Good day dear friends.
We finished our sermon series on the Ten Myths About Christianity with myth number ten: All the Suffering and Evil in this World Prove there is No God. We used Rev. 20:1-10 as our text as we studied the common stance of those who hold fast to this myth: How can a loving and all powerful God allow evil? And if God is so powerful why doesn't He remove evil from the world? We affirmed that God did not create evil and that there is an outside influence (not that we need one, we're pretty "good" at disobeying God on our own!) named Satan who hates God and the people of God and as Jesus said about him in John 10:10, he seeks only "to kill, steal, and destroy." The Revelation passage speaks of the coming end of evil and he who seeks it.
Here is our study guide for today:
Monday: Let’s go back to the very beginning! Gen. 3:1-24. Yes, it is the entire chapter of Genesis 3. Read very slowly and cautiously all that is being said in this chapter. Note the role of the serpent and the role of the man and the woman. Notice what the serpent is offering the two. Would this have attracted you? And then see the “curse” God places on all creatures as a result of this action. What are your thoughts on that?
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Here is that passage in NRSV: Genesis 3: Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God say, "You shall not eat from any tree in the garden'?" 2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3 but God said, "You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.' " 4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die; 5 for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
6 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. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. 8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
9 But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" 10 He said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself."
11 He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" 12 The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate." 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent tricked me, and I ate."
14 The Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you among all animals and among all wild creatures; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel."
16 To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you."
17 And to the man he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree about which I commanded you, "You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return."
20 The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
21 And the Lord God made garments of skins for the man and for his wife, and clothed them.
22 Then the Lord God said, "See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"— 23 therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life.
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I spoke about God's positive command to the man and the woman to freely eat of any tree, except one. And our introduction to "the serpent" shows 1) he can talk, 2) he's crafty or sneaky, 3) he changes the positive command of God to a negative command. Note his question, "Did God say, "You shall not eat from any tree in the garden'?" God never said that! Any wonder Satan is also known as the father of lies, among other things? You know the story, you just read it, the woman and the man take the fruit, even after the woman reveals she and the man had added their own, "nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.' God hadn't said that, the couple had agreed that might be the best policy to best protect themselves. But they eat anyway and discover they are naked. Here is original sin. Not nakedness, but disobedience to God. And as a result they make their first judgment call that being naked is bad and so they seek to cover up. And the comedy continues, they sew together sandpaper underwear! If you've ever felt a fig leaf, one side is soft, the other is like sandpaper, so the writer wants us to know that our wanting to be wise resulted in anything but (no pun intended!).
Their next act is to hide from God for they knew that had done something wrong. God finds them and does not kill them, but they soon discover they are in a new relationship. The "curse" is for the man that he now has to work the soil for it to produce what was once just freely given. It would be hard work for "By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return." And the woman's curse is pain in childbearing and yet a desire for her husband. The serpent would now go upon its belly and eat dust. And all creatures would return to the dust for out of dust we had come.
The writer has shared how evil came into the world. It was our free will that made us choose to disobey, to not trust, God. The result was a fall from grace and it would not be until God sent Jesus that we could see how easy it is for us to be restored into the fullness of grace and love, simply by our asking for it and seeking to be in obedient relationship with God.
No matter what we've faced or are facing, the message is clear: God is still with us and never abandons us.
PRAYER: Loving God, I ask forgiveness for those times I have obeyed myself instead of you. Restore me to the fullness of grace and life as I seek to follow Jesus today and all days. I pray in His name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day!
e.v.
