The American Saul

The American Saul

5/26/20

Before we dive into this topic, stop and take a moment to reflect on the title of this article and try to understand where God will be coming from.  God placed this man into a leadership role due to the demands of a blessed yet rebellious nation.  Saul had the opportunity of a lifetime to shine to the entire world but selfishness grabbed his heart and it did not take too much time for his blessings to change.  Think about what his days composed of and how he operated through this emotional turmoil.  Furthermore, as his world was coming apart he had opportunities to truly repent to God but turned them down in favor of superficial gains and religious symbolism.  Once again, God asks us to think about our nation that He placed in charge of changing the world for His Glory, an eternal opportunity of a lifetime; however, just like Saul, we have chosen to disobey our command and commission from God to go on our own ways without any regard for the Truth being posed as our front.  Saul fulfilled his own prophecy one fateful day and unless we change our spiritual ways REAL quickly we shall experience the exact same fate as he.

1 Samuel 9:1-2

“Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.”

One may ask the question if Saul was set up to fail because he was the first king that was chosen for the people after they demanded a leadership change.  It would be easy to concur with this question and the answers that could be entertained but when all is said and done it is still up to the human being to make the choice of obedience and to which kingdom that obedience shall fall upon.  So, the true answer to this question is no way, for God, saw the heart of Saul and picked him to lead the nation, but through the ungodly and selfish decisions, Saul made consequently removed him from the favor of God.  Saul could have dignified the kingship and lived out his days without incident as his successor reached the anointed throne, but once again, Saul chose a different path, one in which did not follow God and ended up costing him his life just as the prophet foretold.

When we look at the stature of Saul he was probably the prime choice for one to be king, for he was strong, tall, muscular in build, and all-around a healthy individual.  There is no doubt that Israel saw the appearances of the other nations’ kings and they wanted someone similar in presentation, a pretty and physical specimen to stand up with all the other kings of the era to show that they had arrived on the equality scene.  Is this wrong to assume that God wanted such a king to rule over Israel?  I mean, they must have contended that their king was going to be the exact replica of those around them, and according to the Scripture passage above, who else could better fit this mold that they had ventured.  It is this belief that humans fall prey to our enemy and allow such breaches to flood our lands with sin and options that can only go against what God really wants for our lives.  How quickly do we lose track of what God has led us from without major consequential results just to turn around and make ridiculous new directional concepts that further test God’s patience with us?

Israel could not stand before God and deny that their lives and existence were made different than others for a reason but their eyes had been turned enough to ignore God’s rules and to choose otherwise.  However, God allowed their wishes to be granted just as He has allowed countless numbers of people before this passage and after its words of wisdom.  Israel had the concept that it was strong enough to physically take care of themselves in all areas of life, for if they did not then they would not have made such a demanding request from God.  How many times have we made similar statements concerning the flesh that was for a time granted then at some point everything fell apart due to the same conditions that got you at that position in the first place.  It has happened so many times in our modern-day human history and the reason it has is that we did not learn from our past history.  But God is a sovereign God and one that will allow His children to take part in issues that exist and will also allow the results of those chosen issues to take place as well.  Look at the comparisons between Saul and his nation, both follow parallel lines, so much so that it is a scary pattern and consequently both had similar deadlines to meet.

1 Samuel 9:17

“And when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people.”

1 Samuel 10:1

“Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?”

Even though God’s heart was torn concerning the children of Israel and their decision, we have the confirmation here that God wanted a specific person to reign over the people of Israel.  God also says to Samuel that the children of Israel is still His people which means even though they decided to choose an earthly king, God was still their Creator and saw them as His own.  For a considerable amount of time, Saul was chosen to be king over Israel, it was said and done according to God and Samuel anointed Saul according to the command of God as well as sealing the chosen leadership of Saul over God’s people.  Samuel also makes a statement in 10:1 that should have rung loud bells in Saul’s heart as to who exactly was in control of Israel and when Samuel said that God has placed Saul over His inheritance God was clearly stating His future was on the line through Saul; talk about an enormous responsibility to be given.  This is where it is easy for some of us to facepalm ourselves because when we read how Saul led Israel it seems like it would be obvious to Saul that God was not pleased with him due to the disobedient stance Saul took, and then lied about it to Samuel.  This was the manner Saul saw fit to rule and it was a manner that God could not have for His inheritance; can you imagine the laughter Satan would have had if God allowed Saul to continue to operate in this rebellion?

