God Confronts Sin

September 30, 2018 Background Scripture: Genesis 3 Lesson Passage: Genesis 3:8 – 17, 20 – 24 Last week’s lesson looked at the union of Adam and Eve, and the birth of their sons, Cain and Abel. Between the union and the birth, tragedy befell the couple. When there was only Adam, God gave him a diet plan. There was one tree in the midst of the garden that Adam was not supposed to eat of its fruit, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. All of the other trees, he was free to eat their fruit. Before we look at what Adam did and why he did it, the scenario begs the question: Why was there a tree with a forbidden fruit placed within reach of Adam? If there were no tree with forbidden fruit, then there would be no possibility for disobedience in eating from it. I believe that “true worship” must come from a willing heart and not be compulsory. Put another way, the worshiper must have the power of choice. The true worshiper can only choose to worship when there is a choice to not worship. Likewise, for man to live out the image and likeness of God, he must have the power of choice. This is what establishes man as a free moral agent. Man was not created to be driven by instincts as the other living creatures are. Man was created to be a physical reflection of the spiritual God and not an instinct-driven animal. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil had a unique purpose in creation. When Eve was tricked by the serpent, she took forbidden fruit from the tree and ate it. Note that there is no biblical record that God had given her the same commandment He gave Adam. It seems from her verbal response to the serpent that Adam had paraphrased God’s commandment into a slightly more complex requirement that might not have warned her about death. Nevertheless, after she ate the forbidden fruit, nothing seemed to have changed. However, when she gave some of the forbidden fruit to her husband—who was with her according to the bible—he ate it and then their eyes were opened as their spiritual innocence had been tainted by sin. They became ashamed of their nakedness and tried to cover their bodies with fig leaves. When they heard the sound of God moving in the garden in the cool of the day, they attempted to hide from the presence of God. One of the immediate effects of sin is a desire to avoid the presence of God. God called out to Adam, the one He had left in charge of keeping the garden and avoiding the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam answered God and admitted that he was trying to hide from Him because he was ashamed of his nakedness. God, the all-knowing Father, asked Adam a series of rhetorical questions. God knew the answers, but He wanted Adam to reflect on the answers and the consequences of his decision. Adam blamed Eve, and, in a sense, he blamed God, for the decision he had made. God addressed the woman who admitted that she was tricked by the serpent. God did not ask the serpent anything. God cursed the serpent more than any other animal He created. Then He told the woman about the hardships she would endure in childbirth. God told Adam about the difficulties he would now have in extracting the goodness from the earth because God cursed the ground for the man’s sake. Then God drove Adam and Eve from the garden to prevent them from eating from the other tree in the midst of the garden, the tree of life. The fruit from the tree of life would have caused them to live forever in their sinful state. Then God made garments of skins for Adam and Eve. Robert C. Hudson September 5, 2018

God Creates the Family

September 23, 2018 Background Scripture: Genesis 2:18 – 24; 4:1, 2 Lesson Passage: Genesis 2:18 – 24; 4:1, 2 As stated in the previous lesson, dominion of the earth was not intended to be a one-man job. Mankind was to grow into the dominion of the earth as they multiplied and filled the earth with the glory of God. Being in the image and likeness of God, as mankind multiplied and filled the earth, God could look at the earth and see a reflection of His own glory. Adam was not created in a way that he could multiply himself. Adam needed companionship so that he would not be alone and so that they could together multiply and fill the earth. God allowed (required) Adam to review and name every animal upon the face of the earth. After this was accomplished, it was clear that none of the other creatures were suitable helpers for Adam. Therefore, God put Adam in an unconscious state and removed a bone from his side and reclosed the flesh. With that bone, God made a woman of the same substance that Adam was made of. God then brought her to Adam. Adam recognized that the woman was of the same substance that he was made of and called her “woman”. I find it interesting that Adam did not immediately recognize the woman as his “partner” to work alongside him. Instead, Adam recognized the woman as “part of” him. Whatever he was, she was the same. She was bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. She was not bone and flesh like his but rather, she was his bone and flesh and Adam recognized that. Being “part of” him meant that together they completed each other, and they were again one person. The footnote to Adam’s recognition of this says that this is the reason that through marriage a man and woman are to become one flesh. It was through the reproductive process between this pair that God established the family. As we reflect again on Adam’s assessment of the woman, we see the necessary step that formed the proper foundation for the union of these two. Because Adam saw her as “part of” him, some things would be natural in this union. Whatever Adam did for himself, he would naturally do for her because she was “part of” him. The woman did not have to negotiate for anything or to earn anything because Adam would naturally give her whatever he gave himself. She was “part of” him. God did not give her an initial assignment because He had given Adam an assignment. When Adam carried out his God-given assignment, the woman would be there working with him because she was “part of” him. Adam’s assignment became their assignment. God never took the responsibility for the assignment from Adam, neither did He divide the responsibility between Adam and the woman. It was Adam’s assignment, but God gave him a helper who was suitable for Adam. After Adam sinned by breaking the one commandment God had given him, God expelled Adam and his helper from the Garden of Eden. Note that God did not treat the woman as Adam’s equal, He treated her as “part of” him. When Adam was expelled from the garden, all “parts” of him were expelled. The family was established outside the Garden of Eden when the woman became pregnant and gave birth. Her first born she called Cain and her second born she called Abel. The scriptures only note that she conceived once prior to giving birth to Cain and Abel. This leads many to believe that the two sons were twins. Thus, began the family of man. Robert C. Hudson September 5, 2018