1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,159 Speaker 1: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:07,000 Speaker 1: then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be 3 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:15,200 Speaker 1: as gods, knowing good and evil. Genesis three five. Dear God, 4 00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:18,880 Speaker 1: as I focus on to day, I come against any 5 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:22,159 Speaker 1: lie of the serpent the devil that would cause me 6 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:26,800 Speaker 1: to believe that you are withholding something from me. To day, 7 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:30,080 Speaker 1: I will make the conscious decision to live in critical 8 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:34,680 Speaker 1: obedience to you and to your word. Lord. I will 9 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:38,519 Speaker 1: not allow pride to fracture my relationship with you. I 10 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:41,240 Speaker 1: will not allow myself to go along with the lies 11 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:45,000 Speaker 1: that I can be my own God and make decisions 12 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:50,240 Speaker 1: apart from you. I decree and declare that even though 13 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:54,320 Speaker 1: I've made mistakes, I will be quick to run to you. God, 14 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:59,120 Speaker 1: then ask for forgiveness because I know, like how you 15 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:01,880 Speaker 1: covered Adam and Eve in Genesis chapter two and three 16 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 1: in their lowest moment, you sent your son Jesus to 17 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:11,440 Speaker 1: cover me in my lowest moments. Glory to God that 18 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:14,679 Speaker 1: even when I feel the weight of my bad decisions, 19 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:20,520 Speaker 1: your presence is always with me and will always provide 20 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:26,280 Speaker 1: a way of comfort for my heart. Then Jesus's name, Amen, 21 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:30,440 Speaker 1: thank you for making prayer a priority. In your day 22 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:34,479 Speaker 1: To learn more about the Bible, stay tuned for today's story, 23 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:46,320 Speaker 1: brought to you by Bible in a Year dot com, 24 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:49,800 Speaker 1: The Tree that gives the Knowledge of Good and Evil. 25 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:54,360 Speaker 1: Before this story, we learned about the creation of Adam 26 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:58,680 Speaker 1: and Eve. They lived together with God, cared for the land, 27 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:02,559 Speaker 1: and experienced great joy. Yet there was still a choice 28 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:06,720 Speaker 1: God gave them. Now we will learn more about that choice, 29 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:09,720 Speaker 1: the Tree of Life in the Tree of the Knowledge 30 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:13,080 Speaker 1: of good and evil, and Adam and Eve's temptation to 31 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:21,840 Speaker 1: choose against God. Inspired by the Book of Genesis. Hello, 32 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:24,880 Speaker 1: I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible 33 00:02:24,919 --> 00:02:28,680 Speaker 1: in a Year podcast. Today we are once again in 34 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:32,279 Speaker 1: the garden of Eden. God's work of creation has culminated 35 00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:35,079 Speaker 1: in the very first wedding. Adam and Eve are together, 36 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 1: naked and without shame, before each other and before God. 37 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:41,760 Speaker 1: I think, because of the effects of sin, you and 38 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:45,440 Speaker 1: I can't fully comprehend just how amazing life was in 39 00:02:45,480 --> 00:02:49,760 Speaker 1: the garden for Adam and Eve. God walked with them, 40 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:52,919 Speaker 1: and after all, it was his world that he made 41 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:57,280 Speaker 1: to enjoy with his creation. Adam and Eve and God 42 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:01,680 Speaker 1: in the garden together, that was all about to change. 43 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:07,200 Speaker 1: Though today's story is about deception, bad choices, broken relationships. 44 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:10,799 Speaker 1: It all starts when a fourth character enters the scene, 45 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:14,839 Speaker 1: a serpent bent on ruining what God had made. God 46 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:18,320 Speaker 1: spoke life in truth. The serpent spoke lies and death. 47 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:23,200 Speaker 1: His target was none other than God's greatest creation, mankind. 48 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:27,880 Speaker 1: You remember the choice Adam was given by God two trees. 49 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:33,799 Speaker 1: One gave everything good eternal life, the other death. Adam 50 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:36,800 Speaker 1: and Eve knew the rules. They were free to eat 51 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:40,119 Speaker 1: of any tree except for that one. But the serpent, 52 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:44,840 Speaker 1: the enemy, the devil, wedged himself into their minds, casting 53 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:49,120 Speaker 1: doubt on God. Listen today to how the devil used 54 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:51,600 Speaker 1: doubt and pride to tempt Adam and Eve to sin. 55 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:55,760 Speaker 1: The choice was ultimately theirs, but he nudged them in 56 00:03:55,800 --> 00:04:00,520 Speaker 1: that direction. The results were nothing short of catastrophe, and 57 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 1: they reverberate through your own life to this very day. 58 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:09,960 Speaker 1: Less Here now, from Genesis three, Adam and Eve lived 59 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:13,000 Speaker 1: naked with one another in the garden. There was no 60 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:16,400 Speaker 1: need to feel ashamed of anything, since their hearts had 61 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:21,920 Speaker 1: not been exposed to evil. They lived together in spiritual, emotional, 62 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:25,880 Speaker 1: and physical bliss, and they were close to God. Yet 63 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:28,720 Speaker 1: in the garden there was a lurking evil in the 64 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:33,159 Speaker 1: form of a serpent. He was crafty and a deceitful messenger, 65 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:38,680 Speaker 1: determined to lure man away from God's loving presence. While 66 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:43,760 Speaker 1: God spoke life into existence, the serpent spoke death. His 67 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:48,680 Speaker 1: words directed towards Eve. Trying to twist and deceive. He 68 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:52,400 Speaker 1: approached her, saying, did God really say you could not 69 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:57,359 Speaker 1: eat from any tree in the garden. Eve replied, we 70 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:01,120 Speaker 1: may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden. However, 71 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:03,839 Speaker 1: God instructed us not to eat of the fruit of 72 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:07,000 Speaker 1: the tree of good and evil, nor shall we touch 73 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:11,840 Speaker 1: it lest we die. The serpent, knowing that pride was 74 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:16,240 Speaker 1: the path away from God, said you will not surely die. 75 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:19,000 Speaker 1: God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes 76 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:22,520 Speaker 1: will be opened, and you will be like him, knowing 77 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:28,040 Speaker 1: all good and evil. This enticed Eve, and has enticed 78 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:32,960 Speaker 1: humanity for all generations after her. The possibility of being 79 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:36,200 Speaker 1: our own gods has directed the path of evil for 80 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:41,159 Speaker 1: thousands of years, Eve, filled with a deep curiosity and 81 00:05:41,279 --> 00:05:45,920 Speaker 1: desire to be like God herself, ate the fruit. She 82 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:49,640 Speaker 1: did this with Adam beside her. She looked to Adam, 83 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:52,960 Speaker 1: the man supposed to care for her heart, and gave 84 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:57,039 Speaker 1: him the fruit. Also, Adam saw the fruit and saw 85 00:05:57,080 --> 00:05:59,719 Speaker 1: that it was good to eat, so he ate it. 86 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:04,960 Speaker 1: By eating the fruit, they sacrificed eternal intimacy with the 87 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:08,600 Speaker 1: one who had breathed life into them. At this moment, 88 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:13,239 Speaker 1: the relationship humanity had with God was fractured. Their eyes 89 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:16,960 Speaker 1: were opened to the existence of evil, and their hearts 90 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:20,479 Speaker 1: were exposed to sin and the shame it caused. No 91 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:24,560 Speaker 1: longer cloaked with God's righteousness, Adam and Eve saw their 92 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:28,440 Speaker 1: nakedness for the first time and were a shape. Their 93 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:34,040 Speaker 1: physical nakedness represented a deep spiritual nakedness. They desperately looked 94 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:37,800 Speaker 1: to cover themselves up with leaves, although no clothes would 95 00:06:37,839 --> 00:06:41,840 Speaker 1: ever cover their true shame. God was walking through the 96 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:45,200 Speaker 1: quiet of the garden. Adam and Eve heard him and 97 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:49,839 Speaker 1: immediately hid themselves. God, knowing full well what had happened, 98 00:06:50,120 --> 00:06:56,040 Speaker 1: called out, Adam, where are you? Adam replied, here I am. 99 00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:59,800 Speaker 1: I am naked and afraid for you to see me. 100 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:04,359 Speaker 1: Adam's fear of being seen naked revealed a much deeper 101 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:09,320 Speaker 1: separation between him and God. God with both intense anger 102 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 1: and loving compassion, said, who told you that you are naked? 103 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:16,840 Speaker 1: Have you eaten of the tree? I commanded you not 104 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:20,680 Speaker 1: to eat. Adam fell deeper and deeper into his own 105 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:25,120 Speaker 1: shame and tragedy. He pointed towards Eve, his companion, and 106 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:27,640 Speaker 1: the woman he was meant to love and protect, and 107 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:32,080 Speaker 1: through blame towards her. The woman you gave me, she 108 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:36,000 Speaker 1: gave me the fruit. Eve was falling into the same 109 00:07:36,080 --> 00:07:39,960 Speaker 1: self loathing and pride, and now left alone by her husband. 110 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:44,600 Speaker 1: She pointed to the serpent and said, the serpent deceived me, 111 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:49,120 Speaker 1: and I ate. God looked to the serpent and said, 112 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:52,960 Speaker 1: because of this, you are cursed to crawl and eat 113 00:07:53,080 --> 00:07:56,520 Speaker 1: dust for the rest of your days. One day I 114 00:07:56,560 --> 00:07:59,640 Speaker 1: will make things right, and a son of Eve will come, 115 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:02,640 Speaker 1: and you will bruise his heel, but he will crush 116 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:07,200 Speaker 1: your head. This would be the foreshadowing of Jesus coming 117 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:11,000 Speaker 1: to put an end to evil on the Cross. Then 118 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:14,480 Speaker 1: God turned to Adam and Eve, lamenting their choice to 119 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:18,080 Speaker 1: live as their own gods. Their choice would not come 120 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:23,560 Speaker 1: without consequences. God said to Eve, the blessing life will 121 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:28,000 Speaker 1: not come without struggle, and childbirth will come with great pain. 122 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:32,440 Speaker 1: You will also struggle continually with your husband and resent 123 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:37,439 Speaker 1: his leadership over you. He then turned to Adam. Because 124 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:40,559 Speaker 1: you listened to your wife and ate from the tree, 125 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:44,000 Speaker 1: I commanded you not to curse. It is the ground 126 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:46,800 Speaker 1: that you work on. You will have to work every 127 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:49,160 Speaker 1: day for the rest of your life to earn your 128 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:52,280 Speaker 1: food by the sweat of your face. You shall eat 129 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:56,200 Speaker 1: bread until you die, for you are dust, and to 130 00:08:56,360 --> 00:09:01,240 Speaker 1: dust you shall return. Adam and Eve's unity with God 131 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:05,360 Speaker 1: was fractured. Their knowledge of evil caused their hearts and 132 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:09,439 Speaker 1: their bodies to feel pain. Yet even in their disobedience, 133 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:14,400 Speaker 1: God's love for them remained and would always remain. He 134 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:18,320 Speaker 1: killed an animal and made clothes for them, and innocent 135 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:20,880 Speaker 1: life was taken so they could be warm and feel 136 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:24,000 Speaker 1: safe again. This would be an image used for the 137 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:28,040 Speaker 1: rest of history. God cast Adam and Eve from the 138 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:31,120 Speaker 1: garden of Eden and put an angel with a fiery 139 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:34,640 Speaker 1: sword to keep them away from the Tree of life forever. 140 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:39,280 Speaker 1: But God's story to love people is not over. He 141 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:43,320 Speaker 1: would remain with them, and the story of redemption would 142 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:51,559 Speaker 1: begin to unfold before their eyes. Doubt and pride those 143 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:54,440 Speaker 1: are the most powerful weapons. The crafty serpent used to 144 00:09:54,520 --> 00:09:59,080 Speaker 1: fracture the perfect relationship God had with his creation. In 145 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:02,400 Speaker 1: one fell swoo, he got humanity to question God's word 146 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:06,480 Speaker 1: and to desire to be equal to God. Listen to 147 00:10:06,559 --> 00:10:10,760 Speaker 1: what Genesis three four and five says. The serpent said 148 00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:14,280 Speaker 1: to the woman, you certainly will not die, for God 149 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:16,800 Speaker 1: knows that on the day you eat from it, your 150 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:19,800 Speaker 1: eyes will be open and you will become like God, 151 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:25,319 Speaker 1: knowing good and evil. He's saying, there's no way God 152 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:28,600 Speaker 1: told you the truth right, you won't die from eating 153 00:10:28,640 --> 00:10:33,800 Speaker 1: that fruit. There's the doubt. Satan still uses that tactic today. 