Who's Driving
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Introduction
Introduction
One thing that I remember about being a young child is that I couldn’t really go anywhere on my own. I would need a parent or someone who could drive to take me somewhere.
This wasn’t always a good thing because I wasn’t driving; I wasn’t in control. When I would ride with my mom or someone else, I was always at their mercy.
There would be times where I would want mom to take me to Gamestop or Barnes and Noble and we would just end up all over town. We would go to the million places that she would want to go to first, and by the end of the journey, I would just want to go home.
I wasn’t the one driving and I would end up in places where I didn’t want to be.
This is how sin works. Sin will take us further than we ever wanted go and we will end up in unexpected places.
In this lesson, we are going to study the text of Genesis 3 and learn what this story teaches us. Genesis 3:1-24.
The Text
The Text
Genesis 3:1
Genesis 3:1
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
First of all, we see that the serpent was crafty. The Hebrew word for that is “arum.”
Notice what he does in this verse. He doesn’t come right out and dispute God’s claim. Instead he says, “Did God actually say…” What is Satan trying to do here?
Imagine grounding your child for missing curfew. What if one of their friends approaches them at school and asks them, “Did your parents really ground you for missing curfew?”
In my opinion, Satan is inviting Eve to Judge God’s words. Was God right or not?
Also notice that Satan misquotes God. Satan is morphing God’s word’s into something more restrictive than God intended them to be. Genesis 2:15-17.
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Genesis 3:2-3
Genesis 3:2-3
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”
It seems like the woman has bought into the serpent’s crafty scheme. Like Satan, she makes God’s words more restrictive.
Genesis 3:4-5
Genesis 3:4-5
4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 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.”
Satan does a couple of things here.
Satan blatantly contradicts God. Genesis 2:17.
17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Who will Eve believe? Who’s driving her?
Satan makes some promises to Eve.
You will not die.
You will gain wisdom.
You will be like God.
In other words, God is holding you back. Eve, you don’t want Him to drive you.
Genesis 3:6-7
Genesis 3:6-7
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
In this verse we see that the woman saw that the tree was good for food. This language seems familiar; where else in Genesis do we see this language?
In Genesis 1 God declares what is good. 1:3;10;12;18;21;25;31.
Genesis 1:3-4
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.
Genesis 1:10
God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:12
The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:18
to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:21
Genesis 1:25
Genesis 1:31
Now we see that the woman is declaring what is good. The text indicates that she is sitting behind God’s desk and deciding what is good.
Eve took and ate and Adam also ate. Who was driving? Satan was and this led to the downfall of man.
Genesis 3:8-24
Genesis 3:8-24
8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14 The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all livestock
and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
16 To the woman he said,
“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be contrary to your husband,
but he shall rule over you.”
17 And to Adam he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.”
20 The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
Because of man’s sin they are cursed.
Satan is cursed with ultimate defeat.
Adam is now subject to the ground from which he came.
Eve is now subject to man from which she came.
They are also driven from God’s presence.
They are driven east… Away from God.
Cherubim Guard the way into God’s presence.
Similar to the temple. Exodus 26:1; 1 Kings 6:23-29.
But God still provides for them. Even though Adam and Eve made mistakes, God still loved and cared for them.
The Application
The Application
God’s words are not subject to our judgment
God’s words are not subject to our judgment
In the first verse, the serpent invites Eve to judge God’s word.
We need to understand that God’s word is not subject to our judgment.
Examples:
“Did God really say that I shouldn’t lay up treasures on earth?”
“Did God really say that marriage is between one man and one woman?”
“Did God really say that I should obey my parents?”
“Did God really say that we have to be honest people?”
When we judge God’s words we not only deny God’s authority over us, but we declare ourselves more righteous than he; we declare that we know more than he.
This is ultimately what Adam and Eve did. God was not driving.
Evil can look good to us
Evil can look good to us
Eve saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes. She saw that it was good to eat the fruit, but it was sinful.
We see the same type of scenario with Achan. Joshua 7:10-11;19-21.
10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings.
19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord God of Israel and give praise to him. And tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.” 20 And Achan answered Joshua, “Truly I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I did: 21 when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”
We also see it with David. 2 Samuel 11:1-2.
1 In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
2 It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful.
What’s the lesson? Sometimes evil looks good to us.
This is why we must understand that God holds all of the authority. He decides what is good; not us.
We need to be careful when we say to ourselves, “well it seems fine to me.”
God needs to be the driver. He holds the authority.
Sin will drive us where we don’t want to go
Sin will drive us where we don’t want to go
When God’s not driving, the tempter is, and he will take us where we don’t want to go.
Adam and Eve were driven to a place where they didn’t want to go.
They expected wisdom, but received shame and nakedness.
The word for naked is “arumim.” It’s similar to “arum.”
Because of the serpents “arum,” they were ashamed of their “arumim.”
They wanted to be like God, but they were hiding from Him.
Adam wanted to be like God and was supposed have authority over woman and animals but instead was led astray by both woman and animal.
They wanted to be equal to God, but were separated from Him.
Sin will also take us where we don’t want to go. How many people have said, “I don’t know how I got here?”
For one person: What started with a curious search on the internet led to a lifestyle of addiction and trouble.
For another person: What started with a couple of laughs and a couple of text messages led to a broken family
What’s the point ?
These things can start small, but sin will drive us where we don’t want to go.
God still provides for his people
God still provides for his people
Even though Adam and Eve sinned against him, he still provided for them.
Even though we sin and forsake God, He still provides for His people.
Eve “took” and “ate” and this represented the downfall of man. Genesis 3:6.
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
We take and eat to represent the salvation of man. Matthew 26:26.
26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”
God has provided a way of salvation for his people, but we have to be a part of his people to partake in that salvation.
Conclusion
Conclusion
What we learn from this story is that if God’s not driving, then Satan is.
Is God in control of your life?