The Warning in the Garden

The Warning in the Garden

“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day 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, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” Gen 3:1-6 (NKJV)

Man was it hot and boy did I get sunburned but there was something to glean out of it. I went to Ocean Grove, NJ and attended an event called “Bridgefest”. A local Christian radio station has put on this event for the past five years and they seem to get better as they go along. This year my family and I went for the whole two days of “Bridgefest and I had heard some and had seen some pretty cool God moments. One of these moments happened in the Tabernacle when Pastor Rodney Finch took the Pulpit. This brother didn’t shout to the heavens but I heard him loud and clear. Good Preaching!!

Pastor Rodney asked us to take a look at 1 John 2:15 and he pretty much was laying down a foundation for the thing that came out hotter than the afternoon sun. It happens right at verse 16 where we read, “For all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-is not of the Father but is of the world.” He tells us about these three points, what the lust of the flesh is about, what the eyes can tend to lust for and what the pride of life really means in the and to the Greek but then he asks us to go back into Genesis, right at the moment when Eve was tempted.

There is a great parallel in this and I will borrow it from Pastor Rodney’s message, so let’s run the first parallel…the lust of the flesh/tree was good for food. This is where out crafty adversary begins his deception with all of us and John is reinforcing it to a post-Jesus world. John tells us quite clear what Paul has made quite clear when Paul said all things are permissible but not all things are beneficial. The tree was good for food but instruction was quite clear. The second parallel…the lust of the eyes/that it was pleasant to the eyes. That must have been one attractive piece of fruit. I had a dialog with a reader from Brazil recently and we have both agreed that this ain’t no apple either. The Bible doesn’t tell us what kind of fruit but it must have been the “Bling-Bling” of its time. None the matter however the instruction was quite clear.

The third parallel… the pride of life/and a tree desirable to make one wise. Here is the shot between the eyes. Here is where the Devil has the audacity to say we will be like God. The instruction was quite clear. Even he knew better than that but Satan doesn’t want us to get home does he? No he doesn’t, not at all. He just wants to see us separated from his and our Creator. And John wanted us to see that in the worst way. By telling us all that the world around us is passing away and that, “Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.” Even if this isn’t the exact last hour let us all be mindful of this parallel. It is at the beginning of the book and John reminds us towards the end. The instruction is quite clear.

Why do I keep saying “the instruction was quite clear”? Because God, at one time or another, has spoken or done something in our lives where it was better to simply obey than to waste time pondering why. I have walked into those moments myself and I can tell you honestly that I changed my name to Jonah and went hiding in the boat waiting for the storm to pass. Did it work for me? Well…did it work for Jonah? Right now I believe that God has me studying His word in a parallel way so that Jesus Christ can be revealed to me in a way I have not experienced before. I have been going N.T only to go back into the O.T. and I can tell you that the time I spent in the blazing sun this past “Bridgefest” was worth going the distance. I just hope the sunburn doesn’t hurt too much as time goes by. So Brother, are you spending time in the blazing Son? If you are you’ll understand that the Son-screen does not work. -- Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a frequent contributor to Freedom Fighter

Digging Deeper: Proverbs 26; Psalm 40-42; Acts 27:1-26

Dig This Quote: “If the devil were wise enough and would stand by in silence and let the Gospel be preached, he would suffer less harm. For when there is no battle for the Gospel it rusts and it finds no cause and no occasion to show its vigor and power. Therefore, nothing better can befall the Gospel than that the world should fight it with force and cunning.” Martin Luther

Determined Digging: Level 1: Isaiah 40:31; Level 2: Psalm 103:6-10

Determined Praying: Brokennes is the "woe is me" before we can say, "God, use me." -- Michael Catts

Join us this morning at 9:30 AM as Dr. Robertson McQuilken shares God's Word. Dr. Bill Jones will be speaking at 7:00 PM. You can watch live at www.americaskeswick.org