It seems to me, if God created men to live on earth, and blessed them to be fruitful and fill the earth, he must have had it even in the beginning that we human beings will not live on earth forever.
We would then have a way of leaving earth at some point.
Eden, the home of the beginning, was still filled with everything man would require to receive at the appointed time. Look, He cannot put something good for man and have him die when he eats it. Unless in an appointed time, when man is ready, he would eat it.
The garden of the Eden was a smaller place within the whole earth. And the whole earth was to be filled with humanity.
Evil came and cheated humanity to death. Jesus speaks of a parable of wheat and weeds in comparison.
While, evil might be punished for 4 generations, the blessings stay for a thousand. Why the righteous lives long, is to pass their good to the coming generations. The sinful die early, for the consequences of their evil be seen in the generations they have lived and the story about it be told as a lesson to the generations that come so that the proceeding generations. Are able to survive in the righteousness that remains.
Evil had multiplied itself on the earth to a great extent that God wanted to destroy it all. He decided to limit their age to 120 years. For a person reaches 30 years and marry and bear children. If he has sinned and teaches his children to sin(for maybe in his life time he has not sin the consequence of his sin) the children may see the consequence. If they may doubt and still sin, the third generation may see the consequence of the sin the fourth will learn from all these and conclude without mistake the sinful action is not worth repeating. Thus generation curses are broken off.
Even early if in the generations after the first sin if the children leave in righteousness, God blesses that generation and blesses them from the sin that cursed the previous generation.
How can we found ourselves under curses? Because of things we do and we do not the difference between good and evil.
To live a righteous life is worthwhile to the personal life for it serves us from the curses that would indeed make our lives short.
The curses are like traps set up in the path of humanity to bring them to death. Righteousness is like ways which we can live to avoid these traps set up in our paths.
Where do we know these ways? From Him who loved us so much to send his Son. So that whoever might believe in Him maybe saved. For Jesus lived a righteous life from birth to death without sin. He was able to do away with death.
He says for to learn and through Him be saved:
John 15:1-17 NIV
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.
Only in being in Him and Him in us, can we passover the death that destroys humanity. There is no short cut and there is no cheating.
But in truth admitting our failures and letting God lead us to salvation. Which is but the work of the Holy Spirit in us.
For, true worshipers of God worship him in truth and in Spirit. In truth, by being truthful about their weakness and sins they have committed, and be willing to be obedient. In Spirit, for the Holy Spirit alone can teach us how to present ourselves before God.
I listened through the Book of Leviticus the other night and was very challenged and feared at all the laws I have broken. I almost felt like, I should not read further for the sins I commit are many and its difficult for this body of mine to obey them all. For I will called to account for the sins I have committed knowing they are sins.
But on the other hand, I hoped God will take me through slowly and be gracious for I am but trying to Live according to His will. For because ignorance again, people perish.
God's grace teach and help us through.
I wonder about the copyright implications of copying and pasting verses in such a way.
What's the best way to preach God's word, if not to present it as He says it?
I can only comment my reflections on it depending on the wisdom I have learned from it but the word is the same and will remain so as God presented it. Better then to put it as it comes from God.