Bible Studies

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The Scriptures
Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 - Forbidden Fruit
Key Verses: (NCV)

• 2:15: "The Lord God put the man in the garden of Eden to care for it and work it." - Life in the Garden was a life filled with tasks and responsibilities. It was a relationship with God based on trust and dependency.
  
  
• 17b: "If you ever eat fruit from that tree, you will die!" - There was one rule to uphold.
  
  
• 3:4-5: "But the snake said to the woman, 'You will not die. ⁵God knows that if you eat the fruit from that tree, you will learn about good and evil and you will be like God!'" - The snake suggests that God was keeping Adam and Eve from knowledge because truth equals power.
  
  
• 6: "The woman saw that the tree was beautiful, that its fruit was good to eat, and that it would make her wise. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some of the fruit to her husband, and he ate it." - A choice was made and desire overcame obedience.
  
  
• 7: "Then, it was as if their eyes were opened. They realized they were naked, so they sewed fig leaves together and made something to cover themselves." - Their eyes were opened to their sinfulness.
  

Points to Contemplate:

• Does God provide everything you need in life? Or do your desires lead you astray and into the embrace of Sin? As you work at the ministries God has given into your care, are you staying on task or does your focus shift from God to yourself? Knowing that God has created you in His own image and He has given you responsibilities that reflect and build on your intimate relationship with Him, why do you tend to stray? Why are you not content with your divine nature as a child of God?
  
  
• Why did God create two trees? If everything in creation was good and built in perfect harmony, why would God provide an opportunity for us to turn from Him and towards sin? Why would He allow the serpent with his offer of temptation to enter the garden in the first place? Was this a test? Did He want to see how devoted humanity would be? Or did He want Adam and Eve to fail? Is it possible that it is only through our sin that we can fully come to know God in all His glory? Is it through desire created by our separation from Him that our hearts are fully opened to His love?
  
  
• What are your greatest temptations? What do you face in life that causes you to turn away from God? What choices do you confront that lead you astray? What is your forbidden fruit? Do you stray by a simple shift in priorities and focus? Do you have times when you indulge in deliberate wrongdoings or are your errors more subtle and unconscious? Perhaps you are apathetic or lazy and allow institutionalized sins to go unchecked? Maybe you have sins of omission or neglect? Sins of bias and prejudice?
  
  
• Are you trying to cover up? How many fig leaves does it take to cover a sin? Did hiding do Adam and Eve any good? Or did God see through their disguise? Do the fig leaves of 'being sorry' or 'well-intended' help you to cover your sins? Do you hide behind the fig leaf of 'every body else is doing it?' Maybe it's the boisterous image of Christian righteousness behind which you hide? Or the public image of social consciousness and justice? Does God want you to continue hiding or does He want you to come out into the light of His love so He can transform you into His image?
  

Promises of the Gospel:

Adam and Eve are the scapegoats for all humanity. We wonder what life would have been like if it were not for the Fall. This one failure in human history and we are damned for all time to be separated from God. But are we? Is our separation from God, Adam and Eve's fault? Or is it the result of choices we make, individually, each and every day. The story of Adam and Eve can be dissected in many different ways and has provided us with ample material for debate throughout history. If, however, we are to personalize this story as we seek the promises of the Gospel in every Bible verse we study, then we come to realize that their example is an analogy for our own lives. Everything we need in life has been provided by God and all we are asked to do is love Him. Instead, we turn to our own needs and desires. When we willingly choose to give in to our temptations then we are the ones creating the separation and the darkness. When this happens, there is nothing behind which we can hide. God knows our sin and our shame. But the story doesn't end there...

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