Features Sampler: Life Application Study Bible, Third Edition - Flipbook - Page 12
GENESIS 3
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page 10
The Man and Woman Sin
The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One
day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any
of the trees in the garden?”
2“Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3“It’s
only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat.
God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”
4“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5“God knows that your eyes will
be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
6The woman was convinced. 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. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7At
that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness.
So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
8When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man* and his wife heard the Lord
3
3:8 Or Adam, and so throughout the chapter .
3:1-6 Why does Satan tempt us? Temptation is Satan’s invitation to give
in to his kind of life and give up on God’s kind of life. Satan tempted Eve
and succeeded in getting her to sin. Ever since then, he’s been busy getting
people to sin. He even tempted Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11). But Jesus did not sin!
How could Eve have resisted temptation? By following the same guidelines we can follow. First, we must realize that being tempted is not a sin.
We have not sinned until we give in to the temptation. Then, to resist
temptation, we must (1) pray for strength to resist, (2) run (sometimes
literally), (3) say no when confronted with what we know is wrong, and
(4) hold on firmly to God’s Word. James 1:12 tells of the blessings and
rewards for those who don’t give in when tempted. Every time we resist
temptation, we become more like Jesus.
3:1-6 The serpent, Satan, tempted Eve by getting her to doubt God’s
word and then his goodness. He implied that God was strict, stingy, and
selfish for not wanting Eve to share his knowledge of good and evil. Satan
made Eve forget all that God had given her and, instead, focus on what
God had forbidden. We fall into trouble, too, when we dwell on what God
forbids rather than on the countless blessings and promises he has given
us. The next time you are feeling sorry for yourself because of what you
don’t have, consider all you do have and thank God. Then your doubts
won’t lead
you into sin. NOTES
UPDATED
3:1
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Satan came to tempt Eve. At one
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connect with today’s readers,
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they wanted: an intimate knowledge of
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both good and evil. But they got it by disobeying God, and the results
were disastrous. Sometimes we have the illusion that freedom is doing
anything we want. But God says that true freedom comes from obedience and knowing what not to do. The restrictions he gives us are for
our good, helping us avoid evil. We have the freedom to walk in front of
a speeding car, but we don’t need to be hit to realize it would be foolish
to do so. Don’t listen to Satan’s temptations. You don’t have to do evil to
gain more experience and learn more about life.
3:5 Satan used a sincere motive to tempt Eve, telling her that she would
be like God if she ate the fruit. It wasn’t wrong of Eve to want to be like
God. To become more like God is humanity’s highest goal. It is what we
are supposed to do. But Satan misled Eve concerning the right way to
accomplish this goal. He told her that she could become more like God
by defying God’s authority, by taking God’s place and deciding for herself
what was best for her life. In effect, he told her to become her own god.
But to become like God is not the same as trying to become God.
Rather, it is to reflect his characteristics and to recognize his authority
over your life. Like Eve, we often have a worthy goal but try to achieve
it in the wrong way. Before you start, check your steps. Do they honor
God as well as pursue the goal?
3:1
2 Cor 11:3
Rev 12:9; 20:2
3:3
Gen 2:17
3:4
John 8:44
2 Cor 11:3
3:5
Isa 14:14
Ezek 28:2
3:6
2 Cor 11:3
1 Tim 2:14
Jas 1:14-15
1 Jn 2:16
3:8
Lev 26:12
Deut 23:14
Self-exaltation leads to rebellion against God. As soon as we begin
to leave God out of our plans, we are placing ourselves above him. This
is exactly what Satan wants us to do.CROSS- REFERENCES —
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3:6-7 One of the realities of sin is that its effects spread. After Eve sinned,
margins,
she involved Adam in her wrongdoing.
When we cross-references
do something wrong,
often we try to relieve our guilt by involving
else. Like
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find
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spilled in a river, sin swiftly spreads. Recognize
and confess
your sin to
passages
quickly.
God before you are tempted to pollute those around you.
3:6 Satan tried to make Eve think that sin is good, pleasant, and desirable. A knowledge of both good and evil seemed harmless to her. People
usually choose wrong things because they have become convinced
that those things are good, at least for them. Our sins do not always
appear ugly to us, and the most pleasant sins are the hardest to avoid.
So prepare yourself for the attractive temptations that may come your
way. We cannot always prevent temptation, but there is always a way of
escape from it (1 Corinthians 10:13). Use God’s Word and God’s people
to help you stand against it.
3:6 Notice what Eve did: She looked, she took, she ate, and she gave.
The battle is often lost at the first look. Temptation often begins by simply
seeing something you want. Are you struggling with temptation because
you have not learned that looking is the first step toward sin? You will
overcome temptation more often if you follow Paul’s advice to run from
those things that produce evil thoughts (2 Timothy 2:22).
3:7-8 After sinning, Adam and Eve felt guilt and embarrassment about
their nakedness. Their guilty feelings made them try to hide from God. A
guilty conscience is a warning signal God has placed inside you that goes
off when you’ve done wrong. The worst step you can take is to eliminate
the guilty feelings without eliminating the cause. That would be like using
a painkiller but not treating the disease. Be glad those guilty feelings are
there. They make you aware of your sin so you can ask God’s forgiveness
and then correct your wrongdoing.
3:8-9 These verses show God’s desire to have fellowship with us. They
also show why we are afraid to have fellowship with him. Adam and Eve
hid from God when they heard him approaching. God wanted to be with
them, but because of their sin, they were afraid to show themselves. Sin
had broken their close relationship with God, just as it has broken ours.
But Jesus Christ, God’s Son, opens the way for us to renew our fellowship
with him. God longs to be with us. He actively offers us his unconditional
love. Our natural response is fear because we feel we can’t live up to his
standards. But understanding that he loves us, regardless of our faults,
can help remove that dread.
3:8 The thought of two humans covered with fig leaves trying to hide
from the all-seeing, all-knowing God seems ridiculous. How could they
be so silly as to think they could actually hide? Yet we do the same thing,
acting as though God doesn’t know what we’re doing. Have the courage
to share all you do and think with him. And don’t try to hide—it can’t be
done. Honesty will strengthen your relationship with God.