Passing Through My Mind Today: Worse Than Black Friday, 1929

Passing Through My Mind Today: Worse Than Black Friday, 1929: Genesis 3:1-24 The serpent was “crafty” and Eve was gullible. Nice to know not much has changed since the beginning.   Satan, in the fo...

Worse Than Black Friday, 1929

Genesis 3:1-24

The serpent was “crafty” and Eve was gullible. Nice to know not much has changed since the beginning.  

Satan, in the form of a serpent, lied without hesitation and Eve was overcome by his “reasonable” and false arguments. He said that she would not “die” if she disobeyed God, but her spiritual relationship with God died instantly. He said that she would be “wise” but she only became knowledgeable about the pain of sin. To Eve the fruit forbidden by God looked good, should taste good, and it would bring her up to God’s level. Suddenly God’s requirement of obedience was forgotten. Her dilemma sounds so much like our own as we face today’s temptations.

The familiar blame game was played out during the confrontation between God and His people. Adam blamed Eve and God. Eve blamed the serpent, and I suspect that Satan merely smiled.

But God’s love continued even in the face of rebellion. Verse 15 is the first promise from God that He would send a Savior to erase the gap now created between God and His world.  That would not have been clear to Adam and Eve. They could only know that God still loved them in spite of their sin.

As we live in a world that has pretty much rejected the existence of Satan and Hell, and even God in some cases, let’s remember that sin is a reality and it is pure rebellion against God. At the same time we can rejoice in the confidence that Jesus, God’s only Son, has indeed come and has restored to us what was lost so long ago.

(For a further description of Satan by Jesus see John 8:44)

Passing Through My Mind Today: ACCIDENT OR INTENT?

Passing Through My Mind Today: ACCIDENT OR INTENT?: Genesis 1-2:25 “God said”, “God created”, “God called”, “God made”, and “God saw that it was good” are all phrases that dominate the fi...

ACCIDENT OR INTENT?

Genesis 1-2:25

“God said”, “God created”, “God called”, “God made”, and “God saw that it was good” are all phrases that dominate the first chapter of Genesis.  Similar phrases about God continue to flow through the second chapter.  

The Hebrew word for created is only used in connection with God. As humans, we can reorganize substances that already exist into something recognizable, but only God can begin with literally nothing. God was and is the mighty Creator.

Not only is the Creation story adamant that God created our world but that His creation was good. The evil in our world is not inherent because it was created poorly. The evil that thrives in our world stems from the evil in people’s hearts. God created perfectly, without error.

Lastly, but not of least importance, God created mankind perfectly. God created man first and then woman, but the word “helper” used to describe woman is usually used to describe God as “Helper” in the rest of the Old Testament.  

God didn’t intend woman to be a “servant” of man, as we usually understand the word today, but a completer of man. In God’s eyes the two should inspire the best in each.

 Man and woman were different from any other part of creation. They were created in the image of God, able to relate to Him in a way unknown to the animals. 

Humans were to oversee and care for God’s creation. 

Sounds wonderful, but something went wrong, but more about that next time.  For today, let’s just remember to thank God for His gracious gift of this world and of life.  As difficult at it can seem and as out of control as it can seem, God is still the Master and He will bring it all together for His glory.