He did WHAT!?!

As we viewed the trial and sentancing of the first murderer, God pronounced a curse upon Cain that would cause him to be an outcast and a wanderer for the rest of his life. Cain, rather than being remorseful for his sin and the loss of his brother, was more concerned with his punishment and how others would view him. However, he did understand the implications of his sentence and he understood that when God spoke, things happened.

And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. Cain set foot upon that path to which the Lord had sentenced him. The use of landmarks such as Nod and Eden here are indications to the authenticity of the Scriptures.

And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. A lot of people like to speculate as to where Cain got his wife. They speculate a second creation, or angels, or that Adam and Eve were not the only humans to be created in the beginning. Remember, Here we deal with Scriptures, and look at only what the Scriptures say. They say that Man and Woman were created on the 6th day, that God named Man- Adam, that Adam named his Woman- Eve. According to Scripture, therefore, 1 Man and 1 Woman were commanded by God to "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth." Thus, Adam and Eve did as they were commanded and Cain took a wife of those that were produced. Now, Cain has a wife and children are born to that union. And the first city was built: Enoch in the land of Nod.

And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech. Here we have a slight genealogical tree for Cain. It is to get to the story of Lamech.

And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. Specific named females, only the second occurance within the Scriptures. And look what their children did. Talk about pride in ones children.

And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. Here is the first mention of tents and of cattle farmers. Abel was a tender of sheep remember.

And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. The inventor of the harp and organ. Let me also point out that here the fathers taught their sons their way of life. For Jabal it was tent-dwelling (and likely making) and cattle farming. For Jubal, it was proficency with the harp and organ (organ here comes from an unsed root of breathing. It means a reed instrument according to Strong's).

And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah. Tubalcain was the first to work in iron and brass. A lot earlier than the Iron Age as those who profess to be experts place it. I have wondered at the inclusion of Naamah here but as it fails to elaborate and in the scheme of redemption it bears no further importance, I usually stop right there.

And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. It is an interesting story here. Lamech calls his wives and told them to listen. He then proceeds to relate to them this event. "I have killed a man for wounding me, and a young man for bruising me." Wounding here comes from the word meaning "to split" and hurt means "bruising". So Lamech killed a man for hitting him and opening a wound.

If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold. If Cain was to be avenged if killed 7 fold for an unjustified murder, Lamech, who feels he was justified in his reasons for killing, therefore shall be avenged 77 times over.

And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. Time passes and the created continue to obey the Creator's decree. Eve bore another son, Seth, whom she also attributed to God (rightly so). Notice that she terms Seth a replacement seed for Abel whom Cain slew. Cain was driven out because of his sin so in effect he was considered dead. Well Abel was dead because Cain slew him, so that would leave Eve considering the promise of God unfulfilled because she had no seed to bruise Satan's head. As we look down the passage of time, we see that the savior would indeed be a descendant of Seth because Noah was descended from Seth.

And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call (accost, preach, proclaim,cry unto) upon the name (authority, honor, character) of the LORD. Seth also had a son and he named him Enos. And in that time, men began to preach or proclaim the honor or authority of God. The phrase "upon the name" is derived from one word (H8034) and is not listed in the Strong's definitions of that word

Lessons from the Text:

1.) God's word is true. Cain was sentanced to a life away from God, being a wanderer and a vagabond and Cain went out from the presence of God. If God's word was proven true in the garden and man died, then God's word again was proven true in the sentencing of Adam and Eve in that they left the garden, and now it was proven true once again in the sentencing and subsequent carying out of that sentence, would it be too great a leap of logic that when He declares man can be saved through obedience to the blood of Christ, that we can indeed be saved?

2.) Man has great ability and inventiveness. Cain built houses and cities, thus was an example of and possibly the first architecht. The descendants of Cain had tents, invented and used instruments, worked brass and iron. Man has great potential and, as can be seen, that potential can be used for good or evil.

3.) There is a difference between murder and killing. Cain murdered Abel. Lamech killed the one or ones that first caused physical hurt to him. Self defense versus premeditated murder.

4.) God provides. Cain was gone through his sin. Abel was gone because of Cain's sin. So God provided Adam and Eve another son Seth.

5.) Remember, as Abram found out later, we can not force our interpretation upon God's word. Eve appears to be thinking that her children were the fulfilment of God's promise prior to them leaving the garden (Genesis 3:15). While God's promise was fulfilled through the descedants of Eve's child, her child itself was not the fulfillment.

Christian

Crime and Punishment II

As we left Cain and Abel last time, they had just offered a tribute of their respective goods to God. god respected and favored Abel's offering over Cain's because it was of the first fruits of his flock. Abel had set aside God's tribute first before his own whereas Cain just offered when the time came. Cain, seeing God's favor of Abel, became jealous and angry. God warned Cain where his thoughts would lead if he opened the door for them. Now we See Cain talking with Abel ...

And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. Cain talked with Abel. The word for talk here carries the idea of a challenge or argument. And when they were in the field, Cain allowed his feelings to overcome and he killed Abel.

And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? Here again, the Lord is judge. He asks Cain what happened to Abel which gave Cain the opportunity to confess and repent. God knew where Abel was. Instead, Cain lies to God (Remind you of someone else?). He thinks he has gotten away with his evil and shrugs off his responsibility saying "Am I my brother's keeper?" In other words, "It wasn't my turn to watch him."

And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. God challenges Cain with a question that lets him know God knows. God also here shows his relationship with the entire creation (Matthew 6:24-34). He says "the call of your brothers blood shrieks unto me from the ground." It was not just a simple "Yooo Hooo!! I was murdered. Hey! Over here!!" It was a shriek! GOD!!! I WAS MURDERED!!!!

