TORAH, GOD'S INSTRUCTIONS GENESIS 3:2-24 LESSON 3B TEMPTATION, SIN, SACRIFICES Say - Welcome to Sabbath School class. Let's bow our head as we ask God for understanding in our study today. Say - In lesson "3A" we discussed who the "serpent" was in Genesis 3:1. We discussed his origin, what he is doing now and what his future will be. In our lesson today we will continue with Genesis chapter 3. Say - " 1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman (Eve) said unto the serpent (Satan), We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden (the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil" Genesis 2:17), God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die" 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil" Genesis 3:1-5. Say - Verses 4 and 5 above show how Satan and his ministers work, going about to deceive mankind as false prophets and, sad to say, they are doing a very good job in our world today, Revelation 12:9. Say - Do you see how Satan told a lie "ye shall not surely die" and many of his ministers are saying the same thing today. The Bible tells us, " 23 For the wages of sin is death..." Romans 6:23. Also "...sin...bringeth forth death" James 1:15, not burning forever in hell fire as the false doctrine teaches. Say - Do you see how we are witnessing how Satan and sin work? Satan wants us to give up on God or to doubt Him. Doubt is the opposite of faith and when we begin to doubt, Satan is there to reinforce the doubt and we begin to question the very Truth of God. Say - The Bible tells us how to handle the temptation of Satan in this world, " 12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him" James 1:12. "Endureth" means to hold fast to the truth of
God during trials then we will receive the "crown of life". In another place we are told, " 10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction (temptations, trouble and distress), and of (their) patience. 11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end (purpose) of the Lord (Christ suffered and was tempted much yet He was abundantly blessed; HE IS OUR ROLE MODEL TO REACH THE SAME GOAL); that the Lord is very pitiful (full of pity and very kind), and of tender mercy" James 5:10-11. Say - As the Bible tells us " 32 But call to remembrance the former days (never forget when we were in darkness to the Truth of God), in which, after ye were illuminated (after we learned of His saving knowledge), ye endured a great fight of afflictions (how we remained steadfast in the Faith and Truth of God in spite of those afflictions or temptations we walked away from); 33 Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions (We were a spectacle and suffered for upholding the truth of God by God's enemies)... 34 For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance (we know our reward and goal)" Hebrews 10:32-34. Say - We were many times a "spectacle" because we did not celebrate Christmas, or because the Sabbath Day and Annual Holy Days of God were different than the world's accepted ones. For when we turn from temptation and false doctrine and walk IN THE LAWS AND INSTRUCTIONS OF GOD, many people do not like us but we must constantly look to the bigger picture, and "choose life" as God tells us. Say - Continuing on with Genesis 3:6. 6And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof (this is where sin began), and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. Say - Every sin is the same; first the temptation, then the attraction or lust in a bad sense of the word and then the mind games come in to play and human reasoning takes over and the result is degradation. Here is how the Bible says it, "Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth
death" James 1:15, "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of (the God of) the world (Satan)" I John 2:16. Say - Additional thought, we shouldn't rely on the senses alone to make decisions but only by the help of God. At first we are like little babies but we must mature and grow to know good from evil by studying the Bible! Adam and Eve learned the hard way. They were told not to do something and did it anyway. Do we see how Satan also used the senses, the same as God, but twisted them to get them to do wrong and he has been doing it ever since. Say - Eve looked at the fruit and reasoned (human reasoning) it looked good, was pleasant to look at and took the fruit and ate it and then gave it to her husband. But she took it in disobedience and the once "pleasant" fruit became "unpleasant" or "evil". We need to seek things from God's point of view and learn to think like Him. It takes a life time. All of her reasoning was based on the senses and turned what God called "good" to the wrong purpose and we pay the price of disobedience and Satan loves it. Say - The Bible tells us, " 20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter (sin is bitter but seems sweet for a time)!" Isaiah 5:20. This is how dysfunctional our world is when we fall for Satan's temptations and why we have so many problems. God's people have the power of God's holy spirit to learn and understand the knowledge of God to overcome Satan and sin; that is the Good News! Say - That is why God tells us "come out of her (Babylon) my people" meaning religious confusion, Revelation 18:4. We must learn to see the Bible and God's teachings from the mind and eyes of God and not from the culture which has formed many of us. Christ tells us, "To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness (sin, death) to light (truth, life), and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me" Acts 26:18. Say - If we see good and turn it to evil or corruption, we are in darkness. For instance "lust" and "covet" or "jealousy" can mean either good or bad. We must ask what was on the mind of God when we read His words. When God said "I am a jealous over you with Godly jealousies for I have espoused you to one husband..." in 2 Corinthians 11:2, "jealousy" meant He zealously sought after His wife to look after her and care for her.
