Teaching The Tragedies of History Like Scripture Does – Part Two

Just as Genesis 3 reveals why our world is now broken, it also describes the consequences of man’s sin against God.

“Unto the woman he [God] said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Genesis 3:16-19).

Sorrow, pain, turmoil, futility, and death; all brought into the world due to man’s rebellion against God.

“But God is the one Who decreed it,” some may say. True, but God warned Adam that death would be the penalty for eating of the tree, and because God cannot lie, the penalty had to be served. Truth, righteousness and justice are not options within the nature of God and His spiritual laws. God would have to violate His own nature and law to wink at sin. Thus, it is because God is good, holy and a righteous judge that He must honor the very law He expects us to live by.

How does this relate to teaching history? The righteousness and judgment of God regarding sin is actually what helps the believer view history with hope. When I ponder the loss during the Holocaust, the countless lives lost, and the unimaginable torture endured, I know not one wrong will go unavenged by the Almighty Judge. When I reflect on massacres, such as that of the French Huguenots on St. Bartholomew Day in 1572, I know a day of judgment is coming when God Himself will be the Prosecuting Attorney. When I meditate on the misery, anxiety, and grief, without weight or measure, inflicted on the African victims of the Atlantic Slave Trade, it is the righteousness of God that assures me each tear and each drop of blood will be called into account. There is no scheme, no cover, no darkness that can hide the evidence of sin from the living God. It will be a terrible day of reckoning when men will try to hide themselves from the Holy One, but for the believer, it gives hope to know that justice will prevail.

As we know, all sin is worthy of death. This same law that condemns the worst of us also condemns the best of us. Remember, Adam and Eve’s sin was eating from the forbidden tree. All rebellion – regardless of size – makes us enemies of God. So, what can be done? Is there no mercy, no plea we can make, to escape the death we all inherited in Adam? This truth is important as we study history, and again, it is Scripture that teaches us how to teach it to our children.

Kenzi Knapp is a follower of Christ, homeschool graduate and student of history. A fourth generation Missourian she enjoys writing about daily life enrolled in Gods great course of faith and His story throughout the ages at her blog, Honey Rock Hills.