1
00:00:00,800 --> 00:00:04,160
Speaker 1: Let us pray for God. Doth know that in the

2
00:00:04,280 --> 00:00:07,920
Speaker 1: day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened,

3
00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:12,760
Speaker 1: and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

4
00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:19,200
Speaker 1: Genesis three five. Dear God, as I focus on to day,

5
00:00:20,239 --> 00:00:22,960
Speaker 1: I come against any lie of the serpent the devil

6
00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:26,799
Speaker 1: that would cause me to believe that you are withholding

7
00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:30,560
Speaker 1: something from me. To day, I will make the conscious

8
00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:34,519
Speaker 1: decision to live in critical obedience to you and to

9
00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:38,559
Speaker 1: your word. Lord. I will not allow pride to fracture

10
00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:42,199
Speaker 1: my relationship with you. I will not allow myself to

11
00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:45,120
Speaker 1: go along with the lies that I can be my

12
00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:50,440
Speaker 1: own God and make decisions apart from you. I decree

13
00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:54,960
Speaker 1: and declare that even though I have made mistakes, I

14
00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:57,560
Speaker 1: will be quick to run to you God, then ask

15
00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:02,240
Speaker 1: for forgiveness, because I know, like how you covered Adam

16
00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:04,640
Speaker 1: and Eve in Genesis chapter two and three in their

17
00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:09,200
Speaker 1: lowest moment, you sent your son Jesus to cover me

18
00:01:09,319 --> 00:01:14,400
Speaker 1: in my lowest moments. Glory to God that even when

19
00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:18,600
Speaker 1: I feel the weight of my bad decisions, your presence

20
00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:23,160
Speaker 1: is always with me and will always provide a way

21
00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:30,479
Speaker 1: of comfort for my heart. In Jesus's name, Amen, thank

22
00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:33,800
Speaker 1: you for making prayer a priority in your day. To

23
00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:37,240
Speaker 1: learn more about the Bible, stay tuned for today's story,

24
00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:40,320
Speaker 1: brought to you by Bible in a Year dot.

25
00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:53,360
Speaker 2: Com The Tree that gives the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

26
00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:57,920
Speaker 2: Before this story, we learned about the creation of Adam

27
00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:02,240
Speaker 2: and Eve. They lived together with God, cared for the land,

28
00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:06,120
Speaker 2: and experienced great joy. Yet there was still a choice

29
00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:10,120
Speaker 2: God gave them. Now we will learn more about that choice,

30
00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:13,240
Speaker 2: the Tree of Life in the Tree of the Knowledge

31
00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:16,600
Speaker 2: of Good and evil, and Adam and Eve's temptation to

32
00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:20,680
Speaker 2: choose against God. Inspired by the Book of Genesis.

33
00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:28,040
Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the

34
00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:31,880
Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. Today we are once again

35
00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:35,120
Speaker 3: in the garden of Eden. God's work of creation has

36
00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:38,600
Speaker 3: culminated in the very first wedding. Adam and Eve are together,

37
00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:42,000
Speaker 3: naked and without shame, before each other and before God.

38
00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:45,280
Speaker 3: I think, because of the effects of sin, you and

39
00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:49,000
Speaker 3: I can't fully comprehend just how amazing life was in

40
00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:52,880
Speaker 3: the garden for Adam and Eve. God walked with them,

41
00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:56,560
Speaker 3: and after all, it was his world that he made

42
00:02:56,600 --> 00:03:00,880
Speaker 3: to enjoy with his creation. Adam and Eve and God

43
00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:05,239
Speaker 3: in the garden together that was all about to change.

44
00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:10,760
Speaker 3: Though today's story is about deception, bad choices, broken relationships,

45
00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:14,919
Speaker 3: It all starts when a fourth character enters the scene,

46
00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:18,400
Speaker 3: a serpent bent on ruining what God had made. God

47
00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:21,880
Speaker 3: spoke life in truth. The serpent spoke lies and death.

48
00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:26,760
Speaker 3: His target was none other than God's greatest creation, mankind.

49
00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:31,400
Speaker 3: You remember the choice Adam was given by God two trees.

50
00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:37,360
Speaker 3: One gave everything good eternal life, the other death. Adam

51
00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:40,320
Speaker 3: and Eve knew the rules. They were free to eat

52
00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:43,680
Speaker 3: of any tree except for that one. But the serpent,

53
00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:48,360
Speaker 3: the enemy, the devil, wedged himself into their minds, casting

54
00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:52,680
Speaker 3: doubt on God. Listen today to how the devil used

55
00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:55,120
Speaker 3: doubt and pride to tempt Adam and Eve to sin.

56
00:03:55,800 --> 00:03:59,280
Speaker 3: The choice was ultimately theirs, but he nudged them in

57
00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:04,160
Speaker 3: that direction. The results were nothing short of catastrophic, and

58
00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:07,320
Speaker 3: they reverberate through your own life to this very day.

59
00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:12,000
Speaker 3: Let's hear now from Genesis three.

60
00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:15,440
Speaker 2: Adam and Eve lived naked with one another in the garden.

61
00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:19,200
Speaker 2: There was no need to feel ashamed of anything, since

62
00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:23,080
Speaker 2: their hearts had not been exposed to evil. They lived

63
00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:27,520
Speaker 2: together in spiritual, emotional, and physical bliss, and they were

64
00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:30,800
Speaker 2: close to God. Yet in the garden there was a

65
00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:34,240
Speaker 2: lurking evil in the form of a serpent. He was

66
00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:38,760
Speaker 2: crafty and a deceitful messenger, determined to lure man away

67
00:04:38,839 --> 00:04:44,240
Speaker 2: from God's loving presence. While God spoke life into existence,

68
00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:49,680
Speaker 2: the serpent spoke death. His words directed towards Eve. Trying

69
00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:54,440
Speaker 2: to twist to deceive, He approached her saying, did God

70
00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:57,640
Speaker 2: really say you could not eat from any tree in

71
00:04:57,680 --> 00:05:02,320
Speaker 2: the garden. Eve replied, we may eat of the fruit

72
00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:05,960
Speaker 2: of the trees in the garden. However, God instructed us

73
00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:08,000
Speaker 2: not to eat of the fruit of the tree of

74
00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:12,119
Speaker 2: good and evil, nor shall we touch it lest we die.

75
00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:17,119
Speaker 2: The serpent, knowing that pride was the path away from God, said,

76
00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:21,320
Speaker 2: you will not surely die. God knows that when you

77
00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:24,039
Speaker 2: eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you

78
00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:29,240
Speaker 2: will be like him, knowing all good and evil. This

79
00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:34,280
Speaker 2: enticed Eve, and has enticed humanity for all generations after her.

80
00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:38,359
Speaker 2: The possibility of being our own gods has directed the

81
00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:43,279
Speaker 2: path of evil for thousands of years, Eve, filled with

82
00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:46,920
Speaker 2: a deep curiosity and desire to be like God herself,

83
00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:51,360
Speaker 2: ate the fruit. She did this with Adam, beside her,

84
00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:55,080
Speaker 2: She looked to Adam, the man supposed to care for

85
00:05:55,160 --> 00:05:59,200
Speaker 2: her heart, and gave him the fruit. Also, Adam saw

86
00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:01,720
Speaker 2: the fruit and saw that it was good to eat,

87
00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:06,080
Speaker 2: so he ate it too. By eating the fruit, they

88
00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:10,000
Speaker 2: sacrificed eternal intimacy with the one who had breathed life

89
00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:14,560
Speaker 2: into them. At this moment, the relationship humanity had with

90
00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:18,520
Speaker 2: God was fractured. Their eyes were opened to the existence

91
00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:22,359
Speaker 2: of evil, and their hearts were exposed to sin and

92
00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:26,560
Speaker 2: the shame it cost. No longer cloaked with God's righteousness,

93
00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:29,799
Speaker 2: Adam and Eve saw their nakedness for the first time

94
00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:34,279
Speaker 2: and were a shape. Their physical nakedness represented a deep

95
00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:39,560
Speaker 2: spiritual nakedness. They desperately looked to cover themselves up with leaves,

96
00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:44,480
Speaker 2: although no clothes would ever cover their true shame. God

97
00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:47,440
Speaker 2: was walking through the quiet of the garden. Adam and

98
00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:52,280
Speaker 2: Eve heard him and immediately hid themselves. God, knowing full

99
00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:56,159
Speaker 2: well what had happened, called out Adam, where are you?

100
00:06:57,360 --> 00:07:02,400
Speaker 2: Adam replied, here I am. I am naked and afraid

101
00:07:02,440 --> 00:07:06,039
Speaker 2: for you to see me. Adam's fear of being seen

102
00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:11,440
Speaker 2: naked revealed a much deeper separation between him and God. God,

103
00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:16,040
Speaker 2: with both intense anger and loving compassion, said, who told

104
00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:19,200
Speaker 2: you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree?