Just a small note here before proceeding, it is not a part of this article topic, but 1 Samuel 11; it states that God gave Saul another heart, one that was obedient and submissive to God.  This change of heart was so obvious that people who had known Saul all of his life questioned if this Saul was the same person as before.  Even here in the Old Testament, we find that when a person turns their heart over to God, He does not waste any time making sure the difference is noted publicly.  However, when self fights back and is allowed to take over the changed heart again, nothing pretty can come of this act.  It may be pretty too and for the cause of the world but in God’s eyes alignment with the world is strictly disobedience and cannot be tolerated by God.  It does not matter if you believe this act from God occurs or not, but I suggest you take a look at what history you are referring to and examine just how lives were changed when God was taken out of the front portion of their equation of existence.

1 Samuel 13:13-14

“And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.  But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee.”

We have here a description of a setting in which a leader is being told that his services of rule are no longer needed by the overall Supreme Commander of the land.  What is so striking about this passage is that Samuel tells Saul something that he already knew but placed it on the level of the One who actually gave him the position in the first place.  God changed Saul’s heart in a manner to which his words and actions made people turn their heads and question if it was him or not.  But Saul chose to return to his selfish ways and try to “pull the wool over God’s eyes” with the antics of disobedience on the battlefield.  This may not seem important to everyone but when orders are disobeyed on the battlefield people do not return safely to the confines of their lines, and if leaders cannot follow their own instructions that is the highest form of treason possible.  If they are not held accountable for their actions the defiance shall only increase and become even more contagious within the lower ranks. 

Saul’s disobedient leadership eventually became visible and in this case audible which was the act that God said enough.  Saul found out the hard way that the focus upon his own truth embolden his eyes to fail to recognize why God gave the command He did.  Also, it was the selfishness that Saul ignored what was really ongoing and it turned out to be his own demise.  In this last passage, God makes mention of the disobedience of Saul and that his kingdom cannot stand any longer for it was one directed and led by disobedience.  God also states through Samuel that God constantly looks for people after His own heart to lead His people and that He has others prepared when those who have been called drop the ball.  God reinforces His Holy position and His choices of leaders through the countenance of obedience and once again states to those of disobedience that they can no longer hold their given positions.  It is this position of God that is relevant to us today and it is why God chose this title and topic for this article because America, we have become Saul.

It is evident that Saul had a wealth of information when it came to God and His Ways, for the passages for this article state that very fact.  Saul knew his position and was told exactly how to conduct operations not just once but many times during his reign.  God knew that Saul was not perfect, for he was a human being, but God took Saul’s heart and changed it and gave him the perfect opportunity to walk in His Ways and to conduct God’s business accordingly.  Yet, somewhere during this process, Saul laid waste to the patterns of God and chose to live his old lifestyle of physical friendships instead of following what God commanded.  Saul was free to make these decisions just we are today and when our personal freedoms override God and His Ways, there cannot be any other result occur than what occurred to Saul.  But like so many of us today, Saul chose another direction to take and his patterns changed and became worldly in nature, even though Israel continued to support him their fortunes changed as well just as God said they would back in the latter portions of 1 Samuel 8.  The question God has for us today is this: do we see the same pattern in this nation as it occurred in Saul way back so many millennia ago?

It is obvious that the leadership of this nation cares nothing about doing what is right in the eyes of God.  This is a true statement because what many of the leaders of this nation and many others deal with selfish prizes for one’s own self, who cares about what others think; all in the ideology that freedom of choice means that anything goes on any level of existence.  This ideology of Saul’s forces us to think about why America and its philosophy of freedom are nowhere found in the end times.  What is frightening for this nation concerning this parallel is that after God removed His anointing from Saul, He continued to allow Saul opportunities to truly repent. He (Saul) kept the religious placemats on display but nothing holy lived or even existed in his heart.  It was only at a later time and date that God removed Saul from this earth just as it had been predicted, in a battle no less.

