Lessons We Must Learn

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th1b.taylor

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Gen 3:4 The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die!
Gen 3:5 "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
Gen 3:6 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 from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
Gen 3:7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.
Gen 3:8 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.

Let me start with a truth that some, in the past, have just zoomed past. It is my position, and a good deal of other teachers, preachers and missionaries that Adam chose Eve over God in text. As nearly as I can make it, pride jumps up an snares other men, just I am prone to do myself. But here I go with a Bill Taylor rendition of what you have just read, quoted, from the NASB.

First, we are not tainted by Eve's sin, God did not give her the command, He gave it to Adam and Adam was responsible for the actions of Eve, whether we like it or not. Now, knowing that God has established principals through out the scriptures, this is one worthy of every man's consideration and after this comes the really hard stuff. I've heard it taught that it appears, from the structure of the text, that God must have walked in the cool of the evening with Adam and because God gave His Son to die on the cross for the enabling of fellowship with Him, by us, this makes sense to me. I see that God has desired our fellowship and affection from before creation.

So, we have Adam, naked and alone with the, I'm certain, beautiful nude woman God had made from his own rib. Satan has been cast out of Heaven and He's lost, certain of his, boys to eternal damnation and is no longer the second in command in the Heavenly Host and he ain't happy. (Excuse my Texan but he ain't.) Eve, like most folks wants to move up to the next level and just like many a good woman, exerts a little pressure, hoping he'll move.

The situation is that Eve has eaten from the tree because she and Adam, after doing so will be like God, knowing good from evil. Adam stood right there and did not move to stop her, any man can relate to that, and then he recounts the command, just the way God said it. Eve had not rolled over dead so what had God meant? He thinks to himself (remember this is Bill's rendering) I'm going to loose that fine looking Babe! Adam chose to go with Eve, where ever that might be, instead of trusting God to make things right again. He chose what God had created over God!

There are any number of good lessons to learn here but I'll hold it back here. But we must learn to trust God. God has never done anything evil and God has always been trustworthy. If we cannot rely on God, is there anybody, anywhere that we can rely on? God has never let anyone down except they turn away from His love and care.

Another lesson here is on setting priorities. Adam had been in the Garden with Eve for an unknown number of years but they were created to never die and we learn from scripture that Adam lived for over nine hundred years. With this knowledge in hand I feel that it is not unreasonable to figure that Adam and Eve had given life to many children while they lived in the Garden for two to six hundred years. Being created perfect they would not have aged and their hormones would never have faltered, they could have and likely did produce hundreds of male and female children, who likewise were perfect and produced in like manor. And then Eve sinned and Adam followed her into it. His priorities were set all wrong and we must learn not to follow the leader.

One more good lesson here is to pay attention and to relate exactly what we are told by God. Did Adam twist the command just a little? We are the direct descendants of that union and I suggest a small test that you, likely, have seen in grade school. Line up thirty or so people and whisper a secret in the first one's ears. Now they whisper that same secret into the next person's ear and so on to the end of the line. Each of these people have done their best to recount exactly what they were told but when the last person tells you what the secret you gave to them is... it will in, usually, no manor resemble what you began with.

Add, I don't know, ten years time, between the telling from God to the telling of Eve and it's really tough to say how accurate it was. So it is that we must learn to rely on the written Word of God and not what I and not on what any person has to relate for what God said.

There is more but God bless and good conversation on this one.
 

Episkopos

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Very good! So we see the rightness of Christ's command to forsake all.....our wives, our families and even our own lives. All must be forfeit in order to grow into Christ. Trusting God in ALL things! Only faith working by love can do this.
 

th1b.taylor

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Dec 4, 2010
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One of my Accountability partners has spoken with me by email on the matter of Adam's children and after reconsideration, I agree that it seems that all of Adam´s children were born after the fall and dismissal from the Garden.

Very good! So we see the rightness of Christ's command to forsake all.....our wives, our families and even our own lives. All must be forfeit in order to grow into Christ. Trusting God in ALL things! Only faith working by love can do this.
LOL! When I post a truth like that I usually get jumped on with lots of feet but ain´t God good? God bless.

One of my Accountability partners has spoken with me by email on the matter of Adam's children and after reconsideration, I agree that it seems that all of Adam´s children were born after the fall and dismissal from the Garden.
 

dragonfly

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Apr 19, 2012
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One of my Accountability partners has spoken with me by email on the matter of Adam's children and after reconsideration, I agree that it seems that all of Adam´s children were born after the fall and dismissal from the Garden.

Well, it's a relief that you've decided to stay within the lines scripture has set for us.

But... in view of the amazing mental capacity of some humans alive today, to remember huge quantities of information perfectly, out of the very small number of commands that God had given Adam, it seems highly unlikely that he had forgotten the only negative command he'd received, or, altered it in any way.

Remember, this was before the fall. He was still perfect.
 

Axehead

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May 9, 2012
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We must learn to rely on God's Word whether in written form or His voice to our spirits. Often we don't understand some of the written word, but He has a way of communicating to us with His voice what He wants us to know. That is how He ensures we don't blame Him for lack of understanding. But, we do anyway. God gets blamed for most everything. It is like a young immature child blaming their Mother and Father for all of his failings.

Now, the Apple in and of itself was not bad. It was not evil looking. In fact, it probably did look very good to eat. In addition to that it became quite alluring when Satan said that it could make one wise and even make one like God.

Many times in our walk we lean upon our own understanding rather than seeking the Lord's voice/will on a matter. To our physical senses, something may look completely harmless and in fact very good for us. That is seldom the case.

Many times (just like Adam and Eve) it turns out completely opposite of WHAT WE THOUGHT. Amazing how God always keeps His Word regarding disobedience. He can never be accused as a co-dependent in our sin or as an "enabler". No, He will never be an accomplice in our crimes against Him. Yet, He is always present if we call upon Him in true repentance to rescue us from ourselves. And that is exactly what the problem is most of the time: OUR SELFS.

Axehead
 

dragonfly

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Apr 19, 2012
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He is always present if we call upon Him .... to rescue us from ourselves.


Brother, I've taken out the 'in true repentance' because I'm not sure we can repent of who we are. We can repent of what we are, though, and I most certainly agree that to pray for deliverance from self is a sign to God of our heart's intention to turn from self....

The meaning of being delivered from self, is for the purpose of being in agreement with God's self - and only Him.
 

Axehead

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May 9, 2012
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Brother, I've taken out the 'in true repentance' because I'm not sure we can repent of who we are. We can repent of what we are, though, and I most certainly agree that to pray for deliverance from self is a sign to God of our heart's intention to turn from self....

The meaning of being delivered from self, is for the purpose of being in agreement with God's self - and only Him.

That was quite alright and I agree, dragonfly. Thank you for doing that for me. I also noticed some other grammatical problems but too late to fix.

Axehead