God's Promises, Part 2

by Colin Michael

God had a complete plan for all of time before He spoke His first words of creation. The plan that He put into effect is the single most effective plan that could have ever been because of who He is. At times and to certain people of His choosing, God has revealed a portion of that plan. In a few very special instances, God has revealed His plan by way of a promise. These promises are called covenants and God has chosen to be bound by every promise He has made. Some of the covenants have been laid out in the form of a contract with conditions that men must fulfill before the promise would be in effect. Most have been without condition, promises given completely by His grace, dependent on nothing else. In this series of articles we will consider God's covenants along with their recipients, conditions, fulfillments, and lasting effects.

The Adamic Covenant

Most of God's second covenant with men was a sentence of doom. Even the devil himself was part of this covenant. Satan had adopted Adam and had taken over as governor of creation. Adam had embezzled the world and lost it in a crooked craps game with the father of lies. Here God delivers a series of promises. It is not the desire of God that this covenant be laced with judgment and doom. This fact is made plain in that He promises salvation through His own effort as an integral part of the contract.

This covenant is unconditional simply because it must be. If there had been any way in all of time or space that Adam could have repaired his relationship with God and reclaimed his position God would have announced it right here. If there had been great deeds he could do, great victories he could win or great atonement he could make through any amount of effort then that would have been part of this covenant. Looking at the text in Genesis 3:14-19 we see no hint of opportunity. In verse 14 the snake is cursed to crawl on his belly and eat dust. In verse 15 we see the enmity that will carry on indefinitely between the godly and the ungodly. Here are the promises of Messiah and the defeat of Satan at the end. In verse sixteen we have Eve's part of the curse; that she will have many children, too many likely for her and Adam to keep under control. She would have hard labor and pain and perhaps need to fear death at child bearing. She would find weakness in herself and have need for the protection and comfort of her husband, and she would need to approach God and obey His direction under delegation through her husband.

In verse 17-19 Adam at last hears what his new role in life will be. He will now eat bread, a food that requires much work to prepare. For bread you must glean and hull grain. You must remove chaff and grind it with stones. Then you must mix and knead the grain with water and yeast and salt. Then a fire must be built to heat a baking stone. This will not be like picking a pear off a tree and grabbing a few green beans out of the garden. Life will be different in its most basic context. He must start his own garden unlike before. And when he tills and plants he will sweat. Instead of bountiful and plentiful growth he will find weeds and thorns in his rows. This is blood, sweat and tears in place of picking and pruning. Finally, at the end of verse 19, Adam learns the full extent of his new promise. Even his body will get worse and wind down and decay. This most carefully fashioned creation of the Master designer will finally succumb to the new law written in its members. In Romans 8:22 we find that all of God's creation was effected this same way by Adam's sin. Yet this is not only a curse, it is a blessing. Dr. Henry Morris (The Defender's Study Bible, p. 13, Iowa Falls: World Bible Publishers, 1995) points out that the entropy around us leaves us without hope in the carnal and should therefore turn us toward God. In today's science-centered world, we know a lot more about this law written in our members. We call it the Second Law of Thermodynamics and it applies to the entire universe. The more we know about the decay around us the less excuse we have to ignore the regenerative power of God through His Son.

In the first covenant, Adam had been given work to do in the garden as well as a sphere of influence. Adam's work entailed "dressing" and "keeping" the garden. His daily chores no doubt consisted of maintaining and improving or organizing the vegetation. How can we imagine the extent of the change in the nature of work that Adam faced? In my mind I think of my trips to the pick-your-own apple farm as a typical day in the garden. Deciding which apples to take for the table and how many to take for baking. Perhaps some of those that landed on the ground will make a nice glass of refreshing cider! Then I think of a day outside the garden as the first day in the life of a pioneer. Before he can plant he has to fell trees and pull up stumps, or maybe he has to pull rocks and clear brush. Even after days of sweat he still has tilling and planting and weeding. Then, if the crop doesn't fail, he has harvesting and much more work to do. Meanwhile, he has a house to build, and a barn, too. He has to build fences and keep the animals out of the fields. He needs firewood and a source of water. One wonders how Adam survived that first year! But he was smarter than we are, no doubt, and stronger. The effects of the curse may have come on slowly so that there were some wild crops available if he ranged a ways for it. I wonder what he thought about while he was sweating? God gives us some insights. He was sorrowing v. 17 for his loss. He was experiencing the pain of thorns and thistles v. 18. I'll bet that those skins of animals chafed when he was sweaty and dirty v. 19, 21. I can imagine tears, many of them on many occasions. He was a man of sweat and a man of sorrows, a man pricked by thorns and marked for death. As was the first Adam, so would the last Adam be; the first because of his own sin, the last because of yours and mine.

Next Month: God's Re-Creation Promises

Did you miss Part I of this series?