Contemplations of Creation

Ever get sucked into thought? Ever have an urge to answer a question and hunger for the answer? Got hungry today! Definitions and deep thoughts on the start up scenes to this thing we call mortal life:

Adam and Eve brought about a consequence that has fallen upon all of us. He was also cursed, as was Eve, each in distinct ways. These we have also inherited to varying degrees. Here's where my thoughts led me today...

Moses4:18

And the man said: The woman thou gavest me, and commandest that she should remain with me, she gave me of the fruit of the tree and I did eat.

Moses 4:23-25

And unto Adam, I, the Lord God, said: Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the fruit of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying—Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed shall be the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also, and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. By the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, until thou shalt return unto the ground—for thou shalt surely die—for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou wast, and unto dust shalt thou return.

(Take into consideration Adam's perspective: He’s eaten from the ground all his days. But he’s never had to struggle for what he’s eaten. After this point Adam has the comparative experiences of pre-curse and post-curse need for and acquisition of - food. He can sorrow because of the new need for food to maintain the life of the body and for the struggles and hardships travailed in-order to obtain food to maintain the life of the body. The comparison of those experiences in light of what he lost, the ability to apparently not need food to maintain life (in the garden) and to have food spontaneously provided (in the garden), is definitely a hard and long driven consequence to learn the lesson at hand.)

Lesson learned by Adam: Hearken to the commandments of the Lord God.

^{Important Definitions:}

¹sor·row

1 a : deep distress, sadness, or regret especially for the loss of someone or something loved b : resultant unhappy or unpleasant state
2 : a cause of grief or sadness
3 : a display of grief or sadness

synonyms sorrow, grief, anguish, woe, regret mean distress of mind. sorrow implies a sense of loss or a sense of guilt and remorse sorrow upon the patriarch's death>. grief implies poignant sorrow for an immediate cause grief of the bereaved parents>. anguish suggests torturing grief or dread anguish felt by the parents of the kidnapped child>. woe is deep or inconsolable grief or misery woe echoed throughout the bombed city>. regret implies pain caused by deep disappointment, fruitless longing, or unavailing remorse regret for missed opportunities>.

herb

1 : a seed-producing annual, biennial, or perennial that does not develop persistent woody tissue but dies down at the end of a growing season
2 : a plant or plant part valued for its medicinal, savory, or aromatic qualities
3 slang : marijuana 2

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Adam's situation was a hard one, while he did in all reality still have a choice in not taking upon himself death, his decision was still a forced one, it was still compelled to a great degree. He had been played. He was cornered in effect through cunning stratagem by Satan in beguiling Eve to do his dirty work. Eve having already partaken of the fruit in effect meant that Adam would be forced to have to choose in breaking one of the two commandments he had been given of the Lord God.

Beguile is an interesting word. I often get caught in definition chases through the dictionary, and although it can take some time, they are always enlightening.

be·guile

transitive verb 1 : to lead by deception
2 : hoodwink
3 : to while away especially by some agreeable occupation; also : divert 2
4 : to engage the interest of by or as if by guile intransitive verb : to deceive by wiles

synonyms see deceive

de·cep·tion

1 a : the act of deceiving b : the fact or condition of being deceived
2 : something that deceives : trick

synonyms deception, fraud, double-dealing, subterfuge, trickery mean the acts or practices of one who deliberately deceives. deception may or may not imply blameworthiness, since it may suggest cheating or merely tactical resource deception>. fraud always implies guilt and often criminality in act or practice fraud>. double-dealing suggests treachery or at least action contrary to a professed attitude double-dealing>. subterfuge suggests the adoption of a stratagem or the telling of a lie in order to escape guilt or to gain an end subterfuge>. trickery implies ingenious acts intended to dupe or cheat trickery to gain their ends>.

de·ceive

transitive verb 1 archaic : ensnare
2 a obsolete : to be false to b archaic : to fail to fulfill
3 obsolete : cheat
4 : to cause to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid
5 archaic : to while away intransitive verb : to practice deceit; also : to give a false impression

synonyms deceive, mislead, delude, beguile mean to lead astray or frustrate usually by underhandedness. deceive implies imposing a false idea or belief that causes ignorance, bewilderment, or helplessness deceive me about the cost>. mislead implies a leading astray that may or may not be intentional misled by the confusing sign>. delude implies deceiving so thoroughly as to obscure the truth deluded into thinking we were safe>. beguile stresses the use of charm and persuasion in deceiving beguiled by false promises>.

hood·wink

1 archaic : blindfold
2 obsolete : hide
3 : to deceive by false appearance : dupe

¹wile

1 : a trick or stratagem intended to ensnare or deceive; also : a beguiling or playful trick
2 : skill in outwitting : trickery, guile

guile

1 : deceitful cunning : duplicity
2 obsolete : stratagem, trick

strat·a·gem

1 a : an artifice or trick in war for deceiving and outwitting the enemy b : a cleverly contrived trick or scheme for gaining an end
2 : skill in ruses or trickery

synonyms see trick

ar·ti·fice

1 a : clever or artful skill : ingenuity b : an ingenious device or expedient
2 a : an artful stratagem : trick b : false or insincere behavior

synonyms see trick, art

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Moses 4:22

Unto the woman, I, the Lord God, said: I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

Moses 4:6-12

And Satan …sought also to beguile Eve, for he knew not the mind of God, wherefore he sought to destroy the world. And he said unto the woman: Yea, hath God said—Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?... And the woman said unto the serpent: We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; But of the fruit of the tree which thou beholdest in the midst of the garden, God hath said—Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman: Ye shall not surely die; For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it became pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make her wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and also gave unto her husband with her, and he did eat.

(In effect Satan lied to Eve, charmed her into doing what he wanted by focusing in on the flattering points of truth of the matter and in effect overlooking the heart of the matter - the discrepancy about dieing. A master salesman! But not only that. A master politician! Satan looking to destroy God's plan needs death to enter into the world. He can't touch God, so he seeks to destroy what God cares about, his children. Satan realizing Eve can be used as a tool to leverage Adam to do what he would otherwise not do, sets the trap masterfully. One can see how masterful the "Father of Lies" truly is at what he does.

However, she has the commandment from the Lord God and the ability to choose. Eve not only went against the commandment she had been given, but allowed herself to be deceived by believing what she had been told by Satan over what she had been told by the Lord God, compounded by the fact that she also now forces Adam to make one of two choices he would otherwise not make.)

[An interesting side note is the observation that it seems you actually have to do or experience something wrong to know the consequences of evil and consequently know good from evil. Adam and Eve had a concept that the fruit would bring death. But it wasn’t until they actually partook and incurred the consequences of evil's fruit that they knew good from evil. The comparison is experientially needed for knowledge of good and evil. Maybe that is where Faith has its place, in that it frees us from actually having to experience the evil fruit by not having a perfect knowledge of things but hoping for things which are not seen but which are true.]

Some important definitions:

pleas·ant

1 : having qualities that tend to give pleasure : agreeable
2 : having or characterized by pleasing manners, behavior, or appearance

¹plea·sure

1 : desire, inclination
2 : a state of gratification
3 a : sensual gratification b : frivolous amusement
4 : a source of delight or joy

¹de·light

1 : a high degree of gratification : joy; also : extreme satisfaction
2 : something that gives great pleasure
3 archaic : the power of affording pleasure

¹joy

1 a : the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires : delight b : the expression or exhibition of such emotion : gaiety
2 : a state of happiness or felicity : bliss
3 : a source or cause of delight

grat·i·fy

1 archaic : remunerate, reward
2 : to be a source of or give pleasure or satisfaction to gratified him to have his wife wear jewels — Willa Cather>
3 : to give in to : indulge, satisfy

con·cep·tion

1 a (1) : the process of becoming pregnant involving fertilization or implantation or both (2) : embryo, fetus b : beginning conception in our eyes — Shakespeare>
2 a : the capacity, function, or process of forming or understanding ideas or abstractions or their symbols b : a general idea : concept c : a complex product of abstract or reflective thinking d : the sum of a person's ideas and beliefs concerning something
3 : the originating of something in the mind

synonyms see idea

²desire

1 : conscious impulse toward something that promises enjoyment or satisfaction in its attainment
2 a : longing, craving b : sexual urge or appetite
3 : a usually formal request or petition for some action
4 : something desired

synonyms desire, wish, want, crave, covet mean to have a longing for. desire stresses the strength of feeling and often implies strong intention or aim <desires to start a new life>. wish sometimes implies a general or transient longing especially for the unattainable <wishes for permanent world peace>. want specifically suggests a felt need or lack <wants to have a family>. crave stresses the force of physical appetite or emotional need <craves sweets>. covet implies strong envious desire <covets his rise to fame>.

