August 12-Great Chapters of the Bible
Write out the Scripture.
Genesis 3:11-13, “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”
Observe what it is saying.
Adam and Eve were caught. They were not supposed to know they were naked. God knew there was only one reason the relationship had changed. They had disobeyed His one rule. There was only one forbidden tree. Scripture gives us commentary of what happens when we break God’s good and holy ways. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” (Gal. 6:7) And then the blame game began. From the very beginning, blaming others has been a common excuse we offer when we have been caught. As children often do, even as adults, we do not like to take responsibility for our actions but cast the blame on others. This was an immediate result of man’s sin.
Relate it to your life.
I show spiritual maturity when I resist the urge to blame others and take it myself.
Do something.
“Father, give me such grace to refuse to cast blame when I’m the guilty party. Amen.”
August 13-Great Chapters of the Bible
Write out the Scripture.
Genesis 3:14-15, So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
Observe what it is saying.
Because disobedience by any of God’s creatures has to be addressed, we find the curse that fell upon creation hit the serpent most heavily for his active role in tempting the first couple. If you ever wondered why there is a general fear of snakes, it goes back to the very beginning in the curse that God pronounced upon that devilish creature. This conflict between people and snakes symbolizes the outcome of the ongoing struggle between God and the evil one, a struggle played out on earth through the history of humankind. The offspring of the woman would eventually crush the serpent’s head, a promise fulfilled in Christ’s victory over Satan—a victory in which all believers will share. Romans 16:20, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet…”
Relate it to your life.
The promise of God’s victory over evil was written in the earliest days of creation.
Do something.
“Father, may I live in the victory that has been won by the Son who crushed Satan on the cross. Amen.”
August 14-Great Chapters of the Bible
Write out the Scripture.
Genesis 3:16, To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
Observe what it is saying.
Every woman who has given birth can thank Eve for the pain you experienced. Thankfully, there are medications to reduce the birthing pain, but without their sin, evidently, there would have been minimal pain associated with childbirth. The same word for “desire” occurs in Genesis 4:7, which says that sin “desires” to control Cain but that Cain “must rule over it.” That verse uses the same language to describe a struggle between sin and Cain. In our verse, we find a breakdown in the original harmony where conflict entered into the beautiful marriage relationship, and the marital struggle began. However, we are not without hope. Through Christ, relationships can be made whole again.
Relate it to your life.
In our fallen state, conflict is inevitable in our relationships, but through Christ, there is hope for healing.
Do something.
“Father, give me strength and wisdom to work through conflict in a God-honoring way. Amen.”
August 15-Great Chapters of the Bible
Write out the Scripture.
Genesis 3:17-19, To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
Observe what it is saying.
This curse for Adam reveals the reason we may not like work! Even if we do like our work, it can still be arduous and challenging at times. We were always intended to work in God’s grand design, but such labor was never meant to feel like work. It’s interesting to note that the same Hebrew word in verse 16, “painful labor” is used here, “painful toil,” to describe both the woman and the man’s new state in this fallen world. “Painful” was never intended to be included in God’s created order, but man’s disobedience opened the door for these challenges to enter. As the serpent was demoted to crawl along the ground, man would return to the dust from which he was created. The ultimate curse was death had entered in.
Relate it to your life.
Just as the whole world order was shattered with man’s first sin, so is our world when we disobey.
Do something.
“Father, we thank you for the redemption of Jesus who reverses the ultimate curse of death. Amen.”
August 16-Great Chapters of the Bible
Write out the Scripture.
Genesis 3:20-21, Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
Observe what it is saying.
Before this encounter, Eve was not named. As part of this new order, Adam’s first action was to name his wife. Her name suggests the unique role women have since her name sounds like the Hebrew word meaning to “give life.” What a glorious responsibility God gave women in the created order! They are givers of life. It’s true physically, but women seem so well adept to give life emotionally, spiritually, and relationally as well. We also discover the first act of sacrifice and grace. Garments of skin meant an animal had to be sacrificed to provide clothing for the two of them. God took the initiative to show them such favor with a sacrifice of creation. If they only knew, what God would later do to cover over our sin.
Relate it to your life.
God’s grace was demonstrated from the very first transgression.
Do something.
“Father, praise be to Your name for Your grace and goodness that are beyond imagination. Amen.”
August 17-Great Chapters of the Bible
Write out the Scripture.
Genesis 3:22-24, And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
Observe what it is saying.
Why didn’t Adam and Eve eat from the tree of life in the first place? They were not told it was off bounds. Instead of having life, they chose the lies of the serpent who tempted them to be like God and know good and evil. As we discover, that did not turn out well for them. Their consequences are the precise goal of the enemy because he is only concerned with death and demise. Every temptation has some form of loss as a consequence. They foolishly disobeyed and suffered awful defeat by being kicked out of the garden of paradise and prohibited from re-entering to enjoy the fruit of life. Turning against God always leads to the loss of life. In speaking about the end of time and those who follow the lies of Satan, we read in 2 Thessalonians 2:10, “They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.”
Relate it to your life.
Jesus made it possible for us to choose life so that we do not have to perish.
Do something.
“Father, by the grace of our Lord Jesus, I repent and choose life that is only found in His name. Amen.”
