Blame-Shifting

God’s Response

Summary

Tonight we are going to talk about guilt and blame. The best way to understand what the Bible says about a topic is to go to the spot where it first mentions it. For tonight this would be Genesis 3 verses 8-13.

Genesis 3:8 ESV

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.

They heard the SOUND of Yaweh walking in the garden.

The phrase in the cool of the day may actually mean something similar to storm when broken down.

Actually when we see God described anywhere else in the Bible it is usually with storm terminology. (Job 38:1, Job 40:6, Isaiah 66:15, Acts 2, Psalm 77:18, Isaiah 29:6, Nahum 1:3)

This explains how Adam and Eve could hear God.

This may not mean God was angry, but it would show the immense power of God’s presence.

So now, you have this powerful being entering into the scene and you have just done the one thing He specifically told you not to do. Would you be afraid? Absolutely, and rightly so!

For the first time they had a realization of how small they were compared to Yaweh and His might. Or even how sinful they were compared to God’s perfection.

So here is how Adam and Eve respond:

Genesis 3:9–10 ESV

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.”

God asks a question

If God knows all why does he ask questions?

He asks because He wants us to know the answer. When you have to answer a question it gives the answer an opportunity to soak into your being rather than just your mind.

Jesus does this many times during His ministry. Actually, it’s his favorite way to get someone thinking. He asks His disciples a considerable amount of questions to get them meditating on the answer, as a respectable Jewish teacher should do.

We see here Adam seems to try to escape the real issue which is his disobedience. He says I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself.

Adam wasn’t afraid because he was naked he was afraid because he disobeyed God which caused him to realize he was naked. This is where the shift in blame begins.

Genesis 3:11-12

Genesis 3:11–12 ESV

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.”

Again, God asks questions. How does Adam respond this time?

Instead of saying yes I ate of the tree, I disobeyed you. He starts blaming God! He says to God “it’s your fault because you gave me this woman and she gave me the fruit and I ate and now here we are.”

FIRST LESSON

Our first response should be to own up to our sin.

No matter where the temptation came from, WE are ultimately the ones who have sinned against God. Therefore, we are responsible.

So, let’s see how Eve responds to God’s questioning.

Genesis 3:13

Genesis 3:13 ESV

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.”

Eve fails the test as well! She then casts blame to the serpent. It’s his fault she disobeyed God. Yes, that’s where the temptation came from, but again she is the one who broke God’s command.

Eve completely bypasses God’s question. God asks her about deceiving Adam, but instead she points out how she is the victim and appeals to God’s compassion.

SECOND LESSON

Our sin influences others.

We can blame our upbringing all we want. We can blame what others have done to us all we want, but there comes a time when God is going to ask us “what is this that you have done” and the “devil made me do it” is a cop out. We are going to need to be honest and repent of our wrongdoings even with the cards of life that have been dealt to us.

Thank You Jesus

Romans 5:1 tells us

Romans 5:1 ESV

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:24

1 Peter 2:24 ESV

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

1 John 2:2

1 John 2:2 ESV

He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

We see through Adam and Eve there is a nature to blame others for our sin that is hardwired into our DNA. We see it all the time in our own lives and the lives of others.

These verses mean Jesus took the blame that we so desperately wish to bestow upon others upon Himself.

Propitiation - This word means atoning sacrifice or mercy seat. On top of the ark of the covenant is the mercy seat, flanked on either end by two cherubim (Ex. 25:19). At this very place, at the mercy seat, God meets His people. Exodus 25:22 declares, “There I will meet with you.”

This means the Jesus became the place where God’s wrath against sin is satisfied.

FINAL LESSON

God’s desire is to meet with everyone at the mercy seat of Jesus’ death.

This is His desire for the whole world to come to the knowledge of what Jesus did for us on that cross, and for us to understand that it’s our depravity (our sinfulness) that put Him there, but He did it all for the sake of love.

Let’s pray