Say - In another place He tells us "...With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer" Luke 22:15. He "desired", He longed, craved, "lusted" in a good sense "to eat the Passover with them before He suffered". Now do we can understand the difference in the good and bad meaning of words by the way in which God intends them to be understood. I will encourage you to find a verse which has a good meaning in terms of the word "covet". Say - Now back to Genesis 3:7. 7And the eyes of them both were opened (spiritually), and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons Up to this point Adam and Eve had been innocent and pure, no negative feelings; now their mind was opened and they could see that they had disobeyed God and were guilty. God tests His people to see if we will do the right thing and if we do the wrong thing, will we repent. God has a purpose for all things; we can learn so much from Adam and Eve's mistakes concerning dealing with Satan and temptation and learn to choose right over wrong. Say - 8And they heard the voice of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden in the cool of the day (the breeze of the day at evening): and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God (Jesus) amongst the trees of the garden". We must ask ourselves when we hear the Word of God, what do we do? Do we have shame, remorse, fear, guilt, or feelings of disobedience or are we excited to hear the truth of God, are we teachable? Say - It is also important to realize that the "LORD God" in verse 8 was Jesus the Son of God walking in the Garden of Eden. How can we be so sure? Remember in the New Testament Christ said NO MAN had seen God the Father. Here are proofs of this statement: "No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him " John 1:17. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father" John 6:46. No man hath seen God at any time" I John 4:12. Say - And another very important point to know is the Bible says that Jesus spoke ONLY what His Father told Him. Here are proofs of this statement: "I speak that which I have seen "Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.with my Father"...John 8:28. "For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak" John 12:49. "And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak" John 12:50. "Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the
Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works" John 14:10 See how important all of this knowledge is to understand the relationship of God and Christ throughout the Bible and the Good News is that we can have a part in this intimate relationship by following God. Say - 9And the LORD God (Jesus) called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself (They are "naked" spiritually and had done something wrong. How foolish to think they could hide.) Here is what the Bible says, "1O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. 2Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. 3Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. 4For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. 5Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. 6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. 7Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 9If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. 11If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. 12Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee Psalm 139:1-12. In another place it says, "he knows the secrets of the heart (God knows why we embrace or reject His teachings etc.), Psalm 44:21. Say - 11And he said, who told thee that thou wast naked (helpless)? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? Here God is giving them a chance to repent but they made excuses instead. They chose the wrong way by allowing someone to come between them and God and they became polluted. It is a lesson that not all is good even though it looks good; there will be temptation in our lives so we must develop the mind of God to see and hear as He wants us to see and hear. Say - 12And the man said, the woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. Now Adam takes his turn in explaining but instead of him repenting, he blames it on someone else. That is what happens when we are not walking in the "Light" of God; we look for cover or someone to blame. They didn't take the responsibility for their disobedience which is what repentance is all about. Say - We think wrong, we do wrong and give into temptation (Satan) and the Bible tells us why. It says, "The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately wicked..." Jeremiah 17:9. In another place it says, "also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart:" Ecclesiastes 9:3 and that is why we need the righteousness of God because He can heal us spiritually and physically. Say - Here is how God said it, "When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole (have the strength to overcome sin) have no need of the physician, but they that are sick (spiritually): I came not to call the righteous, (those observing God's instructions and laws) but sinners to repentance, (those disobedient to His instructions and laws).." Mark 2:17. God is the only one who can heal spiritually and physically. Say - God had come to the Garden giving Adam and Eve a chance to repent but they felt ashamed and confused and as all sin goes, they looked for cover or someone else to blame. Eve blamed the serpent/satan, Adam blamed Eve and from then on there has always been and always will be conflict between God's people and Satan because Satan will always be there to temp anyone he can. When we sin, we need to take the responsibility and go to God and ask forgiveness, not blame others. The Good News is, we can repent to God and Satan cannot just as we studied in Genesis "3A". Say - A converted mind recognizes the nature in oneself; that "we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" Isaiah 64:4 and repents of our sicknesses and says I need help from the Great Physician, Jesus Christ. This is the humble mind to strive for. Say - 13And the LORD God said unto the woman, what is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me (deceived me and now we know how Satan does it; it is through the senses and distorting the Truth of God, turning it into a lie and many fall for it!), and I did eat. 14And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed (doomed) above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life (this is where Satan began to crawl) 15And I will put enmity (hatred) between thee and the woman (will always be conflict between God's people and Satan), and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Say - 16Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow (suffering) and thy conception (pregnancy); in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee (Now we know
how it all happened, first woman was made to be a partner to complete the man but now she would be in subjection to him however in some cultures this has been taken advantage of.). Say - 17And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow (The man provided the livelihood but now it would be done in labor and hardship) shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life (Man was made perfect but fell by a simple temptation; prior to their choice, all they did was experience a life of ease and pleasure. The lesson is we all pay the price of sin or disobedience to God's laws and instructions I John 3:4. Read also "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" Romans 5:12.) Say - 18Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee (always in conflict with Satan or as a thorn in the flesh, an enemy); and thou shalt eat the herb of the field (The Bible tells us " 8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned" thus the fate of Satan and the incorrigibly wicked, Hebrews 6:8.). 19In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return 20And Adam (man) called his wife's name Eve (living); because she was the mother of all living. (Not only will you have to work hard for your livelihood but he covered them because He did not want them to be ashamed). Say - 21Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them (This was the beginning of animal sacrifices which God taught them after becoming sinful beings. Sacrifices were to teach them and us many spiritual lessons of great importance to our study. The Bible tells us, 22 And almost all things are by the law purged (cleansed and made free of the guilt of sin) with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission (forgiveness or pardon)." Hebrews 9:22 Say - WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE OF SACRIFICES? As we have read, they were added because of sin. The sacrifices were a lesson on how the "spiritual temple" was being constructed in each person. The sacrifices of an animal represented the spiritual intent of the person because the animal symbolized bringing himself to God and being totally submissive to Him and His instructions. But if they did not bring the sacrifice before God with a sincere heart, He would not accept it. Paul said, "And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity (pure love), it profiteth me nothing" I Corinthians 13:3.
