Psalms 115:16
“The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’s; But the earth He has given to the children of men.”
The Bible tells us that God is good. So why is the world in such a mess, full of evil people and calamities if God is so good? Isn’t He Sovereign over the earth? After all, He is the all-knowing, all powerful, omnipresent One, right? What’s going on?
The clue to answering that question lies in the verse above. The truth is, believe it or not, that GOD IS NOT IN COMPLETE CONTROL OF THE EARTH, complete being the operative word.
WHAT?? Why? How?? We’re going to have go back to where it all began to find the answer: The garden.
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In The Beginning.
In the beginning, God created everything there is. He said of His creation that it was “Good.” But of man, whom He created last, He said it was “VERY GOOD.” However, even though everything He created was good, He discovered that man needed something else, or rather someone else. So He created woman.
When God Was In Control.
Back in the garden, God was FULLY in charge. Everything was perfect, like heaven on earth. There was no sickness, no disease, no need of medicine or hospitals, there were no weapons or wars, and there was no death. God had set the man and woman in that garden and told them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and SUBDUE IT; HAVE DOMINION over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:27-28)
In effect, HE HANDED DOMINION over to man.
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Only One Law.
There was only one law back then. Here it is in Genesis 2:15-17:
“Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may FREELY eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil YOU SHALL NOT EAT, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
The Fall.
Everything was going along very well; perfectly in fact. Then one day, the serpent came along, deceived the woman, and got her to believe God was withholding something from her and her husband. She was deceived by the creature, ate from the forbidden tree, and influenced the man, Adam. She gave him some of the fruit, which he also ate, and man fell.
The sad thing is that Adam knew better. He was there in the very beginning when God said they could “FREELY EAT” from every tree in the garden…..except this particular one. Eve was not present at that time. He could….and should…..have stopped his wife because he knew the serpent was lying. But he didn’t. In effect, he bowed His knee to that outlaw spirit (satan) who was possessing the snake. In so doing, he committed high treason and handed dominion over the earth to the devil. 😔
Consequently, God had to drive them out of the garden. He placed His two Cherubim, guardians of God’s holiness, at the entrance of the garden to guard the way to the tree of Life. If He hadn’t, they might have eaten from the tree of Life and lived forever in their evil state, never able to be redeemed.
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Why Is Adam Responsible?
If Eve ate first, then gave some fruit to her husband, why is Adam credited with the fall of man and not her? Good question!
You see, because he was the head of his household, God holds him responsible. However, women do share in the guilt, though they are not faulted with causing the fall. It’s a matter of legality you understand. You’ve heard it said that the husband is the head of the wife? It may seem a bit archaic but that’s the way God made them, like it or not. That is why the man, being the head, is held responsible for his wife’s actions.
In the next section, we’ll deal with the legality of it all.
A Legal Matter.
God had entrusted man with dominion over the earth. Because he now possessed the “keys,” so to speak, God was no longer able BY LAW to intervene in the affairs of man, even though He very much would love to. Because of the terms of our “Lease” of the earth, Man must give Him permission to intervene in his affairs. Also, due to the terms of that “Lease, “He must find a legal way to enter into the affairs of men. Man must agree, or enter into “covenant,” with God and allow Him to help.
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You see unlike you and I, when God gives a gift, IT IS GIVEN. He doesn’t come and take it back just because you’ve misused it. NOPE. It is yours…..consequences and all. Fortunately for us, it is only a temporary lease. God had said, “Six days shall you labor and do all your work.” “Six days,” as God reckons time, is about 6,000 years, give or take folks. By that reckoning, our lease will be up VERY soon.
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UN-fortunately…..that means the earth is still a fallen earth.
As I said before, God CANNOT, because of the terms of the lease, intervene whenever He wants to, as much as He might desire it. So, when “WHOSOEVER” invites Him to be Sovereign over their affairs, that person has now given God LEGAL PRECEDENCE to intervene on his or her behalf.
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Why God Cuts Covenants With Man.
6,000 or so years later, the “lease” is still in our name. Because it was a “MAN—Adam,” who forfeited dominion over to the devil, it must LEGALLY be another MAN—JESUS–to get back back. But until the time that Jesus arrived on the scene, God had to find a man, or men, who would agree (covenant) with Him. Abraham was such a man. You and I, when we accept Jesus as our Savior, are such men and women.
Why else would Jesus weep so vehemently over Jerusalem? He knew that their rejection of Him as their Messiah meant that He could not legally protect them. They have to ask for His help. Sadly because they don’t believe in Him, they don’t ask. 😭
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Covenant People.
“Is God Sovereign over anything in this world?” you ask.YES: He is Sovereign over HIS KINGDOM and the PEOPLE IN HIS KINGDOM. He actually has two groups of covenant people in the earth: Israel and the Church. We, the Church, enjoy the full covenant because of Jesus. Our Jewish brethren have only a partial Covenent because they rejected their Messiah. But…..in these last days, more and more are meeting their Redeemer than at any other time in history, praise God! Their blindness is being lifted! ♥️
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On Your Own.
