Adam And Eve – We All Need God’s Intervention
How are we like Adam and Eve? Steph looks at the famous story and reminds us that just like them, we need God’s intervention.
Adam And Eve & God’s Intervention
In my devotions, I’m currently reading the book of Romans. Because I read Romans 5 today, it made me think about how we are just like Adam and Eve in many ways.
Let’s read Genesis 1:1-8. It says, “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”?’ And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 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.”’ But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ 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. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 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” (ESV).
If we take a few moments to consider these verses, it’s easy to see how the first man and woman were just like us.
We Will be Tempted.
Although we will not be accosted by a talking snake, the devil’s lies come across our path on a daily basis, sometimes from society, sometimes from those we personally interact with, and sometimes from our own thoughts. We must be wary of anyone or anything that creates doubt as to what is clearly revealed in God’s Word.
Engaging With the Tempter Can Lead to Big Problems.
In 1 Peter 3:15 we read, “In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” (ESV).
We are to respond when people question us about our faith. However, I would give two words of caution:
- We must know God’s Word well. Now, I’m not saying we have to be Bible scholars, but we must be secure in the what we do know up to this point, confident that it is true even when we find it difficult to understand. And even though there are portions of the Scriptures we will likely wrestle with until the Lord calls us home to heaven, there are many portions that are straightforward … portions such as “Don’t eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” for instance.
- There are times it becomes evident that the one asking the questions is trying to trip us up. They have no intention of changing their opinion. There comes a time to walk away.
Because Eve didn’t cut short her conversation with the snake, she sinned by breaking the one command the Lord had given them. She gave the fruit to her husband and he ate of it as well. And as a result, sin entered the entire human race.
Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12).
hopestreamradio · Adam And Eve
While your sin and mine won’t change the whole course of human history as did Adam and Eve’s, it’s bound to have far-reaching affects.
We Can’t Resolve the Issue of Sin Ourselves.
Adam and Eve tried to cover themselves by sewing together fig leaves. Just as fig leaves are an ineffective method of hiding oneself from the Lord, so are our attempts to cover our sin, whether by trying to hide it, justify it, or downplay it. That may work when it comes to the people in our life, but it will never work when it comes to interacting with the holy, all-knowing Creator of the universe.
We All Need God’s Intervention in Our Life.
The passage in Genesis goes on to tell us that God killed an animal and made clothes for Adam and Eve from its skin. Blood had to be shed. And although this didn’t absolve them of what they had done, it did point down through the centuries to the time He would send the perfect sacrifice for sin, His Son, the Lord Jesus.
Adam and Eve’s sin affected all people down through time. We see its affects all around us. Yet, the Scriptures overflow with promise.
Romans 5:15 says, “But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.” (ESV).
When we come to saving faith in Jesus, our sin is truly dealt with. However, we must still battle its effects. We will still fall prey to its deception all too often. Yet, we can draw on the strength He makes available to us.
We can have confidence in promises such as the one found in 2 Peter 1:3, which says, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.”
We can once again walk with the Lord, confident that He will one day take us to heaven, where we will be free of the consequences of sin for all eternity.
May we learn these and other lessons from Adam and Eve, who, in many ways, were just like us.
Steph Nickel
Steph Beth Nickel is eclectically interested and eclectically involved. In all she does, Steph seeks to nurture and inspire. She is currently working on the first book in a nonfiction series. Nurture and Inspire LOVE is a compilation of the first devotionals she wrote for HopeStreamRadio.
Steph is a freelance writer and editor. She is the coauthor of Paralympian Deb Willows’ award-winning memoir, Living Beyond My Circumstances, published by Castle Quay Books. Deb and Steph are working on a follow-up book.
You can visit her website, stephbethnickel.com, to learn more about her.
Visit Steph’s contributor’s page or at Steph Nickel’s Eclectic Interests.
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