Genesis 3:7 Eyes Wide Open

                Adam and Eve could not have been ready for what would happen to them.  “The eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked.  And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.” (v. 7)  Unfortunately for them, they received the knowledge of good and evil that God knew they did not need to know.  At one time, their bodies were considered beautiful and in the image of God.  Now they knew their nakedness and felt the need to cover themselves.  Their bodies had not changed, but sin had damaged them to the point of shame.  I can only imagine them shrinking back from one another and from God not knowing what to do with this new-found but burdensome wisdom.

            I believe this is where many of us struggle.  Our eyes become opened to our own sin, guilt becomes overwhelming and shame becomes intolerable.  We are now no longer worthy of God’s love and move away from Him rather than towards Him and His ever present grace.  Some move gradually further and further away from God, overburdened by their sin and lacking the knowledge of returning back to His good graces.  The road back to Him can seem long, but God “will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deut. 31:6)  Turn around and turn back to God.  Ask for His forgiveness.  He will forgive you.  Ask for his direction.  He will make your course clear.  Ask for His acceptance.  You have already been accepted.  If you have not yet accepted Him, now is the time.  Our eyes have been opened to sin, but they can be trained on the Father allowing for the acceptance of His Son, Jesus Christ, as Lord and Savior, and an indwelling of the Holy Spirit within you.  Do not let Satan’s lies deceive you.  You are “fearfully and wonderfully made” and guilt and shame have no place in the presence of God.  (Psalm 139:14)

Works Cited

The Holy Bible.  English Standard Version.  Wheaton, Ill.:  Crossway Bibles.  2007.  Print

Genesis 3:6 If it Feels Good or Looks Good, You Must Still Test it Against God's Word

In verse six, Eve sees that “the tree was good for food” and was “a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.”  Pardon the pun, but Adam and Eve had swallowed the lies of Satan.  God had given them everything, but Eve “desired to be wise” as God is wise and made the decision, along with Adam, to disregard God’s Word.  Because the fruit looked good, it became acceptable to eat from the tree that had been forbidden.  Her husband, who remains quiet throughout, says no words, but eats with her.  They commit a sin of commission.  A sin of commission “is a sin we take action to commit, whether in thought, word, or deed.”  This simple act of disobedience is the sin that led Adam and Eve to their eventual deaths.  Simply following Eve’s lead, would impart sin’s burden on everyone.

Things have not changed.  Our modern-day society tells us if something looks good, tastes good, or feels good, then it must be good and acceptable to all.  Promiscuity is to be accepted by all, no matter the age or marital status.  Violence is the norm on television and at the theaters.  We can only combat our culture by holding to God’s desires for our lives rather than what we may think is best.  Our hearts must be tuned to the Holy Spirit and our eyes must be fixed on God.  If Adam and Eve would have remained diligent in their obedience to God’s command, they would have remained free from sin.  As the church trains leaders to be diligent in their obedience, we will be less attracted to things of this world, more attuned to God’s will for us, and more likely to transform the world.

Works Cited

The Holy Bible.  English Standard Version.  Wheaton, Ill.:  Crossway Bibles.  2007.  Print

Genesis 3:5 Trusting in God Only

Genesis 3:5  begins with more lies from the Satan:  “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  Satan would have us believe that God is hiding something from us, and only Satan knows the truth.  From a modern-day standpoint, this is unimaginable, but hindsight is 20/20.  It is as if Satan would have Adam and Eve believe that God has an ulterior motive for not allowing them to eat from the forbidden tree.  They are to somehow believe that he, as a serpent, should be trusted and God, as their Creator, is the one to cast doubt on.

It is comforting to know that we can put our trust in God.  “Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!” (Psalm 40:4)  There is certainly a sense of pride the devil is attempting to instill within Eve.  He is trying to get her to go astray after his lies.  He is attempting to lead her to believe that she will be like God even though she has already be made in His image.  (Genesis 1:27)  It goes without saying that the devil cannot be trusted.  I find myself very fortunate that I can put all of my trust in Him.  Discerning the devil’s lies can sometimes be difficult, but if what you hear blatantly goes against the Word of God, it cannot be trusted.  “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is and everlasting rock.”  (Isaiah 26:4) 

Works Cited

The Holy Bible.  English Standard Version.  Wheaton, Ill.:  Crossway Bibles.  2007.  Print

Genesis 3:4 Consequences and the Devil's Lies

“You will NOT surely die!,” says the devil in Genesis 3:4.  Some may say that this is a half-truth.  They were not doomed to die immediately, but even half-truths are lies.  Satan knows it is God’s Word against his and must have had an inclination that humans were fallible in nature.  He is telling Eve that God has lied to them and is telling them that there will be no consequence to what God said there would be a consequence for.  Death will not come as punishment for their disobedience, according to the Great Deceiver.  They will soon find out the deadly significance of disobeying God.

