THE BLESSING OF THE LORD AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD !

THE BLESSING OF THE LORD AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD ! It embittered both the spirit realm and the natural realm. It caused the animals Adam had named to see him as their enemy instead of their benefactor. Even the ground became bitter toward mankind. Instead of joyfully producing abundant fruit for them to eat, it didn't want to grow anything. Adam, who had once lived in a marvelous, beautiful place filled with abundance, was forced to scratch a living out of ground that rebuked him every time he tried to plant it and harvest it. He had to sweat and strain (Hebrew: toil) to earn a living, knowing the whole time that God has not designed him to earn a living, but to create a living. Doesn't this sound familiar in the world we live in in today ? The earth is still under the curse ! Every aspect of the curse came as a horrible shock to Adam and Eve. Nothing in them was created to deal with it. Their spirits weren't created to be infected with death and spiritual darkness, neither were your spirit created to be infected with death and spiritual darkness ! They were created to be filled with life and light (John 1:4) "In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shined in the darkness; and the darkness overcame it not." Their minds weren't made to know things like hatred and fear. They were made for love and faith. Their bodies were designed for health--- not sickness and disease, the same is true concerning your mind and body. Death, in all its manifestations, is totally foreign to human beings. The curse is completely contrary to the way God made us. That's why the body fights those things that comes against it. Our whole system rebel against them because they don't have any business in or on the body. When sin, hate, fear and other aspects of the curse invade us, our bodies recognize them as opposing, alien forces and begin to fight them. The body will fight those things until it dies. However, your mouth will keep them alive ! Adam must have panicked as the consequences of the curse begin to dawn on him. As I stated in a earlier post, sin and sickness are associated in many cases ! He must have thought, How am I ever going to get out of this ? My seed is bitter, so even my children will be affected by it. The earth is bitter. The animal kingdom is bitter. I've even embittered my relationship with God. Oh, God, how can I ever be Your friend again ? Before he could even ask those questions, however, they were answered. God answered them before the foundation of the world, when he That foresaw that mankind would fall. So, the moment Adam and Eve's sin was revealed and they stood before God, stripped of their former glory, He began revealing His merciful plan. He spoke about the Seed of the woman who would one day crush the serpent's head. He pointed down through the corridor of time to the last Adam, (Jesus) the Redeemer, who would undo what Satan has done through the first Adam. He gave the first clues to the ministry that will be kept secret for thousands of years: that God Himself would become The Son of Man, bear the bitterness of the curse and forever restore THE BLESSING. Then, God did for His beloved Adam and Eve what had to be done. Sacrificing an animal, He covered their nakedness and shame by making them tonics of skin. Through that sacrifice, He established the first blood covenant. He atoned for their sin and made a way to retain some form of relationship with them. Then, in His great mercy, God ensured that mankind would not live eternally in this fallen state. Lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life (eternal life), and eat, and live forever. . . The Lord God sent him and her 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 (Genesis 3:22-24).