The Beginning of Sin
Genesis 3
1Now the snake was the most clever of all the wild animals the LORD God
had made. One day the snake said to the woman, “Did God really say that you
must not eat fruit from any tree in the garden?”
2The woman answered the snake, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the
garden. 3But God told us, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the
middle of the garden. You must not even touch it, or you will die.’”
4But the snake said to the woman, “You will not die. 5God knows that if you
eat the fruit from that tree, you will learn about good and evil and you will be
like God!”
6The woman saw that the tree was beautiful, that its fruit was good to eat, and
that it would make her wise. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also
gave some of the fruit to her husband, and he ate it.
7Then, it was as if their eyes were opened. They realized they were naked, so
they sewed fig leaves together and made something to cover themselves.
8Then they heard the LORD God walking in the garden during the cool part
of the day, and the man and his wife hid from the LORD God among the trees in
the garden. 9But the LORD God called to the man and said, “Where are you?”
10The man answered, “I heard you walking in the garden, and I was afraid
because I was naked, so I hid.”
11God asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat fruit from the
tree from which I commanded you not to eat?”
12The man said, “You gave this woman to me and she gave me fruit from the
tree, so I ate it.”
13Then the LORD God said to the woman, “How could you have done such a
thing?”
She answered, “The snake tricked me, so I ate the fruit.”
14The LORD God said to the snake,
“Because you did this,
a curse will be put on you.
You will be cursed as no other animal, tame or wild, will ever be.
You will crawl on your stomach,
and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
15I will make you and the woman
enemies to each other.
Your descendants and her descendants
will be enemies.
One of her descendants will crush your head,
and you will bite his heel.”
16Then God said to the woman,
“I will cause you to have much trouble
when you are pregnant,
and when you give birth to children,
you will have great pain.
You will greatly desire your husband,
but he will rule over you.”
17Then God said to the man, “You listened to what your wife said, and you
ate fruit from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat.
“So I will put a curse on the ground,
and you will have to work very hard for your food.
In pain you will eat its food
all the days of your life.
18The ground will produce thorns and weeds for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
19You will sweat and work hard
for your food.
Later you will return to the ground,
because you were taken from it.
You are dust,
and when you die, you will return to the dust.”
20The man named his wife Eve, because she is the mother of everyone who
has ever lived.
21The LORD God made clothes from animal skins for the man and his wife
and dressed them. 22Then the LORD God said, “The man has become like one of
us; he knows good and evil. We must keep him from eating some of the fruit
from the tree of life, or he will live forever.” 23So the LORD God forced the man
out of the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24After
God forced the man out of the garden, he placed angels and a sword of fire that
flashed around in every direction on its eastern border. This kept people from
getting to the tree of life.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version
SITUATION
God the Creator completed his masterpiece by creating man and woman. God breathed life and spirit into his special handiwork. Though sin entered the world, God also provided for redemption from sin.
OBSERVATION
God created people with the freedom to choose or reject him. When his creation chose to rebel, God revealed his plan for salvation.
INSPIRATION
He placed one scoop of clay upon another until a form lay lifeless on the ground....
All were silent as the Creator reached in himself and removed something yet unseen. "It's called 'choice: The seed of choice:'
Creation stood in silence and gazed upon the lifeless form.
An angel spoke, "But what if he .....
"What if he chooses not to love?" the Creator finished. "Come, I will show you:' Unbound by today, God and the angel walked into the realm of tomorrow ....
The angel gasped at what he saw. Spontaneous love. Voluntary devotion. Never had he seen anything like these.... The angel stood speechless as they passed through centuries of repugnance. Never had he seen such filth. Rotten hearts. Ruptured promises. Forgotten loyalties....
The Creator walked on in time, further and further into the future, until he stood by a tree. A tree that would be fashioned into a cradle. Even then he could smell the hay that would surround him....
"Wouldn't it be easier to not plant the seed? Wouldn't it be easier to not give the choice?"
"It would;' the Creator spoke slowly.”But to remove the choice is to remove the love:'
... They stepped into the Garden again. The Maker looked earnestly at the clay creation. A monsoon of love swelled up within him. He had died for the creation before he had made him. God's form bent over the sculptured face and breathed. Dust stirred on the lips of the new one. The chest rose, cracking the red mud. The cheeks f1eshened. A finger moved. And an eye opened.
But more incredible than the moving of the flesh was the stirring of the spirit. Those who could see the unseen gasped.
Perhaps it was the wind who said it first. Perhaps what the star saw that moment is what has made it blink ever since. Maybe it was left to an angel to whisper it:
"It looks like it appears so much like it is him!"
The angel wasn't speaking of the face, the features, or the body. He was looking inside-at the soul.
"It's eternal!" gasped another.
Within the man, God had placed a divine seed. A seed of his self. The God of might
had created earth's mightiest.
The Creator had created, not a creature, but another creator.
And the One who had chosen to love had created one who could love in return.
Now it's our choice.
(From In the Eye of the Storm by Max Lucado)
APPLICATION
God did not create us as robots. Praise him for giving us the ability to serve and love him purposefully. Thank him for his gifts of freedom and creativity. Set aside time today for creative praise. Make that choice today.
EXPLORATION Human Spirit -- Job 32:8; Ecclesiastes 12:7; Acts 7:59.
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