Jeremiah 10:23 states, "I well know, O Jehovah, that man’s way does not belong to him. It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step." That made me wonder, “Has mankind even taken a single step forward since creation?”
For instance, in paradise, Adam and Eve had perfect health. Since leaving the Garden of Eden, they, and all their descendants have faced sickness and death. Even in our modern world with medical science, we still have not even come near the life expectancies mentioned in the first several chapters of Genesis. (As rapidly as the social and political scene is changing, folks having lived a mere 60 years are so stressed about the violence and lack of morality, they don’t even want to live.) Another prophecy yet to be fulfilled is that, under God’s coming Kingdom, no one will say “I am sick.”
In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve, prior to their disobedience, were ruled by a loving Creator. Since leaving Eden, man has dominated man to his own detriment. (Eccl.8:9)
In Eden, there was plenty of food. Yes, there were only two people, but the earth continues in the ability to feed all mankind. It is selfish human mismanagement of the earth’s resources that has caused needless suffering. Yes severe weather can cause problems, but there have been documented cases of donated food being left to rot on the docks because of the ruling power’s unwillingness or inability to distribute it. Under God’s Kingdom, scripture still promises there will be plenty of food.
Speaking of the weather, Jesus demonstrated his ability to control adverse weather and protect his loyal ones. God obviously did that in Eden. What human today can make such a boast?
Indeed, it seems that leaving paradise has done nothing but made us take not just one or two, or 10 steps back, but 1,000 or more steps back. We have not even come close to catching up to where we started off (human condition) back in Eden. But coming back to Jeremiah's statement, we can ask, "Can we, apart from God, expect to ever reach where we started from?" The answer is no because it "doesn't belong to man ... to direct his step."
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