In a recent bible study I attended, the leader said that God’s first covenant with mankind was with Abraham in which God promised that He would give Abraham innumerable descendents and set aside a land for them. This covenant is found in Genesis 15:5-18. While this is a very important covenant, and was one of the first promises that pointed toward Jesus, it was not the first covenant between God and His creation, man.
The first covenant that God made with His creation is found in Genesis 2:16-17. It is known as the Adamic Covenant. I have heard some theologians refer to it as a ‘covenant of works’ since it was based on Adam and Eve not eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I have also heard it said that faith was not necessary for Adam and Eve because they were in the presence of God every day in the Garden of Eden. After all, why do you need faith to believe in a God that is walking and talking with you every day? While all of this may be true on the surface, there was most certainly an element of faith in this first covenant.
In Genesis 3:1, apparently while the woman was alone in the garden, the serpent (Satan) asks Eve a question, “Has God really said that you shall not eat from any tree of the garden?” Eve responds by saying “No. God has said we may eat of all the trees except one, otherwise we will die.” Satan was and is very crafty and replied with a lie, “You shall not surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat of the fruit, you will become like God.”
- Here is the first test of faith in the bible. Eve is confronted with a very real dilemma – conflicting testimonies; the first lie from the father of lies. (John 8:44)
- Here is this crafty serpent telling her that God has some secret reason for making the rule against eating the fruit of the tree; He wants to keep her down.
- Here is the serpent telling Eve that she will not die – calling God a liar.
- Here is Eve tempted to want more that what God has given her.
Pride, covetousness and selfishness (the very things that caused Satan to fall) enter into her heart and she was faced with a crisis of faith. Not faith in regard to whether God exists or not, but rather, whether or not God is trustworthy. Whether or not His word is truth.
Eve desired the control that the knowledge of good and evil would give, though it was not hers to possess. Further, when Adam saw that Eve didn’t die immediately, he may have thought he had reason to doubt God’s word. He partook in the selfish desires of his heart and ate of the fruit.
Adam and Eve may not have needed faith to believe in God, but they needed faith to believe God. The element of faith that was a part of their covenant with God (trust) was thus broken; the element of works (obedience) was also broken, and all humankind was stained with the sin of our parents.
Each of us faces the same crisis of faith every single day. No matter how long we have been Christians, the temptation is always there to covet God’s power and usurp his authority through self-reliance. In this life, none of us will ever be truly righteous (Romans 3:10), none of us will ever be without sin (1 John 1:10). We will always fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), failing to love Him with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength (Luke 10:27). It is only by leaning completely on Him who died that we are granted the ability to become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). Don’t trust your own wisdom or understanding. (Proverbs 3:5) Trust (have faith) only in Him (Isaiah 26:4), and Obey (work) His commandments (John 14:15).
