“Where are the Men?”
God created man in His own image and named Him Adam. For a period of time, God – in the person of Jesus Christ – was Adam’s Mentor and Friend. They walked together in the Garden of Eden – a paradise-like precursor to Heaven. This period of time could have been over a period of months, years, decades, perhaps even centuries, yet at some point, Christ saw that Adam was in need of a companion after his own flesh, and so the Lord placed Adam into a deep sleep, and took from him, a rib – to fashion yet another new creation – namely, woman – meaning, ‘taken from man’. The lexicon definition of a woman is, “a servant or personal attendant”. Yet, we remember 1 Peter 3:7 as a reminder to love and respect our women.
The Lord gave Adam many responsibilities in this paradise garden. Adam was charged in caring for all of the animals, for instance, and He even gave Adam the privilege of naming them. When the Lord gave Adam this new friend, Eve, His intent was to make Adam happy and to give him the wonderful experience of being one flesh with this new, beautiful creature. God created sex. He created it to be a blessing to both man and woman. Adam and Eve would have experienced sex as a paradise within Paradise. This union might have continued uninterrupted forever, but both Adam and Eve needed to pass this probationary period in the Garden to prove their faith to God. God never intended to create automatons – mindless robots or puppets – to obey Him. He created Adam, and then Eve to have a free will – to be able to choose between right and wrong, themselves.
The Lord spoke to them. Imagine Christ standing before them, holding their hands and looking deeply into their eyes, when He said, “You two may enjoy everything in this Garden. You may eat of any root, bush and tree, but you are not permitted to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.” Knowing how the Lord bends over backwards to love us, He may have even advised them to not even look at it. Certainly, both Adam and Eve understood the Lord’s warning to the letter – they KNEW Him. They were His friends. They certainly would have understood His warning, and without question.
We all know the story, but none of us can appreciate what Adam and Even must have gone through – to be beguiled enough to forsake their relationship with God Himself – whom they intimately knew – for whatever it was that the devil revealed of himself that day at the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
First of all, Adam and Eve had no business standing in the shade of that sacred tree. Why were they there to begin with? I suppose, that part of the probationary period would have demanded it. It was no mistake. Yet, here they are, standing before the tree in their nakedness, admiring this tree and its dazzling fruit.
When satan appears, his appearance would have had to have been beyond the supernatural. Knowing that he had only one shot at the man – his enemy – he’d have had to come across as something more spectacular in appearance than all that the Lord had been up to this point. Adam, having been created in God’s image, would have been able to relate to the Lord as a mentor, the Lord having two arms and legs, two eyes and ears and a nose and mouth. Yet standing at the foot of this magnificent Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, was a creature of such spectacular proportions, that even Adam and Eve would have been dazzled beyond their senses.
Notice how the devil speaks to the woman – not the man. Why is this? Is it because the woman is the weaker sex? Is the woman so inferior to the man that satan believes she is putty in his hands? I don’t believe so.
The devil knew beforehand that man was going to be the Lord’s greatest creation, even more than the angels, yet God intended for Lucifer – His most able and trusted servant – to serve man, to mentor him even further, to protect and even love him. Lucifer – in this role – would have had man’s eternal adoration forever, but Lucifer was not content to be a servant. He saw this more as being a slave to men, which was so far from the truth. Lucifer became jealous, and he was too proud to be a creation beneath man, so he rebelled – he and 1/3 of the angels that the Lord created.
Fast forward to this particular day in the Garden of Eden when Adam and his wife are standing before this great tree, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
So satan goes through his arguments, as documented in Genesis chapter 3. It is the woman that takes the fruit, and after tasting it, passes it to her silent husband standing right there next to her. He also tastes it. Notice how Adam is completely quiet throughout this discourse between his wife and the devil. Remember that it was Adam’s responsibility to protect Eve, even with his life, yet he does nothing to protect her. He steps further back into the darker shades of the tree to let his wife approach this devil, as though to let her deal with this incredible development on her own. She unknowingly usurps the strength of her husband, and now, as the leader, takes control of this situation. She is now acting on behalf of her husband. She is the man. She is the dominant member of this first family, and Adam – almost sheepishly – follows her lead.
What he could have done (and should have done) was to reject both the devil’s and his wife’s temptations. Had he done so, the Lord would have blessed Adam for having passed his probationary period in the Garden and would have provided Adam with a new Eve as his reward. Unfortunately, this is not what happened, as we all too well know.
Today – especially in politics – there are many Eve’s in charge, leading their men by their shirttails. This is especially true in marriages today, even Christian marriages. Is this why this country is in such disarray? Is this why so many 13-year-old kids don’t even know what sex they are “supposed to be”? I don’t want to politicize this. However, I find it noteworthy, that throughout history, men have been their strongest, when they’ve been closest to our God, when they’ve loved and honored their women the most, and when both men and women have acknowledged and appreciated their God-given roles. Brett Gordon did not define these roles. The State of Massachusetts did not define these roles, but the Lord God Almighty most certainly did – whether you acknowledge it or not; whether you like it or not. So…. where are the MEN?