Israel was set apart
to the Lord; they were like the firstfruits of a harvest to Him. – Jeremiah
2:3a (NET)
There are interesting
similarities to be found between Adam (and Eve) and Israel. As it is
well-nigh possible that the story of Adam is the story of Israel in microcosm,
while also being the pre-story for the existence of Israel and the explanation
for the superiority of Israel’s God, the similarities make perfect sense.
In terms of the
Scriptural narrative, Adam, of course, was the first of humankind. He is also represented as the first person to
enter into a covenant with the Creator God. By comparison, Israel was
chosen out of all humankind, beginning with Abraham, to be the special,
covenant people for the Lord. As Adam is said to have strayed from the
Lord in the matter of the fruit and the rebellion from his simple charge, the
actions of God’s chosen, special covenant people would later cause their God to
ask why “they strayed so far from Me” (2:5b).
That straying was highlighted
by the prophet Jeremiah and marked by the fact that “They paid allegiance to
worthless idols, and so became worthless to Me” (2:5c). Essentially, they
were following the path of Adam, who paid attention (allegiance) to the words
of the serpent, as reported by his wife, and thereby relinquished the
responsibilities that had been given to Him by God, bringing a curse upon the
earth. It could be said that Adam became worthless to God, and humankind
(forsaking covenant responsibility) became a liability in creation.
The covenant God said
to Israel through His prophet Jeremiah: “I brought you into a fertile land so
you could enjoy its fruits and its rich bounty” (2:7a). Likewise,
humankind had been delivered into a perfect creation, a fertile land, given
responsibility for stewardship and dominion over that creation. Instruction was provided such that all but
one small part of its fruits and its rich bounty could be enjoyed. However,
because Adam could not restrict himself to that which God had offered for Him to
enjoy, that perfect creation of God “was ruined in the sight of God; the earth
was filled with violence” (Genesis 6:11).
Because of Adam’s
actions, “God saw the earth, and indeed it was ruined, for all living creatures
on the earth were sinful” (6:12). That
is, they had been subjected to corruption and decay because of humankind’s
rebellion and faithlessness to the obligations of the covenant as divine
image-bearer. Similarly, Israel had been delivered into the bountiful
land but God said that they had “defiled it,” adding that “you made the land I
call My own loathsome to Me” (Jeremiah 2:7b).
The Lord goes on to
ask, “Has a nation ever changed its gods (even though they are not really gods
at all)? But My people have exchanged Me, their glorious God, for a god
that cannot help them all!” (2:11). The question that is asked and
answered concerning Israel, working back through Adam, can then be equally applied
to all of humankind. Just as Israel stooped and fell to the worship of
other gods, so too did Adam (first, according to Israel’ story). For whom
did Adam exchange his allegiance? First, his allegiance went to his wife. Secondly, it went to the serpent, for the one
that could effectively countermand the directives of their Creator, causing
humankind to break faith with their God, is the one that is trusted and so
worshiped.
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