TIMING: No historical chronological corroboration available. REASON TO READ: This is the beginning of God’s relationship with man. If we understand how God “meant it to be” in its simplest form, then we can begin to see how He can steer our lives to resemble the paradise that God created for Adam and Eve to enjoy. BRIEF SUMMARY: God creates the world and puts Adam in the garden of Eden with Eve as his helpmate. They are allowed to eat of any tree in the garden except one, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve is deceived by the serpent and convinced to eat of the tree. She convinces Adam to do the same, and they become aware of their nakedness. They cover themselves in fig leaves, but God performs the first sacrifice and covers them with animal skins. They are kicked out of Eden and two cherubim with flaming swords are put at the gate to prevent them from going back in. HOW THIS FITS IN THE TOP TEN: To a certain extent we may take for granted the significance of God first creating then seeking a relationship with human beings. God could have very easily created us to be like earthly angels whose role is to serve God rather than creating us in his image and inviting us to become his children. We can discuss later what it truly means to be in God’s image and likeness, but for now let us simply see that we have a unique relationship with God...

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In Genesis Chapter 5 we read the following: "This is the book of the genesis of mankind in the day God made Adam, whom He made in God's image.  He made them male and female, and blessed them; and the day He made them He called his name Adam.  Now Adam lived two hundred and thirty years, and begot a son according to his form and image, and named him Seth.  After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were seven hundred years; and he begot sons and daughters.  So all the days Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died." (Genesis 5:1-5) In verse 5 we read that Adam died.  However, it was not the will of God for His creation to experience death.  But if it's not the will of God, then how did it come to pass?  Can anything happen against God's will?  Isn't God the Almighty? God created mankind, and blessed them.  This is God's will.  God also gave Adam the free will to choose.  This is also God's will to grant man the free will.  However, it was through the will of man and due to the envy of the devil that death has entered into the world.  God's will was to create man and bless them.  His will was that man would live in Harmony with Him and with His creation.  God's will was for man to live forever in perfect union and communion with God.  Man, however, abused the gift of free will...

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Everything God created was Good.  In Genesis 1 it says multiple times that "God saw that it was good".  It wasn't until later in chapter 2 when God said "It is not good..."  This was in verse 18 when He said "It is not good for man to be alone.  I will make him a helper comparable to him."  Here a question comes: did God create something that is not good?  Did God create something that is lacking?  Was Eve an afterthought?  Or a patch?  Something to fill a gap?  Did God in his foreknowledge not know that "It is not good for man to be alone..."?  Certainly not! God knew from the beginning.  God had this plan all along.  Earlier in the first chapter we read "So God made man; in the image of God He made him; male and female He made them."  (Genesis 1:27)  This was always in God's plan.  Also, the very next verse reads "Then God blessed them; and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply...'" (Genesis 1:28)  How can God command man to multiply without providing him with a woman?  It must be that God had Eve planned from the very beginning, but He intentionally delayed her creation just a little bit. The next question is why didn't God create Adam and Eve together at the same time?  Perhaps one reason for the delay is to show Adam how much he needed Eve.  He wanted ...

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In the light of Genesis 1, we discover God's toil with man to produce virtues... In Genesis 1 we read "In the beginning God made heaven and earth.  The earth was invisible and without form." When God made the heavens with His word, it came to be. As for the earth God took multiple days to shape it into its intended form. Here comes the question, why did God create the earth invisible and without form to begin with? Couldn't he have just said his word and make it into its final form? The bible tells us that He first created it without form, He then created the light in a day. On a different day He divided the waters from the waters and separated them with the firmament. On a different day He gathered the waters together to separate water from land and filled the land with herbs, grass and fruitful trees. The stars and the moon were created on a different day. The living sea creatures and the birds of the sky on yet another day were created and so on. Even though it was God's will and plan to begin with, yet He made them on separate days.   So too is the work of creating virtues in man. It takes time, effort and grace which is the divine work. We currently live in a world where instant gratification is the norm. Computers are getting faster and faster; food only takes minutes to be ready from the time they were ordered. Patience is not cultivated at all. It is no su...

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God prepared everything for His creation before they ask for it, and before they even realize they need it. Not only does He provide them with their needs, but also their wants as well. In Genesis 1 we read that God created the Light by his Word "Let there be light" before creating any living beings that need the light. He created the herbs, plants and fruitful trees before creating the birds that need them. He created the sea creatures and birds before the beasts that need them to feed on them. He then created man after all his needs were met. God not only satisfied the needs, but the wants as well. God created two great lights where the lesser one to rule the night. He adorned the sky with many stars and constellations as a beautiful touch to the sky. God did not just create simple kind of food for man, but He created all sorts of different fruits and plants. Till this day man continues to discover new kinds of plants and species that were not known to him before.  Also, everyday God paints for us a different portrait of brilliant colors in the sky.  Each day the clouds in the sky are arranged differently to form the day's unique portrait drawn by the hand of God Himself for man. God met our needs and wants before we ask for anything. For this reason our Lord and Savior came to us personally telling us "do not worry about your life, what you will e...

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