Genesis 3_1-7： The Serpent, the Woman, & the Collapse of Order
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Summary
In this episode, we begin our study of Genesis chapter 3, "The Woman and the Collapse of God's Order." In this passage, we see a dramatic shift in the tone of the creation narrative and the role of the serpent.
Transcript
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Well, as Joseph said, it is a very key passage of Scripture.
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In fact, I think outside of the crucifixion of Christ, this may be the saddest chapter
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Now, for those of you who are joining us for the first time, we're studying the book of
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Genesis, and we're not going to go all the way through all 50 chapters, but we have been
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going through the first few chapters together as a body.
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And today we begin chapter three. If chapter one gave us this wide open view of creation,
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then chapter two was this zooming in on the specific events and more focused on the life
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of Adam and Eve. Last week we examined Genesis chapter 2, 14 through 24 in a sermon titled
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the six implications of masculine rule. The six implications of masculine rule.
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In that passage, we saw how the isolation of man was not good, and that Eve was a great and
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glorious creation to solve one of man's problems. We also saw that God entrusted Adam with the
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responsibility to lead and rule over creation, the animals, and Eve. Now that truth from that sermon
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sets the stage today because we're going to see the devastating effects
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that follow when God-given order is neglected or even reversed. Today's sermon is titled,
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the serpent, the woman, and the collapse of God's order. Verse one, it says, now the serpent was
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more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. Now this verse marks
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kind of a dramatic shift in the tone of Genesis. The purity and the innocence of the creation
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narrative are suddenly interrupted by this phrase, more crafty. The serpent was more crafty.
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Some translations render it subtle or shrewd or cunning. Regardless of the wording, each one of
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them carries this hint of kind of discernment or concern planted in the reader's mind, a sense of
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Like an unsettling element has entered into the story.
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Now, for the first time in human history, innocence is no longer enough.
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Now, how do we know that the serpent of Genesis 3 is actually representative of the devil?
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There's a lot of liberals out there that like to deconstruct this passage with a variety of false narratives.
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Well, Revelation 12, verse 9, assigns, there's actually other verses as well,
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but this one assigns the connection saying, quote,
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The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent who is called the devil and Satan,
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Now, the serpent was not Satan incarnate, okay?
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You've got to understand here, the serpent's not Satan incarnate.
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It becomes the mouthpiece of Satan in the fall of man.
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Now, the Lord's choice to allow the devil to manifest in the serpent,
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I think it perfectly mirrors the character of Satan himself.
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It also certainly mirrors the character of sin itself.
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As we know, living here in Arizona, I know this on our property,
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we also know that venom can kill and oftentimes does the narrative goes on to say if you look to
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verse 1b second half of verse 1 all the way through verse 3 let's read it together
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it says he said to the woman speaking of the serpent did god really say you shall not eat of
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any tree in the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of
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the trees in the garden, but God said, You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that
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is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die. Now the first
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thing I want you to notice is who the serpent approaches. Who the serpent approaches. Though
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Adam was the ruler of creation and the head of Eve, the serpent went after the subordinate.
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The serpent goes after the subordinate. He bypasses the head and speaks to the helper.
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Now, why? Well, because effective attacks always enter by undermining order.
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You will see this as I continue through here. Satan targets the points of vulnerability.
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Not because, in this circumstance, that Eve was lesser.
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not because she had less intrinsic value but because she was lesser in vigilance due to her
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nature due to her nature man's nature we know the masculine nature is to rule by logic and what
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makes men strong and it's what makes men strong leaders and protectors we are logical far more
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And this is good and glorious. It is what God designed
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and as we'll see the fall was not merely an act of pride but it's also an act of disorder
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but role reversal and abdication was the means we we need to believe that god's order is good
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I think that this is what I want us to walk away with today.
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Even when it doesn't feel good, or even look good, or seem good, it is good.
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Subordinates are subordinate for a reason, according to God's design.
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Men ought not to feel guilty to be the head of their household, because God designed it that way.
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And women ought not to feel oppressed because they are to submit to their own husbands
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Now, again, subordinates are subordinate for a reason.
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Typically, I know there's a variety of examples here,
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but typically because they lack authority or ability or clarity.
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Why do drag queens read books to children and not fathers?
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And why is it often the mothers that bring them to these events?
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Why are women told to lead in the home and men told to be more sensitive?
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Why are children deciding their gender while parents are told to stay silent?
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In our world, disorder isn't random, it's a strategy of the enemy.
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If your goal is deception, you go after the child, not the parent.
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You go after the congregate, not the pastor.
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We must learn to trust the safety of order.
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children must trust the safety of order the first line of the serpent's mouth is did god
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actually say or did god really say you shall not eat of any tree in the garden
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the serpent introduces this really new category this new category of the garden
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for the first time the idea that God might not mean
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Eve was not ignorant of what God said, but she was not confident in what God said.
