| Highlights of Dawn | October 1971 |
“Thou Shalt Surely Die”
WHEN God created Adam he provided a garden home for him “eastward in Eden,” and in this garden provision was made for the continued sustenance of his earthly creation, as well as that which was “pleasant to the sight.” (Gen 2: 8,9) The Creator informed Adam that he was to partake of every tree of the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. “Thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”—Gen. 2:17
The word “day” in this text refers to an indefinite period of time. Concerning Adam’s death the marginal translation reads, “Dying, thou shalt die,” suggesting that the process of death would at once become operative, and would continue to operate until he returned to the ground from whence he was taken. In Adam’s case this turned out to be a period of 930 years.
The word “day” is often used in the Scriptures simply to denote a period of time. Jesus speaks of the “day” or “days” of Noah. There was the “day of temptation in the wilderness.” Speaking of the period of time which we customarily regard as a day, Jesus said, “Are there not twelve hours in the day?” There is also, of course, a twenty-four-hour day. The Revelator said that those who are beheaded “for the witness of Jesus and for the Word of God” will “live and reign with Christ a thousand years.” This is a definite period of time. Peter speaks of this period as being the “day of judgment.”—II Pet. 3:7,8
Eve also came under condemnation, for although she had been deceived by the fallen Lucifer, she nevertheless was not without blame. Later God spoke to this first human couple. “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return to the ground; for out of it was thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return.”—Gen. 3:16-19
Life Span Decreased
As noted, it required 930 years for Adam to return to the dust. During the entire antediluvian world, a period of 1,656 years, the life span continued to be very long by comparison with human experience today. Methuselah, who died the year of the Flood, lived for 969 years. Soon after the Flood, however, the average length of human life began to decrease. Moses wrote concerning his day, “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore, yet is their strength labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.”—Ps. 90:10
Moses himself lived for 120 years, but the threescore and-ten-year life average remained fairly constant for many centuries. Coming down to modern times the general average of human life slipped to a little over thirty years; but from that low there has been a recovery, until now it is in the vicinity of seventy years. This has been brought about to a considerable extent by reducing the mortality rate of infants and, on the other end of the spectrum, to a better understanding of the care of elderly people. Today, in the United States, there is a larger percentage of people over sixty-five years of age than ever before in the history of the nation. How to care for all these old people is now one of the serious problems facing the government.
Meanwhile the sorrow and suffering accompanying the carrying out of the death sentence continues. So universal have been the pains associated with childbirth that it is used symbolically in the prophecies. Paul speaks of sudden destruction coming upon the world “as travail upon a woman with child.” (I Thess. 5:3) Much has been accomplished by medical science, but comparatively little to alleviate this type of human suffering.
God said to Adam, “Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth unto thee.” (Gen. 3:17,18) Then the Lord continues, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground.” (vs. 19) It is generally conceded that this statement might well be broadened to include all sorts of hard labor whereby man, throughout the centuries, has been compelled to eke out an existence. Since this is associated with the sentence of death it is not to be expected that the situation will change until, in the Lord’s due time, and through the agencies of the messianic kingdom, based on the redeeming blood of Christ, the sentence of death will be set aside.
True, because of the great increase of knowledge which has occurred in this end of the present age much has been accomplished to increase the productivity of the land. We could think of the “thorns and thistles” as being symbolic of all that has plagued the land and thus increased human problems, including the many types of insects which destroy crops. Many have endeavored to cope with these through the use of insecticides only to discover that the environment is becoming contaminated with poisons of various sorts. Thus a vicious cycle has been brought about, almost as though the Lord were saying to his condemned human subjects that they cannot lift the curse which is upon the land until his due time arrives.
“By Sweat of Face”
The Creator’s statement that man would eat bread by the sweat of his face was associated with the “thorns and thistles” which would spring forth from the land to make it difficult to procure from it the necessary food to sustain life. So far as our first parents were concerned probably their only labor was on the land, so the Lord did not make the matter more comprehensive.
As the human race increased, however, other forms of labor became necessary But it was all hand labor. Noah did not possess modern shipbuilding machinery when he built the ark. Every effort made was accomplished by hard labor, so aptly symbolized by God as “the sweat of face.” This situation continued almost unabated until the beginning of the industrial revolution which began in the eighteenth century.
The industrial revolution involved more and more the use of labor-saving machinery. But a sad commentary on this is that labor-saving machinery was not invented to take away “the sweat of face,” but to increase production, and enable the owners to pile up greater riches. This does not mean that every inventor is inspired by selfish motives. The great geniuses of the past and present have doubtless been motivated by the desire to achieve and produce. What the end result might be is probably given little thought.
Throughout the ages man’s labor—his “sweat of face”—has resulted in fatigue, but this was accepted. It was usually cured by a night’s rest, and the next day’s work was entered upon as a matter of course. Man knew why he was tired and did not worry about it. Besides, when the Lord informed man of the “sweat of face” that he would be called upon to endure he also said, “Cursed is the ground for thy sake.” (Gen. 3:17) The suggestion here is that labor in itself—even hard labor, would not necessarily be injurious to man.
Actually, the Lord never intended that man would be a creature of complete idleness. Not only would this be a boring life but, in man’s fallen state especially, it would lead to all sorts of sin and debauchery. When created, man was commanded to fill the earth and to “subdue it,” which implies that the Lord expected him to be active in connection with the home which had been provided for him. Certainly the increased labor due to man’s fallen condition has served as a restraint upon the headlong rush of the human race into death.
Still Tired
When we think of what has been accomplished by labor-saving machinery it is well to remember that this industrial revolution has been felt in a relatively small part of the earth as yet; and now, looking about us as we approach the end of the twentieth century, one cannot help wondering just how much the common man has benefited from the industrial revolution. An observation along this line published in the New York Daily News is to the point:
“The machine imposed its rhythm. For it to be profitable, it had to be served according to its operation, which was not the same as man’s. For instance, the machine couldn’t stop itself if it was tired. And it prohibited an individual tempo in work: it imposed a collective kind of work, according to hours, according to the clock. These conditions really made fatigue ‘inhuman.’
“The fatigue of the industrial worker in the beginning was further aggravated by the conditions of his life in general. Uprooted from the country, he was poorly housed and undernourished. All the old rules which had assured a decent style disappeared. The cities kept their old discomforts and further submitted to the new law of industry with its filth, noise, fumes and fury of work and commerce.
“Today’s fatigue, on the other hand, might be characterized by an employee in a white shirt, seated all alone in front of a network of controls in an automated factory. The only thing he has to do is to watch for warning signals on the system controls and press certain buttons which rarely light up. Nothing might seem less tiring. And yet, in the evening, he is tired. The paradox of today’s fatigue is that we have mastered the causes of physical tiredness, but we are more tired than ever.”
The United States boasts a very high standard of living, but think of the millions even in this country who have no opportunity to earn a living, and who are living on public welfare—one million in New York City alone. True, many of these may prefer to be on welfare, but the majority of them would like an opportunity to work, but machinery has made their work unneeded.
This is specially true with respect to the farms. Labor-saving machinery enables a very few to produce more than the nation needs, and the farm population of fifty years ago has for the most part drifted into the city, where many get a living on welfare. Human wisdom has not planned it this way. The situation has come about because of the lack of human wisdom, plus a large degree of selfishness.
Pollution
Another unhappy by-product of the industrial age has been the pollution of our air, water, and land. This also was not foreseen when men first began to make inventions to do their work for them, but today it has reached proportions which threaten the very existence of the human race. Man is trying to do something about this, but here again selfishness stands in the way of worthwhile progress, and the general belief is that environmental pollution is increasing, rather than otherwise.
The housewife is aware of this when she tires to buy certain kinds of fish, only to be told that they have been taken off the market because of pollution—the waste, that is, of large factories which is being dumped into the rivers and finds its way to the oceans, where swordfish and other fish are poisoned by it.
Those who live in or near large cities are also very much aware of pollution, where many wallow in filth, especially the poorer classes. Those who drive in from the suburban areas to work in the factories or offices of the large cities may have had some of the drudgery taken out of their work, but think of the ordeal that faces them when they have to drive home at night on the congested highways, poisoned by the fumes of the mile-long line of cars stretched out before them. Their workday may have been cut down, but the very nature of our industrial age is such that traveling time to and from work has been greatly increased for most people, and under the crippling influence of environmental pollution.
This and other factors of the industrial age have contributed to the nervous tension which in itself saps the strength of millions who have to earn a living. The pre-industrial age worker knew little or nothing of this way of life. He worked hard. He became tired. He rested during the night, and was ready to work the next day. This was his life. And considering the fact that he was under condemnation to death, within proper limits it was a “healthy” way of life.
We all thank God for the advances which have been made in medical science, and the blessings these have brought to millions; but the sentence of death still rests heavily upon the human race. Only God can and will lift this penalty. He will lift it because of his love in providing a way of escape from death through the redeeming blood of Christ. God will not need to transplant hearts, nor will he have to resort to other forms of man-made remedies; Jesus did not when he provided those many illustrations of the blessings coming to mankind through the administration of his kingdom.
We are thankful that man is doing what he can to rid the earth of its “thorns and thistles,” but the real lifting of the curse which God placed upon the earth will be God’s own work. And how wonderfully it will be accomplished in his due time! Man is now being given an opportunity to try to do what he can, just as he was given an opportunity to try all the various forms of government which have existed upon the earth throughout human experience.
Now man, through science and invention, is being given what may well be his last chance to better his own condition; but he will find that only the Lord can do for him what he would like to do for himself. How eloquently did the Prophet Isaiah state the matter when he wrote:
“And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”—Isa. 25:9