Genesis 3-5; Matthew 2
Ugh. Genesis 3 has to be the saddest chapter in the whole bible. Talk about a choice with far-reaching consequences. Adam and Eve’s disobedience destroyed the perfection God intended and now every human who has ever lived on this earth knows the “fallenness” that is this world. Anne is living proof that our world is not as God intended…
But have you ever wondered… after Adam and Eve ate the fruit and were hiding from God in shame, why would God (who is all-knowing) ask, “Where are you?” Not to sound irreverent, but doesn’t that seem like a stupid question? God totally knew where they were. And then God goes on to ask more questions he already knows the answer to: ““Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
I’ve always wondered why God asks these questions, and not long ago, I was reading a book by Nancy Guthrie, and she gave me a very satisfying answer…
Here we see one of the first pictures in Scripture of what our God is like personally. He takes the initiative to seek after sinners. …God didn’t question the Serpent. There was no need for that since there was no possibility of his redemption (Guthrie, The Promised One, pp 74, 75).
God longs for us to repent. He longed for Adam and Eve to repent, but “instead of making a brokenhearted confession, [Adam] offered an excuse” (Guthrie, The Promised One, p 75).
Which brings me to a very hard passage of Scripture in Matthew 2. After Jesus was born… “[Herod] killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under” (Matthew 2:16). That wouldn’t have happened if Jesus hadn’t been born. The very child that was born to save us from our sin magnified the sin in Herod’s heart so that Herod chose to slaughter… babies. Those poor families. The grief of the mothers. The whole community shattered by the fury of one man.
Yes, the disobedient choice of Adam and Eve has far-reaching effects. Should I wonder how it would have been different if they had repented? No, I think that’s futile. I think a better endeavor is to wonder how my life will be affected if I, a lowly sinner, choose to repent instead of make excuses. Yes, that seems like a good thing to think about…
P.S. You can follow the rest of my journey through the bible at bible365blog.com
Crayons In My Water 
Could this be a model of how we are to be with our children (and eachother)? To ask rather than accuse? To invite, rather than condemn? Hmmm
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There is nothing I love more as a parent than a repentant child. Repentance brings me more joy than even happy obedience.
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wow. good stuff.
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Cain is another unfortunate example of non repentance that is revealed in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint) common to Jesus’s day. When the Father confronts Cain about killing Abel, he tells Cain the consequences of his actions, and Cain says, “My guilt is too great to be forgiven.”
Wow, talk about being your own worst judge. God isn’t condemning Him, Cain is self condemning and non repentant, and there are consequences. When Jesus says to not judge, how often are we found judging ourselves?
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