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And I want to make it clear, ladies, the ability to be persuaded is not a flaw of femininity.
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It's a feature of femininity, and it's actually a good and glorious thing when it's not exploited by the wrong voices.
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when it's directed towards order when when you are persuaded by your father if you're not married
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or by your husband in you know in an act of submission this is a good and godly thing
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but when women act like men and are not willing to be persuaded
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and will not fall into order in the feminist moment that we live in that's not good
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or when women are persuaded by the emotions of a particular sinful act in society or culture
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and go out from under the order of their home in order to adopt a new idea or practice that is also
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not good so again the ability to be persuaded emotionally is actually a positive and good
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feature of femininity, as long as it is not exposed and exploited or abused by a particular
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person or idea. And this is, again, how Satan worked in the garden. He didn't deny God's
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word. He questioned it. He questioned it. And in doing so, he exploits Eve's femininity.
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Now, doubt has been the devil's favorite weapon against women for a long time.
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And I'm going to show you some examples from Scripture.
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and turning back to the world she loved, not following her husband.
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We see Israel's women doubting the prophets and being led away by these men that are charming,
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Now again, all of us must learn to trust and even run to God's order.
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He says, did God actually say, you shall not eat of any tree in the garden?
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And she corrects the serpent in some degree, saying,
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and the woman said to the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden.
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But God said, you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden.
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Now, if you make a really careful look at the previous verses and these verses,
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you're going to actually see what Eve says is not exactly what God says.
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And what the serpent says is not exactly what God says.
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And you almost have to put a chart together to see what words were left out and what words were added in.
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Because when you see a similar temptation happen later in the Bible,
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where you're not being tempted in a garden, but you're being tempted in the desert,
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this is Jesus, not the first Adam, but the second Adam,
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where Eve and the serpent are not quoting Scripture word for word.
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now some have suggested and i think there's some truth here that eve's response carries a hint of
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resentment towards god now it takes a bit of a deep study to get to this position but
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i i actually do believe that there's something here she omits the words freely eat of every tree
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she doesn't include those words there and she adds neither shall you touch it
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implying that God's command was somewhat more restrictive than it was generous.
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It's subtle, but it does align with her forthcoming actions.
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Now, she does acknowledge the consequence, lest you die.
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which is significant because in the next verse,
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the serpent exploits her innocent around the magnitude of what death is.
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is. Imagine Eve's understanding of death. It's probably not that robust at this point.
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We don't know if God has communicated more to her that's not included in the scriptures,
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but of what we know, we know that she doesn't know much.
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But the serpent said to the woman in verse 4, you will not surely die. You will not surely die.
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for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened
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now at first glance it's easy to read this as kind of a straight up lie
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and then the serpent says you will not surely die
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Well, I think if you look at it a little bit closer, you realize that the serpent's words are a little bit more calculated than we might realize.
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Ancient Christians, speaking of this verse, often said, the devil's best lie is a half-truth.
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God said, in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.
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And that's what God intended with the words that he meant.
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Now, the serpent exploits this double meaning, saying, you will not surely die.
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Well, Adam and Eve did die spiritually that day.
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They did die, or they did not die physically that day.
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And I think as we see into verse 6 in a minute, Eve took hold of the wrong half.
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Now, before we go to verse 6, I want to look at verse 5 just a little bit further.
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It says, for God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
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Now, Satan tempts Eve by making God's loving protection seem like a selfish restriction and that he's withholding some good from her.
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That's what's really going on in that statement.
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God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened.
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So God's, he's withholding something good from me.
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Now it's this statement that leads humanity to its fatality.
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in fact this temptation is the basis of john 8 44 which says jesus is speaking you are of your
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father the devil speaking of the pharisees and jews he was a murderer from the beginning
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and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him whenever he speaks a lie he
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speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
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But I want you to catch this point. He was a murderer from the beginning.
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Now, life is actually filled with all types of these
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immorality that you've ever committed comes with the belief
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whispers that God's order and authority is oppressive
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This is not just some random thing that happens in Genesis 3.
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This is something that will probably happen to you today.
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you don't believe what God really said about a particular thing.
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It makes you realize how much sin we actually commit.
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That we are like our four parents, Adam and Eve,
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sinning because we do not trust the word of the Lord.
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So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food
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and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise,
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and she also gave some to her husband who was with her
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it's very neat that the snake never directly demands
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i often remind people that sin does not happen to us we choose it sin does not happen to us
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we choose it we may have been tempted into it we may have been coerced but at the end of the day
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sin does not happen to you you choose it you are not a victim to sin if you're a christian
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you are a victor over sin in christ but you don't get to say it happened to me
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It just, you know, the alcoholism just happened to me.
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Here we see Eve persuaded by the serpent's deception.
