Bible Study – Why (2) – Why are we in This Mess – June 10, 2018

This is lesson two (2) in our series entitled “Why are we Here?”

Our focus scripture is Genesis 3:1-7, 14-19.

We ruined a perfect relationship with GOD through our sin.

This is long but I think worth the reading and pondering. Blessings

Let’s read Genesis 2:1-3:

1 So the heavens and the earth and everything in them were completed. 2 By the seventh day, God completed His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done. 3 God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it He rested from His work of creation.

GOD set the example after everything was completed, HE rested. GOD declared the seventh day Holy and a time to reflect and enjoy what has been accomplished. GOD admired HIS handiwork because it was complete and ready for life to occupy what HE had created.

Let’s read Genesis 2:4- 7 and 15-25:

Man and Woman in the Garden

4 These are the records of the heavens and the earth, concerning their creation at the time that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. 

5 No shrub of the field had yet [grown] on the land, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not made it rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground. 

6 But water would come out of the ground and water the entire surface of the land. 

7 Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being. 

GOD had spoken things into being except when it came to man. GOD chose to be personally involved with the formation of man. GOD took the dust of the ground to form man and HE breathed life into man’s nostrils. GOD gave man life and man became a living being. GOD had spoken the dust of the earth into being.

Did GOD have to breathe air as we know it? No. So what did GOD breathe into the nostrils of the male HE formed from the dust of the earth? HE breathed into the male the essence of HIS being – HIS spirit. Man was complete with a body designed for earth, spirit and soul; all unique and personal to him. The trinity of mankind.

15 The Lord God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. 

GOD commissioned the man to be responsible for tending to the Garden and the authority to police it to make certain all that went on in the Garden was according to HIS plan and purpose. So what restriction or restrictions did GOD pass onto the man? Let’s read on ----

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, 

17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die." 

18 Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is like him." 

19 So the Lord God formed out of the ground each wild animal and each bird of the sky, and brought each to the man to see what he would call it. And whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. 

20 The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal; but for the man no helper was found who was like him. 

21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to come over the man, and he slept. God took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place.

I like to think of the rib as a body part. Both men and women have the same number of ribs. Of course, one could consider that GOD made man with one additional rib or body part with which to form man’s mate. GOD’S removal of the extra rib or body-part GOD used to make woman. This would result in them being equal except for their ability to reproduce without each other. GOD designed reproduction to require both, male and female to come together in the most loving way to produce offspring.

22 Then the Lord God made the rib He had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. 

23 And the man said: This one, at last, is bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called woman, for she was taken from man. 

When GOD revealed HIS handiwork to the man, Adam, he in essence said “WOW! This is what I have been waiting for and she is perfect. GOD made the woman to complete man and for the woman to be man’s helpmate. Just as the Holy Spirit comes along the side of/indwells man and woman at the instant of salvation to be intimate with those who become Christians through faith in JESUS. Today, sex is often the first thing a man and woman engage in. Sex is designed to be pleasure but it appeals to the physical. It can be an addiction. It often causes a couple to seek the pleasure without building the relationship. Often, the pleasure fades and when a relationship is built upon the physical, when it fades the human response is “I do not love you any longer.” Love is a relationship which is built. In the words of Tony Campolo, “Every marriage provides the opportunity for love.” (This is either a direct quote or close to it.) It takes time and dealing with the issues of life that builds a relationship. Yes, a relationship can build but jump the tracks, so-to-speak, especially when either the male or the female encounter “mid-life crisis” or other issues that come into our lives that we hide form our mate. When you encounter such notions, reveal them to your mate and get them to help you work through them. Get good counseling when barriers begin to drive a wedge between you and your mate.

24 This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh. 

25 Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame.

This is a beautiful example of salvation. When a person beholds the magnificence of JESUS, he or she abandons all to bond with GOD through faith in JESUS. The Holy Spirit indwells that person immediately and that person becomes one with GOD through the miracle of rebirth in his or her spirit. Can such a relationship be challenged? Oh yes! When a person accepts JESUS as his or her Savior, that person becomes a target of Satan and his evil forces. The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 6 that we do not fight flesh and blood but in verses 10-13:

10 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength. 

11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil. 

