The Path Outward

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

THE PATH OUTWARD 

Gen 4:1-7

:1 Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, "With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man." 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. 4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. 6 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

NIV

This was a time of joy, for now Adam and Eve had become parents. Their firstborn was a son, and not long after, a second son. This should have been a great time in the lives of that first family, but that joy would soon be turned to sorrow, as we know what happened. But that is next; for now, let us consider what was going on in the mind of Cain. The reason for this look into the mind of Cain is that we are told the Lord did not look with favor on his offering of some of the fruits of the soil. However, the LORD did look with favor on Abel because his offering was from the firstborn of his flock. Cain did not bring the first fruits, just some fruit, and we believe that was the major problem with his offering. Can we say that God was not interested in some of, but wanted the first of? However, because Cain did not receive favor from God, or the respect of his offering, his countenance fell, he became downcast, angry, most likely at God first, but then his anger turned toward his brother Abel. This is why God asked Cain about his anger. If he had brought what was right, the first fruits of the land all would have been right. This anger was sin crouching at the door of his heart. He could have turned that rebuke, or correction of the LORD, into doing what was right, but he refused correction, and as we know what happened next, he did not make an effort to master his anger, but allowed it to master him. Perhaps that is our lesson from this narrative. What sinful attitude or behavior do we allow to master us? Is there an attitude that we enjoy too much to even try to master it? Is there a behavior we enjoy too much, even if it is not pleasing to the Lord, that we do not want to even make an effort to master? However, even if we try to look good, keep that façade in place, so others think we are a "Good Christian", we might harbor an attitude that we enjoy too much to take any correction, rebuke, or teaching from the Lord about it. Could we be guilty of thinking, "My will" instead of "His will"? That could have been Cain's problem, as he was more concerned about himself and what he wanted to give, rather than asking the LORD what he should give. Although we know that we have Jesus and a way back in, Cain allowed his anger to lead him down the path outward. 

 

A Way Back In

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

A WAY BACK IN

Gen 3:20-24

20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.

21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

NIV

Well, well, they got kicked out of the paradise of God because they did not listen, pay attention, believe, or obey the word of God about that tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The word used is banished, as the Hebrew word means sent away, or the man was kicked out of the garden of Edon. He was sent out to work the ground from which he was taken. Now Adam had to labor for his food, which was once just there for the taking. And if being sent out, kicked out, or driven out, God placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim, some kind of angelic being, together with a flaming, flashing sword going back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. Therefore, Adam and Eve no longer had the option of eternal life; they were going to die because of their sin. This case of Adam and Eve was sad, but at the same time, it gives the rest of mankind an example of God's justice: that he is always faithful to his word. He told them that if they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would die, and that is exactly what happened to them. Knowing what happened, we should make sure that we listen, pay attention, believe, and obey the word of the Lord. God's justice will always prevail; His will is always going to be accomplished. However, he has also provided a way back into his paradise. It may not be the exact same Garden of Eden; in fact, it won't be, but Jesus has prepared a new paradise, and by his coming to earth to pay the penalty for our sins, or our not paying attention, not obeying the word of God. In a sense, we have a way back into the Garden of Eden, and it is not through some effort or payment of ours, for Jesus made the effort and the payment so that we can now eat from the tree of life. Jesus made so many references to him being the life. He is the vine, and we are the branches. The only way for the branch to live and bear fruit is when it is connected to or lives in the vine. He is the only way, the only truth, and the only way to life. We are told in the letter to the church that he or whoever overcomes will be given the right to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. We are also told in that same revelation that was given to John that running down the center of the great new city of God is a river with on each side is the tree of life bearing twelve crops of fruit every month and that those who are blessed are those who washed their robes, that they may have the right from

            

the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. We have been washed in the blood of the Lamb, and so we may enter into the paradise of God and eat from the tree of life, for Jesus made a way back in. 

The Judgment

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

THE JUDGMENT

Gen 3:16-20

16 To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."

17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it 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 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."

20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.

