Genesis Ch3v1-7 - Broken Beauty

It was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman,

Did God really say,

You must not eat from any tree in the garden?

The woman said to the serpent,

We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,

but 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.

You will not certainly die, the serpent said to the woman.

For God knows that when you eat of it,

your eyes will be opened,

and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

When 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 and she ate.

She also gave some to her husband who was with her,

and he ate.

Then the eyes of both of them were opened,

and they realized that they were naked.

So they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

And let's go to the New Testament,

to Luke chapter 4.

Luke 4 · chapter mention

Luke chapter 4.

Luke 4 · chapter mention

Starting in verse 1.

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit,

left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.

He ate nothing during those days,

and at the end of them he was hungry.

The devil said to him,

If you are the Son of God,

tell this stone to become bread.

Jesus answered,

It is written,

Man shall not live on bread alone.

The devil led him up to a high place

and showed him in an instant

all the kingdoms of the world.

And he said to him,

I will give you all their authority and splendour.

It has been given to me,

and I can give it to anyone I want to.

If you worship me,

it will all be yours.

Jesus answered,

It is written,

Worship the Lord your God

and serve him only.

The devil led him to Jerusalem

and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.

If you are the Son of God,

he said,

throw yourself down from here,

for it is written,

He will command his angels concerning you

to guard you carefully.

They will lift you up in their hands

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

Jesus answered,

It is said,

Do not put the Lord your God to the test.

When the devil had finished all this tempting,

he left him until an opportune time.

Well, let's go back to Genesis chapter 3.

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

Let's pray.

Father, as we read your words,

as we have been doing in Genesis,

we are reminded of the glory

that we are your image bearers.

But yet we are also confronted with

our shame

because we have failed

to represent you as we should.

So we pray that today

there would be a restoration

taking place in all of our lives,

that we would know

the glory afresh

of being made

in your image,

in your likeness,

loving the things that you love,

desiring the things that you desire,

and trusting you

with everything.

Help us then this morning.

Do good in us, we pray.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

So, Genesis,

we've been seeing

that God in his love

has provided everything

that man needs.

Have a look with me,

chapter 2, verse 8.

Now the Lord God

had planted a garden

in the east,

in Eden,

and there he put

the man he had formed,

and the Lord God

made all kinds of trees

grow out of the ground,

trees that were pleasing

to the eye

and good for food.

Eden is a beautiful,

pleasing,

and plentiful garden.

No wonder it means delight.

Everything is there

for man to enjoy.

Nothing going wrong,

no sadness or hurt,

no pain or struggles.

And most of all,

God is present.

He's dwelling in the garden.

Man is enjoying

his relationship with God.

But there's something else,

isn't there?

Look at the rest of

chapter 2, verse 9.

In the middle of the garden

were the tree of life

and the tree of the knowledge

of good and evil.

You go,

well, what's different

about these trees?

Well, for one of them,

there's a test.

God's beautiful design

is maintained

by one simple command.

We get that command

in verse 16.

The Lord God commanded

the man,

you are free to eat

from any tree

in the garden.

So they can even eat

from the tree of life.

No one's stopping them

from doing that.

But,

verse 17,

you must not eat

from the tree

of the knowledge

of good and evil.

For when you eat it,

you will certainly die.

You see,

our love for God

is to be free

and spontaneous.

And the way

to demonstrate

our love to God

ultimately

is to obey him,

is to hear his word

and to do

what his word says.

Don't eat

from the tree

of the knowledge

of good and evil.

So,

don't eat.

God's command

is like a test

of their loyalty.

It's not temptation.

He isn't putting

the tree there

going,

have you seen

that tree?

Go on,

go and have a look

at it.

No,

he's not tempting

them because God

has given them

everything that they need.

It's simply

a way to demonstrate

their love

to their creator,

God.

So,

how did

the test

go?

Well,

first of all,

we're introduced

to crafty

Satan.

Chapter 3

and verse 1.

Now,

the serpent

was more crafty

than any of the wild animals

the Lord God

had made.

And he said

to the woman,

now,

I'm sure right now

you've got this picture

in your mind

of this really

colourful snake

wrapped around

the tree

talking to Eve

with a juicy

apple in its coil.

The kind of picture

that you might see

in a kid's Bible.

Now,

I don't think

that's really

a very helpful

picture at all

because we're not

told what the serpent

looks like.

In fact,

at this point

in this story

we're not even told

where he came from

only that he's

a created being.

Look again

at verse 1.

The serpent

was more crafty

than any of the wild animals

the Lord God

had made.

So,

he's a created

being.

He's not the same

as God.

He's dependent

on God

and under

God's rule.

However,

as we read

through the Bible

account

we do learn

a little more.

In Ezekiel

we're given

a description

of an evil

wicked king

the king of Tyre.

And this king

is compared

or likened

to a figure

right the way

back

in Eden.

Listen to how

this figure

is described.

You can follow

along on screen.

This is how

God describes

the king.

He says,

you were in Eden

the garden of God.

You were anointed

as a guardian cherub

that's an angel

with a special role

for so I ordained you.

You were blameless

in your ways

from the day

you were created

till wickedness

was found in you

so I drove you

in disgrace

from the mount

of God.

So this figure

in Eden

was an angel

who was created

blameless

but became

wicked.

Now as we

continue reading on

and when we get

to the New Testament

the identity

of this

fallen angel

becomes

even clearer.

Have a look

with me

in Revelation

Revelation 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12.

So keep your finger

in Genesis

3

and go all the way

to Genesis

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12

or Revelation

12.

verse 12.

Here in this vision

Revelation

12

we're taken

right the way

back

to the beginning

of time

the beginning

of creation.

Genesis

Revelation

Revelation 12:7

12

verse 7.

So here's the vision

this is what took

place.

Then war broke

out in heaven.

Michael

that's one of the

chief angels

and his angels

fought against

the dragon

and the dragon

and his angels

fought back.

But he was not

strong enough

and they lost

their place

in heaven.

The great dragon

was hurled down.

Who's the great

dragon?

that ancient

serpent

called

the devil

or Satan

who leads

the whole

world astray.

He was hurled

to the earth

and his angels

with him.

Let's go back

to Genesis

3.

So this

figure

who was

an angel

created

blameless

became

wicked

is an angel

who had led

a failed

rebellion

against God.

He is none

other than

Satan

who was

cast out

of God's

presence

along with

the other

angels

that had

followed

with him.

But remember

our concern

is not

what

Satan

looks like

or what

this serpent

looks like

but how

he works.

He is

Genesis

Genesis 3:1

3 verse 1

the craftiest

of all

the animals.

Jesus

spoke of

him like

this

when he

lies

he speaks

his native

language

for he

is a

liar

and the

father

of lies.

The

apostle

Paul

says

Satan

himself

masquerades

as an

angel

of light.

Peter

describes

him as

your

enemy

the

devil

who

prowls

around

like a

roaring

lion

looking

for

someone

to

devour

or as

we have

just read

in

Revelation

that

ancient

serpent

called

the

devil

or

Satan

who

leads

the

whole

world

astray.

You see

when we

read

accounts

like this

we are

not to

get caught

up in

arguments

about a

talking

snake.

The point

is

Satan

is

real.

He was

present

in the

garden

and he's

present

and active

in the

world

today.

So

crafty

Satan.

Second

twisted

word

he's

not

stupid

he

mustn't

think

he's

a

fool.

He

cleverly

uses

his

wit

to

twist

what

is

clear.

In

fact

Satan's

main

means

of

attack

is

always

to

question

God's

word.

It's

subtle

and

cunning.

He

undermines

what

God

says.

Look

at

verse

one

again

with

me.

Now

the

serpent

was

more

crafty

than

any

of

the

wild

animals

the

Lord

God

had

made.

He

said

to

the

woman

did

God

really

say

you

must

not

eat

from

any

tree

in

the

garden?

It

creates

this

doubt

doesn't

it?

It

makes

us

skeptical

of

God.

If

God

is

truly

loving

would

he

not

want

you

to

have

everything

in

the

garden?

I

mean

why

would

he

not

let

you

have

everything?

It's

just

so

subtle.

It's

designed

in

such

a

way

that

we

begin

to

question

God

in

his

goodness.

We

allow

ourselves

to

believe

that

God

is

well

he

says

he's

good

but

maybe

he's

not

really

that

good

after

all

that

he's

well

he's

actually

a bit

mean

because

he

withholds

things

from

us.

In

fact

the

deception

of

Satan

becomes

self

deception.

Verse

2

the

woman

said

to

the

serpent

oh

we

may

eat

fruit

from

the

trees

in

the

garden

but

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.

Well

the

woman

is

playing

with

the

truth

isn't

she?