Can’t we see that when God chooses leaders He expects them to follow His lead and do so through voluntary and willful obedience?  Saul became eventually engrossed with certain details around him that distracted him from completing the job that God commanded him to do; therefore, it was only a matter of time before he would take one too many steps against God, and then God would be forced to take action.  This nation is in the same predicament as Saul was and unfortunately we are following in his actions without regard for the Ways of God that established this nation.  However, just as God allowed Saul to go about the kingship in his own manner, so shall God allow us to choose our course of existence as well.  But we cannot forget that unless we stand with God and obey His Ways we shall be subject to the world and its ways and with the corresponding hardening of our hearts God will have to do His best to sway us back to Him.  With each passing day, it seems like a new turmoil or pain arises in our nation and with each new day our defiance to God and His perfect and unique manner of healing is ignored.  Recently, one of the governors of this nation declared that we were winning the battle over this current virus ourselves, with no help from God what-so-ever.  Can’t you just hear almost identical words coming from the mouth of Saul?  Remember, God provides everything that we encounter, EVERYTHING folks.  The statement from this governor comes from a person who considers himself to be Catholic, so he should know who provides what, when, and how.  He also should understand that ignorance to correct glory shall reap a whirlwind of destruction, also allowed by God.

Look at our nation and how we treat God and His Ways, and it is easy for one to see that we want no part of God, so what is God waiting for?  Who is responsible for such a prevalent attitude in this nation?  It would be easy to just blame our enemy and that “blame” would be correct, but it is not solely his doing.  See, God in the Old Testament and God in the New Testament gave His people the authority to destroy the works of the devil and when that authority is taken and put into motion there cannot be any advancement of Satan’s kingdom.  It is evident Church, that we have forgotten who the loser is in this spiritual fight and we definitely have totally forgotten how to fight this battle.  Oh yes, we are in the midst of a huge eternal battle and we are the ones losing it.

I do not know how much time we have left as the nation we have known and for that matter the Church as well.  This is another detail that we have allowed Satan to hide from us, for just as this nation’s personalities believe that The United States of America shall always stand in its present form so does the Church.  Both entities are eternally dead wrong and it looks like we shall see such Truth prophecies occur in a short period of time.  How bad or how quickly they will arrive?  I have no idea, but the most important thing we must do is get right with God and to tell as many people as possible to be ready for when these prophecies arrive they shall catch us off guard and strike quickly without notice.  Saul died on the battlefield quickly and his life and existence were gone.  The troubles of Israel did not end there they only continued to grow and eventually led them to be nonexistent within the eyes of God and the world’s eyes.  Do we really want to see this aspect of God’s completeness?  We do not have to exist and be remembered as the American Saul, but the obedient children of God who flourished under Covenant that God provided instead.

DLB

Restore Your Wealth

Restore Your Worth

5/12/20

Many of us probably have at some time in our life felt like we have no value or worth then question why we were ever born.  Whatever the case might have been this feeling is one of pure degradation and demoralization that some never shake.  The world will have its own answers to this issue and those answers usually bring about more turmoil instead of healing.  Also, the world shall always dismiss the one True answer that will give us the restoration that we all desire and that is God and His Covering.  Throughout His Word, He has given us the instruction plan with the detailed patterns to follow in order to reclaim our rightful worth.  The world cannot provide such worth for it has nothing to give in the first place, but the Creator of everything does and He is in the restoration business and all we have to do is to obey His Word and listen to what He says.

