Read Gen 3-4 at Bible Gateway.
If you found the one commandment in Gen 1-2 from yesterday, notice that when Eve repeated God’s commandment to the serpent, it was not the same.
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Gen 2:16-17
And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ Gen 3:2-3
In these two chapters, notice who Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel are listening to:
Eve, to her own addition to God’s Word, then the serpent’s open contradiction (Gen 3:2-6);
Adam, to the voice of his wife when it countered the voice of God (Gen 3:17);
Abel, who ordered his actions (his sacrifice) according to God (Gen 4:4)!
Cain, who refused to order his actions according to God’s instruction (Gen 4:6-7)!
This is why Israel’s great command is the Shema: “Hear, O Israel!” (Deu 6:4) Listen to the voice of YHVH alone, and then heed it! Know exactly what God has said. Be on guard for that which differs from it in any particular!
For further study: Find the two curses God pronounced in Gen 3: exactly who or what was cursed and who or what was not cursed? Adam sins in chapter 3, and Cain sins in chapter 4. Compare God’s response in each case. What can we learn about sin and its consequence?
Finding Messiah: Cain says of his plight: “My iniquity is greater than I can bear!” Gen 4:13
This true statement applies to us all; however, the One in whose hand is the Shepherd’s staff knows this, and provided for us the Promised Seed (Gen 3:15), to crush the head of the serpent, and to deliver us from the Land of Wandering, to restore us to His presence again!
For further reading:
When Did Adam and Eve Rebel?
Athena and Eve
The serpent worshippers
Cain’s wife – who was she?
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genesis index ::: ::: ::: one year reading schedule
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