The Schemes of The Devil
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Chair Bible pg. 2 Genesis 2:15-17
Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and tend it. The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may freely eat; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for on the day that you eat from it you will certainly die.”
Are you ready for the message God has for us?
Let us get to it!
Why don’t we talk more about sin?
Is it taboo to talk about it?
Is our attitude, sin is not a Sunday morning subject?
Maybe we simply don’t want to talk about it or be confronted by it
Sin is the reality of the fallen world we live in
It is in our face every day - Social media, TV, Streaming platforms, etc.
Greed, violence, and sexual immorality are just a few examples Of what we are hit with every single day!
The challenge for you and I is to recognize and admit that sin is something we fall prey to and participate in.
This is where the season of Lent comes in.
Lent is a time to confront the sin in our life.
This makes Genesis so important as it tells how sin entered the world.
Lent is a season that also allows us to move into a deeper relationship with God
Abundant Provision
Abundant Provision
We spend a great deal of time in this passage focusing on three of the main players we see Satan, Adam, and Eve.
However, have we missed the fourth?
This is passage is also about the abundant provision of God
Adam and Eve were allowed to eat any tree in the garden except one.
God provided abundantly for Adam and Eve.
There was only one tree in the vast number of trees in the garden that God forbid them to eat.
God created a boundary that was for their well-being
The boundary: Genesis 2:17
17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for on the day that you eat from it you will certainly die.”
What death did God mean? Let’s us not focus on what God may or may not have meant.
Let’s us focus on the consequence for disobedience
Certain death is the focus. Don’t get lost in the details, or try to create some loop hole.
The boundary God was creating is about trust
Did Adam and Eve trust that God wants good for them?
Did they trust that God’s provisions for them is enough?
Even by placing Adam in the garden to care for it shows God was providing for them.
Adam didn’t need to plan what would be in this garden.
He was simply placed there in one that already existed and was asked by God to care for it.
Tending God’s garden provided Adam with the opportunity to live our the creative nature of the image of God.
Adam’s work would be rewarding and fruitful
Caring for the Garden leads to abundance
This seems to be God’s plan with Adam and Eve
Blame the other Guy
Blame the other Guy
You know as we read the passage no one is sure who the serpent really is within this text alone
Is it a snake?
Is it the devil in disguise?
Is it a metaphor for idolatry?
We must skip to the end - Revelation 12:9
9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
However who the serpent is, is not important in the text, but his role in the text that is important
Think about this, not knowing who the serpent is provides the opportunity to connect with Eve, it allows us to imagine our own temptations.
The question asked by the serpent emphasizes the crossing of the boundary.
Walter Brueggemann, an Old Testament scholar and theologian who is widely considered one of the most influential Old Testament scholars of the last several decades wrote the serpent transforms the boundary God established.
Adam and Eve have every good thing and only one boundary.
Yet suddenly they fixate on the boundary.
Ultimately the choice to violate the boundary is on Adam and Eve. It is theirs to make.
They chose to relinquish their role as caretaker
They chose to not trust that has their best in mind.
This whole situation was their choice to cross the boundary or stay within its borders.
When the choice was made, they blame the other guy - Genesis 3:13
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Blame the Woman
Blame the Woman
We miss something when we don’t closely consider the pronouns in this passage. The “you” pronouns are plural in Hebrew.
This indicates that both Adam and Eve have been and are responsible for observing the boundary set by God.
Even if the serpent is only addressing the woman.
6 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 desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate.
Do we think she ate then went looking immediately for her husband?
This verse tells us that Adam has been with her the whole time.
She eats then gives some to Adam who standing right there!
Ultimately they both choose to eat the fruit from the forbidden tree
It is not that one particular person has sinned and then caused the other to sin
The choice here was made by both Adam and Eve
They both chose to violate the boundary
Seeking to shift the blame begins in verses 12-13
12 The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me some of the fruit of the tree, and I ate.”
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Isn’t that just like us?
Their violation of the boundary fractures their relationship with God.
It shows their unwillingness to take responsibility for their actions.
They seek to shift the blame which fractures their relationship with each other.
Nothing has changed we still see this today in the people who do not believe in God.
They don’t want to take responsibility for their actions
They try to shift the blame
I wonder what this will look like at the judgment seat?
Will it look like the image here in the garden?
It’s no me its them? The devil made me do it?
We know from the text it did not work for Adam and Eve, it won’t work at judgment!
Conclusion
Lent is a season in the church calendar that is set aside for the confrontation of sin.
It is a time to stop shifting the blame off our selves and take responsibility.
It is a time to come out of the bushes, to unburden ourselves from the shame we have crafted for ourselves.
The question isn’t if we have sinned, but whether we’re trying to hide our sin from God.
The only thing hiding accomplishes is that we our trying to hide ourselves from the presence of God.
There is hope: 1 John 1:9
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The picture of God in scripture is God pursuing humanity in spite of sin.
Even though we try to hide or run away, God continues to pursue us
Remember the prodigal son?
When the son walks toward the father, the father runs toward the son!
During Lent let us stop running in the wrong direction!
Let’s collectively face God with our sin, and humbly ask for grace and mercy!
Let’s run toward God who is already running toward us!
Let’s seek to renew our relationship with God and with those around us.
It is not easy but we will find a God full of love and mercy as we travel these 40 days together.
Give yourself to God today!
He is seeking you, why not start seeking Him.
Run towards him as he is running towards you!
Join him at the altar today, give yourself to the only one who can save you!