The hanger (2)

I know I made it through Genesis chapter 8 or so last week but I realized that I missed some important things and so I want to go back to chapter three. I want to go there because it is there that we see the consequences of ideas really unfold before us for the first time. Up to this point the consequences of ideas have been life. Adam and Eve have walked in the commands of love and have lived life to a fullness that we will never see on this side of glory.

The love manual tells us that the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. Let’s stop there. We know that the serpent is Satan. It says that the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that word can also be translated subtle. Satan, in the guise of the snake, was very subtle. The new testament tells us that he often times comes as an angel of light.

It was not overtly obvious what the enemy was doing. He is also known as the deceiver which is exactly what is going on in this passage. The deceiver who looked and sounded like light and life said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" 2The woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.'"

We can see from this statement that legalism began very early. Eve adds to the word of love by saying if you touch the fruit of that tree you’ll die. God didn’t say that at all. He simply said if you eat of that tree you will die.

Satan’s response is to be the first to question whether or not the word of God is really true. He says: No, that’s not true. God is a liar. You will not die. God knows that the day you eat this fruit you will be a judge of right and wrong just like he is. It’s important that you understand that Satan doesn’t say that Adam and Eve will become gods he says that they will be their own judges and will be able to choose what they will or won’t do. He says, ‘if you eat that fruit you won’t have to take orders from Him anymore. You can do what you want to do when you want to do it.’
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 give one insight, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7Then 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.

I want you to understand that this has very little to do with not having clothes on. The word naked here is a different word from the one used early where it says “they were naked and they were not ashamed.” This word has the connotation of being without covering, without protection, vulnerable. And that is exactly what has happened here. The moment they rebelled against love they left the path of life. They were no longer alive to God. That nakedness was the immediate consequence of choosing to determine right and wrong for themselves. That nakedness is simply another way of saying they were dead. They knew it, their eyes were opened to their lack of being covered by the love of God and their feet were no longer on the path of life and so they tried to cover themselves. The new judges tried to provide their own covering, their own covenant for themselves but it can’t be done.

8They 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. 9Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" 10He said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself." 11And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" 12The man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate." 13Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

I want you to see something here: God is not angry. There is no mention of wrath in this passage. There is only an unfolding of the consequences of ideas and actions. Satan said God was a liar. Adam and Eve believed him. Now the consequences unfold. First, The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life;15And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel."

He is cursed but the world also becomes his dominion for a time. We are not told of any prior arraignments but there were some. We know that Satan became the ruler of the world because he offered to let Jesus rule his kingdoms for him as part of the temptation in the wilderness. So even though he is successful in his endeavor his is still going to receive consequences for enticing Adam and Eve off the path of life. They are long term consequences but they are consequences none the less. It will be nearly 4000 years before Satan’s kingdom is taken away from him. It’s been two thousand years since then and he still hasn’t been tossed into the lake of fire yet. Consequences can be slow in coming but they are sure in coming.

Next God speaks to the woman who was deceived into thinking that God was a liar and who added to the word of God all on her own. He lays out some of the consequences for wanting to be her own judge. To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you." Notice it doesn’t say that there would have been no pain in childbirth but that the pain would be greatly increased.

Another consequence of the fall is that Eve will desire her husband I believe that is more than sexual. She will desire her husband’s power, authority, she will continue to want to be her own judge but as a consequence of her actions she is put under the dominion of her husband. It seems that before the fall there was a more balanced authority relationship between man and woman. That was lost in the rebellion.

Finally, God lays out the consequences of rebellion for man. He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18"Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; 19By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return."

Notice that Adam’s rebellion wasn’t about being deceived it was about following the status quo. He didn’t really care for the things of God at all. Instead of dealing with the issue at hand he followed his helpmate into death. He went willfully into death. He didn’t even have to think twice about it she offered him the fruit and he took it and ate it. He threw everything away without a moment’s thought.

I get rather angry about that when I stop and think about it. All this mess, all this trouble, all this lack, all this work because two people decided they didn’t want to be told what to do anymore. Because two people refused to learn to grow up and learn obedience. I realize that I would have jumped ship too, if it were me. I do it every day. I baulk against the hard work that I’ve been given to do. I moan over the thorns and thistles that grow up in my life. I yell at God for taking his sweet time in bringing his kingdom.