HOWEVER…..those IN His kingdom, meaning the Church, who don’t want to follow Him ARE STILL ON SORT OF THEIR OWN. It may seem almost as if they had no covenant. God, of course, never actually leaves or forsakes believers, but we may feel distant though we never really are. It’s only their individual perception you understand. You see, God is Who you “SAY” He is. If you don’t believe that He heals today or protects from accidents and disease, He is to you what you “Say.”
For more on that topic, you may follow the link below:
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The only difference between those who don’t want to allow God to be sovereign but are saved is that, when they die, they go to Heaven! Sadly, here on earth these folks will be more affected by the curse and susceptible to sicknesses, diseases, lack and so on, similar to those who have no covenant.
Thank God that the second Adam came along: JESUS! He paid for our redemption “having wiped out the handwriting of requirements {The Ten Commandments} that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, HAVING NAILED IT TO THE CROSS.” Colossians 2:14
That’s right, folks: JESUS NAILED THE LAW TO THE CROSS. Now He has all power and authority! He crushed satan’s head and reversed EVERY CURSE!
Epilogue:
Here’s a little something extra. Remember what happened the morning Jesus rose from the dead? Mary Magdalene was the first to see the Risen Glorified Jesus. But earlier, she along with Mary, the mother of James, and Salome, came to the tomb, saw the stone rolled away, the EMPTY TOMB and the angels.
These are the same TWO ANGELS–Cherubim–who guarded the way to the tree of Life and sat atop the mercy seat of the Ark of the covenant. Notice, JESUS Himself invited a woman to bring back word to the other disciples of the revelation that the way to God–The Tree of Life–is now OPEN!
The two angels that Mary saw at the head and the foot of the place where Jesus’ body lay are a picture of the Real Mercy Seat in heaven! Our High Priest is both the Offer-Er and the Offering!
Remember, it was a woman who, being influenced by the snake in the garden, influenced man to sin and, therefore, cause the entire human race to fall. Women, as you read above, are just as complicit as men, even though the fall is credited to Adam as head of his household.
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But…..it was through a woman that The God/Man–Jesus–was born into this world and Who would restore us. It was a woman to whom the truth was first revealed…..and it was a woman who first told men of Jesus’ triumph and resurrection! Appearing to a woman first was God’s way of restoring womankind. RESTORATION!!! Jesus honored and elevated women!
Make no mistake, however; the devil still has limited power and lying wonders. Though he may be bound, he isn’t gagged…and he has a BIG mouth. That’s why we still hear those evil little whisperings in our ears at times.
If you remember nothing else, remember this:
Anyone who has not chosen to come under God’s protection is fair game for the devil and his minions, like shooting fish in a barrel! I reiterate: Unless you belong to Christ, YOU ARE SUBJECT TO HIS ATTACK AT HIS WHIM. He can pick your number out of his little hat ANYTIME.
Why else do you think Christians talk about being under Jesus’ protection? BECAUSE WE DON’T WANT TO BE UNDER THE DEVIL’S DOMINION. You shouldn’t either. Humans are NO MATCH for him. That’s why we “SAY” of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, My God. In Him will I trust.” We SPEAK IT OUT. WE DECLARE IT…..DAILY…..HOURLY…..minute by minute if necessary.
In order for God to come into our lives and situations, we must first have a covenant with Him–be born again–and we must “ASK.” THAT’S WHY WE PRAY. It isn’t simply a futile exercise engaged in by timid, frightened, weak-minded people. NO. Far from it.
PRAYER IS A COVENANT TRANSACTION BETWEEN US AND OUR COVENANT ABBA!
Covenant Vs. Contract.
A Covenant, in ancient Israel as well as in other cultures around the world, are “cut” with another person, tribe or nation. Unlike a paper contract, which can easily be broken, there is always a SHEDDING OF BLOOD to seal it. Each person or tribal head made a small incision on their wrist, joined them together and mingled their blood. Now it flows as one. It is binding, irrevocable and until death.
This is why marriage is a covenant and not merely a contract.
In the process of cutting a covenant, each took off their respective outer garments and exchanged them, indicating a change of positions. Each took off their respective armaments as well and wore the other persons gear. Your enemies have now become their enemies; their enemies, yours. You each now fought mutual battles of your now mutual enemies. Jonathan and David made such a pact.
One day the lease will revert to God Who gave it. Jesus will reign over the whole world from Jerusalem, establishing His millennial Kingdom. The earth…..HALLELUJAH…..will be totally under God’s control at long last and everything will be PERFECT. Until then we want it to be as close as possible to the way it was when He was fully in charge in the garden.
THAT IS WHY WE PRAY.
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You may follow the link below to part 5 to continue this series:
Emmaus Road Ministries 
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