NIV

The serpent was judged, and now the LORD God spoke his judgment on the woman first, and then on the man. What God said to the woman has been either forgotten or deliberately disobeyed. Because women usually experience pain during childbirth, it would make sense that the full judgment must come true, which is that the wife should have a desire for her husband and that he rules over his wife. There is no way around this, as the Hebrew word translated as rule carries the meaning of having dominion over, to govern, to reign, rule, or have power over. Perhaps there are two problems at work in our post-modern culture in our country.  First, there is the disobedience of many women in submitting to their husbands. The second is that the husband is not being the man he should be. God's first judgment of Adam was because he listened to his wife instead of being the head of their household, which would or should have prevented Eve from listening to the advice of another. There is much said about the relationship between a husband and a wife in the New Testament that bears out this truth. God spoke to both the man and the woman, but it does seem as though much of this truth has gone by the wayside, left behind, forgotten, or disregarded. The judgment against the man was that through painful toil, or work for our sustenance, all the days of our lives. How many men work all the days of their lives? It seems most men have taken up, disobediently storing up wealth for their sixty-fifth year, when they decide to stop working all the days of their lives, to do nothing, or whatever they decide to do as a retiree. It would also seem that many men have abdicated their responsibility as head of the household, putting their wives under pressure; they were not designed by God to experience. In fact, because so many women have desired to be equal with men and have entered the workforce with a vengeance to gain positions of leadership, more women now die of heart attacks than men. The point is that many men have failed to be the husbands God designed them to be. Many women have also failed to be the wives God designed them to be. Can we solve this dilemma? Only if we live according to the truth of God, according to his judgment. 

The Sentence

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

THE SENTENCE

Gen 3:14-15

14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this,

"Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."

NIV

Much has been said by the theologians of old regarding who this serpent was and what it became. However, we notice that, whatever this creature was, it had no defense; it could not blame anyone, as both the man and the woman had. Whatever creature it was, apparently it stood upright, maybe not two-footed, but maybe a quadruped; however, it was of the highest order above all other of the livestock and wild animals. The sentence was pronounced on this creature, changing it from whatever it was to becoming something like a snake, or maybe even an earthworm, for they literally eat the dust. Whatever the agent was that tempted the woman, it was just an agent of Satan, and this sentence was against him, more than upon the agent he used. We have been subjected to agents of Satan all our lives; in fact, because of the sin of Adam and Eve, all their offspring, all mankind, were born with what has been labeled as "original sin". There is none righteous, not one, we have all turned aside from God.

The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Romans, quotes that truth from the Psalmist. So what are we to do? The tempter has been sentenced; he is doomed, he will eat dirt, so to speak. He is the lowest of the lowest, the least of the least; his future is to perish, yet he continues to try to bring us down with him. He may have thought he stuck the heel of Jesus, but Jesus crushed his head, demolished his stronghold on man. The tempter  no longer has any power over those who have decided to follow Jesus. He may try to tempt, he may use some agent to bring about our temptation, but all he can do is create an illusion, because we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within. There cannot be two spirits in our being; the tempter cannot be within us. He cannot speak to us as he did with Eve. There may be times we fail, we fall, but it is not the tempter's fault; it is our own. We might be able to blame Satan, as that old Flip Wilson saying, "The Devil made me do it," indicates. But the truth is, no one makes us do it, except ourselves. The tempter has been judged and sentenced. We, who are in Christ, will not be judged, for we have already been declared innocent, holy, and pleasing in the eyes of God. Jesus broke that chain that we were connected to Adam and Eve with; He broke us free, and because Jesus set us free, we are free indeed. This is the sentence. 

Where Are You?

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

WHERE ARE YOU?

Gen 3:8-13

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?" 10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." 11 And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?" 12 The man said, "The woman you put here with me — she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

NIV

What is referred to as the fall of man is the central theme of this act of feeling shame and covering their nakedness. We have the conversation between God and the man and the woman when God finds them hiding among the trees and asks that penetrating question, "Where are you?"  Surely, God knew exactly where they were physically hiding among the trees, but he wanted them to expose themselves, to come out and admit where and why they were trying to hide from him. Much has been said about the man making the excuse, actually blaming God for putting the woman here in the garden with him, that it was her fault, she gave him the fruit to eat. Of course, the woman blamed the serpent. But what may have been missed in this narrative is that incredible question from God, "Where are you?" This is the question he could be asking any of us at any time in our lives. Could there be times when we think we might be able to hide from God? When we start to listen to our own heart, wanting our own way, thinking we can choose what we do, how we do it, and when we do it, then perhaps we are either deceiving ourselves or being deceived by 'the serpent'. God is asking us, "Where are you?" Where are you spiritually? Where are you in your spiritual journey? Where are you in either your obedience or rebellion?  Have you chosen religion instead of me? Have you eaten from the tree of religion, rather than from the tree of life? Have you chosen good works instead of my grace? "Where are you?" Why do we try to hide from God, even when we want what we want, when we want it, which ends up being sin? Do we think he will reject us, throw us out of the garden, as he ended up doing with Adam and Eve? The major difference is that Jesus is "The Gate." He made it clear when he said, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. Whoever enters through me will be saved". Jesus opened the way back into the garden, into the paradise, the very presence of God, where we can walk with him, talk with him, and he will tell us we are his own, and joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known. If God ever asks, "Where are you?" we need to answer, "I am here, Lord". 

