Sunday 5/15/22
The Beginning of Sin

 1Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
 2And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
 3But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
 4And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
 5For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
 6And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
 7And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
 8And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
 9And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
 10And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
 11And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
 12And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
 13And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
 14And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
 15And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
 16Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
 17And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
 18Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
 19In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
 20And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
 21Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
 22And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
 23Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
 24So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
Written By: God through Inspiration
Penned By: Moses
Date Penned: (1450-1410 BC)
Overview: To Record God's Creation and Identify His Plan (c 1-22)
Theme: The Story of Adam (c 3-5)
Message: Adam, Eve, and Sin  (v 1-31)

Genesis 3 Commentary

(3:1-6) Satan Tempts Eve -Disguised as a crafty serpent, Satan came to tempt Eve. Satan at one time was an angelic being who rebelled against God and was thrown out of heaven. As a created being, Satan has id or definite limitations. Although he is trying to tempt everyone away from God, he will not be the final victor. In chapter 3 God promises that Satan will be crushed. The serpent, Satan, tempted Eve by getting her to doubt God's goodness. He suggested that God was strict, stingy, and selfish for not wanting Eve to share his knowledge of good and evil. Eve forgot all that God had given her and focused her on the one thing she couldn't have. We fall into trouble, too, when we focus on the few things we don't have rather than on the countless things God has given us.

(3:7- 10) Adam and Eve Sin - Adam watches and sins and begins the sin of omission by joining the crowd and not taking a personal stand on his responsibility to not sin. Eve's Sin started with a look. If we guard our eyes and look away at temptation on the first attempt we can defeat the enemy. 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.

(3:11-13) Blaming Others - When God asked Adam about his sin, Adam blamed Eve. Then Eve blamed the serpent. How easy it is to excuse our sins by blaming someone else or our circumstances. But God knows the truth, and he holds each of us responsible for what we do. Admit your wrong attitudes and actions and apologize to God. Don't try to get away with sin by shifting the blame.

(3:14-19) A Holy God Must Judge Sin - Adam and Eve learned by painful experience that because God is holy and hates sin, he must punish sinners. The rest of the book of Genesis recounts painful stories of lives ruined as a result of the Fall. Disobedience is sin, and it
breaks our fellowship with God. But fortunately, God is willing to forgive us and to restore our relationship with him when we admit our sin.

(3:22-24) Life in the Garden of Eden wΓ€s like living in heaven. Everything was perfect, and if Adam and Eve had obeyed God, they could have lived there forever. But after they disobeyed him, God told Adam and Eve to leave. If they had continued to live in the Garden and had eaten from the tree of life, they would have lived forever. But eternal life in a state of sin would mean forever trying to hide from God. Like Adam and Eve, all of us have sinned and are separated from fellowship with God. But because of Jesus' sacrificial death for us, we do not have to stay separated from God. In fact, God is preparing a new earth as an eternal paradise for his people (see Revelation 21-22). To ensure our place there one day, let us accept his invitation to come to him.
Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. What stands out to me is how both Adam and Eve sinned and when caught they immediately blamed someone else instead of acknowledging their responsibility and sin. It shows their heart and attitude toward God and sin. If either Adam or Eve would have had the right attitude towards God and His authority they could of stopped the other from sinning because they were with each other when they disobeyed. When they sinned their sin nature was passed down to you and me. Of course that is why Jesus paid the price of our sin on the cross and why we have to be saved. Let us learn from the mistakes in the past. Sin starts in our heart and attitude. Not acknowledging God as our authority or having the right attitude towards sin will allow us to choose to sin when tempted. How about you? I know we all sin and must be saved but does sin rule your life? Do you fail time after time? If so, do you acknowledge God as your authority and do you view sin as wickedness and stay as far away as you can from it? 
Thank You for Reading Today's Devotional
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ο»ΏSincerely,
Dr. Dave Burnette
Director, The United States Bible Society, Inc.
Closing Prayer

Father in the Name and through the Blood of Jesus we pray that we would Take Today's Reading of Your Word and Give Us Understanding of Its Text, that You Apply this Word to Our Lives, and that you would help us grow in You. Father, Finally we Pray for Your Kingdom to come, that Your Will to be Done here on Earth as it is in Heaven. That You would Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen