Genesis 3-4, Matthew 2
Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance. – Matthew 2:16 NLT
What does this passage reveal about God?
God is righteous and holy, and always has been. He is the creator of the world and has designed it to operate according to His divine rules. His relationship with man was based on a relationship of obedience and trust. Man was given everything he needed to live a perfect life in an idyllic environment. Adam and Eve had plenty of everything, including an intimate relationship with God uninterrupted by sin. All God required of them was that they listen to and obey what He said. He placed one simple stipulation on them: they were forbidden to eat of one tree in the garden. "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, 'You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eatof it you shall surely die'" (Genesis 2:16-17 ESV). One tree. One restriction. And yet God had given them a garden full of trees bearing all kinds of fruit of which they were free to eat. Man has always tended to focus on the one thing he can't have, instead of rejoicing on all that God has made available to him. A relationship with God requires trust – trust in His Word. Trust in His Word requires that we trust that He knows what is best for us and so we do what He tells us to do.
God is not only holy, He is just. He is always right in all that He does. He does not make mistakes. He does not punish unfairly and ever act unjustly. It would be easy to read this account of the fall of mankind and determine that God was too restrictive in His demands and too harsh in His punishment. We could wrongly conclude that God was unfair in how He reacted to Adam and Eve and their seemingly innocent "mistake." But if we learn anything about God from this passage, it is that He expects those He has created to take His word seriously. And it is not based on some subjective whim, where God demands, "Do it because I said so!" God knows best. He is the creator of the universe. He is God almighty. He is all-knowing and all-powerful. He does not make rules arbitrarily or just because He can. He denied them access to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because He knew what it would do if they ate of it. He knew what the outcome would be. So then why did He made that tree to begin with? Why did God even place that one tree in the garden if He knew that it would be a constant temptation to man? Because God knew that obedience to Him and love for Him had to be a choice. He could not force man to do what He said or their obedience would be little more than slavery. He could will man to love Him or their affection would be coerced rather than consentual. The presence of the tree provided man with an option. He could trust and obey God, taking Him at His word, and enjoy the benefits of a right relationship with Him. Or he could doubt God's word and do the one thing God had commanded he not do, and suffer the consequences. Choice has always been a major factor in man's relationship with God. God literally made man, but He did not make man love and obey Him. God gave him a choice.
What does this passage reveal about man?
And man chose to disobey. Adam and Eve chose to doubt God's Word and disregard the incredible blessings they had received from Him. But they had help. There was an enemy of God there to place the doubt in their minds. And from the beginning, Satan has subtly and sinisterly used doubt as his primary weapon of choice in his attacks on mankind. He got Eve to question the veracity of God's word. He caused her to doubt the truth of what God had said. In essence, he led her to doubt God's character. God was not to be trusted. He wanted Eve to believe that God was hiding something from her. And Satan appealed to Eve's own sensual desires, causing her to long for the one thing that had been forbidden to her by God. "She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it" (Genesis 3:6 NLT). She wanted what she could not have. She desired what was forbidden. She lusted for what had been denied her. And her husband was just as culpable. They did what they did together. "At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness" (Genesis 3:7 NLT).
Rather than produce the results they had hoped for, their sin resulted in shame, secrecy, fear, blame and separation from God Himself. Their sin would result in painful ramifications. Yes, they now knew the difference between good and evil. And their appetite for evil would increase exponentially. Rather than enjoy the fruit of the garden and the joy of a relationship with God, they would be constantly tempted by that which was evil and, ultimately, self-destructive. Their sin resulted in more sin. Their sin produced a race of sinners. Their own family would be marred by sin, as one son eventually took the life of his brother. Their sin resulted in banishment from the garden and from God's presence. No longer were they able to walk and talk with Him. The paradise of the garden was now off-limits. All that they had once enjoyed was now unavailable to them. All because they chose to doubt God's goodness and disobey His Word. And so that has been the plight of man from that point forward. We live outside of the garden, cursed to live our lives apart from God and devoid of His blessings. Our sins separate us from Him. We are banned from His presence and forced to try to live up to His exacting standards on our own. Cane was the first in a long line of men who would fail to do what God required of him. God told Cane, "You will be accepted if you do what is right" (Genesis 4:6 NLT). But he had already done what was wrong. In a fit of jealousy, he had committed premeditated murder, taking his brother's life and sealing his own fate.
How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?
Sin is a constant reality in my life. Every day, I have the choice to trust God and take His word seriously, or I can choose to do what my own selfish, sensual desires demand. The enemy is alive and well, attempting to get me to doubt God and disobey His will for my life. My greatest temptation is to do what I think is best, rather than to trust that only God knows what is truly best for my life.
The amazing thing about this story is that, in spite of man's rebellion against Him, God provided a solution to man's problem. He sent His Son. He provided a Savior. Like our ancestor Cane, we have been unable to do what is right and find acceptance with God. So God provided a way to make us right with Him. Matthew records the coming of Jesus into the world. He would be born in the city of Bethlehem just as the prophets of God had foretold. But once again, man refused to take God at His Word. Herod would reject God's declaration of Jesus as His anointed King over Israel. Instead, he would see to it that this young baby never lived long enough to be king. His own lust for power would lead him to murder hundreds of innocent young baby boys, in a sadly mistaken attempt to thwart the will of God and deny the word of God. But his efforts would prove futile. God's will will always be done. His Word will always prove true. And yet I still find myself doubting Him and refusing to do what He says. I allow the enemy to tempt me and subtly cause me to doubt God's love and assume that I know what is best for my own life.
But God sent His Son to deliver me from me. God sacrificed His own Son so that I might be restored to a right relationship with Himself. The banishment has ended. The curse has been removed. I can and do enjoy the blessings of God and the ongoing presence of God. My sin has been taken care of by my Savior. And yet, I know that sin is a constant reality in my life. I know that I can still doubt God and refuse to take Him at His Word. I find it easy to do what I want rather than what God demands. I must constantly remind myself just how much He loves me. He has my best interest at heart. He is lovingly, patiently transforming me into the likeness of His Son. And He is one day going to restore things back to their original, unmarred splendor and beauty. The creation will be restored. Sin will be permanently removed. God has said so and I need to take Him at His Word.
Father, You are a great God and You are always just, loving and right in all that You do. I do not always understand Your methods or appreciate the manner in which You work in my life, but I want to trust You and continually rest in the truth that You know what is best. Help me to obey You more and reject the lies of the enemy. You have done far too much for me to turn my back on You. Show me how to live my life increasingly more in keeping with Your Word and in loving response to Your goodness. Amen.