You

see

there's

a

couple

of

things

here

God

never

said

anything

about

not

eating

the

fruit

from

the

tree

of

life

that

was

also

in

the

middle

of

the

garden

they

could

have

access

to

that

and

God

never

said

look

closely

at

verse

2

that

you're

not

to

touch

the

fruit

he

said

you're

not

to

eat

it

so

she's

putting

words

in

God's

mouth

so

that

God

becomes

something

that

he's

not

you

know

what

it's

like

we

do

the

same

don't

we

we

read

God's

word

it's

crystal

clear

and

then

we

begin

to

replay

God's

word

in

our

minds

and

we

add

bits

to

it

our

kind

of

interpretation

and

we

take

things

from

it

and

without

realising

we've

just

joined

in

the

act

of

deception

believing

the

lie

that

God

is

not

good

and

that

he

can't

be

trusted

now

we

mustn't

blame

it

all

on

Satan

because

the

devil's

deception

is

matched

by

the

woman's

willful

desire

look

at

verse

four

scoffing

she

will

not

certainly

die

the

snake

said

to

the

woman

do

you

see

what's

happening

from

a

subtle

suggestion

to

a

downright

lie

verse

five

for

God

knows

that

when

you

eat

from

it

your

eyes

will

be

opened

and

you

will

be

like

God

knowing

good

and

evil

you

see

that's

what

the

man

and

the

woman

want

they

want

to

be

like

God

remember

what

the

tree

was

called

the

tree

of the

knowledge

of good

and evil

now the

knowledge of

good and

evil

is not

just knowing

the difference

between good

and evil

it's like

not like an

exam saying

tell us what's

good and what's

evil

that's great

no it's

deciding for

themselves what

is good

and what is

evil

you see when God

made the world

he pronounced it

all as

good

because

God alone

declares what is

good

and what is

evil

not us

he knows

what is

best for

his creation

because he

made us

but that's

not what

man wants

we want

to be

like

God

the

center of

the universe

so that

I can

decide

what is

good or

evil

we want

to declare

what is

right and

wrong

in other

words

well now

we have

no use

for God

at all

because we

can take

his place

verse 6

when the

woman saw

the fruit

of the tree

was good

for food

and pleasing

to the eye

and also

desirable

for gaining

wisdom

she took

and she

ate

fruit

now the

fruit isn't

magical

it's not

like she

eats the

fruit and

all of a

sudden

acquires this

kind of

God-like

power and

kind of

disappears and

then reappears

somewhere else

and has

super strength

or something

like that

now remember

the tree was

a test

a test to

show their

love and

their loyalty

to their

creator God

but rather

than love

God

she loves

herself

instead of

being loyal

to her

creator

the woman

is loyal

to her

own heart's

desires

she longs

to be

God

you see

the desire

was there

all along

Satan

just

capitalized

on it

and it's

no different

for you

or I

but what

about Adam

where's

Adam

well we're

going to

come back

to him

in a

minute

so

crafty

Satan

twisted

words

and our

story

this account

we perhaps

know as the

fall

you have it

there on the

heading of

your Bible

just above

chapter

three

the fall

how

mankind

fell

into

sin

breaking

the

beauty

of

God's

good

design

but this

is much

more than

just

history

this is

my story

this is

your story

this is an

account of

your life

because

Genesis

three is a

paradigm

of every

fallen act

that takes

place

it's a

picture

of how

you and

I fall

every

single

day

do we

notice the

pattern

we

question

God's

word

we doubt

God's

goodness

and we

desire

God's

place

come

come with

me please

to

James

the

letter

of

James

in the

New

Testament

comes

after

Hebrews

I'll give

you time

to find it

you might

need to

look up

in the

index

where it

is

James

chapter

one

because

probably like

me you

read the

Genesis

account and

you go

no look

if I

was there

I wouldn't

have done

that

I know

the simple

command

don't eat

I'm not

going to

eat

I wouldn't

do

that

well look

at the

way James

puts it

James

chapter

one

verse

thirteen

when

tempted

not

if

but

when

and we

all

are

tempted

no one

should

say

God

is

tempting

me

we

can't

go

around

and

say

God

put

me

in

this

situation

if

I

wasn't

in

this

situation

it

wouldn't

happen

or

God

made

me

like

this

it's

just

my

personality

and

character

it's

not

really

me

no

one

should

say

God

is

tempting

me

for

God

