"Then the Lord God said to the woman, 'What is this you have done?'
"The woman said, 'The serpent deceived me, and I ate.'"
Genesis 3:13
Now God is giving the woman a chance to hear her side of the story, and she follows the man's example and shifts the blame right on over to the serpent. "It's not my fault. I was tricked."
Maybe this is why man was placed in a authority - when the sin occurred it says the woman was tricked, not the man, but the woman followed his lead when it came time to fess up. That can make it even harder to do the right thing, when those around us, especially those we look up to, are pointing the blame our way.
God, give us strength to confess our sins even when those stronger than we are fail to do so.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Monday, December 29, 2014
Genesis 3:12
"The man said, 'The woman you put here with me - she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.'" Genesis 3:12
Here it is, the thing everyone seems to do, the passing of the buck. Not only is the man blaming the woman for giving him the fruit, but also he's blaming God for giving him the woman. "Yes, God, I ate it, but it's your fault for giving me this temptress." We are all tempted to do that very same thing, instead of accepting our guilt, we point the finger, "I only did it because of..." (insert excuse here).
What sins are we passing the blame on now? Instead we should acknowledge our guilt and beg God for forgiveness and strength to resist the temptation.
Here it is, the thing everyone seems to do, the passing of the buck. Not only is the man blaming the woman for giving him the fruit, but also he's blaming God for giving him the woman. "Yes, God, I ate it, but it's your fault for giving me this temptress." We are all tempted to do that very same thing, instead of accepting our guilt, we point the finger, "I only did it because of..." (insert excuse here).
What sins are we passing the blame on now? Instead we should acknowledge our guilt and beg God for forgiveness and strength to resist the temptation.
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Genesis 3:11
"And he said, 'Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?'" Genesis 3:11
Now God is calling man out on his sin. Here's the chance to step up and fully admit, "Yes, God, I'm sorry I did what you told me not to." It's a hard thing to do, to admit fault. As Gill points out in his commentary the other question God is asking is "What have you done to make you feel this shame and guilt?"
God wants us to admit our sins. Are you ready to admit your sins to God? Sometimes that's not even the hardest part. Sometimes even when we know we're doing wrong it's hard to let go and stop sinning. Even intellectually knowing that our lives would be better without the sin doesn't make it any easier to get out of it. I pray that God will forgive us of even these sins and he will give us the strength to get away from them.
Now God is calling man out on his sin. Here's the chance to step up and fully admit, "Yes, God, I'm sorry I did what you told me not to." It's a hard thing to do, to admit fault. As Gill points out in his commentary the other question God is asking is "What have you done to make you feel this shame and guilt?"
God wants us to admit our sins. Are you ready to admit your sins to God? Sometimes that's not even the hardest part. Sometimes even when we know we're doing wrong it's hard to let go and stop sinning. Even intellectually knowing that our lives would be better without the sin doesn't make it any easier to get out of it. I pray that God will forgive us of even these sins and he will give us the strength to get away from them.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Genesis 3:10
"He answered, 'I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.'" Genesis 3:10
The Qbible includes one little phrase left out of the NIV. It reads the man's answer as "I heard your call." It's just like a child who knows they are doing (or did) something they shouldn't - they hear Mom or Dad calling them and try to hide the evidence. In this case, their own changed perception was the evidence.
It's still a common reaction. We hear God calling us, and look around and see the mess we've made and vainly try to hide from God. Most of the time we don't even realize that we're doing it. It's instinctual.
For the past few months, I've been trying to hide from God, and believe me, realizing isn't the hardest part. The hardest part is getting out from under your rock and facing the Almighty, even knowing that he is loving and forgiving. There's still a part of me that has trouble accepting that he'll even forgive the sins I'm having trouble letting go of.
I pray that he will give us each the strength to trust him and to let go of what's holding us back, so that we may hold on to him tightly with both hands.
The Qbible includes one little phrase left out of the NIV. It reads the man's answer as "I heard your call." It's just like a child who knows they are doing (or did) something they shouldn't - they hear Mom or Dad calling them and try to hide the evidence. In this case, their own changed perception was the evidence.
It's still a common reaction. We hear God calling us, and look around and see the mess we've made and vainly try to hide from God. Most of the time we don't even realize that we're doing it. It's instinctual.
For the past few months, I've been trying to hide from God, and believe me, realizing isn't the hardest part. The hardest part is getting out from under your rock and facing the Almighty, even knowing that he is loving and forgiving. There's still a part of me that has trouble accepting that he'll even forgive the sins I'm having trouble letting go of.
I pray that he will give us each the strength to trust him and to let go of what's holding us back, so that we may hold on to him tightly with both hands.
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