WEEK 12

“THE BEAUTY & FALL of Ms. EVIE”

PART TWO… ‘WHAT’S IN PARADISE?’ 

Continuing CHAPTER SEVEN:  “TWO TREES EDEN”

 

“THE TREE of  KNOWLEDGE of GOOD and EVIL”

Genesis 2:16-17  …“And the LORD God commanded 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 surely die.”

The TREE of KNOWLEDGE of GOOD and EVIL… If the EVIL means understanding the knowledge of EVIL, than what is the GOOD? _____

Simple; The GOOD is having the knowledge of knowing the difference!

POINT ELEVEN…. “COMMAND or FREEDOM TO CHOOSE?”

   Let’s go back to our Text Verse:  “And the LORD God ‘commanded’ the man…”

   It reads… “God ‘commanded’ not to eat…”   A command is what it is…a command! God is saying… “Do not eat from this particular tree, if you do you will pay and live with the consequences!”

Did Adam and Eve have freewill to disobey God? ____

It’s very clear they had freewill; it was the choice they made within the freewill that landed them cursed and thrown out of The Garden.

Bing Dictionary defines freewill as… made of one’s own accord

   If they did not have freewill for disobeying or staying true to God’s commands, there wouldn’t be the story written about the “Fall of Man!” 

   Our God is a God Who knows all. He knew what Adam and Eve were going to do, just as He knows what we are going to do, react and become before it happens.

Could He have physically preventing Adam and Eve from eating of the tree?

   Our God is a God Who can do all, but I see it as God allowing them to come into themselves as to who they were going to be… disobedient… just as God allows us to come into ourselves to make our own choices.

Are the choices we make always His choice for us??

NO!  Nevertheless, we make them…be they right or wrong.

NOTEWORTHY:   Man was put in the Garden to worship God and to obey Him. Man’s life in the Garden was to be regarded as worship and obedience, but when Man broke the command and disobeyed God, he paid the cost.

SIN: Evil and sin did not originate with God. Adam and Eve were created innocent and with the capacity to make choices. Sin entered the world at a specific place and time in history. Adam and Eve chose freely to disobey God, fell from innocence, and lost their freedom. Their sinful nature has passed to every other human being. Sin resulted in death, both physical and spiritual. Sin has led to a world of pain and struggle. (Holman Christian Standard Bible Commentary)

Does God STILL give us freewill to OBEY or DISOBEY His commands? ___

   Yes. However, the wrong choices we make in our disobedience will cause us pain, disorder in our lives, fears, troubled worries, etc., to some degree-either right away or later on in life.

“Touch it at your peril.” Phrased by Matthew Henry  (Peril meaning… risk, jeopardy, danger.)

   SIMPLY PUT… The two trees in the Garden gave Man a choice of two things… A LIFE or DEATH!!! Rewards for choosing to OBEY; sad consequences for choosing to DISOBEY!

 POINT TWELVE…. “KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL”

   God told Adam and Eve the consequences right from the beginning … Eat from the Tree of Knowledge and die. Enjoyment of God’s good land was contingent on Man “keeping” God’s commandments.

Why did God forbid them from eating from this particular tree?

   If you said something like… “It conveyed divine wisdom of what was good and evil and God wanted them not to know evil.” You are correct.

   The Hebrew word for evil is — ra’  — which means misery, woe, grief, or harm and more. It leads to something extremely sorrowful, unpleasant and loss.

A CJisum…. Disobedience was an act of Adam and Eve’s rejection of God’s will for their lives. The fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was the source of wisdom, knowledge of right from wrong, and their choice to pursue this wisdom was apart from God.  

Is this not us today??

POINT THIRTEEN …. “A MESSAGE OF FREEDOM”

   We invite Christ to enter our hearts and break the bonds of sin. When Christ enters our life, He gives us new life and sets us free of sin!  

Will we still be tempted by sin?

   Yes, but through Jesus, He gives us empowerment within, to resist sin and not fall into temptation - if we would only grab-hold to that enablement (empowerment) each time! Temptation happens when sin presents itself in means that we see and feel it will satisfy our desires in a self-serving way. However, God still allows us to choose between right and wrong. READ 1 John 3:7-9

A CJisum…. Even though the Bible throughout its pages warns us about the consequences of sin, and the impact it will have on our lives, it also provides a message of freedom and hope - that forgiveness and healing are available to us when we acknowledge and repent our wrongdoings to the God who dearly loves to forgive!

POINT FOURTEEN…. “WHAT CAN BE LEARNED FROM OUR WRONG CHOICES?”

   Living with the consequences of our wrong choice should teach us to...

·       Think about the consequences before acting upon a temptation

·       Pray first and learn to listen to our inner heart, which is God, to make better choices in the future

·       Grow stronger and deeper in our faith
 

AND THE MESSAGE IS???

The Message Is…

·     Adam and Eve had personal fellowship with God as the three walked together through the Garden of Paradise…Garden of Eden. They lived their lives without knowledge of the meaning of sin, because they had no sin in their lives. They had no reservations about anything until they disobeyed.

·     God’s heart’s desire for Adam and Eve was that their lives to be one of serenity and happiness and free from bonds.

·     God told Adam and Eve the consequences right from the beginning … “Eat from the Tree of Life and live and have a blessed life. Eat from the Tree of Knowledge and be cursed and die.”

·     Eating from this fruit brought Awareness to Adam and Eve of their disobedience…of their sin! 

·     We have a Message of Freedom through Christ Jesus!

·     Learn from your wrong choices and past sins!

1^st MEMORY STATEMENT… I know I have freewill to make a choice, and knowing I long to always do God’s will, therefore, I will commit to seek His will in all choices!

2^nd MEMORY STATEMENT… “Lord God, help me to think about the consequences before acting upon a temptation, and that I will learn to pray first and listen to my inner heart, which is You O God, so I will make better choices in the future as I grow stronger and deeper in my faith.”

READING ASSIGNMENT for the WEEK…Deuteronomy 30:11-20

   I look forward to seeing you back here next week when we will be going into PART THREE of the “THE BEAUTY & FALL of Ms. EVIE” titled… “THE FALL”  

   My prayer is that God will make us more aware of all the disobedience in our lives every day so we can live a more righteous life for Him and as an example before others!

Blessings,

cj

3/6/13