A Work in Progress….

Genesis 3:18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.

Maybe I’m looking at this all wrong. Yesterday I wondered why Adam’s punishment seemed lightest since it didn’t affect his body. However, when I look at it from the fact that Adam’s punishment affects him every time he wants to eat, which is three times a day every single day, maybe he really did come out worse for the wear in this entire experience.

Genesis 3:19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken;

Honestly, though, I’m not sure I feel any better, any vindication. I still wonder where Adam was when the serpent was talking to Eve, why Eve thought it prudent to listen to a serpent, why, with all the beauty in the garden, that forbidden fruit seemed most appealing, whether Adam’s first words in scripture were really his first words. Did he say nothing when Eve handed him the apple? He just took and ate?

Genesis 3:19b …for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

Precious Savior, Thank You that Your word opens me up to a sense of wonder, a sense of questioning, a sense of seeking and asking. Help me to read, to wonder, to seek as I read Your word. Help me to see You, to hear You, to draw closer to You. Always. Amen.

Genesis 3:20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 3:16b To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;

In light of yesterday’s reflection about order of offenses and punishment, these verses make a kind of sense, even though I don’t like the sense being made. The serpent, instigator of the entire mess, faced the most severe, most personal punishment. Eve, who negatively influenced Adam to eat the fruit, faced the second most severe, personal punishment: pain in childbirth.

Genesis 3:16b with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

What bothers me is that Adam, the supposed head of the household, faces no personal punishment, nothing that affects him physically, just how hard he has to work (if he wants to grow crops). It just doesn’t sit right with me. Adam knew he wasn’t supposed to eat the fruit and yet he did. So why does he not have any painful personal punishments? I just want to understand.

Genesis 3:17a 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,’

Precious Savior, I know that Your thoughts are nothing like my thoughts, and Your ways are far beyond anything I could imagine (Is 55:8), and I am thankful. I also know that You created me to seek and to ask in an attempt to understand. Thank You…for that innate curiosity and for the ability to read Your word, ask questions, seek answers, and draw closer to You. Always. Amen.

Genesis 3:17b “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 3:13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

The structure, the sequence of events thus far is very interesting to me. The serpent, all of creation, was created before man and man before woman, though the serpent is the first we hear speak, then Eve, then God, finally Adam. God questions Adam, then Eve, then the serpent about the fruit. Then He sets punishments for the serpent, then Eve, then Adam.

Genesis 3:14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals!

The serpent was created first, speaks first, tricks Eve first, is punished by God first. That’s interesting. Eve was created last, speaks second, makes a poor decision first, blames second, is punished by God second. Adam is created second, speaks last, blames first, is punished by God last. I find it all interesting, but I’m not sure it’s significant. I just really thought, since God has just unspooled this amazing plan of creation, that the order of events here would have been ordered as well. The order I expected was Adam first, then Eve, then the serpent.

Genesis 3:14b You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.

Precious Savior, Thank You for the ability to find Your word interesting, for the ability to see patterns (or expect patterns and not see them) and to wonder about the why. Help me to draw closer to You as I ponder Your world and Your word. Bless my study of Your word by rooting me more deeply in Your peace. Amen.

Genesis 3:15 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.”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 3:7a Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; 

There is something about the imagery of “The Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day” (v 8a) that just soothes my spirit. There are studies that show that being in nature for at least two hours a week can benefit a person’s health and well-being. Looks like God was practicing that custom from the very beginning.

Genesis 3:7b so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 

And I know when my guys were hiking the trail daily, they saw God everywhere in nature–sunrises and sunsets, breezes, birds, deer, even the crazy climbs and drops they endured in the northeast and the gorgeous, gorgeous views. Spending time in nature is good for the soul; it helps reconnect us with ourselves and our Maker.

