| Genesis Study # 3 |
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LEADER’S NOTES:STUDY #3: THE FALL by Ben StuartDOES ANYONE HAVE A STORY WHERE THEY DID SOMETHING THEY KNEW WAS WRONG BUT DID ANYWAY BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT IT’D BE FUN? Let them share a few, provided it’s not terribly inappropriate. If you can, think of an experience in your life where you did that and share it to wrap up the time (keep it short!), but make sure it’s one where you felt really terrible at the end. Genesis 3 1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" WHO IS THE SERPENT? Let them answer, and when they say the devil, ask them – HOW DO YOU KNOW? DOES IT SAY? WHAT MAKES YOU ASSUME THAT? (the idea being that the problem with so many of us is we read Scripture with our assumptions turned up full blast and sometimes we’re right but soften we aren’t – but the trick to good Bible study is to avoid placing our assumptions on the text, but rather investigating the text itself and finding out what it says, not what I am assuming it says. HAVE THEM LOOK UP AND READ REVELATION 12:99 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE SERPENT?He is more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made Crafty means “subtle” or “cunning” – it isn’t an evil characteristic, but here it is used for evil here Satan inhabits the most intelligent of the created beings – he approaches through that which appears intelligent - not grotesque - it looks good Attribute of temptation: it appears intelligent HOW IS GOD FIRST REFERRED TO IN THIS VERSE? Yahweh Elohim – the LORD GodDOES ANYONE REMEMBER THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THAT NAME?Let them get there. It is the relational name of God – remember “God” is more impersonal – representing only His power – Yahweh is the covenantal name of God, it is used towards man because God loves man and offers intimacy to him. HOW DOES SATAN REFER TO GOD? He drops YahwehWHY IS THAT SIGNIFICANT? He removes the love. He is not the LORD God who cares for you - he is simply a god of power - he depersonalizes god - he is a god of might and intelligence but he is not one of love and trust - have you ever felt this way? It is much easier to transgress a deity who is far away. Attribute of temptation: it is easier to sin when you distance from God ASK THEM: HAVE YOU FOUND THAT TO BE TRUE? Let some of them talk about it if they are up for it – hopefully this will be a revelation for them SAY: OFTEN THE TIMES WE MAKE THE BIGGEST MISTAKES IN OUR LIFE WE CAN LOOK BACK AND SEE THAT IT BEGAN WITH A DISTANCING OF OURSELVES FROM GOD – SPENDING LESS TIME, OR NO TIME WITH HIM PERSONALLY – ISOLATING OURSELVES FROM THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY, ETC. ARE YOU ACTIVELY SPENDING QUALITY TIME WITH GOD? Let them answer. Encourage them here though, if they aren’t, then they are opening themselves up to the influence of one who does not love them or care about them at all, and they are in danger of making some really bad choices. If you are willing, consider sharing a personal story here about making a bad decision while far from the LORD – also, mention our resource table as a place to get help if they are having trouble figuring out how to spend time with God on their own, offer your own services too – maybe take them to lunch and show them how you have a quiet time! WHAT IS THE FIRST THING SATAN SAYS TO THE WOMAN?Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden? He starts by talking about God, but he is misrepresenting Him. Satan highlights not the blessing, but the limitations - you can't do anything you want to - there are limitations on you. Attribute of temptation: it forgets the blessings ASK THEM: HAVE YOU FOUND THIS TRUE IN YOUR EXPERIENCE?So often in Scripture we are called to remember the deeds of God – the great things He has done for us – because when we forget, that is when we can become discontent and begin to head our own way WHAT IS EVE’S RESPONSE? (HAVE THEM READ IT)2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" HOW DOES EVE DO AT QUOTING THE COMMAND? Not real well Eve either did not know God's commands very well (apathy), she did not want to remember it (rebellion), or Adam did a bad job of communicating them to her, but she misquotes Him. EVE MISQUOTES GOD 3 TIMES – CAN YOU FIND THEM? (LOOK BACK IN CH.2 FOR HELP)
Attribute of temptation: She undervalues the priviledge
Attribute of temptation: She adds to the prohibition
Attribute of temptation: She weakens the penalty Remember how emphatic God was about His blessings & about His consequences? She has an un-Biblically low view of the blessing of God & the punishment of God – and Satan moves in WHAT DOES SATAN DO IN VERSE 4?4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. Now he outright contradicts God – “you surely won’t die” – and he uses the same emphatic language that God used in chapter 2. Satan is passionate about his lies. WHAT IS SATAN’S ARGUMENT IN VERSE 5?5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." WHAT IS HE TRYING TO DO TO HER VIEW OF GOD WITH THIS STATEMENT?He calls God's character & goodness into question – “God is holding you back” “To truly find life to the fullest you need to break his oppressive bonds and follow me” ASK THEM: HAVE YOU EVER HEARD THIS FROM A FRIEND: “ I KNOW I NEED TO ACCEPT CHRIST (IF THEY ARE NOT A CHRISTIAN) OR STOP DOING XX ACTIVITY (IF THEY ARE A CHRISTIAN IN SIN) – AND I WILL SOMEDAY, BUT I WANT TO LIVE A LITTLE RIGHT NOW – I WANT TO HAVE SOME FUN”? Let them answer. Maybe tell stories. WHAT IS THE MINDSET THERE?the thought is that you will deny the ultimate purposes in life if you obey God - to really know life you need to do your own thing and to obey your passions – TO FOLLOW GOD IS TO MISS OUT ON THE BEST IN LIFE. Do you see that? WHERE DOES THAT MINDSET COME FROM?It is from the enemy! Satan holds out a promise: “by disobeying God you will live