Week 28, Day 3: One Simple Command…

Today’s Reading:  Genesis 3:1-24

Some thoughts from the reading…

In this chapter, Eve is confronted by Satan, who tempts her to violate the command that God had given.  Notice that Eve fully understood the command, and was able to communicate it to Satan.  But, Satan, in his conniving way, was able to deceive her into not believing the consequences that God had expressed to her.  In Genesis 3:3, Eve clearly shows that she knew she was not to eat of the tree, or even to touch it.  I find it interesting that she seemed to know that the command God gave to her was not that difficult to keep.  In Genesis 3:1, Satan asked if God had told her that she was not to eat of “every tree of the garden”, which implies that they weren’t allowed to eat from any tree at all.  But, God’s command was not difficult.  They could eat of every tree, except one.  Surely that was not asking too much!  But, Satan convinced Eve that God was holding something back from them.  He convinced her that she was missing out on something by not eating from that one tree.  She was convinced to eat of the tree, and to share it with her husband so that he too would eat.  In the violation of that one simple command, we see the down fall of mankind, and the need for a redemptive plan, which God would provide

As we read this chapter, it becomes painfully obvious that things do not change in this world.  We can learn several lessons from the chapter; certainly more than what we will examine here.  But, we can make a couple of observations.

First, notice that Satan’s ploys are the same as they were in the Garden of Eden.  He convinced Eve that God was holding out on her, that He was just trying to keep her from having fun.  The same thing is true today.  People act as if God’s commands are there just to keep them from having fun.  This is a very immature way of looking at God’s instructions.  It is much like the child who thinks his parents just don’t want him to have fun because they tell him he can’t ride his bicycle in the street.   He doesn’t know there is a great danger in his actions, and so he thinks his parents are just being unfair.  But, God gives commands that are best for us.  His commands are not “burdensome” (1 John 5:3).  He doesn’t tell us not to participate in things just because He wants to keep us from having fun!

Second, notice that temptations have not changed.  John, in 1 John 2:16, summarized all temptations as being either the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes or the pride of life.  In Genesis 3:6, Eve looked on the fruit and was tempted in all three ways!  She saw it was good for food:  the lust of the flesh.  Se saw that it was pleasant to the eyes:  Lust of the eyes.  She saw that it was a tree desirable to make one wise:  The pride of life.  Temptations today are the same as they were at the beginning, and the same as they were in the first century.  We face the same types of temptations every day!

Third, we need to realize that sin brings consequences.  Satan will tell us that the consequences don’t exist, or that they are not that bad, or that they won’t apply to us.  But, sin always has consequences.  God did just as He promised He would with Adam and Eve.  They had to bear the consequences of violating the will of God.  We too will bear the consequences of disobedience.  There are some consequences that we will face in the present time.  But, even if we are not “caught” in our sin, we will face the consequences of it in the judgment to come (Numbers 32:23)!

There are many more lessons that we can learn from this chapter.  What is one lesson that you take from it?  Share your thoughts!

Popularity: 19% [?]