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And pay attention because she's justifying her choice, not by God's word, but by her own senses.
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Now again, this is kind of, when you see the parallel, right?
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You have the temptation of the devil in the garden with the first Adam and Eve.
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And you have the second temptation in the desert with the second Adam.
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Which one is more likely to be trying to be persuaded by his senses?
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somebody in their life that died well i'm assuming all of us have you know why they died because of
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this chapter of scripture i often tell people you hate death that hates sin because sin is the cause
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of death do you want to connect this with your life have you ever woke up in the morning and
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thought one day i'm gonna die one day i'm not gonna be here and the the the fleshly terror of
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that decision. We know that Christ has taken away that sting of death, but the fleshly terror of
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that, that's because of this chapter. We often look at this moment and go, what a stupid mistake
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she made. What a dumb mistake she made. But again, we don't realize that we make that same mistake
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every day. Every day. You go, if I was in the garden, man, I would not do that. Yes, you would.
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Now, God says to love our neighbors as ourselves,
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yet a moment presents itself to not love our neighbors,
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and we, like Eve, find a way to justify it through our senses,
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through our eyes, through what feels wise, what seems good,
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If you're a man, you can really understand this.
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For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes,
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and the pride of life is not from the Father, but is from the world.
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The eyes lie. Potiphar's wife looked with desire at Joseph and pursued him with lust.
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Achan saw the treasures of Shinar and coveted them because he saw them.
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Samson saw a Philistine woman and demanded her for himself.
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David fell when he saw Bathsheba bathing and desired her.
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You see, Job understood this danger and decided, he said, quote,
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I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze at a virgin?
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He says that whoever looks with lust has already committed adultery with a woman in his heart.
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And that it is better to even lose an eye, and that your whole body might not burn in hell.
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In a social media world where you can open up your phone and see the most vile things without even trying to, guard your eyes.
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Second, sin always includes some sort of fleshly rationalization.
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You're going to intellectually justify what you're doing.
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Eve justified her disobedience because it looked good for food.
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I know our brother Corbin's favorite passage of Scripture
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And even if it doesn't feel right, look right, seem wise, it is.
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It's easy to kind of blame the fall of humanity on woman.
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But that's not how God sees it, and that's not how the Scriptures see it either.
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The fall of humanity does not rest on Eve, according to Scripture.
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We see this in three ways, and I could give a whole sermon on this, but I'm going to give you just the bullet points.
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First, after they have eaten, if you look down to verse 9, God calls Adam to account.
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they eat they sin they freak out god's walking and says adam where are you
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he's not looking for eve though he knows the circumstances second in verses 20 through 2
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through 24 um we see in chapter 3 22 22 through 24 the lord god said quote behold the man has
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become like one of us. So again, not Adam and Eve, not Eve. The man has become like one of us
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in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and
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eat and live forever. Therefore, the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to work the ground
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third and probably the most clear is romans 5 12 it says therefore just as sin came into the world
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through one man speaking of adam and death through sin and so death spread to all men because all had
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sinned and so there you go the scriptures assign the fall of humanity not to eve but to adam this
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is what we call patriarchy father rule it is the idea that adam is responsible while he is not
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guilty and eve has her own consequences for her sin he is responsible for the sins that she commits
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and in the same way that christ is not guilty for the sins that the church commits he takes
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responsibility for them paying for them on the cross that is godly patriarchy men who take
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responsibility the state of your wife and your children and your home you are responsible men
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and the lord will look to you for the state of your home it doesn't mean that your sins of your
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daughter or your sons or your wife will not be dealt with they will but the responsibility
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these were immediate effects of spiritual death
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immediate effects they died spiritually the serpent's promise of their eyes being open was
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was true but it was anticlimactic their eyes were now open but open to what
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Now, notice that sin does not only compel us to hide from God,
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but it actually makes us ashamed to be around one another.
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because today's epidemic of individualism and isolation
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if you want to figure out why your relationships don't feel close
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true community cannot exist apart from repentance and holiness
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ultimately this passage i believe calls us to trust god and his design it's good it's good for
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the marriage it's good for the church it's good for the family it's good for the state
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it is a good and holy and godly thing to trust the design of god his order is not a burden it is a
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shelter and even when we cannot reason even when our eyes deceive us even when wisdom of the flesh
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says we ought not to obey we must yield to god's design amen amen let's pray father we thank you
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lord for your design for your order that you have not left us having to determine or design something
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ourselves. Lord, keep us and protect us from chaos. Lord, we ask that you would bless these
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families in our church here, Lord, that they would follow your order, that they would trust your
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order, that the men would follow and submit to Christ, and that the women would follow and submit
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their husbands, and that their children would follow and submit to their parents. Lord, we ask
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that your order would reign in this nation. In Jesus' name, amen.