²rule

transitive verb 1 a : to exert control, direction, or influence on b : to exercise control over especially by curbing or restraining <ruled his appetites firmly>
2 a : to exercise authority or power over often harshly or arbitrarily ruled the legislature with an iron hand> b : to be preeminent in : dominate
3 : to determine and declare authoritatively; especially : to command or determine judicially
4 a (1) : to mark with lines drawn along or as if along the straight edge of a ruler (2) : to mark (a line) on a paper with a ruler b : to arrange in a lineintransitive verb 1 a : to exercise supreme authority b : to be first in importance or prominence : predominate
2 : to exist in a specified state or condition
3 : to lay down a legal rule
4 slang : to be extremely cool or popular —used as a generalized term of praise or approval

synonyms see decide

¹flat·ter

transitive verb 1 : to praise excessively especially from motives of self-interest
2 a archaic : beguile 4 b : to encourage or gratify especially with the assurance that something is right
3 a : to portray too favorably s him> b : to display to advantage s the face>intransitive verb : to use flattery

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I find the Lord God's judgments upon Eve very interesting:

Moses 4:22

Unto the woman, I, the Lord God, said: I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

(“I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception.” From Eve’s perspective the only recorded experience to potentially elicit a feeling of sorrow is right after eating the fruit and/or during the judgment the Lord God was dispensing as a result of partaking of the fruit. How could God multiply anything that doesn’t exist? Using the word multiply in introducing a new feeling is not appropriate. God would instead decree the new thing that was to happen much as He did with Adam’s sentencing. Sorrow first must exist, and as pre-fruit consumption meant eyes not being open, a.k.a not knowing good from evil, sorrow [which by virtue of the definition requires a comparison of something not so good to something good] could only occur once the fruit was consumed. Apparently, Eve was feeling sorrowful at this meeting. The same logic follows for the term conception. How can conception be multiplied if it doesn’t exist. It has to come into existence before it can be factored by any degree. So, either Eve had conceived prior to this experience or God is not multiplying conception as understood to mean conceiving children. “Moses4:26 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living [human]; for thus have I, the Lord God, called the first of all women, which are many.” “Moses 5:11 And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.” The story seems to point out that having seed was a new development upon being cursed. I believe that Eve’s curse corresponds to her infraction. She allowed Satan to deceive her into focusing her attention on herself, and the pleasures and advantages that the object at hand would bring her, not to mention that she allowed herself to be used by Satan in playing Adam into partaking of the fruit by pressuring him into having to break one of the two commandments God had given him. The other being: “Moses 4:18 And the man said: The woman thou gavest me, and commandest that she should remain with me, she gave me of the fruit of the tree and I did eat.” [by the way its noteworthy to realize that he chose to remain with her at the clear knowledge that the expense would be death.] I believe that the word conception in this passage connotes, “2a : the capacity, function, or process of forming or understanding ideas or abstractions or their symbols, c : a complex product of abstract or reflective thinking” God is clearly showing that Eve had the ability already but that He would increase it along with sorrow. HOW? I believe that the second part of God’s statement, “In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee” is the HOW. As child birthing would be new to Eve, God explains that “in sorrow” thou shalt bring forth children. Why? It seems that the conditions Eve was placed under lead her to having strong attachments to her children and husband, which at face value are just, in that, at least by way of the text, Eve took into consideration how she would benefit from partaking of the fruit, but didn’t take into consideration the position nor the effect her decision would have on Adam. The consequences seems to be balanced for the lesson that she needed to learn in the method by which she broke the Lord’s commandment. Her sorrows and desire to her husband would bring an attachment and sensitivity to the families of humanity instead of to self gratification, singular advantage, and pleasure. She would be ruled over by her husband in consequence to how she had ruled over him in forcing his hand to choose what he did.)

Lesson learned by Eve: Don’t be beguiled. Consider your family. Hearken to the commandments of the Lord God.

Acknowledging God's goodness and need for obedience she later exclaims:

Moses 5:11

And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.

What I love about this story is that though God punished Adam and Eve and consequently us, with some very sore and just realities, they are tailor made to help us develop deficiencies in our character, and also, the cursings and consequences are not forever, in that the Lord God has made it possible to overcome sin and death in and through The Redeemer of the world, Jesus Christ, as we humble ourselves before Him and learn the same lesson Eve comes to explain.