{"id":15363,"date":"2021-04-18T21:31:59","date_gmt":"2021-04-19T04:31:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/genesis_1_20-31-copy-copy\/"},"modified":"2021-04-18T21:46:19","modified_gmt":"2021-04-19T04:46:19","slug":"genesis_3_1-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/genesis_3_1-12\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pursuing Love of God"},"content":{"rendered":"

Genesis 3:1-12 Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Genesis 3:1-12.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Genesis 3:1 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the\u00a0LORD\u00a0God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 1:\u00a0\u00a0It is important to be aware of Satan\u2019s tactics and the ways he wants to lead us astray.\u00a0\u00a0That way you can guard yourself against them.\u00a0\u00a0We see one tactic of Satan here in this verse: Satan likes to try to confuse us about what God actually said and what God actually requires.<\/p>\n

Genesis 3:2-5 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'”
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 2-5:\u00a0\u00a0Here we see on display another common tactic of Satan.\u00a0\u00a0Satan likes to make you question whether what God says is reliable.\u00a0\u00a0Satan likes to make you question God\u2019s trustworthiness.\u00a0\u00a0Satan likes to make you think that God is withholding something good from you, something that you could otherwise get if you didn\u2019t have to follow God so strictly.\u00a0\u00a0Satan\u2019s goal is to make you think that God is actually not that good, not for you and not worth trusting.<\/p>\n

Genesis 3:6 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 6:\u00a0\u00a0Listening to the serpent\u2019s advice, the woman eats the forbidden fruit.\u00a0\u00a0Then she gives some to her husband (who was without excuse because he \u201cwas with her\u201d, meaning he knew that she was disobeying God\u2019s command), and he goes ahead and eats the fruit any way in disobedience of God\u2019s command.\u00a0\u00a0Here we see an upending of God\u2019s created order.\u00a0\u00a0God had made man and woman to rule \u201cover every creature that moves on the ground\u201d (Genesis 1:28), and yet here we see the man and woman listening and obeying a serpent.\u00a0\u00a0Here the man and the woman were meant to serve and obey God, but instead they disobey Him and cast Him aside.\u00a0\u00a0That is when many problems begin to surface.<\/p>\n

Genesis 3:7-8 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the\u00a0LORD\u00a0God among the trees of the garden.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 7-8:\u00a0\u00a0After disobeying God, Adam and Eve feel shame.\u00a0\u00a0They try to cover up their shame by making coverings for themselves with fig leaves (v7).\u00a0\u00a0Despite making coverings for themselves, they still feel the need to hide from God.\u00a0\u00a0Their coverings did not do the trick; these man-made coverings could not take away their shame and guilt before God.\u00a0\u00a0I believe these coverings are a picture of man-made religion.\u00a0\u00a0Man-made religion is about us trying to make coverings for ourselves to cover our shame, but it doesn\u2019t work.\u00a0\u00a0We still feel ashamed, guilty and distant from God because of our sin.\u00a0\u00a0It is not what we do to cover our shame that matters, but what God does to cover our shame.\u00a0\u00a0Just as God would make coverings for Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:21, so God would later provide the greatest covering for our shame: Jesus\u2019 blood shed on the cross to forgive us of our sins.\u00a0\u00a0It is not what we do to cover ourselves that matters; what matters is what God has done.<\/p>\n

Genesis 3:9 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But the\u00a0LORD\u00a0God called to the man, “Where are you?”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 9:\u00a0\u00a0Whenever God asks a question, it\u2019s not because He doesn\u2019t know the answer.\u00a0\u00a0Rather He asks the question for our benefit.\u00a0\u00a0The fact that God would call to the man and say, \u201cWhere are you?\u201d suggests to me two things: (1) God wanted the man to realize his condition, that his sin had now separated him from God; (2) God took the initiative to search for the man and the woman even after they had sinned.\u00a0\u00a0That is the love of God for us too.\u00a0\u00a0When we weren\u2019t thinking about God, God was thinking about us and took the initiative to call out to us and rescue us when we were lost, afraid and separated from Him.<\/p>\n

Genesis 3:10-12 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The man said, “The woman you put here with me–she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 10-12:\u00a0\u00a0When questioned, the man confesses to God that he has eaten from the forbidden tree.\u00a0\u00a0Yet his answer seems to place at least part of the blame on the woman and even on God when he says, \u201cthe woman\u00a0you put\u00a0<\/em>here with me\u201d (v12).\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s as if the man was saying, \u201cI would not be in this bad position now if God had not provided this woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0May we be quick to admit when we are wrong without blaming others for our mistakes.<\/p>\n

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your great love, how even after we sin and disobey You, You still look for us, pursue us and cover us with Your love.\u00a0\u00a0Despite our sin, thank You that in Your eyes we are still worth pursuing, so much so that You sacrificed Your Son Jesus Christ and covered us with His righteousness so that we could be with You.\u00a0\u00a0May I be quick to admit my mistakes without blaming others and receive Your mercy.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Genesis 3:1-12.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Genesis 3:1 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the\u00a0LORD\u00a0God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”<\/p>\n

On verse 1:\u00a0\u00a0It is important to be aware of Satan\u2019s tactics and the ways he wants to lead us astray.\u00a0\u00a0That way you can guard yourself against them.\u00a0\u00a0We see one tactic of Satan here in this verse: Satan likes to try to confuse us about what God actually said and what God actually requires.<\/p>\n

Genesis 3:2-5 (NIV)
\n2\u00a0\u00a0The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,
\n3\u00a0\u00a0but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'”
\n4\u00a0\u00a0“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman.
\n5\u00a0\u00a0“For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15365,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15363"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15363\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15374,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15363\/revisions\/15374"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}