From experience, both recent and distant I have come home from a good day at work, happy children loving wife with good news about how well our house has increased in value, taxes are low, and the retirement plan has almost doubled over a short period of time.  On the other hand, I have come home with the bad news that we lost a few of my patients over the weekend lost a family member, the retirement plan lost half of what it was this time last year, along with anything else that could mean some type of disaster.  In each scenario it does not matter if good or bad exists sometimes I have such a failed demeanor that envelopes me and it bugs me even when the highs should override all else.  This failing attitude and presence has always amazed me to watch and to feel develop and it takes me a while to figure out what is going on and who exactly is responsible for this feeling and belief.  Have we noticed that it is a whole lot easier to lose your confidence and sense of value than it is to gain it or to regain it?  There is a reason for this, and our enemy loves to exploit this fact and unless we understand the true fight for our worth there is no way to win this all-important battle.

Also, many times my mind begins to try and fix these issues and temptations based upon worldly reasoning and for the immediate moment, it seems to work.  Quickly I find out that instead of problems solved I have actually opened more doors for my enemy to walk through and to manipulate me with.  It is at this point that something pops into my head and I return to the source that has continually helped me through these sorry and tense times.  Every time these settings occurred there was a simple process that had to be reignited in order for me to remember what was going on.  It is this reigniting process that should be first and foremost in my mind and heart, not the last resort or even second on my list of answers.  Each time I remembered this process, the first thing that came back to me was just how much God loved me and how much I was worth to Him.  I have done some pretty stupid things in my life but each time the world has drug me down God has always been faithful and raised me up and showed me exactly what I mean to Him.  It is this process of restoration that God wants us to remember to live under and through this process, He has given us an excellent example to demonstrate what our worth is and it deals with sacrifice.  In order for this study to begin, we must return to the Garden of Eden as Adam and Eve are being told to leave because of the acceptance of sin into their lives.

In a time where our lives are required to live differently, then we have been used to, it is never been more vital that our hearts be right with God and if they are not then it is our responsibility to have the knowhow to ask for God to clean our hearts so that we may function properly when the time comes for normalcy to return, if it ever arrives again.  I have no idea if our world shall return to its normal condition again, and to be honest I do not know if things should turn back to the way they were; however, if we do not change our ways from the inside out then it does not matter anyway for our lives shall only continue in the path of selfishness and unrighteousness.  Unfortunately, with what has been occurring with our attitudes during this period of isolation I have a feeling that we have intentions of mending fences not only with our friends and family but with ourselves either.  But if we decide to change our ways and return to the Way of God this article topic shall give us a true direction and wisdom enough to proceed with God and His plan for our lives.

Genesis 3:21-24

“Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them. And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”

Hebrew Genesis 3:21

“The Lord God made garments of skin and clothed Adam and his wife.”

This short passage contains a bunch of information that will be expanded upon in the near future but the entire passage must be read here in order to keep the context of what God is saying to us about restoration and who actually has the pattern of eternal life through this example.  Earlier in Genesis, we see that as soon as Adam and Eve allowed sin into their lives that they immediately tried to cover themselves with clothing.  This is a natural pattern for when humans do anything that they realize is wrong they do their best to try and cover it up and to hide their actions from others.  It does not matter how small and detailed this wrong maybe either but when found out the cover-up process is usually far greater in stature than what the original issue was; however, in the case of Adam and Eve, this instance proves eternally devastating and is the initial setup plan for our lives today.

There is no question that both Adam and Eve understood the meaning of life for they had spent a certain amount of time cultivating and keeping it from the day they were commanded to do such a task.  When Adam named the animals, God told him to do so in order for him to understand the meaning of other existences of life and how to care for them that are different from his, this is all part of the togetherness part of God and His Way of existence.  So, when sin was chosen over God, the entire setting of mankind had to be changed but it was not going to occur without God showing Adam and Eve that it was still His Way of restoration and not through mankind.  Nowhere else in Genesis Chapters 1-3 does it mention that any type of sacrifice had to be made; only life was given in this setting until humans chose to alter the conditions with their own choices of lifestyle. 

