Yahovah

Well, Adam & Eve were in quite a fix. They had sinned against God and found themselves expelled from His presence and out of the Garden of Eden. However, although they had betrayed God to their own ruin, God had not abandoned them. Along side the many consequences of their sin listed in Genesis 3, God reveals three important truths.

He revealed Himself as Yahovah or LORD, which literally means "the existing One." No doubt Adam & Eve took comfort, as should we, in knowing that the LORD God's existence is not eclipsed by their or our failures -- no matter how cataclysmic they be. And this was rather a whopper on Adam & Eve's part. They would pass on the consequences and nature of their sin to their children, which includes you, me, and the rest of humanity. Not only were they mired in a horrible pit, but their descendants would be born into that very same pit. Their and our only hope rested in the completely untainted and self-existing God. But would He help? Since He is self-existing He could just let the world go to hell in a hand-basket as the saying goes.

The first indication that Yahovah was still in control is recorded in Genesis 3:14-15 during His address to the serpent immediately after Adam & Eve's fall:

And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

It is the first recorded prophesy in the scriptures, and Yahovah foretells a seemingly impossible victory. Even though Adam & Eve's descendants are corrupted by sin, it will be through Eve's "seed" that the serpent's head will be crushed. Although Yahovah does not go into much detail at this point, here He first promises His incarnation and victory over the serpent.

The last truth Yahovah reveals is the cost of His intervention to save humanity from our sin. Genesis 3:21 foreshadows, "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them."

This is the first recorded sacrifice of an animal because of a person's sin. This practice would continue for millennia until the Lamb of God would come as was just promised. It also reveals that Adam & Eve's sin affected all of nature and not just humanity. But most importantly it uncovers the truth that the sin-debt of humanity can be paid for only by the life-blood of the Sacrifice.

Now I know this was rather alot of information to digest, but I think it does explain how I ended up mired in that horrible pit of sin. And, perhaps more to the point, it explains how you wound up there as well. And though recognizing the truth of one's predicament when one is stuck in quicksand is admirable, the absolutely salient question is how does one leave the pit?