Adam

I sometimes feel just like Adam. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and the things that Adam struggled with are also my struggles. It’s his legacy I guess. I’ve been continuing my study of Genesis and I’ve been doing a lot of pondering on “The Fall.” The wording in Genesis is so strange, it’s a little difficult to understand sometimes. I’ve been trying to picture this whole scene in my head, but it keeps changing as I understand more.
Here’s what I can gather from what I’ve read so far. Eve is trouncing along in the Garden enjoying the scenery , eating some fruit here and there. This serpent thing comes and starts talking to her. It asks her if she would like to try the fruit from the tree in the center of the garden (God had instructed Adam that they should not eat of it or they would die- that’s important), Eve states that they are not even allowed to touch the tree or they would die (These are not God’s words- possibly Adam’s way of keeping Eve away from it). Satan takes advantage of this obvious addition to God’s instructions and calls God a liar, saying, “’You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’” Now Eve saw an opportunity for power. It says that she noticed that the tree was good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and able to make her wise. Translation: there was edible fruit, it was a good looking tree and most of all it could make her wise. So she ate the fruit (she had justified the eating in her own mind after satan had placed doubt in her mind) and then gave some to Adam.
Wait, when did Adam get there?
Had he been there the whole time?
Or did he just walk up and innocently grab a fruit his wife handed to him?
The wording indicates he was there the whole time!! Hold on a minute, let’s back up a second. So, let’s change that beginning scene of Eve off trouncing along by herself to Eve and Adam trouncing together. They were both regaled by this serpent, and Adam stood by as his wife ate of the forbidden fruit. Not only that, but ate of it when she gave it to him. This is heart-wrenching for me to hear. Adam allowed his wife to go over his head, to blatantly disregard his instructions and steal his authority. Worse, he allowed her to disregard the instructions he knew full well came from his Creator! And then disregarded that one instruction himself. He put his wife’s word above God’s Word. He willingly relinquished authority as head of the garden and protector of this world to his wife. As a result, death came to all!! Pretty harsh.
Next scene, God is walking in the garden and Adam and Eve are hiding from Him. God asks why they are hiding (when God asks us questions, it’s not because He doesn’t know, it’s because we don’t really know the answer) and Adam says it’s because they are naked. God (who I can picture getting a little frustrated at this point) demands to know who told them they were naked (again, He already knows the answer to this one). Adam blames his wife. This makes me angry, to be very honest. I feel all of the blame rests squarely on him. I firmly believe that all the way up until Eve offered the fruit to Adam and he ate, Adam had the opportunity to stop the whole deal. If it had stopped simply at Eve eating the fruit, I really believe all would have been ok. Maybe a few words would have been had for both Adam and Eve by God, but things would have been OK. Hebrews says that Eve was deceived whereas Adam was not. In other words, Eve was tricked in to it, but Adam knew full well what he was doing by eating the fruit. Therefore I suggest that complacency was the real sin that killed all of humanity and lead to disobedience to God’s Law. The curses that are subsequently placed on Eve and Adam make perfect sense in this light. God basically tells Eve, “All the days of your life you will want to be in authority over man but he will be over you instead.” or, put another way, “That’s what you wanted, that’s what you’ll get.”
Nowadays, the general perception of men is that they are lazy, complacent, ignorant bums and that women are the real brains and authority. It’s a joke that people love to tell because unfortunately it’s somewhat true. But it is in no way the way it is supposed to be. All of us men struggle with authority issues in one way or another. You see two extremes played out in our culture. One is the example Adam set, the complacent male ready to give up authority as soon as someone is willing to take it (the women in our lives are always willing). This is the group I sometimes find myself in. The other group is the one that takes authority to an unhealthy level. The abusive men, who assert their authority through physical, emotional and psychological intimidation. We always view these men as the bad men (and they certainly are) but I tell you, the other group is just as wrong in God’s eyes. In fact I wonder if God remembers back to the Fall every time a man gives up his God-given authority. I wonder if His heart breaks each time. To see a man shirk his responsibilities (wife, kids, job, spirituality, etc.) is reminiscent of Adam in the garden, standing by idly. All he had to do was say something. That’s it. Instead, he was complacent and allowed someone to shoulder his responsibility. It frustrates me to no end because not only do I see it all over the place around me, but I see it in me as well.
But we are not hopeless in this. A true leader came to earth, took on his own responsibilities, and as a result, freed us all from having to repeat Adam’s sin. The Second Adam (as the Bible refers to him) accomplished all that the First Adam failed in and more. Thank God that my lineage is no longer from the First Adam, but from the Second Adam. I have a Father to look to for a good example of fatherhood, husbanding, child-rearing, spirituality and more. I know (my wife and son know too) that I am no where near perfect, but Jesus was. So, I need to look to his example as my spiritual Father to know how to raise children, love my wife, and look to Him for every area of my life. He is my family, and that is the legacy I need to follow after.