There was a moment yesterday when I thought. Wouldn’t it be great if Jesus would come back today and get this mess over with? I’m so sick of having to work so hard and nothing ever seeming to come from it. What I’m really saying is I’m tired of the consequences from the idea of rebellion against love. My heart longs for my husband, king Jesus to rule over me. I want to be dressed in his robe of righteousness. I want to be under that covering. I’m so tired of my nakedness and my inability to do anything. I hunger and thirst for that covering to come in its fullness.

You see this frustration that I feel is a direct result of Adam and Eve’s rebellion. Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18"Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; 19By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return."

This isn’t just about farming this is about every work endeavor we put our hands to. Everything we do is cursed because of sin. Eating requires toil now. It didn’t before. Not only that but whatever we do as work will be filled with complications. Thorns and thistles are a consequence of rebellion. There’s an old saying about a job always taking twice as long as you plan. Well, that is an example of the curse of leaving life. That is what living in death looks like in the real world. Living life as a dead person in a rebellious world takes a lot of work. Living life as a reborn person in a rebellious world takes even more work. It takes sweat, not just physical sweat but mental sweat as well. You could probably say out of frustration and aggravation will you feed your face.

Because you have chosen to be a slave to rebellion instead of righteousness, you have chosen death over life, hatred over life I will demonstrate the death you live in by causing you to eventually become nothing more than the dust you were made from.
I want you to understand that all of these consequences, these horrible, horrible consequences are rooted and ground in love. God gave mankind what it wanted. He let them jump off the path of life and into death. They didn’t want his ways so he has let us taste our own ways for 6000 years or so. Hitler was what we chose. Starvation is what we chose. Murder is what we chose. Greed and covetousness, false witness and theft; these are the things we chose when we jumped ship.

Don’t blame God for the mess we’re in. I don’t ever want to hear anybody say “Why is God doing this to me?” God is not doing this to you: you are doing it to yourself. The consequences of choosing death over life are doing this to you. Someday the rebellion will be conquered by love. The haters will be allowed to hate but they will be so insignificant in things of the world that we won’t ever have to think about them. Love will put every enemy under its feet. Thorns and thistles will no longer impede our work. Scarcity will no longer be an issue. Those things are promised to us with a sure promise.

Here not long after the rebellion against God began we are given a sure promise that the serpent’s head will be crushed by the heel of a human being. The path to that glorious day has been set in motion. Remember I mentioned it last week: The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

Where is the wrath? There is none, only consequences for actions: Judgment swift and sure for leaving the path of life – death. But the construction of the bridge to get back onto the path of life is begun with a promise and a sacrifice. Adam and Eve are covered by faith in God of promise and justice. Redemption is coming. I’ve always wondered about whether Adam and Eve ever repented or not. But I think we are given an answer in this passage. They gave up their own garments and let God cover them with a sacrifice. They humbled themselves before God. The consequences of their ideas and actions drove them to repentance. The pain of dying caused them to humble themselves before God and his promise of love.

Consequences either draw us to love or drive us away. That is the way God has made the world. Notice that their humbleness before God didn’t take away any of the consequences. Getting saved doesn’t make life turn out happily ever after. It simply provides hope that someday this too shall pass.

God gave them the promise of redemption and then told them to leave the garden and he ensured that they would never return. Crosby Stills Nash and Young were delusional when they sang: We’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden. It cannot happen. There is no turning back from the consequences of believing that God is a liar. That which was before is gone. There is no mending the broken covenant. Haters can’t get back on the path of love because there is no love in them. Their only hope is Justice fulfilled by death. Adam and Eve, you and I were born dead in the just consequences of turning our backs on love. Our only hope is to humble ourselves before love and beg for mercy. God will justly pour out mercy on any who turn from their own ways and submit themselves to the ways of love.

May God have mercy on us and our families. Let’s pray. Oh God, forgive me for wanting my timing to be your timing. Forgive me for confusing my ways with my ways. Be our God and let us be your people. In Jesus’ name we ask these things. So be it. Amen.