But God did not allow sin to win and once again He proved Himself pure, true, and holy by showing Adam and Eve that He still loved them and still wanted to be with them even though they had chosen a different path for their existence.  Some may contend that this act of God is harsh and should not have been taken, that Adam and Eve should have been allowed to stay in their living conditions no matter what.  Honestly, this thought while it may seem like an easy explanation to argue could not have been allowed because God has a standard that He commands to be lived up to and if that standard is violated in any manner the violators must change, not Him.  It is the perfect condition of living and when obedience is taken for granted and sloughed off whenever one feels like it, God cannot have a part in this activity for He still provides only one type of standard of living and in order for this type of living to be restored the highest price must be made in order to return.  It is this example that proves just how valuable life is and what the procedure must include restoring such high standard.

Clearly, we see that Adam and Eve knew that their covering had been compromised for if they did not then they would have remained naked before God.  But God took care of the sacrificial covering through the act of sacrificing at least one animal for both of them.  It is evident that blood was shed in order for this covering from God to occur and in order for them to be covered in such a manner; it was an animal that lost its life and not the human.  The human was not perfect and could not justify our actions any further as being under a perfect covering which proves that the fig leaves mentioned earlier in Genesis 3 were not sufficient or important enough to make correct this process.  Adam and Eve received directly that the covering of their lives with blood is the only process and procedure that was adequate to live in such a manner.  During their tenure in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve did not need any type of sacrificial covering process for God was their covering but when mixing of sin became apparent the tide had changed and it was now necessary for a new concept to be introduced.  How important was this concept?  It is so important that an animal had to lose its life in order for humanity to continue to live in separation from the world and its eternal death march.

There is no mention at all that animals have the authority to make human sacrifices to God in order for their lives to live under the same covering as we, so this means that we are considered to be more valuable than they.  God loves animals very much, do not get me wrong but animals do not represent the heart of God and the expansion and advancement of His Kingdom to the dark and dying kingdom of the world.  This is not a game of works and appearances but a war for eternal life and survival against the one being who hates God and our presence more than we can ever physically understand.  It is through this process of eternal hate that Satan uses his cunning tactics against humans so that we demean or devalue the presence of their lives thus invalidating the sacrificial process of God’s covering over our lives.  This passage of Scripture provides us with a single act that gives us the right to stand up against this enemy of ours and to fight him with the correct weapons.  God showed us ONE way, not two, three, or forty ways to fight and to be restored.

Sadly, with almost immediate effect, we see that humanity quickly lost its manner of true and moral reasoning when it came to God and the importance of blood sacrifice.  Once again we see from Adam and Eve’s child, Cain, that selfish had become the means of covering that ruled his heart but this time a certain and specific growth pattern was conceived and fulfilled, in that this selfishness nature had grown enough to take a life and to 100% nullify the human heart against eternal life.  Adam and Eve lost the importance of remembering and living under God’s protection in the Garden of Eden and they continued and carried that trait with them into the confines of the world outside of Eden.  Death had now encompassed family members not just the original “owners” of such devastation.  God had never intended for Adam and Eve to die or anyone to die for that matter, God represents everything life and cannot tolerate any other condition or setting.  God’s plan of restoration was still present in Chapter 4 of Genesis and it was present all throughout the Old Testament for its content continued to represent the way back to God; it had not changed from the beginning and it was still the same when the Old Testament came to an end.

Also, we see, that even though the entire Old Testament provides us with encounter after encounter with God through sacrifice the people of Israel continued to sin and to place God on a back burner and not believe in what God said about living in holiness and purity.  They made the act of sacrifice a procedure and a ritualistic policy that became a cold program that their heart did not engage in.  It became a service and not a personal meeting with God with precious restoration moments that would remind them of just how much they needed God.  Instead, their status grew in physicality which overtook their spiritual aspects of living which over time crowded out the truth about the meaning of True Sacrifice.  The sacrificial process was designed by God not just to remind us that we need Him to live under and experience restoration but also to show us just how much God loves us.  If God was a controlling or sadistic God then He would make people beg for His forgiveness or tell them to do absurd things in order to prove that they were worthy of being back into His fold or good graces.  Sacrifice is a communication between God and humanity for when completed in a holy setting, it brings both parties into line with each other in mutual respect and on the level of love and unity that was present in the Garden of Eden.

