266. "Apples of gold in settings of silver." Proverbs appears to describe the apricot in this way (25:11). Not only is this a lovely poetic description of an apricot tree, it is also remarkably accurate. Its fruit is golden and the pale undersides of the leaves look silver when they turn in the breeze.
267. Adam and Eve. The story of creation is one of continuing wonder to believers and nonbelievers alike. Humankind had to come from somewhere, and the story in Genesis 1 and 2 reveals how a creative, organized God spoke the world into existence.
268. The fall of man. Though Adam and Eve lived in a perfect world, they chose to disobey God and eat the forbidden fruit. Scripture is clear that such a choice led to our current situation-humankind is sinful and separated from God yet still desires peace with him.
269. The fig tree is the second tree named in the Bible. After eating the forbidden apricot, Adam and Eve "sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves" (Gen. 3:7). The large, tough leaves of the fig tree would certainly have made adequate clothing. Fig leaves are still sewn together in the Near East to make baskets, dishes, and even umbrellas.
270. Adam and Eve were banished from Eden into what the Bible describes as a land of thorn and thistles. Thorns and spines grow on many different kinds of plants, but they are especially common on plants of the desert and semiarid regions of the world. Many kinds of thistles grow abundantly in the Bible lands.
271. Adam and Eve's firstborn son, Cain, is remembered as the first murderer for killing his brother, Abel. When God sentenced Cain to wander the earth, Cain begged for mercy and, in fear, thought that someone would kill him. So God marked him. Widely viewed as a sign of guilt, the so-called "mark of Cain" is actually a symbol of divine mercy. Opponents of the death penalty point to this first murder and God's merciful sentence on the murderer as a Biblical rejection of capital punishment. For his crime Cain received a life sentence of hard labor.
272. Who were the Nephilim? Squeezed between the generation after Adam and the time of Noah is a curious story (Gen. 6:1-4) about the mysterious "Nephilim," briefly described as the offspring of the "sons of God." Echoing tales of Greek gods who mated with mortal women, the Biblical passage calls the offspring of the angelic-human marriages "heroes of old, men of renown." They are only mentioned once more in Hebrew Scriptures, where Nephilim literally translates as "fallen ones." Many believe they were giants possessing superhuman powers.
273. Some early theologians thought the Nephilim were fallen angels who were responsible for sin in the world. Whoever these "sons of God" and their children were, God was not happy with the situation . He limited human life spans to 120 years. People became so wicked that God was sorry he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him. "So the Lord said, 'I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth-men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground and birds of the air-for I am grieved that I have made them.' But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord" (Gen. 6:5-8).
274. Noah and the ark. Genesis chapters 6-9 tell the story of people becoming thoroughly evil and God's judgment against them by sending forty days and nights of continual rainfall. At the same time, He worked through one faithful man, Noah, to build an ark and preserve remnant so that humankind could continue. The story of judgment and mercy resonates through the ages.
275. Famous Renaissance artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was surprised to discover fossilized remains of sea creatures while walking in the Alps, and he asked how they got there. The conventional wisdom of his day simply said it was proof that a flood once covered the earth.
