We can hardly imagine life in the Garden of Eden prior to Adam’s sin. God had provided for all of man’s needs – even given him a wife. The trees of the Garden were Adam’s to use for God’s glory. Adam was even to use the forbidden tree, the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for God’s glory by avoiding its fruit.

Genesis 3 teaches us that, through Satan’s temptation, Adam and Eve were attracted to that tree. They ate of its fruit.

Disorder entered into creation. From that time, all mankind were and are conceived in sin (Ps. 51:5). Sin evidenced itself very quickly in the lives of Adam and Eve. When confronted by God, they, as one flesh, became divided and blamed others for their sin rather then jointly assuming responsibility for it. In Genesis 4, Cain killed Abel. One can hardly imagine the hurt within this family on learning that orderly sibling relationships had broken down to this extent.

Returning to Genesis 3, we can see other manifestations of disorder in society. Man will have to struggle to earn a living. Thorns and thistles will grow among fruitful plants and vines, making the tilling and harvesting of food difficult. Women will have great labor in childbirth.

As we turn the pages of scripture, we see disorder repeatedly. At the end of chapter 4 one of Cain’s descendants, Lamech, has disrupted the marriage institution by being married to two wives. He also uses song to praise his murder of a man.

The early pages of Genesis, as does all of scripture, teach that when man rejects God he should not be surprised that disorder becomes a part of life. God is a God of order. His creation was good as He defined it (Genesis1:4 ff) He created laws for man’s good.

Our fallen world reflects disorder. Throughout our life we know the possibility of car wrecks, plane crashes, sudden sickness, and a host of other interruptions that bring schedule readjustments and grief into our lives.

In recent years we have become, unfortunately, aware of greater disorder entering our society. For over thirty-five years the expectant mother’s womb has become a disorderly locale for millions of unborn children. The abortionist’s weapons have been successfully on the attack time and again. To the chagrin of many, these attacks have all been legal in America. Yet according to God’s law legalized abortion reflected a serious turning away from Him.

We have seen the orderliness of marriage being culturally disrupted with the recent acceptance of homosexual unions and with a number of Protestant denominations speaking in favor of such unions.

With thousands of U.S. troops in the Middle East, we have become increasingly aware of the threat of suicide bombers in crowded areas. Here at home we have our own chaotic violence. For sometime we have been uncomfortably acquainted with drive-by shootings that have left numerous individuals dead or injured. More recently, our stomachs have churned as we have been confronted with shooting rampages in high schools, universities as well as in malls.  Many times the death tolls have included the assailant as he turned the weapon on himself.

Man will look to establish his own order to correct this disorder. He will create new departments of government; install more inspection centers and detection devices. However, man is unable to police every individual or guard every entry way to all buildings, parks and campuses.

We have to realize that the basic teaching man has received over the years has been that society is ultimately disorderly. Evolution involves chaos. In this teaching, the world is without God. Events occur by chance and randomness without a reason. The survival of the fittest brings expectation of disorder and chaos as individuals can do as they think best in order to survive. This can include trampling on the rights of others in the ascent of the corporate ladder, cheating to get through school or the murder of those who stand between us and our goals. Sadly, once man has opted for a presupposition that involves chaos he cannot always limit the locale or extent of chaos.

Thankfully, there is an answer. It is the basic Gospel message set forth in Genesis 3:15 and developed throughout scripture. It reaches its climax in Christ’s death and resurrection. This is a message that is especially needed in our society today. Repentance and faith in Christ alone recreates the individual. We begin to see life through new eyes-that of God’s word. We learn how to love God and our fellow man and how true repentance and restitution restores broken relationships.

We can take great hope in our chaotic times. Christians have the message that is the only hope for orderly lives and cultures. We need to be prayerfully aware of opportunities to set forth this message and to expect God to use it to reorder lives to His glory as He has so often done down through the centuries.

Review ©2008 Byron Snapp, Hampton, Virginia