Eve -- Our Choices Can Come With Far-reaching Consequences
10:00 AMEve is found in Genesis 2-3
Hi Girls!!
- Eve is often linked to the beginnings of sin in
the earliest mentions of her outside the Bible; however she is not called
a sinner in Genesis 3. (I added the link here for you to go check all these
facts out for yourself.) Eve and Adam, both disobeyed God no doubt, but the word, sin doesn’t
appear in the Bible until the story of Cain and Abel.
- It’s often suggested that Eve tempts or seduces Adam, but in reality she merely took a piece of fruit—not an apple mind you—and handed it to Adam. Both had been warned not to eat of this particular fruit, yet they both did take a bite and ate it.
- It’s also important to note that Eve bit into
the fruit first, thereby
negating the theory that Eve was merely submitting to her husband.
- Finally, some believe God cursed both Eve and Adam, yet the text speaks only of cursing the serpent and the ground.
Pretty neat, huh? God’s word continues to amaze me, for no matter how many times I study it, I am always learning something new!
What I most want you to take
away from this study today is that – our actions come with consequences, and
sometimes those consequences can reach far into the future; impacting our
children and grandchildren. (Deuteronomy 5:9)
In all fairness to Eve, she most likely didn't realize then that this one act would have reverberating consequences down through history, but we do now!
If Eve could come speak to us today, I wonder what she would most want us to remember...
Perhaps, she'd tell us:
- Be content! Not only content with all you have at this moment, but be thankful! (1 Thessalonians 5:18) Having a continual attitude of gratitude is the perfect protection against longing for more bigger, better THINGS than you have at any moment.
- Study, Meditate, Memorize and LIVE-OUT God's Word! Let it sink down deep into your psyche so that the enemy doesn't stand a chance when he comes to tempt you, and he will come after you. Knowing God's Word and prayer is our best weapons against the schemes of the devil. (Ephesians 6:10-20)
- Stand firm and never waiver! May the Holy Spirit step in to convict you the moment you begin to rationalize and justify something you know you shouldn't do. It could be as little as having that piece of chocolate cake to lying; calling in sick to avoid an appointment, an event, work, etc.
- God sees and knows our hearts! We need to be open and honest with Him at all times. He knows the truth and chooses to love us far beyond what our minds can comprehend.
- Delight yourself in Him! If we truly love Him with all our heart, mind, soul and our entire being we will joyfully follow all of the above with gladdened hearts! (Deuteronomy 6:4-7)
And when we do miss the mark; mess up and falter, remember to be honest with Him then too. I think Paul said it best in Philippians 3:13-14, "Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (emphasis mine)
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Authors' note: This post turned out much different than I planned when I sat down to write! My original thought was to write on the adverse affects our actions can have on our children and future generations, but The Lord must have wanted us to accentuate the positive, for if we focus on doing all the above we won't have to worry about averse consequences our actions will have on our future generations.
If only Eve had known all this then...
Blessings,
Sue
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