Say - All the sacrifices brought before God is an act of faith that He would accept them. We do the same thing now only with NO physical sacrifice when we come before God with a repentant sincere heart. Christ doesn't repent for us; we must repent which is a physical act as we pray out to God and ask for the forgiveness of our sins. When we are sincere in our repentance, God hears our prayers and is pleased and forgives us and our prayer has a "sweet sent", the only ones He will accept. So the process has not changed, just a different administration of the same principle. Say - Another very important aspect of sacrifices is about the animal or lamb which was brought for sacrificing. The lamb was perfect and innocent yet the lesson taught was that it took the shed blood of something innocent to cover the sins of the guilty. That is why Jesus Christ came and gave His life as the Lamb of God, the perfect sacrifice and He was without sin. He paid the penalty of death in our stead but we must repent of sin, the breaking of God's law, and accept His sacrifice of His shed blood for us. Sacrifices were always symbolic of a spiritual relationship with God; symbolic of the spiritual intent of what was given from the heart. It is a lesson we never want to forget. Say - Back to Genesis 3:22. 22And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil (God is saying, what has become by sin of the man who was as one of us; formed at first to know good from evil.) and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life (symbolic of the holy spirit), and eat, and live forever: 23Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims (Archangels, Ezekiel 1), and a flaming sword (flame of an angelic sword) which turned every way, to keep (guard) the way of the tree of life (the way which led to the tree of life). By "driving out man" from the Garden of Eden, it showed how much God hated sin or evil and loved purity and holiness. The Cherubims were the same beings used in the Tabernacle in the wilderness and in the Temple of God over the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies as God's dwelling place for it was symbolic of His Throne. The Bible tells us, " 22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony..." Exodus 25:22. From this time on only a few would be allowed to come to God as He called them for a purpose to live and witness of Him in the spiritual darkness of this world. The Bible tells us,
" 44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him..." John 6:44, 14:6, 15:16; Psalm 33:12, Revelation 19:9. Say - As we can see the cycle of sin begins with temptation then a decision needs to be made. The decision is do we obey God or Satan. What will your decision be; choose God it is your life, Deuteronomy 32:46-47. MEMORY VERSE BLESSED IS THE MAN THAT ENDURETH TEMPTATION...HE SHALL RECEIVE THE CROWN OF LIFE. JAMES 1:12 MEMORY VERSE FOR TOTS...ENDURE TEMPTATION AND RECEIVE THE CROWN OF LIFE. JAMES 1:12 BELOW IS THE SABBATH SCHOOL LESSONS FOR TOTS
TEMPTATIONS AND SIN IN THE BEAUTIFUL, PEACEFUL GARDEN OF EDEN, WAS THE "TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL" A TREE EVE WAS "NOT TO EAT OF OR TOUCH LEST SHE DIE" UNTO HER CAME SATAN TO CONFUSE AND HE TOLD HER A LIE AND SAID, "YOU SHALL NOT SURELY DIE". GEN. 3:1-4 THIS WAS THE FIRST TEMPTATION AND EVE A CHOICE SHE WAS TO MAKE; SHE AND ADAM CHOSE TO DISOBEY GOD AND TOOK AND ATE FROM THE TREE, OH WHAT A SILLY MISTAKE! JESUS, OUR CREATOR, PERFECT IN ALL HIS WAYS, SAID "NO" TO SATAN'S TEMPTATIONS AND THAT IS WHAT HE WANTS US TO DO; BECAUSE JESUS IS OUR ROLE MODEL AND TO HIM WE ARE TO SHOW OUR LOVE, TO OBEY AND REMAIN LOYAL AND ALWAYS BE TRUE. JAMES 5:10-11 JESUS OPENS OUR EYES FROM THE DARKNESS OF SIN TO THE LIGHT OF THE TRUTH OF GOD; AND WHEN WE DISOBEY AND ASK FORGIVENESS OF OUR SINS, HE HEARS OUR PRAYERS, OH THANK YOU GOD! ACTS 26:18 BY B. R. B.