God did not have to bring us into unity with Him in the Garden of Eden, yes we are not God or even like a god, but we are His children and His prized Creations and it was/is His desire that we live in perfection once again; this means without sin.  This is why God had the ultimate plan already in motion when Adam and Eve fell, Jesus knew that He would have to be the eternal Sacrifice for if mankind would fall with a simple set of temptation that it would be necessary to give them the eternal option, a Holy one that would not go away until the Father said.  Prophetically and yet sadly, we proved this knowledge by God about our behavior true a long time ago and Jesus voluntarily came to the earth lived, died, and rose again to give everyone the opportunity to live separate from the world.  Jesus did this so that we would not be fearful of God but to know that God loves us, just as John 3:16 gives us the reason why God sent His Son.  God deemed humanity worthy of His protection after sin entered into our lives and He continues to build upon this worth in our lives today.  Sacrifice represents our worth and how much it means to God, look at this process in God’s heart and there is no way that we cannot understand the restoration process a bit deeper.

Where have we gone wrong Church?  Why have we become so soft on this truth concerning the eternal Sacrifice?  Why have we shied away from teaching the meaning of sacrifice and why it was so important back before Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden, after the Garden of Eden, after the flood, in the wilderness, all throughout the days of Israel and even after its demise?  More importantly, why have we refused to teach and to preach the Gospel of Christ to those who do not understand what His Sacrifice means and why it is vital to live under His blood?  Let’s be honest, do we even fathom the true and detailed importance of this eternal meaning regarding sacrifice?  Or do we skip over the importance of it and just accept the rewards of it?  Don’t you know that this belief is such sin?!?  How selfish we must be in God’s heart’s eyes for believing His Sacrifice in this manner, and yes, we believe in this way if we demean the act of Old Testament sacrificial meaning yet try and explain the meaning of Jesus’ Sacrifice.  For when we put the meaning of sacrifice in our own terms then we become as the people of Israel and deserve nothing better than what occurred to their existence.

Church, it is repentance time and we need to repent and begin to offer ourselves up to God as a living sacrifice just as Jesus did because if we do not live in this manner and reject the world, we deserve no place in Heaven.  Sacrifice is a restoration process and a gift from God that places us under the eternal Sacrifice.  In no way am I suggesting anyone kill themselves and do it in a manner according to what God says in His Word.  God IS telling us to live for Him every day and to present ourselves to others as a living sacrifice so that they may know and understand how important is that everyone lives against the world.  This type of living is a relationship with God and one that shall grow when lived under correctly and willingly.  It is this example we should be living and not one that displays religious activities.  I urge you to find as many as possible the passages of Scripture where people made altars before God to sacrifice and find the yearly sacrificial offerings and what they stood for in the Old Testament.  Finally, read the Sacrificial process that Jesus went through and tie all of them together and you will find out an entirely new meaning of sacrifice and what it should mean to our lives.  Then, and only then, will we truly have the volunteer spirit of fulfilling the command of Jesus to go into all the world.

DLB

Going After Eve

Going After Eve

5/7/20

Many people who know the story about Adam and Eve believe that Eve got a raw deal yet at the same time they do not understand why Eve was chosen by the serpent as the contact individual.  The concept was a first and too many that was a process that occurred only once and has not repeated it since.  But that belief is not true and in fact, that process and the reason why Satan picked Eve is still in practice today.  God wants us to understand His Word in its entirety and as much as our hearts and minds can capture and it is very important that we know why Eve was targeted.  This understanding should open our hearts to how important it is to keep the Word of God in our hearts and that when we do, its words and content shall protect us from such ugliness and needless attacks from our enemy.