life to the fullest - a good life requires rebellion.” – and people buy it all the time! We buy it all the time! And it is rooted in a mistrust in the goodness of God. We are somehow convinced that the God of Genesis 1&2, the LORD God who has given us everything, does not have our best interests in mind, but Satan, who has given us nothing, does. Attribute of temptation: it stems from a distrust in God SO WHAT HAPPENS TO EVE IN VERSE 6?6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. EVE MAKES 3 OBSERVATIONS BEFORE TAKING THE FRUIT – WHAT ARE THEY?she saw that the fruit was "desirable for food", "pleasing to the eye", "desirable for gaining wisdom” WHO DID SHE CONSULT TO MAKE THOSE OBSERVATIONS?Desirable for food – she consults her stomach Pleasing to the eye – she consults her eyes Desirable for gaining wisdom – she consults her mind WHO DID SHE NOT CONSULT BEFORE MAKING HER DECISION?She does not consult God or Adam – she avoids God’s word and Christian counsel – she only consults her appetites! Attribute of temptation: the decision to sin is made in isolation from (1)the LORD & (2)other believers, and is made consulting only (1)the person tempting you (2) your own stomach HAVE YOU GUYS FOUND THIS TO BE TRUE IN YOUR EXPERIENCE? CAN ANYONE THINK OF A SCENARIO WHERE THEY HAVE HEARD OF THIS HAPPENING? (they may be wary to share one of their own failure stories at this point – but you could!) Pregnant high school girls: so often they find themselves there because they are distant from God, they get in a relationship they know they shouldn’t be involved in. He wants to have sex, she consults no one about it and then finally gives in to his advances – and it is not to her benefit to do so. Guys with pornography: decision to go to that web-site is made in isolation with no influence of God or another believer – only you and temptation – after a while the arguments start to make sense, so you go and it may be fun for a while but afterwards you live with shame and it begins to affect relationships Drinking/Partying: same scenario – start to resent God for “holding you back” and you make the decision one day consulting only your own palette – I want to do it for me – it is “desirable for gaining status” – and you launch into a whole new lifestyle that will lead you places you don’t want to go TELL THEM: SIN ALWAYS FOLLOWS THIS PATTERN SO HOW DO WE AVOID MAKING THESE SAME MISTAKES WHEN TEMPTATION ARISES IN OUR LIVES? 1. stay close to the LORD & maintain a right view of who He is as the lover of our soul and who the devil is as the father of lies READ 1 JOHN 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh (desirable for food) and the lust of the eyes (pleasing to the eye) and the boastful pride of life (desirable for gaining wisdom), is not from the Father, but is from the world. Personally, when I am tempted, I will mentally walk through a process: a. I ask myself: is this activity from the LORD? Does it honor Him? Is it loving toward God and loving toward men? b. If the answer is no, then I tell myself, “I know that what God has for me is best, so this voice that is telling me to do this is not Him, it is the Enemy, who does not love me and does not have my best interests in mind c. I pray: “Lord, I am tempted to …and I know it is not from You. Help me see the blessing in living Your way in this situation, and give me the strength to walk away from this temptation. d. Then, I move away from temptation and, as often as I can, towards community with believers. CONSIDER AS A GROUP MEMORIZING JAMES 1:14-17!JAMES 1:14-17 14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. NOW AS WE READ THE NEXT SECTION WE ARE LOOKING AT NOT THE ATTRIBUTES OF TEMPTATION, BUT THE ATTRIBUTES OF FALLEN MAN. Note on verse 6: “she gave some to the man, who was with her” – Adam committed 2 sins here. He ate the fruit, but before that, he failed to lead and protect his wife. Adam should have stepped forward and intervened, instead he sat back and watched. Men, get in the game! WHAT WERE THE RESULTS OF SIN?7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; The results, were anticlimactic – 1. their eyes were opened 2. they realized they were naked – but there is not the fulfillment they had put their hope in – Satan’s promises are empty WHAT WAS THEIR FIRST ACTIVITY AFTER SIN?so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. they were ashamed – sin brought not fulfillment, but shame (isn’t that true!) so they tried to cover up their shame by making coverings for themselves Attribute of fallen man: rather than confessing sin, they try to conceal it 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Notice the name that has returned – “the LORD God” – the God of strength & love comes again as a theophany seeking relationship with them. WHAT WAS THEIR SECOND ACTIVITY AFTER SIN?They hid from God Attribute of fallen man: he does not want to stand before a holy God – he avoids the LORD WHAT DOES GOD DO IN VERSE 9?9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?" God pursues them in their sin! Man does not seek God, it is God that seeks man! HOW DOES GOD RESPOND TO ADAM IN VERSE 11? 10 He said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself." 11 And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" God calls for a confession – He wants a right relationship, and a right relationship demands honesty! HOW DOES ADAM RESPOND IN VERSE 12?12 The man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate." He blames! The WOMAN who YOU gave me – he blames everyone else! Attribute of fallen man: he blames – my sin isn’t my fault – I am a victim WHAT IS EVE’S RESPONSE? 