Genesis 3: The origin of sin

Scripture

²¹ The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.

Observation

So we have in this chapter one of the most famous passages of Scripture, which, like yesterday’s raises all sorts of questions that have been debated and debated. Were Adam and Eve literally real? Why did the decision of one person have to affect the whole of the human race from then on? And, most importantly, could snakes talk at one point, and was this a common occurrence for Adam & Eve??!! But I don’t want to focus on those, I want to focus on God, and what this verse above reveals. He discovers that his beloved humans, the first people he has created, have gone behind his back and done what he told them specifically not to do. So he assigns the punishments due to them, because he is a just God. But then the first thing he does for them after that is an act of compassion – making them some clothes. I have to say, transposing this situation into an equivalent with my children, if they had made a mess of something by doing precisely the opposite of what I’d told them to do, I might well say, “Your mess – you deal with it.” Thankfully, our God isn’t like that.

Application

Really, there are several ways to respond to this. Firstly, praise and thanks God for being the compassionate, merciful God that he is. He could have totally erased Adam & Eve from existence and started again with a new species who would do what he said, but he loved and respected us enough to allow us free will to follow him. Instead, he shows love. Second, we can determine to do our best to follow what he’s telling us, and most of what we need to know is in the Bible. There are occasions when he speaks to us in a different way, and we need to train ourselves to listen, which isn’t always easy. The third thing we need to do is be like him. When people get themselves into a mess, and especially when we and they both know it was avoidable, don’t stand in judgement, as that position is only for God. Let’s show mercy and compassion, and support people as best we can in getting themselves out of that mess. This is one reason I regularly support the work of Christians Against Poverty (CAP), a fantastic organisation that frees people from the burden of debt and releases them into living more as God intended. Check them out.

Prayer

Father, I’m sorry for the times when I deliberately go against what you have told me. I confess that the sinful nature is alive in me, and I need your help to overcome it and live as you intend. Please also help me to have mercy and compassion on others when they need it, as you did with Adam and Eve. Amen.

 

Psalms 1-5

Scripture:

 

 Psalm 5:4-6

You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; 
       with you the wicked cannot dwell.

 5 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; 
       you hate all who do wrong.

 6 You destroy those who tell lies; 
       bloodthirsty and deceitful men 
       the LORD abhors.

 

Observation:

 

When I got to these verses in my reading this morning, I couldn’t help but stop and read them again, as I have issues with the theology behind the wording (and I checked several translations – thank you Bible Gateway – and they all say the same thing, pretty much). I’m fine with verse 4, and the first half of verse 5, but then the verbs in the rest of the selection are directed very clearly towards the people involved rather than the sins they exhibit. It doesn’t say “you hate the wrong that men do” but “you hate all who do wrong”. Nor does it say “the LORD abhors the actions of bloodthirsty and deceitful men”, but it says he hates the men themselves. This doesn’t sit well with me in these verses because everything else I know about God through Scripture and experience tells me that he loves all people equally, but certainly can’t stand the sins that we all exhibit during our lives.

 

Application:

 

So how do I rationalise this? Do I just assume that this is young, slightly more naïve David writing here, who would later fall into sin himself and understand more about forgiveness of people? That seems somewhat arrogant on my part! Is it something in the Hebrew worldview that sees the sin / sinner issue in a more black-and-white way, so I am less likely to be happy with it due to cultural reasons? Or is David just more honest – is “love the sinner, hate the sin” just a platitude that we have come to accept in current Christian circles that actually gives us an excuse to not say much or do much when we know people are sinning? I’d love to have some comments with your thoughts!

 

Prayer:

 

Praise you Lord for being a sinless God. Thank you that we can trust in your perfect holiness and righteousness, and that sin cannot stand before you. Help me Father to make sense of your Scriptures in a way that honours you and those who wrote them down. And please Lord give me the courage to make a stand against sin, as Jesus did, while showing love to the sinner.

 

Job 11-15

SScripture

 

Job 13:15 – Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; 
                                I will surely defend my ways to his face.

 

Observation

 

This verse is an astonishing example of Job’s resolve in the face of trial. He attributed everything in his life as coming from God, both the good and the bad, and so was thankful for his blessings at the start of the book, and when those were taken away, knew that it was God’s doing for some reason. Job is convinced that he hasn’t sinned against the Lord, at least, not in such a major way as to warrant the punishment he gets, whereas his friends are persuaded that sin is the reason for Job’s troubles. They go through this verbal dance for many chapters – “You’ve sinned!”, “I haven’t!” – and eventually God speaks, but here we have Job stating unequivocally that he still believes that he worships a good God, though he doesn’t understand what’s going on with him.

 

Application

 

There’s something about this God-centred worldview that doesn’t really exist any more. An ‘act of God’ in modern parlance is a generally a disaster of some kind, and people ask why God doesn’t just stop suffering in the world, but blessings that are received are often put down to good luck, or results of hard work, or being in the right place at the right time. Even Christians don’t tend to put everything down to God acting in their lives. But what if we did? Perhaps we’d be more grateful for the good things that he gives us… But when life goes wrong, would we have the strength to be like Job, and say, “Fine, I don’t get it, and I don’t like it, but I’m still going to worship and believe in you God”? What would the world be like if there were lots more people like Job?

 

Prayer

 

God, help me to see your hand in my whole life, not just Sundays. Help me to give thanks for the blessings you give us, and to continue loving and worshipping you through the trials and difficulties that come our way, whether big or small. Praise you Lord!