For many years I have pondered many reasons why Eve was the target for Satan in the Garden of Eden and why it was not Adam, for it would seem natural that since Adam was the one created first that he would be the target.  I cannot tell you how many times I have heard that Eve drew the short straw or that she was the vulnerable one who was not very smart and could not resist the wiles of the Serpent.  Some people, including myself, have wondered why Adam was not around or why didn’t he fight for her more before she ate the fruit.  While some of those accusations could be true there is a spiritual and eternal explanation that has been right in front of our eyes ever since the Bible was written; we have missed it completely.  When God showed me this explanation, I had to sit back and take in what my heart was just shown, and it brought back one of those times in my life that I had the belief that I understood everything about the beginning chapters of Genesis, proving that I still have just a very limited knowledge of this magnificent portion of the Word of God.

How do you look at the kingdom of this world versus The Kingdom of God?  Most of us know that God represents one kingdom and Satan the other and that these two kingdoms can never mix or work together in ANY way, shape, or fashion.  But how deep do we realize and recognize this claim that we make about these two kingdoms?  It is evident that these two kingdoms were already at war with each other before the Garden of Eden was planted by God, so this means that the beginnings of such a war occurred in Heaven but continued on earth after its creation as well.  It is obvious this confrontation was active for we see its battleground inside the Garden of Eden and it is inside this battleground setting that we have the answer as to why Eve was chosen as the tempted and not Adam.  It is known that this topic will open up many questions to those who do not understand the finer details of these first few chapters of Genesis, but hold on because so much more is coming in the next few weeks concerning this topic and related information about these settings.  The wonderful thing about this detail is that we can apply it to our lives today and to show others the truth about why we are attacked by our enemy.  So, here we go, and yes, we will be in the first three chapters of Genesis for this article, God is good!

Genesis 2:7-8

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.  And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed”

Genesis 2:21-22

“And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.”

The detail about what is important for us to understand here comes from these two passages and it is these two passages that give us the reason why the woman was the target of Satan.  For a very long time in my life, I believed that both Adam and Eve were created by God in the Garden of Eden.  That is not what His Word says, however.  In the first passage, we see that God says He made Adam, then planted a garden eastward in Eden and then put the man into the garden.  Now, if God would have created Adam inside the garden why would God contradict Himself (lie) about such a detail?  There would be no cause for such a slip-up and if there was a slip up then that would mean that God is a liar right from the beginning of our history and could be discredited for everything else His Word states.  Adam came from dirt this is a true statement but it was not from the Garden of Eden dirt but dirt from somewhere else, probably from the same area that God mentioned in Genesis 1:27 when He says that He made mankind in their image both male and female; we will be discussing this information later down the road.  Now, keep this in mind as we go into the next passage and deal with the creation of the woman.

In the second passage, we find that Adam is still in the Garden of Eden and God put him into a deep sleep, deep enough to surgically remove a rib without Adam waking up and feeling what is transpiring.  God then closes up the wound after taking a rib from Adam.  At some point in time Adam wakes up and finds himself alone.  This passage then states at a later point in time God brings the woman to Adam.  So, we have God putting Adam asleep, taking a rib, and then bringing the woman to him at a later time and date, how long we have no idea.  Here is the key to the legal targeting procedures that Satan followed, for Adam was not formed in the Garden of Eden but the woman was.  She was the only one of the two that was created under God’s protective covering (Garden of Eden) which was the same type of setting Lucifer lived under before his fall thus granting the spiritual fight between the two kingdoms now fought on a human level.  Satan was thrown to the earth when he fell and since God created a safe place for Adam and the woman it was this place that Satan could legally operate.  Therefore, since this stage was set, the woman would be the logical and legal target in order to bring into play the scenario of sin within our lives.  Adam still had to stand up or fall with the woman and we all know-how that turned out to be.

God renewed His Garden of Eden protection plan when He provided Adam and Eve with the skinned covering immediately before they left the Garden.  This means that while mankind had no longer any access to direct covering from God again they still had a means by which to follow in order to achieve redemptive status in the eyes of God, but this time it would take a toll in blood for this to occur.  This explains why it was so important that humans kept the sacrificial process holy and pure within the heart and obeyed every step necessary in order for the sacrifice to be accepted by God.  Cain was the example of what occurs when humans did it their own way – just as his parents did earlier in the Garden of Eden – and Abel’s way was how God wanted it to be done.  From this point onward humans fell away from the example of Abel’s sacrificial heart process and looked toward Cain for their guidance.  It was this process of Cain’s process that haunted Israel throughout the Old Testament.