cannot

be

tempted

by

evil

God

is

not

enticed

by

sin

it

doesn't

have

that

same

luring

effect

nor

does

he

tempt

anyone

you

you

see

it's

easy

to

blame

others

isn't

it

we

can

even

blame

God

no

God

doesn't

tempt

but

verse

14

each

person

is

tempted

when

they

are

dragged

away

by

their

own

evil

desire

and

enticed

did

you

see

it

the

desire

is

already

there

we

are

dragged

away

by

our

own

evil

desire

and

enticed

when

I

sin

it's

not

anybody

else's

fault

but

my

own

it's

not

my

genes

it's

not

my

education

it's

not

my

family

background

it's

not

because

my

mother

denied

me

chocolate

biscuits

I'm

tempted

by

my

own

desire

yes

Satan

can

tempt

too

but

he's

only

tempting

he's

only

exposing

what

is

already

there

the

desire

to

sin

is

not

put

in

us

it's

already

in

us

it

doesn't

come

from

the

outside

as if

we're

some

kind

of

perfect

being

and

we're

just

corrupted

from

without

no

we are

corrupted

from

within

all

of

us

so we

can't

blame

our

circumstances

we can't

point

our

fingers

at

other

people

and

say

well

if

you

hadn't

said

that

if

you

hadn't

done

that

if

you

your

sin

my

sin

comes

from

my

evil

desire

look

what it

says

verse

15

then

after

desire

has

conceived

it

gives

birth

to

sin

and

sin

when

it

is

full

grown

gives

birth

to

death

it's

an

unbreakable

cycle

you

desire

you

sin

and

you

die

that's

why

God

lovingly

warned

Adam

eat

it

and

you

will

die

desire

it

and

you

will

die

back

to

Genesis

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

chapter

3

you

see

this is

my

story

what

happened

in the

garden

happens

multiple

times a

day

in my

life

I

desire

God's

place

I

doubt

his

goodness

I

question

his

word

it

happens

when

I

shirk

my

responsibility

at

home

it

happens

when

I

don't

get

what

I

want

and

things

don't

go

my

way

I

start

declaring

what

is

right

and

wrong

I

decide

what

is

good

and

bad

for

me

not

God

and

not

anybody

else

the

consequences

are

devastating

look

at how

Genesis

2

ends

Genesis

Genesis 2:25

chapter

2

verse

25

this is

where

everything

is

good

verse

25

Adam

and his

wife

were both

naked

and they

felt

no

shame

their

physical

nakedness

reflects

a deeper

inner

nakedness

here are

two people

where there

is complete

openness

between one

another

and with

God

nothing

to hide

nothing

to fear

complete

transparency

without guilt

without shame

man and woman

with their

loving creator

in this

perfect

relationship

it is

pure

delight

now look

what's

happened

chapter 3

verse 7

then the

eyes of

both of

them were

opened

and they

realized

that they

were

naked

so they

sewed

fig leaves

together

and made

coverings

for themselves

their

innocent

conscience

has been

seared

they've been

blinded by

their own

self-deception

and their

willful desire

and now

it's all

hit home

guilt and

shame

flood their

hearts

instead of

walking in

openness

they're now

hiding

and cowering

once

delight

now there's

fear

what was

beauty

is now

broken

their own

sinful desire

has corrupted

their hearts

for good

ring any

bells in

your life

as we

desire

what we

want

and then

look at

the chaos

that we

leave behind

us

what was

beautiful

so often

becomes

broken

where do

we go

from here

what are we

going to

do

well

we have

hope

don't we

so far

it's been

all about

the failure

of the

woman

maybe

Adam

good old

Adam

can turn

things

around

perhaps

he can

sort out

the mess

I mean

after all

it's the

woman

isn't it

right

who's

making

the mess

but where

is Adam

well the

problem is

Adam is

absent

or worse

still

we say

he is

present

but he's

abdicated

all

responsibility

remember

before the

woman was

made

God gave

Adam

the command

it was

Adam and

God in

the garden

have a look

back at

chapter 2

verse 15

let's be

clear about

this

chapter 2

verse 15

the Lord

God took

the man

and put

him in

the garden

of Eden

to work

it and

take care

of it

and the

Lord

commanded

who

the man

you are

free to

eat from

any tree

in the

garden

but you

must not

eat from

the tree

of the

knowledge

of good

and evil

for when

you eat

of it

you will

certainly

die

Adam's

role is

clear

he's

unique

Adam

you're

in charge

here

this is

your role

I want

you to

take

responsibility

this is

man's

primary

duty

to ensure