*Note: again, the reference to “a representative figure” and “an idol” in the definition from the Strong’s.
*Are we to conclude that Adam and Havah were designed to be God’s image (idol) in the Gan and, perhaps, the world?
*I don’t know if you and I can really grasp the job Adam and Havah were to do in the garden unless we truly understand what the purpose of an idol was [is].
*You see, in ancient paganism, people were not proposing the image as their god. People believed the idol represented the god it stood for.
*Even the ancient Israelites did not create the golden calf to “be” their god, but to remind them of the steadfastness of God’s character and His gentle nature --- like Moses, who was appointed by God (because Moses had been gone, meeting with God on the mountain for a very long time, the Israelites assumed Moses [Moshe] was dead).
*The job of being God's representative (idol) does not mean man was supposed to worship man. We are not to worship anything or any-one but God, Himself; and, we are absolutely forbidden from serving any, man-made --- “graven” (carved-cast) image. As was revealed in our study of the days of creation, however,Yeshua is God, and it is, therefore, correct for us to worship Him.
*Adam and Eve were created to rule the garden as representatives of God. In other words, God created Adam and Havah with the opportunity to be part of establishing His Kingdom within His creation. What an honor God gave to man --- to be part of His most excellent plan, and what a shame that our misguided originators missed such an opportunity.
*The designation of being God's representatives has been re-offered throughout history, but so far - no generation has fully succeeded in walking out our role of representing God to building His kingdom. You and I are supposed to be in the process of being remade in the likeness of God’s character and nature in order to re-claim the earth territory (in the spiritual-every willing human heart) for His kingdom. To do this, Yeshua said we are to conduct ourselves in such a way that glorifies Him and causes others to desire to, also, become part of His kingdom.
*God is not visible to our physical eyes. Man can neither see Him nor touch Him. This makes belief in God an act of absolute trust. How are unbelieving people to trust someone they can neither physically see nor audibly hear? I suggest that it is impossible for those who have yet not received “spiritual sight” to trust that He is the creator and that He loves them-without a good representative.
*Yeshua, God, became the idol (image) of God in the earth to provide the perfect example for you and I to follow:
Colossians 1:15 (CJB) 15 He is the visible image of the invisible God. He is supreme over all creation,
2 Corinthians 4:4 (TLV) 4 In their case, the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, so they might not see the light of the Good News of the glory of Messiah, who is the image of God.
*Yeshua revealed God’s goodness perfectly, but when He returned to the Father to intercede as our Cohen Gadol [high priest], Yeshua commissioned us, all of us who come into this relationship with Him, to continue the work He began.
Colossians 1:1A(CJB)
1 From: Sha’ul, by God’s will an emissary of the Messiah Yeshua,
*Emissary is another word for “ambassador”, “envoy”, or “representative”.
1 Corinthians 15:48-49 (CJB)
48 People born of dust are like the man of dust, and people born from heaven are like the man from heaven; 49 and just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, so also, we will bear the image of the man from heaven.
Note: the man of dust is Adam and the Man from heaven is Yeshua.
*Did you ever wonder why God so sternly warns His people, over and over, that we are not supposed to have idols?I suggest to you that one reason for this is because “we” are to “be” His representation [idol] in the earth, but if we are focused on serving an idol, we are not “being” God’s image.
*God made a Covenant with Adam and Havah. The agreement of the covenant was; if they obeyed the creator and ruled over His garden in His likeness, they would have access to the tree of life.
*The damage was done in Gan-Ayden, the scary truth is that you and I are just as vulnerable to deception as Adam and Havah. If we have already deluded ourselves to believe that God will not require faithfulness from us; we should expect the test to come, and we should know that we will find ourselves in a state of failure, just as Adam and Havah did.
In the Strong’s:
Image6754H tselem, tseh´-lem; (from an unused root word meaning to shade); phantom, i.e. (figuratively-) illusion, resemblance; hence- a representative figure, especially- an idol: --- image, vain shew.