A few thoughts from Genesis 3

This Morning I was reading in Genesis Chapter 3, and a few things caught my attention. Here is the passage, and let me unpack what stuck out to me:

3 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

The first thing I noticed, is that the serpent- the devil- has been lying right from the beginning of time. Look closer at verse 3: “Did God really say…“

Satan has been trying forever to twist what God has said, to make us second guess God’s word and making us think that we know better than God does… He tells just enough of a truth to get us thinking and then when we act on it, we've fallen prey to his tricks. 

The second thing I noticed from this passage was the finger pointing that takes place. Read on: 8When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”10 He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”11 “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”12 The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” (NLT2)

God asked Adam what was going, why where they hiding, and when Adam told God the reason, Adam shifted blame to his wife. 

When God questioned Eve, she shifted the blame to the serpent.. and we’ve been shifting blame ever since. 

When confronted with our sin, we tend do the same thing don’t we?

“I was tired!” ‘It was because my wife wasn't meeting my needs” “Jimmy made me do it”

If we want victory over sin, we need to accept the fact that we are sinners, that we did the deed and we need to accept it, ask for forgiveness and move on. 

I also noticed in this passage the fact that God came looking for Adam and Eve. Go back again to verse 8. God came out looking for Adam and Eve… even though they were in Hiding, He still wanted to be with them. 

The same is true today. Even though we may be in hiding, God Still wants to be with us. He still wants to find us. So much so that He sent Jesus to this earth to find us, to search us out, to bring us back to God again. 

You’ve heard the saying, “you can run, but you can’t hide.” When applied to God, its the truth. We might be able to run, but we are not able to Hide from Him. He is all knowing, All-powerful- and All seeing, and He knows where you are, knows what you are doing, and he knows that you need Him. He has come to find you. Will you turn to Him?

The last thing I noticed in this chapter is the consequences. read on:

14 Then the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live.

15 And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” 16 Then he said to the woman,

“I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.”

17 And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.18 It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains.

19 By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.”

23 So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. 24 After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” ( 14-19, 23-24)

Because of their disobedience, Adam and Eve were left to deal with the consequences of their actions. They were kicked out of the Garden, But God was still with them. He had not taken His presence from them. Don’t miss that point.

While there may be consequences for our actions as well, we must never think that God has abandoned us. He has promised never to do that. Ever. 

So, what’s the lesson from this post today? 

Don’t listen to the devil! In order to do that, you must know what God’s Word actually says. That way, when the devil comes knocking at your door, you're able to kick him to the curb.