10/10/2026
"Then God said, 'Let there be light';
and there was light!"
Genesis 1:3
Today is the beginning of the new Torah cycle for Israel beginning naturally with Genesis. The portion is called Bereshit meaning "In the beginning," and it begins with the history of creation.
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. The God said, 'Let there be light;' and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day" (Genesis 1:5).
As we continue the reading of Genesis considering each day's creation process, we can notice God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit functioning as one unit culminating in the formation of man made in their image as noted in Genesis 1:26-27, "Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."
The deeper we delve into history we begin to understand that everything God does is intentional and has a distinct purpose. After creating man God placed him in the garden where he was to have dominion over every living thing. There were two trees in the middle of the garden, The Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The question posed for consideration regarding the two trees was why did God put the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the garden if He knew that man would fail the test or did the adversary plant the tree as a tare, as a temptation? After man ate from the forbidden tree, he was not allowed to remain in the garden, because if he ate from the Tree of Life after his eyes were opened to sin, he would be eternally cursed. So God removed him and set two angels in the Garden to keep Adam out. But then, God already had a plan in motion to ransom man from sin. This brings up so many questions, but God has a plan, and God is good. The Bible speaks of the many mysteries of which we know nothing, and this is just one of the questions we will one day discover the answer to once we rest in our eternal home.
When God created the living things he did so that they would bear much fruit and prosper including the plants, trees, animals and man. As believers in Christ we are told in Matthew 15 that we are to abide in Christ and bear fruit:
"'I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. if anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples" (Matthew 15:1-8).
God could not allow mixed fruit to remain in the Garden, a Garden God had created to function perfectly, without sin and chaos that evil brings. But God had a plan that He speaks about and foreshadows in every book of the Old Testament. I have often wondered how the Pharisees and teachers of the Law and the Prophets could miss the details of Jesus' birth, death, and resurrection, as they are clearly detailed in Scripture, especially by the prophets.
One day, perhaps sooner than we think, we will be able to sit at the feet of Jesus with all the prophets and teachers of old, accompanied by the apostles and all the saints who overcame by the blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimonies, and who loved not their lives to the death, and hear the wondrous stories of life in every detail. Until then we can study and learn, and in abiding in Christ, dwelling in His presence, learn and grow in the knowledge He has for us as co-laborers in the Body of Christ. May we bring Him glory and bear much fruit until He returns!
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