Covenants are basically promises or contracts. The Old Testament referred to them as covenants. Scholars list 8 major covenants through out the bible which help us understand God's purposes for us. (See February 25 blog for an intro into God's promises)
The Edenic Covenant was the first promise made to man, namely Adam. Adam represented the whole human race, thus this covenant is for you and me. The first promise was this, "but 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
Later after Adam's disobedience God promised many other negative consequences that not only affected Adam and Eve but all their offspring including you and I. They were such things as "enemies "(a continual struggle between good and evil, v15. Ultimately seen in Jesus versus the Devil), to the women "multiplied sorrow and conception; pain in child bearing, and a desire for a husband who then rules over her", and to the man "cursed ground, toiling through it with thorns and thistles, sweating just to eat, and ultimately ending back up in the ground from which he came, i.e. death".
I agree this first covenant isn't much to look at, in fact it's down right disappointing. But before you go blaming Adam and Eve for screwing up your life, remember that before the foundation of the world God had already planned to come to earth as Jesus and die for you and me. (Eph 1:4) I believe He had foreknowledge that every human on the face of the earth was going to make the same choice, given the same situation as Adam and Eve, namely I'm going "to be like God, knowing good and evil". (Gen 3:5) This is ultimately why we are all born in sin, Adam's sin, and his nature is now in us (Gen 5:3 "Adam...begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth."). This nature of Adam's causes us to sin, therefore we are as deserving of death as Adam and Eve was. (Romans 5:12) You could say it's spiritually and physically genetic. The good news is God's covenants/promises get better.
Grace, MB
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3 comments:
multiplied sorrow and conception; WHAT DOES THAT MEAN really? I just wonder what would have happened if they never did eat from that tree...life would be so different...Thank God his promises get better..He is Good. All the time.
Yes, thank God for His provision which He had before the foundations of the world. To answer your question regarding sorrow and conception I went to the Concordant Translation which seemed to make better sense considering the context and what we know of life now. It reads...
Gen 3:16 And to the woman He says, "Multiplying, yea, multiplying am I your grief and the groaning of your pregnancy. In grief shall you bear sons. "Yet by your husband is your restoration, and he shall rule over you.
Simply put, it's gonna hurt now. Hope that helps, not the pain, but your understanding of the verse. LOL
LOL YES, THANKS THAT DOES EXPLAIN IT BETTER.
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