This NKJV title for the passage of Genesis 2:8-25 I will make two notes on. I think it’s only fitting that I don’t go overboard with information or amount of notes; it was the Holy Spirit Who told me this, I think. I also like the idea, for I never want to cause friction by going to the sins recorded in Scripture too soon. I just watched a YouTube video about the top 10 dark moments we missed on Nickelodeon when we were kids, and eventually teens. I won’t get into the details here; I won’t even post the link here. I want to be appropriate for some of the younger people reading this (though things get ridiculously sordid in some of the later chapters/books, but don’t worry, the Bible app is T-rated; 13+). I never want to get unsafe for the high school students or younger when I say or do anything. We shouldn’t frighten or offend them.
Anyway, this ten-verse passage is found in page 1 of my NKJV Bible, page 2 of my NASB Bible (Old Testament), pages 3-4 of my VOICE Bible, and page 3 of my Amplified Bible (Classic Edition). And here’s a side-note (I don’t think I mentioned it in the first chapter); I will not be commenting on all the notes in the VOICE Bible I have, but I do wish to be respectful when I see something out of place with God’s nature and character. This is lacking too often these days. But Jesus said to love your enemies (Matthew 5:43-48) — I think He said this so that even the most warped hearts can see the good in you and love Him and other people, knowing that first of all, none of us can save ourselves; only Jesus can do that, and He did, nearly 2,000 years ago when He died and rose again. For when we took the wrong route in which of the fruit of the tree to eat in Genesis 3, God said in His heart, “I’m not worried, for I have a plan to redeem humanity. I’ve known this since before the beginning, and people can never sin too much to be unable to accept My Son.” I’m sure you’ll have a hard time seeing this, but I don’t think God wants anyone to go to Hell (Ezekiel 18:32). It’s not His desire to see someone go down to the grave without eternal life from Him. I do know that in between verses 17 and 18 of the VOICE Bible that was first published and released in 2012, someone wrote that God “realized something was lacking.” Weird, huh? But I pray for this editor; hopefully he/she can believe that God knows everything and isn’t mad about this.
There are four rivers spoken of here, one being the Euphrates (see verses 10-14). It’s situated in modern-day southeastern Iraq. I don’t know why God put the beginning of life and man there, but I think you can ask Him and He’ll lead you to the answer; maybe not in this life but if you have Jesus as Lord and Saviour, you can get a reliable answer in Heaven. We’re supposed to pray that God’s Kingdom comes, and also that His will would be accomplished, here on earth as it is in Heaven. Of course, there’s often some resistance, but I don’t think you should be hostile to anyone who does resist the Holy Spirit. No one needs hostility; it almost prevented me from even becoming Christian. To make a long story short, I didn’t even know I wanted the eternal life I’m now grateful to have, nor did I know I was missing out. Church had been rather useless, seeing that I didn’t grow up in a church that believed the Bible and the Holy Spirit’s Word. After I ran into a lady from a college ministry, I met many wonderful people, and am happy to have most of them on Facebook now. I haven’t talked to many of them, but a lot of bad stuff happened years down the road, but I don’t write off anyone as if God couldn’t love them. That’s impossible. I’d rather not think about my past; I instead want to be happy with the job I now have. I didn’t graduate college, but I do hope to pay off my debts one day.
One more thing: the Lord God prophesied that man would eat off of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, but when He said that death would be introduced, He meant that one would die spiritually — and so death would soon spread to all creation, seeing that none of us always avoid making mistakes of many kinds (Romans 5:12; James 3:2). I briefly wrote about this in the beginning of my fourth year at Arizona State (I didn’t take many credits/classes over the years), but I wrote on only one sticky note there. Not to worry, though, God didn’t change His character when man did eat off that forbidden tree. His love lasts forever. It can be easy to picture Him as if He was watching your every move, waiting for you to mess up so He can strike you. I don’t believe that’s what the Bible teaches, as if He did those things. Also, keep in mind that most of what happened that was later called the Old Testament took place across nearly 16 centuries. So it’s not as though God was quick to judge, either, nor would He be like this today. For He never changes (Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8), so His patience for all wins every time (1 Timothy 1:16). Besides, He loves freedom of choice — He said Adam and Eve could eat of any tree except that tree of knowledge thing, though He gave them the option — freewill is a good thing; I think He gave all people this so love for Him wouldn’t be slavery or something. Of course, you know what happened after that, but who knows? Would things be different if the serpent hadn’t come to Eve in the first place?
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To be continued…
Ron And His Stories 