12 For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. 

13 This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. 

Our next scripture reveals some of the tactics of Satan. We need to keep in mind that Satan’s desire is to be GOD but he is not. But he disguises himself “as an angel of light” that is why Christians must know the truth as revealed in GOD’S Word to discern truth from error. But our next scripture reveals how subtle Satan can be when we add more to GOD’S Word than HE stated.  

Let’s read Genesis 3:1-24:

The Temptation and the Fall

1 Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You can't eat from any tree in the garden'?" 

Who is the serpent? The serpent is Satan. Satan never appears as who he is but appears to us in an appealing disguise. He misrepresents GOD’S Word as we read, “He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You can't eat from any tree in the garden'?" 

What is wrong with this statement by Satan? What were GOD’S instructions to Adam? Let’s review “16 And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, 

17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die." 

Now, let’s read Eve’s reply ----

2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. 

3 But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, 'You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.' " 

What did Eve do? She added to what GOD had told Adam or did Adam add to what GOD had told him? She added do not touch it. Did Adam say to her, to eliminate any chance of her being enticed to eat the fruit from the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” don’t you dare touch its fruit? The point is that sin came into the world and here we are living is an unredeemed body and world.

GOD placed Adam in-charge of the Garden and to be responsible for the activity in the Garden.

While teaching teens in Vacation Bible School in Poland for a week, I told them that I would try to answer a Biblical question each day. Of course, communication was through a translator. They asked a great question each day. On the last day, I said, “Well this is our last day for a Biblical question, do you have a Biblical question for today?” There was much giggling from a group of girls at a table in the back of the room. I thought, they must have a doozy. Their question was, “Why didn’t GOD send a woman instead of a man?”

Frankly, I was taken aback. I had never thought about it. I can tell you, I went straight to the LORD while standing in front of the room. I was in panic mode. I experienced, what I think was a “go to your closet and pray” moment. The LORD provided the answer instantly and it was, “I put Adam in-charge of the Garden and he was responsible and accountable for what went on in the Garden that is why I sent JESUS.” I gave the girls this answer and they said, “We will accept that.” Now with that as information let’s continue to explore.

4 "No! You will not die," the serpent said to the woman. 

5 "In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 

Satan loves to discredit GOD. Satan let’s Eve think that touching the fruit produced by the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” was a death sentence. But the question is, “Did Eve or possibly Adam know what death was since they had eternal life?” They had never experienced broken fellowship with GOD. GOD does not hide anything from us and I believe they understood exactly what death meant but Eve chose to believe Satan’s lie. Did her ego blind her to truth or had Adam embellished truth by telling her “don’t dare touch the fruit on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?” Where was Adam while this exchange between Satan and Eve was taking place? Also, notice that what Satan told Eve, “God knows that when “you” eat it “your” eyes will be opened and you will be “like God”, knowing good and evil."

Since Eve added to the statement “That GOD had told them they could not touch the fruit” gave Satan an entry point to prove GOD wrong. Did Satan say, “Oh, Really? Reach out and touch it. Satan may have touched the fruit himself. Here is an, I think moment, she touched it and nothing happened. She then took the next step and tasted it. It was wonderful.

I have a friend who tried drugs several times before he got the high that his friends spoke about. This was about 15 years ago and finally he is on the road to recovery but it is a struggle.

6 Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate [it]; she also gave [some] to her husband, [who was] with her, and he ate [it]. 

Notice the fruit was appealing for food and pleasing “to look at” and “it was desirable for obtaining wisdom.” Now, most importantly, Adam was present and she handed the fruit to Adam. Sin gives pleasure for a moment but its consequence is far reaching. Sin breaks barriers GOD has placed around us to protect us but once broken it leads us to destruction.

We have no way of knowing why Adam stood there with Eve and allowed her to do what GOD had instructed him not to do. Had he heard the conversation between Satan and Eve and thought “just maybe GOD had not told him the truth.” After all, Adam did not see an immediate change in her when she touched and took a bite of the forbidden fruit. The fact that Adam did not step up and tell Eve not to eat the fruit made him accountable and because Eve took the step made her accountable.

I know a person who introduced drugs to his wife and that was many years ago. Today, unless GOD has helped her to stay away from drugs, she is a hopeless addict.

