Sin produces pain. It destroys joy. It grabs our attention from its proper focus on our Creator. When Adam and Eve sinned, God punished them, announcing the suffering that would follow. In this text, Eve learns that her role as helper to her husband and as child bearer will be afflicted with pain. Eve’s pain would not just be physical […]
When Adam and Eve committed the first sin known to the human race, the outlook for them or any descendants was hopeless. They had chosen to believe Satan ‘s lie that they would not die if they sinned. When God confronted them, they already bore the guilt and shame and fear that sin brings. Was there a future […]
Satan, the serpent in the garden, established himself as the archenemy of God and man when he tempted our first parents to believe him instead of their Creator. This set into motion their destruction and that of all God’s creation. But God intervened. His first act of rescue was by the power of His word. He cursed the serpent, […]
In this text we continue to gain insight into the effects of sin. Guilt and the alienation that follows are the fruits of sin. Both are revealed by Adam and Eve as they try to hide from God or cover their nakedness or shift the blame, just as all mankind will do after them. But God does not […]
First shame, then fear. These effects of sin were known first in the human race by Adam and Eve when they chose their own desire over the wisdom of their creator. Their fear drove them away from God, but God continued to pursue them, as He had done all along. This God can pursue us as well in […]
What is shame? When did it first appear in human history? The text describes the consequences of that deadly sequence in the story of Adam and Eve which brought it about, temptation, enticement, disbelief, grasping, consequence. When Adam and Eve sinned, their eyes were opened to their failure. When they tried to cover their shame, even that was a […]
The Hebrews who returned from exile in Babylon went about rebuilding their homes but neglected the house of God. God sent the prophet Haggai to call them to account. In this the text the prophet conveys to the people key truths about God’s holiness and calls them to examine their own. What they learn about God’s word and […]
Why do we sin? Why do we do evil things? Our text answers with a description of the first rebellion against God and His Word. This historical account is significant not only because it tells of the tragic first sin in a pristine world, but because it reveals to us the nature of the evil desires […]