The Strand Study Bible

GENESIS

54

GENESIS

revealed. It was the normal way of thinking. We speak of belief in creation, and of believing in God the creator. Faith is never mentioned in the Old Testament in the texts which speak of the creator and creation. It is not something in which one can believe or not. It is rather in the nature of an axiom presupposed by all thought. The consciousness of existing brought with it at once the sense of being created. 2

2:7b God created man out of dust of the earth to remind man that without Him man is simply “dirt-cheap” ( Psa 113:6 ). 2:7c Man became a living soul after God placed blood inside of him (Lev 17:11). You do not have a living soul . You are a living soul (mind, heart, and will - Gen 1:27b ). What you have is a body (which houses the living soul ). You can lose your body (what you have), but you cannot lose your soul (what you are). If “what you are” is more important than “what you have,” then “where you’re headed” is more important than “where you’ve been” (Lk 16:19-24). 2:8a Interestingly enough, God provided work ( planted a garden ) for man “before” He provided a family for man. Thus, God’s will for man is that he learn to work before starting a family ( II Thess 3:10 and Prov 9:1 – Pillar #1 ). 2:8b Eastward of Eden would be modern day Iraq and Iran. The Columbia History of the World notes: History begins in the Near East (Mesopotamia). 3 Even secular historians admit that “everything” that can be measured by history started in the Near East. For example: *writing started in Sumer (Mesopotamia) ( The Columbia History of the World ) 3 *agriculture started in The Fertile Crescent (Mesopotamia). The Columbia History of the World notes: We do not know why agriculture began in the Near East, rather than elsewhere, but it did so, and from here the art of farming spread to the four corners of the world. 3 *law started in Ur (Mesopotamia). The Columbia History of the World notes: The earliest yet known lawbook was promulgated by Ur-Nammu, a king of Ur, about 2100. 3 Even Hammurabi’s laws (written c. 1800 BC) came from Babylon (Mesopotamia) ( The Columbia History of the World ). 3 NOTE – Although argued by some prehistory evolution “theorists,” the cradle of civilization according to history is exactly where God tells us it was –Mesopotamia (The Fertile Crescent). 2:9 This is the first time the word “ evil ” appears in the Bible. F.J. Huegel in That Old Serpent – The Devil notes:

Now, just what are these facts regarding the origin of evil as disclosed in the Scriptures? In the first place that evil springs from a person inconceivably malicious, incomparably wicked. Evil heads up in a fiendish individual called Satan. The primary source of evil is not man–it does not spring from his pride nor his greed nor his ignorance nor his lust. When man appeared, the Prince of Darkness, as Christ was wont to call him, was already on deck. 4

Interestingly enough, evil was in existence before man was in existence, for man was offered the freedom to follow either good or evil before he ever sinned and committed evil himself ( Ezk 28:15 ). Roy L. Laurin in Romans - Where Life Begins notes:

The origin of evil is stated in the words, “sin entered into the world.” Whatever the statement means, it does not mean what men say, that evil is a remnant of savagery. It is not merely something left over; it is somerthing come in. It is something that entered at a time when there was nothing of its kind either in man or in the world. Further than this, evil is something that came from the outside and now resides on the inside. It came from another source. The only evil in existence, before man became evil was the Evil One. And the logic of the case is that evil which “entered into the world” came from outside the world... Of the origin of evil, the Bible gives the only adequate explanation. In its first three chapters, you will find the origin of everything except God. God cannot be explained. He must be believed. There then follows, after the presence of God, the existence of the universe; then man in the universe; and finally sin in man. And from the third chapter of Genesis, the Bible becomes a duel history. It is the history of evil resulting from one man’s disobedience, on the one hand; and the history of redemption resting in one Man’s obedience on the other hand... There can be no conclusive scientific reason why the world should be full of suffering, disease, and death. There is not a single reason except the one given in the Bible, namely, that “sin entered the world” from an outside source through “one man.” 5

Now there are some (atheists and agnostics in particular) who would hold to the opinion that since God created everything and evil exists, that God must be evil. The atheist and/or agnostic normally make his argument along the following lines: (1) If God were all good, then He would not allow evil to exist; (2) If God were all powerful, then He would prevent evil from happening; (3) So either God is good, but not powerful, or God is evil; (4) Seeing there is so much evil in the world, God is either evil or He must not exist at all. Because the atheist and/or agnostic assumes that some things are objectively good and some things are objectively bad (which, by the way, is the Christian world-view), he must also assume that there is such a thing as a moral law by which he can distinguish between good and bad. Common sense tells us that if there is a moral law, there must be a moral lawgiver. Otherwise there can be no objective basis (or ground) for morality. Think about what the atheists and the agnostics are saying. They assume there is good and evil (which means they assume there must be a moral law), yet they deny there is a God (a moral law giver). If there is no moral law giver, there is no moral law. If there is no moral law, there is no good. If there is no good, there can’t be such a thing as evil. Thus, their question of evil is meaningless, making their argument for the existence of God flawed ( Mk 5:13 ). Because atheism logically has to presuppose naturalism (the idea that only the physical universe exists), then we can only find truth in the physical universe. The problem with this kind of thinking is that the physical universe is neither moral nor immoral… it just is. The physical universe doesn’t care about injustice… it just exists. So when things like the Holocaust happen, or children get raped, or some other unspeakable thing occurs, the only logical response the consistent atheist can come up with is… “Crap happens.” Why? Because when you follow atheism to its logical conclusion, the question as to whether or not there is evil in the