7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

The disobedience opened their eyes and they knew they were naked. Sin opens our eyes to the fact that we have been disobedient to GOD and the only way to conquer sin is to confess and seek restoration from GOD. GOD in HIS Goodness had a plan to redeem mankind by sending HIS Only SON, JESUS, to give HIS sinless life to pay, in full, the penalty for sin by the shedding of HIS blood. When we sin, we want to cover it up and hide it but GOD knows what we have done.

Sin's Consequences

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and they hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

I imagine that Adam and Eve looked forward to their walk with GOD in the cool of the evening. But this time they hid from GOD. But GOD knew what had happened and they needed to face what they had done. The trees could not hide them from GOD.

9 So the Lord God called out to the man and said to him, "Where are you?" 10 And he said, "I heard You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid."

Standing in the presence of Holy GOD does cause a person to be afraid. But whereas we fear, GOD reaches out to us. Why did GOD call to Adam? It was because GOD had called Adam to be responsible for the Garden and what went on in the Garden. GOD goes to the heart of the matter as we read on ---

11 Then He asked, "Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I had commanded you not to eat from?"

GOD asked a point blank question. How did Adam respond? Did he take the responsibility or did he do what many of us do, point to someone else?

12 Then the man replied, "The woman You gave to be with me-she gave me [some fruit] from the tree, and I ate." 13 So the Lord God asked the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "It was the serpent. He deceived me, and I ate."

We as humans love to blame something or someone else for our problems. Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed Satan. Sin produces a nature of “it was not me but something or someone else.” But regardless there are consequences.

14 Then the Lord God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, you are cursed more than any livestock and more than any wild animal. You will move on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life.

GOD zeroed in on the source and cursed Satan. GOD gave us a reminder of what sin does when we see a snake. GOD not only condemned but HE gave us a promise of redemption as we read on ---

15 I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.

This verse is GOD’S covenant with all mankind that restoration would come through the seed of woman, JESUS. This chosen woman, the Virgin Mary, would not need a human to get her pregnant but the Holy Spirit would energize the seed/egg of the Virgin Mary to produce the Son of GOD, JESUS. JESUS would be 100% human and 100% GOD. Yet, JESUS would live as 100% human and be tempted as humans are tempted yet without sin. JESUS would willingly give HIS sinless life to pay, in full, for the sin of man. HE would restore all, who place their faith in JESUS to HIS original intent for humanity before sin entered the world. HIS desire is for all Christians to walk with HIM upon earth as we obediently serve HIM. JESUS restores our full relationship with GOD and as we obediently serve HIM we build upon our relationship with HIM.  

16 He said to the woman: I will intensify your labor pains; you will bear children in anguish. Your desire will be for your husband, yet he will dominate you. 17 And He said to Adam, "Because you listened to your wife's voice and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'Do not eat from it': The ground is cursed because of you. You will eat from it by means of painful labor all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 You will eat bread by the sweat of your brow until you return to the ground, since you were taken from it. For you are dust, and you will return to dust." 20 Adam named his wife Eve because she was the mother of all the living. 21 The Lord God made clothing out of skins for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them. 22 The Lord God said, "Since man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil, he must not reach out, and also take from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever." 23 So the Lord God sent him away from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove man out, and east of the garden of Eden He stationed cherubim with a flaming, whirling sword to guard the way to the tree of life.

Again, we see the word “US” meaning the Trinity. The tree of life was present and available for Adam and Eve. Oh how tragic it would be if they had eaten the fruit from the tree of life. Humans would have lived eternally in their fallen state. SO GOD took immediately action to prevent them from grabbing fruit from the tree of life.

GOD has prepared a place for every Christian which scripture reveals that eye has not seen, nor ear heard or entered in the human mind for those who have placed their faith in JESUS.

I urge you if you have not asked JESUS to forgive you for your sins to do so now and ask HIM to come into your heart. You were born at the exact time GOD knew you would be born and HE has a plan and purpose just for you. The choice is yours to make to either accept or reject JESUS as your Savior.  GOD did not make you a robot but a human with the freedom to choose. Choose wisely because your eternal destination depends upon it. Blessings!!!