In the previous content post we explored the beginning of the ancient path of life for all humans.  It is the life of God Himself in the human.  Here is the perfection of union between our God and the human being.  We shared one life between us, the life of God Himself.

It was not going to last long.  Genesis 3:1-5 tells us that “…the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God say, “You shall not eat from any tree in the garden”?’ The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;but God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.”’ But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’”

The Lord had laid down a prohibition against the human coming to understand good and evil. Eve was deceived into violating the prohibition and she fell into transgression, which means “going off of the designated path and into one’s own way.”

Our God knew that by understanding the difference between good and evil humans would depart from living by the life of our God in them.  To disobey our God in this would be to insinuate self in place of the life of our God as the operating principle for all humans.  It would be a rebellion against our God.  The life of God could not coexist with such a rebellion life.  It would have to die in them on that day. 

In all of this, some look to Eve as the instigator of the rebellion.  But that was not where the problem lies.  No, it was Adam who willfully chose to transgress.  Eve was deceived, but Adam made a clear-eyed choice. His choice to go his own way, to live by his own sits, meant he forfeited the life of our God in Him and in all His descendants. 

Isaiah describes it this way in 53:6 “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” 

Adam made his choice, and what died in him that day was the life of our God.  The union was broken, and humankind would be separated from the life of their God.  Now the soul would be filled only with the limited, temporal animal life.  The true meaning and purpose, its richness and light, the fullness of the God life was lost.

His choice reverberated into the life of every human being born of both man and woman.  Our union was broken as well.  We were separated from the life of our God.  Our soul is now filled with only the animal life; temporal, mortal, and broken.  The meaning and purpose, the richness and life, the fullness of the God life was lost to us as well.  The ancient paths where the good way are were no longer our destiny.

From before the world was founded, our God foresaw this tragic choice and had laid the plan for the return of the race to the ancient path of union with Himself. That our God had a plan to restore us to union with Himself, to the ancient path, was somehow known to some.  For centuries there were those who knew the answer was coming, but they had no idea how it would come to be. 

There were some who rediscovered the ancient path of union.  Even though our God had not yet revealed how He was going to restore it, He allowed those who were earnestly seeking Him to find it.   Enoch.  Noah.  Abraham.  Moses. David. The prophets.  Simeon. These discovered an intimate companionship with our God.  They walked with Him in the ancient paths daily.  

That these and others found the ancient paths showed that without a doubt the paths were still available in some way. It showed that our God had a plan to redeem us from our small living and restore us into His enormous and endless life. It also showed that He was on the move.