Week 11 - THE TREE of LIFE

WEEK 11

“THE BEAUTY & FALL of Ms. EVIE”

PART TWO… ‘WHAT’S IN PARADISE?’ 

Continuing CHAPTER SEVEN:  “TWO TREES EDEN”

“THE TREE OF LIFE”

Genesis 2:16-17  …“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…”

 LOL>>>From the Funny Side of My Comic Brain:                                                

I truly don’t understand why God’s first commandment had to do with eating!!! Do you?? This was the ‘first diet’ recorded in history, and it was… “Don’t Eat of this certain food!!”

“DO NOT EAT!!!” One commandment, not ten, but one and it had to do with eating…one of my favorite things to do!! 

Now, if God had said something in reference to… “Don’t eat anything that is more than 200 calories at a time…” Eve may have obeyed!  Just saying…!  We could have been enjoying the Garden with her at this moment. Just a thought. LOL  

However, it would be EXTREMELY crowded in the Garden by now. Why? We’ll find out in the coming PART THREE – “THE FALL”!!

OK, WE’LL GET DOWN TO BEING SERIOUS NOW:

   For the past three weeks we have talked about what God shared with Adam and Eve in the Garden, and that was…

ü  FELLOWSHIP  (Part Two… “What’s In Paradise - CHAPTER SIX)

ü  RESIDENCE IN ITS HIGHEST PERFECTION in the Garden (Point Two)

ü INTIMACY LIKE NON OTHER  (Point Three)
 

  Then we learned about…

ü OUR TREE AND BREAD OF LIFE  (CHAPTER SEVEN - Point Two)

ü LIFE AFTER DEATH  (Point Three)

ü OUR GREATEST GIFT IS OUR SALVATION  (Point Four)
 

  From there we looked at…

ü FROM THE TREE OF LIFE – TO THE TREE OF LIFE  (CHAPTER SEVEN - Point Five)

ü BACK TO THE GARDEN  (Point Six)

Where we then took a…

ü GARDEN WALK  (Point Seven)

POINT EIGHT…. “THE COMMAND OF RESPONSIBILITY”

Genesis 2:17… God commanded man…”You must not eat from…”

NOTEWORTHY:  God gave Adam and Eve “responsibility” by telling them not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Rather than physically preventing them from partaking of this one tree, God gave them a responsibility to obey His command or they would surely die.  Here again we see the word “responsibility!”

   {Was that command really a command or was God giving Adam and Eve freedom to make a choice?? We’ll find out that answer in our next chapter!}

   How do we see that command from God as a responsibility?  When God gives us a command in His Word, we as His children are obligated to follow His command. We have a responsibility as His child to do what He asked of us. Do we always obey?  NO!

Why?  Sometimes we walk away from our responsibility because it…

·       doesn’t fit into our lifestyle

·       will cause change in our lives, and we aren’t too fond of change

·       would ask too much of us, and our lives are too busy with other things

·       is a belief, in our belief system, that it’s impossible for us achieve what He commands

·       has never been a priority to learn what God has written in His Word

·       is the bottom line… just NOT what WE WANT TO DO!

·       Can you name other reasons why we walk away from our responsibilities? I’d like to hear them, because I’ve most likely have used them myself at some point and time in my life!!!

   Do any of the above fit why you may have walked away from your responsibility to obey God? I see myself in almost all of them at certain times in my life. Ouch! An Eye-Opener!

So, what was the only limitation God placed on Adam and Eve? ____

You’re right…. “…must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil…” Hold on to that thought!

POINT NINE…. “KNOWING the KNOWLEDGE”

   Remember, Adam and Eve had a sweet fellowship with God like non-other since that time. They did not know anything but doing right, all they did was pleasing to God and sin was not an issue as of yet.

Max Lucado puts words to it as in this… “He (God) created a paradise to where He placed Man. A sinless sanctuary. A haven before fear. No time. No death. No hurt. No sin!”

Do you rightly understand that eating the fruit of this tree would reveal knowledge of good and evil? Not only having the understanding things of ‘good’ (which Adam and Eve knew already) but also that of evil, which brings into our knowledge of sin (that of which Adam and Eve soon realized once partaking of the forbidden fruit).

In your own words, write your understanding of ‘knowing the knowledge of good and evil.’

   Let’s search out our belief thoughts on our understanding of… ‘knowing the knowledge’, and then after we have gone deeper into this topic in the weeks to come we’ll revisit what we wrote to see if our thoughts are still the same.

POINT TEN… “CHOOSE LIFE!”

(Matthew Henry) “…it proved to Adam an experimental knowledge of good by the loss of it and of evil by the sense of it. As the covenant of grace has in it, not only Believe and be saved, but also, Believe not and be condemned.) (Mark 16:16)

READ: Mark 16:16… What are the two assurances in that verse? ____
 

A MUST READ: Deuteronomy 30:19-20… What is God asking for us to do??

   God is asking us to choose Him, which is ‘Life.’ The Lord and life are bound together. “Life” in this context refers to all that makes life rich, full and productive-as God created it to be. (commentary from NIV Bible)

Let’s go up a few verses in Deuteronomy 30 beginning in verse 11 and read through verse 18…

What is God saying? 

1.  That “LIFE” (salvation in God) is too difficult to obtain?  YES or NO

2.  Is it beyond our reach?  YES or NO

3.  Is it in a place (heaven or the sea) we have to go to first in order to receive it?  YES or NO

4.  Is it in our mouth?  YES or NO

5.  Our heart  YES or NO

6.  What commandment did God give in verse 16? ___________

7.  That we may what? _______________________

8.  That the Lord may _________________ you!

9.  If we turn away what will happen? _____________________

 ALSO READ Romans 10:6-13. What is Paul saying in these 8 verses? ______

Over all, what is the message? ________________

 “…but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

   God was willing to continue giving Adam and Eve ‘life’ and ‘blessings’ if they obey His commandment; because God’s desire from His children was to continue to receive worship and obedience. However, enjoyment of God’s paradise was contingent upon Adam and Eve ‘keeping’ God’s one and only commandment.

The Message Is…

·       When God gives us a command in His Word, we as His children are obligated to follow His command. We have a “responsibility” as one of His creations (Believers and non-believers) to do what He asked of us.

·       Adam and Eve had no worries, no problems, no pain, and no reservations about anything. They lived in total bliss and harmony! It was their heaven on earth, and that was God’s desire for them to continue with that life!!

·       They lived their lives without knowledge of the meaning of sin, because they had no sin in their lives as of yet.

·       God plainly shows us in His Word how and why we should ‘choose life!’

1^st MEMORY STATEMENT FOR THE WEEK… "I have the assurance that I have chosen “LIFE with GOD and I am so thankful for that GIFT!”

2^nd MEMORY STATEMENT FOR THE WEEK… My eyes are planted on God and I will fulfill my responsibility to Him and do my best to follow His commands.

3^rd MEMORY STATEMENT FOR THE WEEK… Memorize…Ps. 84:1-2

 

   In PART TWO of “TWO TREES EDEN” we’ll begin examining the long asked question… Did God give Adam and Eve a… “COMMAND or FREEDOM TO CHOOSE?”

   I pray that when you close your eyes tonight that you know in your heart that you have chosen “LIFE!!!”

Hoping you have a very special VALENTINE’s DAY this week!!!

cj

2-13-13

P.S.  I have commitments for the next two weeks that’s going to demand a lot of my time; therefore, I will not be posting again until MARCH 6^th. See you back here then!!!!