Genesis 3:1-24 continuing…

“And 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, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons” Genesis 3:6-7.

So many times and far too much of the time we are a fickle lot of people. We see, hear, and believe only what we want to. The lie of the devil was very enticing, but it was a desire and longing in Eve’s heart that overcame what she knew to be right. “Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” (James 1:14-15). Turning, and walking away from what tempts us is so difficult, because, what is tempting us to sin, is what we are desiring, even if we know it is wrong, and evil.

There are three phases of temptation – Adam’s and Eve’s and our’s; 1) “The lust of the flesh…’; 2) ‘the lust of the eyes’; and 3) ‘the pride of life” (1 John 2:15-17). Notice how this appealed to Eve: 1) It was appealing for the satisfaction of the physical; 2) it was attractive to look upon; and 3) it offered to make her powerful. These things are very hard to resist. They have appeal to all of us. It seems especially so in the world today. We want immediate gratification NOW, so what ever appeals to our pride, longing for beauty, or satisfaction of physical appetites we do. If you look at the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11) you will see that the devil used these same three temptations to try and tempt Jesus away from and around the cross.

Remember Eve was innocent. Innocent does not mean incapable of sin. She was unfamiliar with temptation. Eve was like a very young child who is told not to touch a hot stove. It is, most times, experience that teaches them why they should not touch it. Eve’s temptation had far greater consequences than a child touching a hot stove, but by becoming disobedient to God mankind has felt the heat.

Where was Adam while this was going on? Apparently, he was there “with her” according to the text (v. 6b). We have no clue as to Adam’s silence, but this is certainly one point where silence was not “golden”. Reading this text makes me want to scream, “ADAM, SAY SOMETHING. SAY NO! JUST SAY NO!” He could have taken Eve by the arm and said, “Let’s go”, but he did not do it. It could be in their innocence that neither had a place of ‘rulership’ over the other, but stood equal, and because of this Adam remained silent. We really do not know.

We can certainly learn that as men, as husbands and fathers there are times as the prophets, priests and kings in our families we must speak up. Our wives and children need clear direction fromt he Lord, and often times the way they receive that is through us. We must speak or let our families go to ruin.

The saddest state of all is their pride. They realize that they had sinned and were disobedient to the commandment of God. They know they are not alone – God is there. They make themselves a covering of “Fig leaves”. Maybe good enough for man’s and religion’s approval, but not God’s (Isaiah 64:6). It was a fig tree which Jesus cursed. A curse upon the works of righteousness which man can do. A curse of empty religion. Cursed because of fruitlessness (Matthew 21:18-20), offering nothing pleasing to God, or for the real hunger of mankind.

Fig leaves will not cover sufficiently, nor effectively; only the shed blood of the Lamb of God Jesus Christ can cover our multitude of sins.