the creation story.

There are many theories on how we got here. Some people like to argue that a big bang happened and the Earth was formed. There's multiple stories out there of how it all went. There's also different Greek, Babylonian, etc myths out there. But, the main difference between these creation myths and the biblical creation story is that in all other creation myths, humans were created as slaves for the gods. But, in the Genesis story, we were created to have a relationship with the creator. Isn't that amazing? We were created for the sole purpose of having a loving relationship with the Creator of the Universe. When I stop and think about it...it just blows my mind.

Here's where covenant comes into the story. You see, God could have decided to create a bunch of minions that had no choice but to worship and obey him. He could have created us without the free will to choose to love him. As we talked about in Day 1, But, in order for there to be true love, he had to give man the option to reject his love.  Following the rules without a relationship means nothing.This set up God's intention for humanity. He created Adam who chosen by God to have the first chance at free will. He had the opportunity to have a "one on one" relationship with God. I kind of giggle when I think of having a "one on one" with God because it reminds me of the Bachelor. All of the girls fight over/ get their feelings hurt over who gets the "one on one" dates. What would our spiritual lives look life if we fought to have a "one on one" relationship with God? Anyways, God told Adam one thing. He just had one tiny request. He said,  “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” God had to give man (well, Adam) the possibility of rejecting his love in order to have a real loving relationship with him. Oh- and then God created Eve. Lots of people like to blame Eve for what went down in the garden with the serpent. But, in reality, Adam was the one who God commanded to pass along the rules. So, the serpent comes to tempt Adam and Eve and tells them that they can gain the knowledge of good and evil if they eat of the tree. So, Eve is deceived and Adam is too. It's at this point that the relationship between God and man becomes broken. This is the pivotal point for the entire rest of the Bible. The rest of the Bible is about finding a solution for the sin problem. In the Old Testament, the Israelites try to find the 

solution on their own. In the New Testament, we find a savior.  

Here's the important thing. The fact that God didn't give up on mankind in the Garden shows that God still loves us and wants to be with humans in the future. It is also foreshadowing to the fact that God always keeps up with his end of the deal, even when we fall short. We can have hope for a bright tomorrow because of this. Adam and Eve messed up big time. And this theme is only continued throughout the Bible when God's "chosen people" put themselves first and fail to keep the covenant. In the garden, God set only one stipulation: Don't eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He even told them the consequences: Death. But, this covenant (commonly referred to as the Adamic Covenant) was just the first time that God showed that He would remain faithful even when his people were not. Tomorrow, we'll look at the covenant God made with Noah after the great Flood.