Sin and Its Consequences
Day 11
by Gini Crawford, MSW
When sin entered the world
God told Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. There were many edible trees in the garden for them to eat from, but it's obvious they had to eat from the one that God warned them about. Eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil bought evil and death into our world that only had good in it.
Now the serpent...said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?'" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 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.'" But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 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. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 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. But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?" And he said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself." He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate." 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." The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you...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." Genesis 3:1-15 ESV®
Genesis chapter three very clearly shows God's love. I believe it was God the Son, Jesus (John 1:18), in the garden with Adam and Eve when the consequences of the first sin grabbed a hold of them. They were pretty pathetic with fig leaves hanging off of them. They were also blaming God for their rebellion against Him. As you know, God could have destroyed them because He is holy, but instead He showed them His unconditional love, mercy and patience. Jesus also out of love gives them the first promise of salvation in Genesis 3:15. (Salvation means deliverance and being saved from.) It is the promise of Jesus' willingness to step out of eternity to become a descendant (seed) of theirs and deliver them and us from the consequences of sin. (Colossians 1:15-22).
What are your feelings about Jesus from Genesis three?
The Serpent
If you didn't know, the talking serpent is Satan, the Devil (Revelation 12:9). We can comprehend a lot about Satan from Genesis 3:1-5: He is the father of lies and the tempter (Matthew 4:1; John 8:44). Sin originated with Satan, and it is his constant practice (1 John 3:8). Satan can't make us sin. We choose to sin, like Eve and Adam did. If you are hearing a whisper in your mind that doing a certain sin is beneficial, whether that whisper is Satan's deceptive words or your sin nature, it's time to grab ahold of God, not the poisonous fruit. (2 Corinthians 11:3).
I read the following story thinking this awful situation illustrates a little of Eve's fateful meeting with the Serpent. A woman, left her home on Muna island to visit her cornfield one evening. She was only concerned about wild boars, not so much snakes, as she walked through her cornfield that fateful night. When she had not returned they went to the field to look for her. They found a snake a few dozen yards from the woman's belongings. It was 23 feet long with a long bulge midway down its body. A man killed and parted the snake's flesh. The woman lay intact inside the snake, dead from being seized and squeezed to death. The Serpent grabbed ahold of Eve with his deceptive words, and she allowed the Serpent's words to seize her and squeeze to the point of sin that brought death. Listen to God, not like Eve, and you will overcome life's fateful situations and have life eternal (John 6:67-69; Romans 8:37-39).
What are your insights about Satan from Genesis three?
Who do you listen to - yourself or God
To ponder: Adam's and Eve's perfect relationship with God, who created and loved them, was shattered because they listened to their own reasoning. The fruit that looked so good and delightful, and seemed such a wise thing to eat, turned out to be the opposite of what they were hoping for. They thought that God was keeping something good from them, to be mean I guess, but they realized quickly God was really loving them through His one command. Can you relate? I can.
We can all be misled by our own reasoning. The chocolate donut or fried chicken you had to eat even though your doctor said no. The expensive dress or house you couldn't afford, but thought you deserved it. The friendship you think is fine, but it has only brought you down. The unforgiving or bitter attitude that you think you have every right to have, even though it hurts relationships. The interesting but hurtful gossip or slander you passed around even through it felt wrong. The lie you believed, that negatively affected your marriage, job, and relationships. I think you understand my point, if we only listen to our own reasonings, the desirable thing or attitude we choose, can end up being the fruit of rottenness in our lives. If we listen to God through His Word, we will get exactly what we yearn for - life abundant. (Psalm 1; John 10:7-18).
Do you listen to God and His Word?
Life Application
Love showed up
In late September 2024, Hurricane Helene caused widespread destruction and fatalities across the Southeastern United States. Near Boone, NC, not far from the Samaritan's Purse (SP) headquarters, a group of neighbors were trapped by a landslide and rising flood waters from the hurricane. The SP volunteers helped rescue the group, including a 10-day-old newborn and other children. "We were able to hold them over our heads and pass all the children to our vehicles so we could evacuate," Jordan, one of the flood victims, said. "As we were driving out, we saw trees coming down, and we were praying we could get through and get up to safety." Later on, Jordan's mother-in-law broke down in tears when she saw volunteers of SP, arriving to clean out her home. "I've never experienced God's love like that," she said. Jordan added: "We're not crying because of what we lost. We're crying because love showed up."
After Adam's and Eve's disastrous choice, love showed up, not anger. They were afraid of God and were trying to hide from Him, fig leaves and all. Did they think God would be mad since He had every right to be? Yet very quickly they realized they wouldn't be abandoned because love showed up instead of anger in the garden. Jesus (John 1:18) was there with them, showing compassion instead of rightful anger. They knew God would forgive them and their descendants by what He said to them in Genesis three. Read Genesis 3. Explain God's loving actions in the garden.
Sin has dreadful consequences as Adam and Eve found out, but they also found out how loving God was even after their sin. God's love is there for us even after sinning. If you focus on God's love and not on how desirable a sin is, I believe that will make you want to obey God. Read John 15:9-11. How do you focus on God's love for you?
Reflect on Ephesians 2:1-5.