Hierarchy and Separation

Hierarchy and Separation

In the Book of Genesis, God was the hierarchy and the humans remained sinners or separated from God. He punished his first creations for eating, he then flooded the earth to remove all evil and only his true followers survived. He was shown as a “bad” person throughout Genesis. Every one was to fear our great creator. Although, in essence, he was the superior being and his creations were the lower race. They were not to fear him, but to become closer to him and to see him as a superior being. The book of Genesis proved that in every chapter and in every verse. There was a separation of God (the master) and his creations (the followers), which were humans and all living things. Genesis was not to prove God as “good” or “bad” nor was it meant that his followers was to fear him but Genesis was to prove that God was a superior being over all living creations on Earth. He was proved as a creator of the universe, which made him superior over all other living things.

Throughout the text of Genesis, and especially evident in Chapter 3, there is a system which God has set up to indicate the proper relationships of his creations between each other and with him. An analysis of this reoccurring theme will help to establish that God’s intended system is a hierarchy in which there is an assigning of “followers” and “masters,” with God having the final hierarchy. This motif was first introduced in chapter 1 of Genesis where God sees that his creations are “good,” already establishing a higher standard for them. In the system that follows, the hierarchy is with God as the creator; then humans as followers to God.

The followers were put in charge of ruling all the “lesser creatures;” and all animals, which fed on the vegetation of the land. We see that the intention of the authors was not to promote a belief in equality or fear, but rather to show the principle of a highly organized structure separating those who serve and those who rule.

Chapter 3 discusses the fall of both man and woman by God who asserts and maintains the relationships within the hierarchy. In response to their actions, God punishes Adam, Eve, and the serpent. It is also interesting to note that when God approaches, then questions Adam about whether or not he ate the fruit, his advance implies that God will take Adam’s word first over Eve’s, and over all other creatures. We see...

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...ed between master and servant. When this relationship cannot be maintained, there is disorder and what results is sin, which is accompanied by severe consequences. Therefore, unity defines God’s ideal, whereas separation results in instability that can lead to death. The further we separate from God, the closer we approach death or eternal damnation, which is the separation of the spiritual soul and the body. Similarly, suffering is also associated with sin and separation, for when you separate a unity of people into individual elements, you get conflict and opposition, which translates to hardship, strife, and death. Genesis attempts to remedy these problems by teaching that only the maintenance of order and the set hierarchy can prevent separation and sin from being introduced into life here on earth. Genesis does not teach that God is a “bad” person or that Adam and Eve were bad, it teaches that God is a hierarchy, and we are to serve him. Separation from our hierarchy is a punishment and fear of his punishment, but not to fear God.

Work Cited

Mack, Maynard,The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces,W.W. Norton &

Company, Inc,1995.