The Lie

 

DEVOTION

GENESIS

THE LIE

Gen 3:1-7

3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" 2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" 4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

NIV

This is one of the most difficult yet most important passages. The question of the ages has always been about the identity of the serpent. This creature was made by God the same day he formed man, and, according to the account, this creature walked upright, spoke the same language as Adam and Eve, and had reason, as it reasoned with Eve during its temptation of her. None of the great theological minds has come to an agreement as to what kind of beast this was, other than it was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. We could not speculate, as we have no basis to know what kind is meant by the term serpent, although every time the Hebrew word is used, it is translated as serpent, at times implying a type of snake, but then that was the curse placed upon it for its role in the fall of man. However, the point we believe is relevant to the truth is that the attempt to deceive with a lie always comes from the mouth of Satan. Then we would have to believe this serpent, whatever type of beast, was an agent used by Satan to draw Eve away from believing God. Because that is the truth of this passage, we can be certain that all temptations are from the evil one, Satan, or an agent he uses, to draw us away from believing God. There is no question that we are all born with sin, and in our human condition, we will never be totally free from all sin. However, what is the cause of our sin, and does it draw us away from believing God? Surely, we believe in God, but the serpent's temptation of Eve was not about her belief in God, but her believing God. This is the question for our hearts: do we believe God? It is a much larger issue than believing in God. Can we say that all temptations are an effort to sway us from believing God? Had Adam and Eve told the serpent that they would stick with believing God, they would not have fallen, and sin would not be in the world today. They had the choice to believe God or the lie.  Then we need to deal with the omniscience of God, that he knew before creation, this temptation and acceptance to believe evil rather than him would happen, and that Jesus would need to come to redeem his creation, giving them back the choice to believe the serpent, or God. That is always the choice, but when we fall, does that mean we choose at the moment to not believe God? That seems to be true, no matter how much we say we believe what God has said. We should always remember his forgiveness, his grace, his love, his mercy, that we are in Christ, our sins are covered by his blood, we have been washed cleaner than the whitest snow, and that we have been given the Holy Spirit to guide us. Thank you, Lord!

Naked and Shameless

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

NAKED AND SHAMELESS

Gen 2:23-25

23 The man said,

"This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man." 24 For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. 25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

NIV

Now that God took the rib from the side of man and made a suitable helper for him, he brought her to the man, who, just as he named all the living things on the earth, he named her 'woman' for she was taken out of man. Some would say that her identity is associated with the man, or that the woman exists from man, and therefore was made for man. However, in the context of the scripture, it clarifies the exact relationship. Although at the time of this beginning, the account was put into words, there were many fathers and mothers; yet, at the time woman was taken out of man, there were none. Yet the truth remains that the two shall become one flesh. This Hebrew word, translated as "flesh," can mean exactly one body, but it is also used to refer to blood relatives, kindred. The idea is that the two should become one person, united. This would indicate that there are not two individuals, each with their own agendas, plans, or goals; they would be living as one, united. Because of further instructions given by God regarding the family structure, God has given the man the responsibility for the woman, or husband and wife. Because the husband is held accountable to God for his wife, he has also been given authority over his wife. That is not the most popular concept in our modern age, where, in the most recent years, the push for equal rights has been at the forefront.  However, in light of God's word, the two are one; they are already equal, for one cannot be divided into two with one half trying to be more than the other, but they would only be half of one, not one. The other truth we should consider is that Adam and Eve, man and his wife, were both naked and felt no shame. That is how God intended them to be, naked and without shame. Of course, we now wear clothes, but the idea is that we should be living bare before God, naked, exposed, hiding nothing from God, and living with no shame. At this point in their lives, Adam and his wife had not committed any act of disobedience or sin, so they had no reason to feel shame. We cannot say that we have not committed sin or that we do not continue to have sin in our lives. However, when the Holy Spirit convicted us of our need to repent, to change the way we think about God, our lives, and sin, we turned from a sinful life to believing the truth of God and accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior. When we did that, it did or does not mean we are now sinless, but because of Jesus, we are still able to live without shame, for God has declared us innocent, or holy and pleasing in his sight. Because our sin is covered by the blood of Jesus, shame has been covered. Let us live bare, naked, and shameless before God.