Bible in 16 Verses Chapters 3-4

The Whole Story of the Bible in 16 Verses Chapter 3: The Fall (Genesis 3:6–7)

At this point, you might be asking, if God made everything to be good, and he created human beings to rule over his good creation, then why is the world so broken?

Thoughts on last week’s discussion:

What is worth all the pain and suffering in this world?

Knowing Him and being in relationship with Him!

We question things in life all the time, but don’t forget that we are always underestimating the value of knowing and loving our Lord as we are loved by Him.

The Whole Story of the Bible in 16 Verses Chapter 3: The Fall (Genesis 3:6–7)

What we do know about this tree and God’s command not to eat from it is that God was protecting Adam and Eve.

This is a really good point to emphasize. God has never made a rule or law that was not in the best interest of His people.

Examples from the ten commandments

No other gods

Don’t take God’s name in vain

Don’t kill

Don’t steal

Don’t covet

Honor your father and mother

The Whole Story of the Bible in 16 Verses Chapter 3: The Fall (Genesis 3:6–7)

So as part of the covenant relationship between God and human beings, God asked them to trust him and obey him. He asked them to believe that what he told them was the best thing for them

Note what God was asking for here and the outcome of the story. This is a solid life lesson of. We almost always think we know better than God when it comes to what is best for us. God is always looking out for our best interests and His own. He ties the two together. We need to watch as story after story unfolds in which mankind chooses to act according to his own wisdom instead of God’s. The outcome is never good.

The Whole Story of the Bible in 16 Verses Chapter 3: The Fall (Genesis 3:6–7)

Again, this story sounds really familiar. How often do you hear from others or, more likely, from yourself that God’s commands are designed to kill your joy?

Satan is still out to wreck God’s reputation and mar our view of God’s intentions.

What does our culture think God desires from people?

He is portrayed as a supreme and judgmental being who wants people to believe in Him and live according to his rules so they can be good enough so He will let them into heaven. The importance of Jesus is often confused and His death and resurrection gets miked in there somewhere with varying degrees of accuracy and significance.

What does God desire from people?

He desires to be in relationship with the people He created. He wants people to worship and obey Him, but this is not a selfish desire on His part. God is bringing about what is best for mankind by drawing to himself all who will come to Him. Our alternative is not good. He is just, and those who face judgement, apart from the way He made to be saved, will not do well.

The Whole Story of the Bible in 16 Verses Chapter 3: The Fall (Genesis 3:6–7)

by the time Eve actually looked at the tree and noticed how delightful it really was, there was no turning back.

This is less significant in light of the grand story here, but still worth noting. When our focus leaves what is right, and we look to something wrong to see if it is as delightful as everyone says it is, we are already walking the path of sin.

The real way to stay away from things that are sinful, is to set our affections on Christ and what He has for us (Colossians 3:1-4). the whole garden was available for Adam and Eve to partake of, but when they fixated on the forbidden fruit, the rest of the garden was not enough...

The Whole Story of the Bible in 16 Verses Chapter 3: The Fall (Genesis 3:6–7)

Seeing the beauty of the tree and its fruit, she may have been tempted to value it, the creation, more highly than she valued God, its Creator.

That’s the crux of the matter...

Do we value creation or the Creator more.

The Whole Story of the Bible in 16 Verses Chapter 3: The Fall (Genesis 3:6–7)

It was a spiritual death, a death to their intimacy with their God and Creator.

This is the state of death that we live in until it is changed when a person comes to Christ. While the life of Christ brings spiritual life, it does not totally reverse the curse for now.

The Whole Story of the Bible in 16 Verses Chapter 3: The Fall (Genesis 3:6–7)

But even in the midst of this darkness, we find notes of hope. God did not leave Adam and Eve naked (Gen. 3:21). He provided them with clothes, and in so doing, he gave them a picture of the redemption he would provide for them.

This is the first picture of redemption in the Bible. This theme will appear over and over again until the last chapter of the Bible.

The Whole Story of the Bible in 16 Verses Chapter 3: The Fall (Genesis 3:6–7)

But even in the midst of this darkness, we find notes of hope. God did not leave Adam and Eve naked (Gen. 3:21). He provided them with clothes, and in so doing, he gave them a picture of the redemption he would provide for them.

The Whole Story of the Bible in 16 Verses Chapter 4: Redemption Promised (Genesis 3:15)

While this cannot mean that God will make “every day a Friday” or give you “your best life now,” it does mean that we must never lose hope in God’s commitment to make all things that have gone wrong right again.

God is always at work doing what is best, even though it can be rough.

The Whole Story of the Bible in 16 Verses Chapter 4: Redemption Promised (Genesis 3:15)

But the son of Eve actually proved himself to be more in the line of the Serpent than in the line of the woman. Cain did not crush the head of the Serpent. Instead, he crushed the head of his own brother.

The Bible reveals the character of God, but it also reveals our own character and what mankind is like as a whole.

The Whole Story of the Bible in 16 Verses Chapter 4: Redemption Promised (Genesis 3:15)

But let’s not misunderstand what is happening. This is not a yin and yang deal, where everyone is waiting for the seed of the woman to show up and bring balance to the force. The reality is that when God decides to show the seed of the Serpent what he can and will do, the true imbalance of power becomes crystal clear in a hurry.

The Whole Story of the Bible in 16 Verses Chapter 4: Redemption Promised (Genesis 3:15)

The seed of the Serpent were decimated and God’s righteous judgment was displayed, showing that he is serious about judging sin.

The Whole Story of the Bible in 16 Verses Chapter 4: Redemption Promised (Genesis 3:15)

You see, all of Genesis 4–11, and indeed all of the rest of the Bible, is really just the outworking of Genesis 3:15.