If God says there will be consequences for disobedience, then there will be.  God tells us that “the wages of sin is death.”  (Romans 6:23)  Because of sin, we must, at some point know death.  Fortunately for anyone who believes, Jesus paid that price for us so that we may know eternal life with Him.  The consequences of Adam’s sin was the Son of God, bruised and beaten, hanging from a cross and barely recognizable as human. (Isaiah 52:14)  For those who do not believe, the consequence of Hell is real.  He tells us the consequences of not accepting His free gift by His grace through our faith.  For an instant, imagine life without the creator of the universe knowing that He exists, but you had decided not to accept Him.  Its loneliness is unimaginable and pain immeasurable.  God’s Word is truth and can be counted on to lead us to eternal life with Him in Heaven.  If you have not yet accepted Christ, accept Him now.  Do not believe the devil’s lies.  There are consequences of unbelief, but do let this lead you to Him.  Accept and follow Him because He sacrificed Himself for you freely, because His mercy is unconditional, because His grace is eternal, and because His love for you is immeasurable. 

Works Cited

The Holy Bible.  English Standard Version.  Wheaton, Ill.:  Crossway Bibles.  2007.  Print

Genesis 3:2-3 Following God's Guidance

                Eve’s response to the devil is interesting in Genesis 3:2-3.  She adds to His Word. “We may eat of the furit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die,’” she responds.  God did not say that they could not touch the fruit, but simply that they could not eat from it (I am not perfect, but I would not go anywhere near that tree.)   But by “adding a ban to touching to the one on eating,” Eve sets “herself up for transgression:  having touched the fruit, and seeing no ill effect, she may proceed to eat.”  (Alter, 11)  It is also perplexing to consider that she also removed words from what God had said.  He had told them Adam that they could “surely eat of every tree of the garden.”  (v. 2:17)  Telling them they could eat of “every” tree seems to give them so many options, but the devil is only focused on the one that has been forbidden.

            God does not place guard rails along the road of our journey with him so that we will stay hemmed in not knowing what is on the other side of the guard rails.  To continue this metaphor, the only way you will know for sure what is on the other side of the rails is to crash through them.  Now you are in danger.  Now you are possibly injured and bloody.  Even if you make it through without a scratch, there is most likely a steep ditch in which to land.  If you are unlucky, the ditch is slippery and deep leading you farther away from God than if you had stayed on the road.  God’s Word is there to keep us safe.  He knows what disobedience can and will lead to.  There are hundreds of commands in Scripture.  Seeking them and obeying them can only lead you closer to him.  There will be moments you make take your eyes off Him, check your phone for a moment and slide off the shoulder, but allow God to right the ship by placing your eyes back on Him.  The devil wants nothing less than spiritual death for us and making God’s Word say only what we want it to say is one sure way of never truly finding one’s way to God..  God is ever present and willing to lead us in the right direction.  

Works Cited

Alter, Robert, Genesis New York:  W.W. Norton and Company.  1996.  Print
The Holy Bible.  English Standard Version.  Wheaton, Ill.:  Crossway Bibles.  2007.  Print

Genesis 3:1 Running from the Devil and Into the Arms of Jesus

                “Hebrew writers delight in puns.”  (Alter, 11)  That brings to mind an young-at-heart father that delights in bad jokes.  This joke, however, is much more serious and would foreshadow fear, worry, disgust, anger and sinfulness worthy of death if we read Genesis 3:1 with a Hebrew writer’s sense of humor and literary skills.  At the end of chapter 2 of Genesis, we see that Adam and Eve were naked and not ashamed.  At the beginning of chapter 3, we read of a crafty or cunning serpent intent on deceiving man.  The Hebrew word for crafty or cunning (arum) sounds a lot like the word for naked (arumim) seen at the end of previous chapter and near the end of this passage.  In verse 2:17, God had said “from the tree of knowledge, good and evil, you shall not eat, for on the day you eat from it, you are doomed to die.”  (Alter, 8)  In verse 3:1, Satan, disguised as a serpent, asks a question that does not seem to lead anywhere, but, in fact, is part of a greater plan he has.  “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’?”  Of course God had not said as much, but the craftiness of this creature that God had made begins to shine through.

            I feel it is necessary at this point to remind the Christian to stay near to God.  Listen to what He has to say in His Word and through prayer.  Learn to recognize half-truths and total lies disguised as harmless temptations.  The devil “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”  (1 Peter 5:8)  That “someone” is you.  And you.  And you.  Each of us.  He will most likely not come disguised as a talking snake or charging at you like a lion.  He will speak calmly and succinctly.  He will instill doubt, so do not enter into conversation with him.  Respect him, but do not feel obliged to hang around him.  Instead, do the opposite.  Run.  Eve should have run to wherever she could be closest to God or her husband Adam.  Run to God’s Word to discern if you are being lied to.  Run to the arms of Jesus and carry on your walk with him.  Satan is crafty and only wants to harm you.  God is all-knowing and His Word should always be trusted.

Works Cited

Alter, Robert, Genesis New York:  W.W. Norton and Company.  1996.  Print
The Holy Bible.  English Standard Version.  Wheaton, Ill.:  Crossway Bibles.  2007.  Print