How does this affect our lives today, you ask?  No, we do not have to have routine animal sacrifices in order to live under the same protection as Israel did in the Old Testament.  Jesus took care of all our needs when it comes to this process; however, the same heart conditions must be made as Able did back in Genesis 4 in order for us to live under Jesus’ eternal Covenant we cannot just take for granted what He did and live our lives selfishly and worldly while claiming to be Christians.  It is for this reason Jesus said that no man can serve two masters we have to choose one or the other. 

Here is the part where the choice of sin being entered into our lives comes into play today and how we are the targets just as Eve was in the Garden of Eden yet have the admissible command of obedience that Adam had all wrapped into one.  When Jesus came to the earth and lived, and died, and rose again He did so in order for everyone that chose Him and His Father’s Way to have the opportunity to fulfill the sacrificial process every day without having to physically perform such duties.  Jesus’ blood serves as the living sacrificial process that fulfills the Old Testament Law and completed exactly what God wanted for our lives in the first place while Adam and Eve were still strolling in the perfect harmony in the Garden of Eden.  It was never God’s intention that any of His creations have to lose their lives in order for humanity to be redeemed but He planned for such changes because He understood that there was going to be opportunities for us to disobey.

Many times in the Old Testament we find Israel living in sin and frolicking in the lavishness of sin without any hesitation from the leadership downward.  Then, in a few verses later we find them conducting sacrificial services or worship gatherings singing and praising God like nothing ever happened.  It became a routine and it meant nothing to their hearts, it was cold and heartless which led God to have to deal with their disobedience according to the laws He set into motion.  Their acts proved to enhance tragedy after tragedy with the majority of the people not understanding why God did things in their land.  The children of Israel lived separated lives from the world through the act of sacrifice, not just the physical sacrifice but sacrifices of their hearts, yet they chose Cain over Abel thus subjecting them to the jealousy of God.  With the living Sacrifice of Jesus, we live in the same concordance as the people of Israel in the Old Testament.  We are to be separated from the world at all times and have a heart to heart relationship with God at all times.  Jesus gave us this opportunity to be covered by God just as we were in the Garden of Eden, under the sacrificial separation in the Old Testament, through the blood of His Son who came, died, and rose again.

It is for this reason alone, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus that places us in the stage that Adam and Eve had before the fall.  While people outside the nation of Israel had the opportunity to come into agreement with God not many did.  There was a distinct separation between nations and cultures which there needs to be today as well.  Jesus sacrificed Himself for all mankind, not just one or two ethnic or cultural peoples.  Adam and Eve lived different (changed) lives than what the other people outside the Garden of Eden lived.  The children of Israel lived different (changed) lives from all the other nations around them; likewise, Christians are supposed to live different (changed) lives from those who consider the world their god and leader and it is this detailed fact as to why we are targeted by our enemy.  The condition of our potential for God and His Kingdom has not changed from the moment humanity was created and it is the job of our enemy to do his best to lie to us long enough so that we lose sight of this purpose.  It is under the blood sacrifice of Jesus that places us into the targeting category and since Jesus died for all mankind all of humanity automatically falls into the targeted category. 

It is this Truth Church that we need to be teaching those who sit in our pews and to those who do not know Christ as their Savior.  Adam had the responsibility to keep and to dress the Garden of Eden (his dominion) and it is our responsibility to do the same with the world (those who need Jesus).  We have not completed our job as we have been instructed and now we see our offspring (Eve) falling into an eternal abyss because she does not know the way of holiness.  We do not even understand this concept of life and what it means to live dressed and kept spiritually, we are falling apart at the direst time in the world’s history and it breaks God’s heart to see His Ambassadors fail to complete their assignment because we do not know-how.  Our hearts need to change Church and we need to get back to God and His Ways before all things are lost.  Now, we know why Eve was targeted and we now know why Adam fell, let us change this pattern and correct the path of our spirits before God.

DLB