154 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:36,880 Speaker 1: How many problems are we facing because we don't take 155 00:10:36,960 --> 00:10:41,160 Speaker 1: God at his word? Too many to count. But then 156 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:44,160 Speaker 1: he takes in another step further. He entices them with 157 00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:47,960 Speaker 1: a lie that he himself believed and that got him 158 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:52,960 Speaker 1: removed from Paradise from heaven, You will be like God. 159 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:56,920 Speaker 1: So now the serpent is tempting Adam and Eve, the creation, 160 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:01,200 Speaker 1: to one equality with a creator. He knows this won't work. 161 00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:04,680 Speaker 1: He knows what will happen, and it does happen. But 162 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:06,800 Speaker 1: there's one more thing I want you to notice here. 163 00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:10,199 Speaker 1: Remember that up until now, Adam and Eve have only 164 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:14,960 Speaker 1: known good and very good. They already had that in 165 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:18,400 Speaker 1: heart and in hand. So when the devil offers them 166 00:11:18,400 --> 00:11:21,200 Speaker 1: the opportunity to know good and evil, what he was 167 00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:25,520 Speaker 1: really offering is evil. That's what they don't know yet. 168 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:29,199 Speaker 1: This is an important lesson for you and me. God 169 00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:33,040 Speaker 1: already gives us every good and perfect thing. Sin and 170 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:36,000 Speaker 1: Satan tries to tell us that there is more good 171 00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:39,720 Speaker 1: to be had, But all we are really getting is evil. 172 00:11:40,679 --> 00:11:43,199 Speaker 1: Adam and Eve take the bait, eat the fruit, and 173 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:47,920 Speaker 1: sever the relationship with God. Now they have knowledge of evil, 174 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:51,560 Speaker 1: the freedom from shame. It is no more. They are 175 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:55,240 Speaker 1: naked and ashamed and afraid and aware that they've really 176 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:59,320 Speaker 1: messed up, and so they hide from God. But it's 177 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:02,199 Speaker 1: all feutile. God knows what they've done, and now it's 178 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:05,120 Speaker 1: time to pay the price. He confronts them, and we 179 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:09,760 Speaker 1: see two relationships broken, between God and mankind, and within 180 00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:14,600 Speaker 1: mankind itself. Adam and Eve, two parts of one flesh, 181 00:12:14,960 --> 00:12:19,920 Speaker 1: blame each other and blame God. They simply cannot remain 182 00:12:19,960 --> 00:12:22,800 Speaker 1: in the garden eating from the tree of life. For 183 00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:26,640 Speaker 1: you see, death, though tragic, is ultimately a gift, because 184 00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:29,440 Speaker 1: it is how they will once again be fully restored 185 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:32,560 Speaker 1: to fellowship with God. Were they to stay in the garden, 186 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:37,120 Speaker 1: they would suffer eternal separation. As the story ends, Adam 187 00:12:37,160 --> 00:12:39,880 Speaker 1: and Eve are going to face the harsh reality of 188 00:12:40,040 --> 00:12:43,840 Speaker 1: life outside the garden, of toil and trouble, of sweat 189 00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:47,560 Speaker 1: and tears. This was never God's heart for them, but 190 00:12:47,679 --> 00:12:52,199 Speaker 1: He does not abandon them in the consequences of their sin. Ever, 191 00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:56,960 Speaker 1: the loving Father God first clothes them, and this requires 192 00:12:56,960 --> 00:13:00,600 Speaker 1: a blood sacrifice, the death of an animal. It's only 193 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:05,040 Speaker 1: a temporary covering, but it foreshadows the ultimate sacrifice Christ 194 00:13:05,080 --> 00:13:10,040 Speaker 1: would one day make. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you that 195 00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:13,600 Speaker 1: despite our sin and rejection of you, you have provided 196 00:13:13,679 --> 00:13:18,120 Speaker 1: a sacrifice to cover us, the blood of your son Jesus. 197 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:21,440 Speaker 1: Thank you for this passage today and how it shows 198 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:24,080 Speaker 1: us the tactics of the enemy, those that he would 199 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:27,240 Speaker 1: use to cause us to sin and to stumble. Help 200 00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:30,640 Speaker 1: us always to trust in You and your word in 201 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:35,720 Speaker 1: Jesus name. Amen. Thank you for listening to today's Bible 202 00:13:35,800 --> 00:13:39,680 Speaker 1: in a Year podcast. I'm pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. 203 00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:42,840 Speaker 1: Download the Prey dot Com app and make prayer a 204 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:46,680 Speaker 1: priority in your life. If you enjoyed this podcast, share 205 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:49,520 Speaker 1: it with someone you love. By sharing this podcast, you 206 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:52,360 Speaker 1: can make a difference in someone's life. And if you 207 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:55,440 Speaker 1: want more resources on how to tap into God's power 208 00:13:55,760 --> 00:14:00,000 Speaker 1: for successful Christian living, be sure to visit Jack Graham 209 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:09,880 Speaker 1: dot org. God bless This episode is sponsored by Medicsher, 210 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:14,400 Speaker 1: an innovative healthcare solution for Christians to save money without 211 00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:15,640 Speaker 1: sacrificing quality.