From Life into Death and Back Again (Genesis 3) - Revised... ...

Much like Ha-Shem spoke into the formless and empty universe, He speaks into each and everyone of us and says, "You are MINE! ...   you are My Image,,,  My Likeness...  My Child..."  Jesus tells we who follow the Father in holiness, "you are My Brothers...  My Sisters...  My Mother..."

"How can this be?" one might ask.  It is easy to take note of the vast difference between we mere humans and Jesus who is supposed to be our way back into the presence of Ha-Shem... even the very Words uttered from His lips...  the Perfect Image... the "True Human"...  We who cannot see a way that we could ever be something more than what we see need to realize something...  something long since lost to mankind...  something the Serpent tries daily to conceal from us...  Exodus 33, Jeremiah 1, and Hosea 13 all share something in common with us here in the word "Yadatika" whose root is "Yada" which means "to know" ...  It is the deep connection "knowing" that comes from only the most intimate of relationships...  "...Before you were in the womb, I knew thy name..."  "... when you suffered in the wilderness, I knew your trials; and I called thy name..."

It is revolving around the fall into sin that a tale from Rabbinical Judaism relays to us the story of  Ha-Shem giving Adam and Eve a promise of comfort...  There are those in Judaism that believe this to be the origin of the Messianic Promise...  "...One day I shall send you one who will restore you to my presence..."  As Christians, we realize that this has happened...  with the tearing of the curtain guarding the Holy of Holies. we were restored to Ha-Shem's embrace as the last breath faded from Jesus at His crucifixion...   How do I let this promise of restoration guide my walk with the Ha-Shem? How do I stray from this walk?  What is standing in the way, what is keeping me from living this promise of being a restored creation?...  a true Image Bearer in His Likeness...

When Ha-Shem creates, He does not merely mold, shape, and sculpt His works of art in such a way that onlookers can see exactly what He did and how He did it, but rather He does so in a manner that observers cannot see even the slightest trace that this masterpiece before them was ever anything but what they see before them.

Ha-Shem did create all we see from nothing; but more than that, He created all there is so that there is no trace that the universe was ever a different masterpiece than the one we now are a part of.  science, physics, history, philosophy, etc.  all work together to tell us that there is no point at which man was anything other than man, the Earth any place other than Earth, and Ha-Shem any god other than Himself...

But for many hope abandons us in Genesis 3... where the serpent tempts and persuades man to eat that which Ha-Shem cautioned him not to.  We remember from Genesis 1 that Ha-Shem ordained Man with the power of dominion over all the beasts of the field, including the serpent...  The serpent who should have had no power at all over man, managed to "beguile" or lure him into eating of the fruit of knowledge.

In Genesis 1 we learned that man was created with the power to rule over the earth and all within it as a part of Ha-Shem's identity, a part of Ha-Shem's likeness.  How is the serpent attempting to beguile me today? where are my weaknesses and vulnerabilities?  How have I fallen to the temptation of the serpent; what lies have I fallen prey to?  Have I chosen the fruit of life or the fruit of knowledge?

To the Serpent "...cursed art thou above all cattle and all the beasts and of every animal of the field..."

To the Woman "... I shall greatly increase your sorrow/toil/pain/worry in thy conception..."

To the Man "..  Cursed is the ground for thine sake..."

It is at this point that we can realize just how deep the dagger of sin really struck into Adam, for when once their name was "Adam"  now their names were Adam and Eve and each piece of him suffered their own curse for their transgression....  Not only had Man been separated from Ha-Shem and His eternal glory, but he was separated as well from himself.  And eventually, removed from the Tree of Eternal Life as well....  Ha-Shem's promise of death had been fulfilled:  Physical, Relational, Spiritual...

The point is not to get lost in how far we have wandered from the embrace of He who breathed into us our very first breath, but rather to realize that even with as far as we have wandered from His embrace, we still have hope that what He began He will not be abandoned and we will not be overcome with despair...  Philippians 1

The heart of what I have to say tonight is that anything that overwhelms us at all...  in any relationship at all, be it: Marriage, Children, Parents, Siblings, Friends, Strangers, etc.  The problem like that between Adam and Eve that created the first division in the first person does not start between you and me; it begins between Me and Ha-Shem...  and between you and Ha-Shem...  When there is division between we and the Father than their will inherently be division between we and all others, for it is in our relationship with the Father that Jesus becomes our brother...  and it is in that kindred embrace that you and me can find kinship with each other; and if at all possible become whole persons once again as we were before disobedience and sin tore our soul in twain....

Eden's Nightmare

What does this mean for  us today?  could all our relational trials really be a part of the death we suffer as a result of the "fall"?  Is it really a part of the death promised to us in Genesis Chapter 2 as punishment for seeking after the fruit of knowledge?  Which fruit have I chosen to nourish my life?  the fruit of knowledge or the fruit of life?

The beauty of Ha-Shem over every other deity out there, is that He blesses us with the choice to follow Him or not...  there are many choices we make everyday that are either choices made for the Him or against Him...  what choices have I made today and where are they leading me?  What are the consequences of those choices I have made?

If the Scriptures truly are the Breathed Word of Ha-Shem then every element within is His Promise, every element within has His power to sculpt the whole of the world around us, and if we so choose, they have the power to sculpt us as well...

Which Way Will You Choose? (Genesis 2) - Revised... ...

"...Thou Shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die..." Genesis 2:17...  though it is not an attractive promise, it is a promise.  To fully understand the term "Muth" which is the Hebrew word here for death.  It means to die, to be killed, or to be executed.  The promise is that in the day which man chooses to take the fruit of knowledge over the fruit of Ha-Shem which is life; that man shall be executed.  Disobedience is Sin and sin is punishable by death: “... for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life…” (Romans 6)  why is this so?  what does it mean to die?  Many times Jesus refers to the dead as merely sleeping rather than being expired.   I think to understand what death really means then we need to understand 2 things: 1) the nature of Ha-Shem and man's relationship and 2) Heaven and Hell…  JRR Tolkien describes the universe as a grand orchestral arrangement, of which we are all part.  Each individual represents a single note, or word...  a line or a chorus...  a small glimpse as to the grandeur of the complete arrangement.  The relationship of it all was a complete harmony, peaceful, eternal, "Very Good".

We stand here within the tale of 2 pills, 2 doors, 2 roads... which do we choose?  Do we follow our own skepticism into worshiping finite knowledge that amounts to little more than trivia or do we spite our own flesh to understand questions about the Infinite source to the image and likeness we were designed to bear and exercise?

With Ha-Shem at the center of man's vision, all the treasures and the abundance of the Throne Room were showered down upon them - not unlike Peter’s ability to walk on water only so far as He kept His sight set on Jesus.  To take the fruit though, implies that the relationship will be ended; that man will be separated from Ha-Shem, for Muth would immediately follow.  We can clearly see from what is written that man continued to live for many years after partaking of the fruit...   What I believe is promised involves the source of our souls, that is the Breath of Life, which flows into us from the very lips of the Father in Heaven.  What I believe is promised is the drawing out of the breath that Ha-Shem first breathed into Adam and again into each one of us as we grew in our mother's womb.  That is to say that to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is to choose to breathe slowly corroding poison rather than the life giving essence of Ha-Shem.

Judaism has an interesting tradition involving the pursuit of knowledge; in which the questions we ask are more important than the answers we find to those questions.  Which fruit have you chosen to nourish your life?  the fruit of knowledge or the fruit of life?  Realize that to pursue a question rather than an answer is to realize that there are realms of understanding beyond the finite limits of mankind; and the true gift of the question is to realize that our inability to find answers reveal the magnitude of His power and glory...


The Garden of Eden is believed to be a reflection of the Garden in Heaven; which could mean that the Tree of Life is really the Breath of Life...  and the Tree of Knowledge is the Gate to Hell...  Truly it is that Hell is the one place where Ha-Shem's presence is withdrawn from, for even in our sin He is still there all around us...  We can look at these 2 trees as doorways into 2 worlds: 1 - The Throne Room and 2 – The Dungeon...  In Hell, true death occurs, and man is torn from every last smidgen of Ha-Shem's presence for it is the one place in all of existence in which He does not dwell.