Genesis 3:8a 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,  

Precious Savior, You created the heavens and the earth, all the animals, all the land and sea formations, everything. Thank You. You allow us to be stewards of Your creation, to tend to Your world as an extension of our love for You. Help us not neglect that service. You also allow us to seek You, see You in so many ways, as we spend time in Your natural world. Help us not to forget to look for You as we spend time in nature. Thank You. Amen.

Genesis 3:8b and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 3:1a Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. 

I have so many questions about today’s verses. This is the first time we’ve heard about the crafty serpent. Why? And why did God make him crafty? Why did He make him at all if He wanted to prevent the fall? And we’ve not heard a word from Adam. We know nothing about his character. Eve was just created. We really know nothing about her either. Why did the serpent go after her? And don’t try to hand me any garbage about women being more susceptible to sin. HUMANS are susceptible to sin.

Genesis 3:1b He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

Was God truly trying to test them? Was it a “Will they? Won’t they?” situation? Was He trying to be sure they actually had free will–which implies a choice to follow God or pick another option–by giving them choices to make? If the serpent had approached Adam first, would this have ended differently? If a platypus had been the crafty one, would it have ended differently?

Genesis 3:2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 

Precious Savior, I have so many questions. About the only thing I know is that You are loving and gracious and sovereign. Thank You–for who You are, for all You created, for the ability to read and question and draw closer through Your word. Amen.

Genesis 3:3 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.’ ”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 2:22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

During our wedding ceremony, the hubs and I lit a unity candle; however, we did not light a traditional candle with one wick to symbolize our union. We had a beautiful candle with two wicks, symbolizing our new bond as man and wife while also symbolizing that I had not been subsumed by my spouse in our marriage. I was still a distinct individual, but we were also, now, a united pair.

Genesis 2:23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”

The idea of two becoming one goes so much further than just a physical analogy. Intimacy is about more than reproduction. When two become one in the bonds of marriage, they become physically, mentally, and emotionally intimate. They share the deepest parts of themselves, even those bits that they often keep hidden from others because they are afraid of judgment. That total intimacy allows them to be completely themselves with each other, without shame. What a beautiful gift to feel totally seen, totally accepted.

Genesis 2:24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

Precious Savior, Thank You for the beauty and intimacy of marriage. Thank You that two become one, sharing even the parts of themselves that feel cringy and strange. Thank You for the ability to know another person and to love them deeply, warts and all. Thank You. Amen.

Genesis 2:25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 2:19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 

Verse 20b is the one that jumps out at me this morning, the fact that no suitable helper was found. We were made to live in community, to help and support one another, to uplift and encourage one another. I think it is an important part of who we are as people–this need for community, for support.

Genesis 2:20a So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

And it often surprises me how much I, as an introverted, non-people person, actually need people. I need my people for encouragement and support, but I also have a deep need to encourage and uplift others. Connection, the need for others in our lives, is deeply rooted in our DNA. That’s God. He designed us that way.

Genesis 2:20b But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for this need for connection and community. Thank You for this need to encourage and uplift others. Thank You that being Your hands and feet can be as simple as showing up for each other, encouraging each other, helping each other. Help us to love others as well as You love us. Amen.

Genesis 2:21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 2:15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 

Don’t think about hamburgers. Just the act of saying something like that makes us think about the thing–in this case hamburgers–even if it had been nowhere near our minds before. I get God setting healthy boundaries with verse 17, but in my mind, it feels like saying “Don’t think about hamburgers.”

Genesis 2:16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 

Maybe it’s just me and my curious nature, my need to know why. At some point, had I been in the garden, I would have wondered why I could not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, why that alone would cause me to die. I’m not saying it’s healthy. I’m saying it’s human nature to be curious, to wonder, to test boundaries. Jesus, Help me.

Genesis 2:17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

Precious Savior, Thank You for Your Kingdom, for You goodness and compassion. Thank You for helping to establish for us healthy boundaries that keep us safe. Forgive us when we get too curious and abandon common sense in search of answers we may not want to find. Use all things for our good and Your glory. Amen.

Genesis 2:18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

Have a blessed day.