Two Paths, Two Results

GETTING STARTED

Once you read the first verse in today’s passage, it seems like everything leading up to this scene in Genesis is about to change and everything will be different. As you read the text today, why is it such a game changer?

  • Think of a time you rebelled against what you knew to be true. What changed because of your rebellion?

READ THE WORD: GENESIS 3:1-8 (ESV)

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 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.”6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 

English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

DIGGING DEEPER

Sin follows a pattern in this scene: listen, look, lust, leave.

  1. How did Eve listen to lies, and how did she mishandle the word of God (compare verses 3:2-3 to verses 2:16-17)?
  2. What were the rationalizations Eve made as she looked at the tree?
  3. There are three kinds of lust: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Another way to say it is what I feel, what I see, and what I desire to be (wise like God). Where do you see Eve follow in the pattern of lust?
  4. Note the result of this pattern in verse 7. We rebel (sin), we do religion (try to cover our sin with works), and we run from God. Where do you see either the pattern of sin or the result of this sin pattern at work in your life (past or present)?

RESPOND TO GOD

How should we respond when we follow this pattern? We turn to the second Adam, Jesus Christ, and trust in his authority and goodness for our lives. It takes courage and honesty to admit where you are following the path of Eve. It takes admitting where you doubt God’s goodness and where you think your way is better and God is holding out on you. Have the courage to ask yourself, are you being deceived? What will be the result if you continue down the path Eve took? Are you trying to be your own authority or is God your complete authority?

  • Confess to God where you see yourself on a dangerous path of self-deception.
  • Ask God for courage to confess and turn from any patterns of sin in your life.
  • Commit to letting God be your authority instead of hiding and running from him.