse and a promise.

The curse was upon the serpent who was created a most beautiful creature. God said unto the serpent, “Because thou hast done this, thou are cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field: upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life" (Genesis 3:14).

The curse was that the most beautiful and subtle of crea­tures became a loathsome reptile. This was one result of sin.

The promise was “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; and it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel" (Genesis 3:15).

The atonement of Christ, “made sin for us,” is intimated here. It was the first promise of a Redeemer. Christ will ultimately conquer sin, death and Satan.

As the result of sin, the state of woman was changed. Her conception was multiplied, childbirth was to be accom­panied with pain. Man was vested with the headship, made necessary by the entrance of sin which is discord (Genesis 3:16).

The curse was upon the ground for Adam’s sake. “Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field: in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground: for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Genesis 3:18-19).

“Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life" (Genesis 3:17). God’s promise to Adam was that he would have physical death, and that his body would return to the ground.

The age of innocence resulted in one of the most disastrous failures of natural man. It has affected the entire human race.