Whose fault is it anyway?

Wow, it's taking me forever to get through chapter three of Genesis.  I've always enjoyed Genesis but it seems there is so much more revelation to what I'm reading since translating.  Now that Adam and Eve have done what God told them not to, what's in store and what's it mean to us?

After God calls out to Adam in verse 9, Adam responds in verse 10:

And he said, "I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked so I hid myself."

First of all, how does one hide from God?  Not gonna happen.  Second, why would Adam feel he needs to hide.  Heck, he's been walking and talking with God for who knows how long and hasn't been afraid before.  It's amazing what sin will do to us.

God replies to Adam in verse 11:

"Who told you that you were naked?  Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat?"

God didn't ASK Adam not to eat, he commanded him.  Genesis 2:17

"But from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you may not eat from it.  On the day you eat from it you will surely die." 

Isn't it amazing how we tend to want what we are told we can't have?  Shoot, something as simple as eating healthy.  Soon as you decide, you want some decadent food item.

So what happened when God asked Adam if he ate?  Did he fess up and say "Yup God I screwed up,"?  No, he did what we all have a tendency to do; blamed someone else.  In Adam's case he blamed anyone he could in verse 12:

And the man said, "The woman you gave me, she gave to me from the tree and I ate."

It wasn't enough to blame God for the woman but the woman as well.  Oh my. So, God turns to the woman and of course, being upright she fesses up.  NO  In verse 13

So God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" and the woman said, "The serpent deceived me and I ate." 

Nobody wanted to take the blame.

Of course, each of us makes our own decisions.  We can blame all kinds of things but it is our choice alone whether we do or do not do something.  There are consequences.  Those consequences not only affect us but those around us as well.

God started with the serpent by telling him he was going to slither for the rest of his life.  He also predicted the future in verse 15:

"And hostility is set between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring and He will bruise your head and you will bruise His heel."

Theologically, the last part of this statement refers to Satan going after Jesus but Jesus conquering Satan.    I have a totally UNtheological question though.   We know who the woman's offspring are... all of us.   Who is the offspring of the serpent (Satan).  Hmmm?  OR is God saying that humans aren't going to like snakes... which for the most part is true (although I'm not one that dislikes them).  Ponder on that a moment.  I would love to see some comments as to what you readers think.

Next God addresses the woman.  Is God addressing everyone on in the order of who messed up?  I wonder.   Many state that the final fault is with Adam since he is the head.  Would God then have addressed Adam next?  Anyway, he tells the woman in verse 16:

And to the woman He said, "I will greatly increase your pain of your pregnancy and in pain you will shall bear children and your longing will be toward your man and he will rule over you."

There is a WHOLE lot being said in this one sentence.  First of all, have you ever watched an animal giving birth?  Not a big deal.  Most breath a little heavier but the babies just pop out.  I'm sure the women reading this wish it was that way for us humans.  Sadly, thanks to Eve, it isn't so.  Also, pain in pregnancy?  How about morning sickness, swollen ankles, back aches.  Yup, even the pregnancy which is a joy has it's downside.

The woman's longing will be toward her husband.  Many women want to be the boss.  I'm afraid I'm one of that type.  Love to be in control.  Is that the longing?  There are so many aspects to that longing.  Consider how women have lived for centuries.  Look at the Old Testament, I've always wondered how God would have women be basically nothing more than chattel.  I mean, we are people too.  Until Jesus came along though, women had little value other than bearing sons.  Even girl children were looked down on.  In many countries it's still like that.  Many times I thought about that and had trouble with it but when I was reading this verse, I realized that like the pain of childbirth, Eve messed things up for us in this area as well.  The man will rule over us even though we long for equal standing.

Praise God that Jesus came along and gave women value again.  As Paul taught in his letter to the Ephesians (5:21-33 NIV)

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her  to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.  In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.  After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church—  for we are members of his body.  “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.  However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

I could do a whole post on this passage but take 45 minutes and listen to the message that I linked to in my last post.  It explains it BEAUTIFULLY.  Here's another link to the message at C3  The message is the Pink Elephant one on the 21st of February.

This post is getting too long so I will address God speaking to Adam in the next post.  We will get through Chapter 3 eventually.