Write out the Scripture.
Genesis 3:11-13, “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”
Observe what it is saying.
Adam and Eve were caught. They were not supposed to know they were naked. God knew there was only one reason the relationship had changed. They had disobeyed His one rule. There was only one forbidden tree. Scripture gives us commentary of what happens when we break God’s good and holy ways. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” (Gal. 6:7) And then the blame game began. From the very beginning, blaming others has been a common excuse we offer when we have been caught. As children often do, even as adults, we do not like to take responsibility for our actions but cast the blame on others. This was an immediate result of man’s sin.
Relate it to your life.
I show spiritual maturity when I resist the urge to blame others and take it myself.
Do something.
“Father, give me such grace to refuse to cast blame when I’m the guilty party. Amen.”
August 13-Great Chapters of the Bible
Write out the Scripture.
Genesis 3:14-15, So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
Observe what it is saying.
Because disobedience by any of God’s creatures has to be addressed, we find the curse that fell upon creation hit the serpent most heavily for his active role in tempting the first couple. If you ever wondered why there is a general fear of snakes, it goes back to the very beginning in the curse that God pronounced upon that devilish creature. This conflict between people and snakes symbolizes the outcome of the ongoing struggle between God and the evil one, a struggle played out on earth through the history of humankind. The offspring of the woman would eventually crush the serpent’s head, a promise fulfilled in Christ’s victory over Satan—a victory in which all believers will share. Romans 16:20, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet…”
Relate it to your life.
The promise of God’s victory over evil was written in the earliest days of creation.
Do something.
“Father, may I live in the victory that has been won by the Son who crushed Satan on the cross. Amen.”
August 14-Great Chapters of the Bible
Write out the Scripture.
Genesis 3:16, To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
Observe what it is saying.
Every woman who has given birth can thank Eve for the pain you experienced. Thankfully, there are medications to reduce the birthing pain, but without their sin, evidently, there would have been minimal pain associated with childbirth. The same word for “desire” occurs in Genesis 4:7, which says that sin “desires” to control Cain but that Cain “must rule over it.” That verse uses the same language to describe a struggle between sin and Cain. In our verse, we find a breakdown in the original harmony where conflict entered into the beautiful marriage relationship, and the marital struggle began. However, we are not without hope. Through Christ, relationships can be made whole again.
Relate it to your life.
In our fallen state, conflict is inevitable in our relationships, but through Christ, there is hope for healing.
Do something.
“Father, give me strength and wisdom to work through conflict in a God-honoring way. Amen.”
August 15-Great Chapters of the Bible
Write out the Scripture.
Genesis 3:17-19, To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
Observe what it is saying.
This curse for Adam reveals the reason we may not like work! Even if we do like our work, it can still be arduous and challenging at times. We were always intended to work in God’s grand design, but such labor was never meant to feel like work. It’s interesting to note that the same Hebrew word in verse 16, “painful labor” is used here, “painful toil,” to describe both the woman and the man’s new state in this fallen world. “Painful” was never intended to be included in God’s created order, but man’s disobedience opened the door for these challenges to enter. As the serpent was demoted to crawl along the ground, man would return to the dust from which he was created. The ultimate curse was death had entered in.
Relate it to your life.
Just as the whole world order was shattered with man’s first sin, so is our world when we disobey.
Do something.
“Father, we thank you for the redemption of Jesus who reverses the ultimate curse of death. Amen.”
August 16-Great Chapters of the Bible
Write out the Scripture.
Genesis 3:20-21, Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
Observe what it is saying.
Before this encounter, Eve was not named. As part of this new order, Adam’s first action was to name his wife. Her name suggests the unique role women have since her name sounds like the Hebrew word meaning to “give life.” What a glorious responsibility God gave women in the created order! They are givers of life. It’s true physically, but women seem so well adept to give life emotionally, spiritually, and relationally as well. We also discover the first act of sacrifice and grace. Garments of skin meant an animal had to be sacrificed to provide clothing for the two of them. God took the initiative to show them such favor with a sacrifice of creation. If they only knew, what God would later do to cover over our sin.
Relate it to your life.
God’s grace was demonstrated from the very first transgression.
Do something.
“Father, praise be to Your name for Your grace and goodness that are beyond imagination. Amen.”
August 17-Great Chapters of the Bible
Write out the Scripture.
Genesis 3:22-24, And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
Observe what it is saying.
Why didn’t Adam and Eve eat from the tree of life in the first place? They were not told it was off bounds. Instead of having life, they chose the lies of the serpent who tempted them to be like God and know good and evil. As we discover, that did not turn out well for them. Their consequences are the precise goal of the enemy because he is only concerned with death and demise. Every temptation has some form of loss as a consequence. They foolishly disobeyed and suffered awful defeat by being kicked out of the garden of paradise and prohibited from re-entering to enjoy the fruit of life. Turning against God always leads to the loss of life. In speaking about the end of time and those who follow the lies of Satan, we read in 2 Thessalonians 2:10, “They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.”
Relate it to your life.
Jesus made it possible for us to choose life so that we do not have to perish.
Do something.
“Father, by the grace of our Lord Jesus, I repent and choose life that is only found in His name. Amen.”
Posted in Daily Devotionals