105
00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:22,880
Speaker 2: I commanded you not to eat. Adam fell deeper and

106
00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:27,400
Speaker 2: deeper into his own shame and tragedy. He pointed towards Eve,

107
00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:30,200
Speaker 2: his companion and the woman he was meant to love

108
00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:34,520
Speaker 2: and protect, and threw blame towards her. The woman you

109
00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:38,680
Speaker 2: gave me, she gave me the fruit. Eve was falling

110
00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:42,200
Speaker 2: into the same self loathing and pride, and now left

111
00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:46,119
Speaker 2: alone by her husband. She pointed to the serpent and said,

112
00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:51,040
Speaker 2: the serpent deceived me, and I ate. God looked to

113
00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:55,280
Speaker 2: the serpent and said, because of this, you are cursed

114
00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:58,560
Speaker 2: to crawl and eat dust for the rest of your days.

115
00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:02,160
Speaker 2: One day I will make things right, and a son

116
00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:04,800
Speaker 2: of Eve will come, and you will bruise his heel,

117
00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:08,320
Speaker 2: but he will crush your head. This would be the

118
00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:12,400
Speaker 2: foreshadowing of Jesus coming to put an end to evil

119
00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:16,360
Speaker 2: on the Cross. Then God turned to Adam and Eve,

120
00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:20,320
Speaker 2: lamenting their choice to live as their own gods. Their

121
00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:25,360
Speaker 2: choice would not come without consequences. God said to Eve,

122
00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:30,280
Speaker 2: the blessing life will not come without struggle and childbirth

123
00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:34,320
Speaker 2: will come with great pain. You will also struggle continually

124
00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:38,600
Speaker 2: with your husband and resent his leadership over you. He

125
00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:42,439
Speaker 2: then turned to Adam. Because you listened to your wife

126
00:08:42,800 --> 00:08:46,640
Speaker 2: and ate from the tree, I commanded you not to curse.

127
00:08:46,679 --> 00:08:49,360
Speaker 2: It is the ground that you work on. You will

128
00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:51,640
Speaker 2: have to work every day for the rest of your

129
00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:55,120
Speaker 2: life to earn your food by the sweat of your face.

130
00:08:55,200 --> 00:08:58,840
Speaker 2: You shall eat bread until you die, for you are dust,

131
00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:03,800
Speaker 2: and to die us you shall return. Adam and Eve's

132
00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:08,120
Speaker 2: unity with God was fractured. Their knowledge of evil caused

133
00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:11,760
Speaker 2: their hearts and their bodies to feel pain. Yet even

134
00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:16,240
Speaker 2: in their disobedience, God's love for them remained and would

135
00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:20,640
Speaker 2: always remain. He killed an animal and made clothes for them.

136
00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:23,920
Speaker 2: An innocent life was taken so they could be warm

137
00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:27,280
Speaker 2: and feel safe again. This would be an image used

138
00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:31,199
Speaker 2: for the rest of history. God cast Adam and Eve

139
00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:33,960
Speaker 2: from the garden of Eden and put an angel with

140
00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:37,040
Speaker 2: a fiery sword to keep them away from the Tree.

141
00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:38,240
Speaker 1: Of Life forever.

142
00:09:39,160 --> 00:09:42,840
Speaker 2: But God's story to love people is not over. He

143
00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:46,880
Speaker 2: would remain with them, and the story of redemption would

144
00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:49,520
Speaker 2: begin to unfold before their eyes.

145
00:09:52,559 --> 00:09:56,640
Speaker 3: Doubt and pride, those are the most powerful weapons the

146
00:09:56,640 --> 00:10:00,560
Speaker 3: crafty serpent used to fracture the perfect relationship God had

147
00:10:00,559 --> 00:10:04,559
Speaker 3: with his creation. In one fell swoop, he got humanity

148
00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:08,280
Speaker 3: to question God's word and to desire to be equal

149
00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:13,120
Speaker 3: to God. Listen to what Genesis three four and five says.

150
00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:17,040
Speaker 3: The serpent said to the woman, you certainly will not die,

151
00:10:17,320 --> 00:10:19,959
Speaker 3: for God knows that on the day you eat from it,

152
00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:23,719
Speaker 3: your eyes will be open and you will become like God,

153
00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:28,840
Speaker 3: knowing good and evil. He's saying, there's no way God

154
00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:32,080
Speaker 3: told you the truth right, you won't die from eating

155
00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:37,320
Speaker 3: that fruit. There's the doubt. Satan still uses that tactic today.

156
00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:40,440
Speaker 3: How many problems are we facing because we don't take

157
00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:44,719
Speaker 3: God at his word? Too many to count. But then

158
00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:47,720
Speaker 3: he takes in another step further. He entices them with

159
00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:51,200
Speaker 3: a lie that he himself believed and that got him

160
00:10:51,559 --> 00:10:56,560
Speaker 3: removed from paradise from heaven. You will be like God.

161
00:10:57,559 --> 00:10:59,679
Speaker 3: So now the serpent is tempting out of an eve

162
00:10:59,840 --> 00:11:04,120
Speaker 3: creation to one equality with the Creator. He knows this

163
00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:07,360
Speaker 3: won't work. He knows what will happen, and it does happen.

164
00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:10,280
Speaker 3: But there's one more thing I want you to notice here.

165
00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:13,760
Speaker 3: Remember that up until now Adam and Eve have only

166
00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:18,600
Speaker 3: known good and very good. They already had that in

167
00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:21,920
Speaker 3: heart and in hand. So when the devil offers them

168
00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:24,720
Speaker 3: the opportunity to know good and evil, what he was

169
00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:29,439
Speaker 3: really offering is evil. That's what they don't know yet.

170
00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:32,920
Speaker 3: This is an important lesson for you and me. God

171
00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:36,640
Speaker 3: already gives us every good and perfect thing. Sin and

172
00:11:36,679 --> 00:11:39,520
Speaker 3: Satan tries to tell us that there is more good

173
00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:43,280
Speaker 3: to be had, But all we are really getting is evil.

174
00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:46,760
Speaker 3: Adam and Eve take the bait, eat the fruit, and

175
00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:51,440
Speaker 3: sever the relationship with God. Now they have knowledge of evil,

176
00:11:52,160 --> 00:11:55,080
Speaker 3: the freedom from shame. It is no more. They are

177
00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:58,840
Speaker 3: naked and ashamed and afraid and aware that they've really

178
00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:02,839
Speaker 3: messed up, and so they hide from God. But it's

179
00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:05,760
Speaker 3: all feudal. God knows what they've done, and now it's

180
00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:08,679
Speaker 3: time to pay the price. He confronts them, and we

181
00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:13,320
Speaker 3: see two relationships broken, between God and mankind, and within

182
00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:18,120
Speaker 3: mankind itself. Adam and Eve, two parts of one flesh,

183
00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:23,440
Speaker 3: blame each other and blame God. They simply cannot remain

184
00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:26,360
Speaker 3: in the garden eating from the tree of life. For

185
00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:30,200
Speaker 3: you see, death, though tragic, is ultimately a gift because

186
00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:32,960
Speaker 3: it is how they will once again be fully restored

187
00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:36,079
Speaker 3: to fellowship with God. Where they just stay in the garden,

188
00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:40,680
Speaker 3: they would suffer eternal separation. As the story ends, Adam

189
00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:43,480
Speaker 3: and Eve are going to face the harsh reality of

190
00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:47,400
Speaker 3: life outside the garden, of toil and trouble, of sweat

191
00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:51,160
Speaker 3: and tears. This was never God's heart for them, but

192
00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:55,720
Speaker 3: He does not abandon them in the consequences of their sin. Ever,

193
00:12:55,760 --> 00:13:01,760
Speaker 3: the loving Father God first clothes them requires a blood sacrifice,

194
00:13:02,040 --> 00:13:05,440
Speaker 3: the death of an animal. It's only a temporary covering,

195
00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:09,560
Speaker 3: but it foreshadows the ultimate sacrifice Christ would one day make.

196
00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:14,800
Speaker 3: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you that despite our sin and

197
00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:18,959
Speaker 3: rejection of you, you have provided a sacrifice to cover us,

198
00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:23,160
Speaker 3: the blood of your son Jesus. Thank you for this

199
00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:25,880
Speaker 3: passage today and how it shows us the tactics of

200
00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:28,559
Speaker 3: the enemy, those that he would use to cause us

201
00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:32,160
Speaker 3: to sin and to stumble. Help us always to trust

202
00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:37,400
Speaker 3: in You and your word in Jesus' name. Amen, thank

203
00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:40,400
Speaker 3: you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.

204
00:13:40,840 --> 00:13:44,760
Speaker 3: I'm pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download Theprey dot

205
00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:47,800
Speaker 3: Com app and make prayer a priority in your life.

206
00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:51,200
Speaker 3: If you enjoyed this podcast, share it with someone you love.

207
00:13:51,679 --> 00:13:54,040
Speaker 3: By sharing this podcast, you can make a difference in

208
00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:57,520
Speaker 3: someone's life. And if you want more resources on how

209
00:13:57,559 --> 00:14:01,240
Speaker 3: to tap into God's power for success full Christian living,

210
00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:05,160
Speaker 3: be sure to visit Jack Graham dot org. God bless