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." She does a little better than Adam, but it still seems that she is blame shifting. THE CURSE – the forman sinned, and all the world reaps the consequences. Romans 8 says that “the creation was subject to frustration” and that is what we see in the next several verses. Why is their so much death and evil and harshness in the world? Answer: the world that we see is not the earth that we had and the earth we have is not the earth that will be – we live in a good creation that is shackled. AS YOU READ THROUGH, HAVE THEM WRITE OUT IN THE MARGIN ALL THE CURSES 14 The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; 1. the entire animal realm is cursed, specifically the snake who’s entire physiology appears to have been altered (we don’t know what he looked like before) (“dust you will eat” – a sign of humiliation – not necessarily about diet) 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel." 2. this is directed at Satan! LET’S WALK THROUGH THIS SLOWLY SO WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT HE IS SAYING – THIS VERSE IS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE REST OF OUR BIBLE! And I will put enmity (natural hatred) “between you and the woman” WHO IS HE TALKING ABOUT IN THE FIRST PHRASE?You = satan & the woman = mankind – there will be a struggle between satan and humanity “between your seed & her seed” WHO IS THE SEED OF THE SERPENT? (have someone look up & read one or two of the below verses)John 8:44 - You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Acts 13:10 - "You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? I John 3:8 - He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. Answer: the “seed” of the serpent could very well be demons, but it is clear in Scripture that it includes all men and women who are serving his kingdom (which is everyone who doesn’t know Christ!) WHO IS THE SEED OF THE WOMAN? (have someone look up & read one or two of these verses)Isa 7:14 - Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. Matt 1:23 - "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"-- which means, "God with us." Matt 1:25 - But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. Galatians 4:4-5 4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. “He shall bruise you on the head,” (a death blow) - *NOTICE: God uses a singular male pronoun – the seed of a woman (which is an odd term, since only men have seed) is one man – there is one boy who will crush the serpents head. HAVE SOMEONE LOOK UP ONE OR TWO OF THE BELOW VERSES. Heb 2:14-15 -Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death-- that is, the devil-- and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. (NIV) I John 3:8 - He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. Rev 20:1-3 - He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. Rev 20:10 - And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. DID JESUS CRUSH THE HEAD OF THE SERPENT? Yes He did & He will (Halleluiah!) “And you shall bruise him on the heel." WAS JESUS WOUNDED IN THE PROCESS OF DESTROYING SATAN? Yes! – refer them to the Garden of Gesthemene, the beatings & the crucifixion – His victory came at great cost, though it was not final! 16 To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you." THERE ARE TWO CURSES ASSOCIATED WITH THE WOMAN – WHAT ARE THEY?
17 Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, "You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. 18 "Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; 19 By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return." THERE ARE TWO CURSES ASSOCIATED WITH THE MAN – WHAT ARE THEY?
20 Now the man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. Eve means “living” – Adam’s naming her that was a sign of faith – God promised to redeem man (3:15) and Adam looked beyond the curse to that day when the seed of a woman would restore life. GOD’S PROVISION (21-24) AFTER DECLARING THE RESULTS OF SIN, WHAT DOES GOD DO TO THE MAN & WOMAN?21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. He sacrifices an animal and clothes them. At this point I don’t know if you’ll have time to discuss this with them so you may just want to tell them: God told them that when they ate of it they would die. And they did die spiritually at that moment, and they were now doomed to physically die eventually, but in this action in verse 21 God takes the life of an innocent animal as a substitute for theirs. An animal dies in their place and he uses it’s skin to cover them. It is called substitutionary atonement (a substitute that makes things right) – later under the law animal sacrifices would be a regular act of worship as a symbol of the need for someone to die to pay the penalty for our sin and allow for our fellowship with God. In the fullness of time the sacrifice of Christ would be the final sacrifice, and on the basis of that atonement He clothes believers in righteousness (Romans 3:21-26). So in the same chapter where sin is birthed God makes a promise that the enemy of mankind will be dealt with, not by our good deeds, but by the activity of a single boy (the seed of a woman) – and that our shame will be covered, not by our efforts, but by the covering of another who would die in our place. 22 Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever" -- 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove the man out; and at the east of the WHY DO YOU THINK GOD DID NOT WANT MAN TO EAT FROM THE TREE OF LIFE AT THIS POINT? It was an act of mercy, saving man from the possibility of eating from the tree and therefore living forever in a state of death and alienation. Access to the tree of life is withheld until the eternal state when sin is finally removed forever (Rev. 22). NASU Permission: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way, you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, and you do not make more than 1,000 physical copies. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be explicitly approved by Breakaway Ministries. Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By Ben Stuart. © Breakaway Ministries. Website: www.breakawayministries.org. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . |