Monday, June 8, 2020

Genesis Chapter 3:1-6 The Great Fall

Genesis 3:1

“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”
Did God say that? No. He didn't. Let's back track:

Genesis 2
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
The Human mind is tricky. It will make you question what you remember. "Did God say that to me? How exactly did He put it? Maybe this is what He meant?"

Genesis 3
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
God doesn't say what He doesn't mean, and He always makes Himself clear. He told them they could have anything they wanted to eat in the garden from the trees; but that there was ONE tree that they were not to eat from. He didn't tell them they couldn't touch it. Eve added that in there. Eve's mind said that if she didn't touch it, she would be safe from eating it. But one lie deserves another lie to build a rationalization. Satan knew if she was willing to cling to even the tiniest of lies for safety, he could edge the door wider.

Genesis 3
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
As teenagers, most of us remember the thoughts that ran through our minds when our parents told us not to do something. "They just don't want me to enjoy myself" is what it came down to most of the time back then. We rationalized that it was okay to dis-obey because our parents were wrong to do that.

Just like our parents, though, God wanted so much better for Adam and Eve. He wanted them to have a life free from stress and worry, free from sickness and disease, free from danger and free from struggle. Adam and Eve, much like us when we were teenagers, had not experienced the world like that. They couldn't conceive of life going wrong. They couldn't understand why rules were enacted.

Sure, God could have removed the tree from their reach, but would that have taught them anything? Would that have proved their obedience to Him? Would it have proved their love? A lack of options is not a choice. God didn't want robots, He wanted authenticity in His relationship.

He still does.

Satan did a good job of giving Eve different thoughts to muddle her rationalization skills.

Adam and Eve were the beginning of the human race. Whatever they did would effect their progeny forever.

Genesis 3:6

“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”

Eve, who had rationalized in her mind that just touching the fruit was dangerous, touched the fruit and did not die. Seeing it caused her no harm, she took a bite. If we add to the Word of God enough, we start to believe it. This is why Revelation says not to add to or take from the Word of God. Our minds can be tricked by Satan to believe a lie.

How hard was it to follow His instruction? Think about that the next time you tell your 3-year-old not to push a button.

It is important to take God at His every word. It is important to follow His command. It is important to KNOW the Word of God so that when Satan presents over-rationalizations, you can refer to it in it's correct form and maintain the straight path of obedience.

1 Samual 15

22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.