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Questions for Today |
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Act II: the Fall
Act II picks up right where Act I left off: Adam and Eve in the garden living in fellowship with their Creator. Tension is introduced however, when Adam and Eve decide to go their own way and seek their own wisdom. They listen to the beguiling voice of God´s enemy, Satan, and doubt what God has told them. The disobedience of Adam and Eve–the first instance of sin–is presented in the Bible as having devastating consequences for the whole human race, indeed, for all of the rest of the creation:
The earth dries up and withers,
the world languishes and withers,
the exalted of the earth languish.
The earth is defiled by its people;
they have disobeyed the laws,
violated the statutes
and broken the everlasting covenant.
Therefore a curse consumes the earth.
– Isaiah 24
As a result of this rebellion, the first exile in the story takes place: "So the LORD God banished him [Adam] from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life."
God´s intention in creation is known, but part of his own creation has put his plan off course. The question must be raised: Can God regain his relationship with humanity and remove the curse from the creation? Or did God´s enemy effectively end the plan and subvert the story?
In only the first few pages of the Bible, Act I and Act II are complete. Yet they introduce the struggle that dominates the rest of the story. From this point on God will be working to end the rebellion of the people he created and lift the curse on the earth.
Act III: Israel
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