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NASB | Genesis 3:3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.'" |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Genesis 3:3 except the fruit from the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God said, 'You shall not eat from it nor touch it, otherwise you will die.'" |
Bible Question: Since the Bible forbids incest (Leviticus 18:6-18) then how was the world populated with just Adam and Eve?" In other words, if the daughters of Adam and Eve were having sexual relations with the sons of Adam and Eve, then how can God say that incest is forbidden? |
Bible Answer: Hi, A. J.! Part of the answer in in your query: the world had to be populated! Knowing that God is all powerful helps us understand the rest! Our individual gene pool is said to have a limited structure which must be replenished through the various insertions of other human gene pools; if not, we would have all sorts of genetic deficiencies bread into the human species... Scientists also speak on a communality between the various species on the planet; the inter-dependency of echo systems dwellers (plants, insects, and higher life forms), planetary climate, water basins, etc... none was created in a vacuum! The same God that can turn stone into bread (Matthew 4:3) or into children of Abraham (Matthew 3:9) is the same God that supplied all of our needs (both nourishment and medicines) through plants, minerals, water and lower life forms... Could it have been a bigger task for Him to provide Adam and his direct descendants with with resilient genes that would be both self-regenerating and able to produce the diversity that would be required by huminity's collective gene pool? This same God that, through His Spirit, regenarated dry bones into full human beings (Ezekiel 37:1-10), could He have any limitations that would forbid gene splicing? God's Plan is all encompassing! There was a time when He needed just two of us to populate the earth--when that came to completion He introduced new limits and standards... who are we to question His Way (Romans 9:20): God designed Creation with certain limitations and flexibilities (built into the God's Plan from its inception), which He alone enhances or diminishes. We ourselves regress to an infant-like stage when interacting with babies, and when toddlers begin to experiment we set their bounderies--expanding their range or further limiting them as we observe their progress... though we do not (as yet) manipulate their genes, we strive to mold them into what we perceive as the apex of social excellence... do we not employ stategies that would seem complex and contradicting when viewed from a child's view point? At one time Yahweh demanded temporal reparation for our sinful acts... in the fullness of times Christ came and He instituted a New Covenant: one that required His Blood to be shed for us! Christ introduced yet another change in God's Plan as He gave us the opportunity to become children of God, not merely creatures of flesh but coheirs in the Spirit (John 1:12-13; Romans 8:15-27; Galatians 4:6-7). What God set into motion, from the beginning, was made according to His Will and Wisdom--it would be impossible for us to use hindsight in an effort to moralize, restore or improve Creation and the path on which God has set it! God Bless! Angel |