Let us think of this in more contemporary terms....  Agnosticism, Atheism, Denominationalism, Philosophy, Scientology, or Theology,... Man chooses his "God" as knowledge and uses knowledge and physical achievement to replace Ha-Shem; whereas, those who still follow Ha-Shem choose eternal life with eternal rewards and achievements rather than the physical ones... The Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge are both still around in our lives today calling and beckoning us to choose to follow Ha-Shem or our own ideals…  Realize that there are crimes in Scripture that Ha-Shem tells us are punishable by death:

1) Giving offering or tribute of any kind to idols is punishable by Muth…
2) Serving or worshiping an idol of any kind is punishable by Muth…
3) False Prophecy is punishable by Muth…
4) Practicing necromancy, sorcery, and all other occult pursuits of power is punishable by Muth…
5) Blaspheming - that is taking any action at all against that which is Holy is punishable by Muth…
6) Dishonoring the Shabbat is punishable by Muth…
7) Rape of any kind  is punishable by Muth…
8) Incest is punishable by Muth…
9) Adultery - any sexual act with any individual to whom you are not maritally bound is punishable by Muth…
10) Homosexual behaviorisms are punishable by Muth…
11) Beastiality - any sexual act involving an animal is punishable by Muth…
12) Prostitution is punishable by Muth…
13) Murder is punishable by Muth…
14) Cursing, Speaking Ill of, or Physically Attacking your parents is punishable by Muth…
15) Perpetual Disobedience is punishable by Muth…
16) Kidnapping is punishable by Muth…
17) Bearing False Testimony and Contempt of Court are both punishable by Muth…

To choose any way other than Ha-Shem's is Idolatry which is punishable by "Muth"...  Which "God" do you choose to follow?  where is the greatest amount of your time being spent each day, week, month, year?  it is the things you give your time to that you are elevating to the status of "gods" in your life...  we all have these idols in our lives, these things that we tend to turn to before we turn to Ha-Shem....  What are yours?  How does your behavior reflect a pursuit of Life or a pursuit of Death?...

Matthew 19, Mark 10, Luke 18 all talk about it being easier for a camel to pass through the part of the city gate known as the "Eye of the Needle" than it is for a man who has much to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven... What baggage are you clinging to that is only hindering your own entrance through the eye of the needle?  How are your own strivings and yearnings affecting your decisions between the Trees of Life and Knowledge?  How are they drawing your to or from your own death?

As Christians we have already chosen the tree from which we will eat and in our commission by Jesus to answer the calling of the Prophets and to follow in His footsteps to be His Disciples, a path that has all the power Jesus demonstrates during His time among us "...and even greater..." power.  As discussed in my last post, the promise in the creation of man is that the entire realm of Earth was to answer to the leadership of man, and was bound to man's dominion - more than that, the Earth is also bound to our Sin…  As Christians we are restored to this seat of power and promise where "...anything you ask for in my name..." shall be brought to fruition in our lives...

If we believe what Paul says in Galatians and Philippians about our old selves being crucified with Jesus and now living only as Jesus' pure embodiment; then then whose image and likeness are we bearing?  How has our behavior illuminated the god whose image we choose to serve and bear?  What does this mean for our relationship to Jesus as well as His relationship to the Father?

Have you feasted on knowledge rather than life eternal?  How-so?  What of your own death in the midst of this? What of your life?

Now this last bit will be a bit controversial to most every professed Christian because it goes against the grain of man made theology and doctrine involving Sin…  We were not created in the image of men, demons, or otherwise; but we were created in the Image and Likeness, that is we were created to be flesh and blood, living statues of Ha-Shem that the created order might know who He is through us.   To say that we are inevitably sinful both remoes us from our divine purpose and denies us the chance to choose Ha-Shem before we are condemned - This paints Ha-Shem as a tyrant instead of the all-loving and all-powerful and ever-merciful Ruler that He is…  It is our choice of which tree we eat from that places us into or protects us from Sin; we are accountable only for our choices not the choices of our fathers and mothers and fellow human beings…  The sin is not in the failure, but rather it is in the refusal to answer the conviction of the Spirit of Ha-Shem when you are informed of your mistake…  No man can “accidentally” be condemned to Muth in Hell because it is their own choices that place them there and not their Divinely-crafted and inspired image...

“...  and they were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed…”

If the Scriptures truly are the Breathed Word of Ha-Shem then every element within is His Promise, every element within has His power to sculpt the whole of the world around us, and if we so choose, they have the power to sculpt us as well...