And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; It is important to note that God's curses are effective as we shall discuss in later books. God here provides punishment and the reason for that punishment. Cain would be cursed, blocked from the very earth that had received his brother.

When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. Cain was a tiller of the ground. It was his livelihood and it had received his brother as he had not. God removes that blessing of bounty from Cain because of his being unrepentant and unreceptive. Also, because of his denying Abel life, Cain was to forfeit his life of a tiller of the ground with the company and life it afforded. He was to become an outcast from not just the earth, but society as well wandering from place to place being scorned and shunned.

And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Cain realizes the full implications of his punishment. He realizes it is more than he bargained for and that he has not escaped the responsibility for his crime.

Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. God has punished Cain with a life of perpetual wandering and death. Cain realizes that he would no longer be in the presence of God which he numbers as primary and that his livelihood was gone, and that people would try to kill him for what he had done therefore causing him to continually be fleeing for the rest of his life. What a wasteland of a life to suddenly stretch out before the mind's eye.

And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. The Lord replies to Cain's fears "Not so!" and lays a punishment upon any who would slay Cain 7 times heavier than Cain's punishment. Then, that Cain might be protected, God places a mark on him. We will never know what this mark was, for it is not important that man should know. Suffice it to say that it was distinctive to where all would leave Cain alive.

Some have wondered why God did not perform capital punishment upon Cain. My thoughts on this are as follows:
Cain committed his crime against Abel, unlike Nadab and Abihu who committed theirs directly against God.

God's justice is always just. He set such a high price upon the blood of another human that no one would be willing to pay.

God had not set life for life until man left the ark.
There is no evidence of a government body to whom God had delegated the sword of justice to carry out such a punishment.

Lessons From This Text:

1. If we do not control our emotions, they will control us.
Cain allowed his jealousy and anger control his thoughts and eventually his actions. As a result of this lack of control, Abel died.

2. God gives us an opportunity to repent of our wrong. God asked a question so that Cain could repent just like He offered the opportunity to Adam and Eve. The difference? Adam and Eve owned up to their sin, Cain did not.

3. God knows what has been done, so lying to God will not work. Cain tried to lie his way out of the situation, but God knew the truth.

4. We are responsible for how we treat others. Cain thought he was not his brother's keeper but that was not the case. Just like Cain, we are to watch out for our brothers and sister's not bring them to harm.

5. Lack of responsibility and lying to God brings harsh consequences. As a result of Cain's lies and his lack of responsibility and caring, God pronounced a curse upon Cain that was equal to his crime. As Abel lost his life, Cain lost the one that he knew. As Abel lost his place in society, Cain lost his. As Cain suffered social death along with the spiritual death and the physical death brought on by sin, so we too will be cast from the face or presence of God and die should we physically die without repenting of our sins and contacting the blood of Christ.

6. Even in the midst of punishment, God cares for the punished. Because Cain was cursed and therefore required to be shunned and wander, he was afraid of the cost of that curse. Because of that fear, God afforded him an amount of protection. Even so, we are afforded an opportunity at salvation in the midst of our sins.

Christian

YOU RULE!!

Well, after a long period to adjust to the curve ball life just threw at me, I have returned.
We ended our discussion last time with Adam and Eve being driven from the garden that lay in Eden and a cherubim and a flaming sword keeping the way to the Tree of Life.

And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. Here we have the first recorded live birth. Adam and Eve were parents and it is of note that Eve knew who had blessed her with a son. Having sinned, she still knew God and His bounty.

And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. I find it also interesting that Cain was a man from the Lord and here Abel is a breath (definition of Abel). Does this mean, as many commentators suggest, that she believed him to be the fulfillment of the promise in chapter 3 verse 15? I can only read that she attributed him to have been given by the Lord. Another special note to make here is that from the beginning we have farmers and shepherds.

And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. Cain knew to whom he owed his livelihood and he brought a tribute.

And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: Abel also knew to whom he owed his livelihood and also brought a tribute to the Lord. There was a significant difference between Cain's tribute and Abel's tribute. It was significant to the point that one God accepted or respected and the other He did not. Can you see the difference?

But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. Cain knew also that God did not accept his tribute which made him very angry and it showed.

And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? God knew the heart of Cain.

If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. God explains to Cain that if Cain makes God happy (yatab translated 'doest well') he would be accepted. Universal truth being stated here. God accepts those who make Him happy or does that which is right. Second truth: If you don't do right, offence only waits to enter and desires you, but you rule over sin.

Lessons From This Text

1.) Our children come from the Lord. We must always remember who is the beginning of life and the bestower of our blessings.

2.) Our tribute or offering to God should aways be our finest and our first. Abel brought the firstfruits of his flock. Cain simply brought of his field. The difference? Abel's firstfruits were accepted because He gave to God the first of his herd who gave it to him. Abel recognized this truth, Cain did not, thinking that any old fruit would do.

3.) If we do that which pleases God, we shall be accepted by God. If we do not, God will not accept us or respect our offering.

4.) If we do not that which pleases God, sin waits at the entrance. when we open the door, it will enter and consume us. Yet we have the dominion over sin. We can keep the door shut or indeed throw sin out.

Christian

Reflections of Fall

Reflections of Fall

The seasons come and seasons go.
Now fall is here but almost done,
The leaves to rake, the grass to mow,
Apples to pick, errands to run.

Time never stands still, its always going.
Like leaves from the trees flutter to fade and rot,
So too our lives drift on breezes blowing,
To fall to the ground only to fade and be forgot.

But Oh! to those leaves that time has let rotten.
This is not the end, for some leaves so splendid
Are plucked from the ground, they are not forgotten.
Their beauty so precious, Oh no! its not ended.

Their color so beautiful, it must be preserved,
And thus between pages the leaf it is pressed.
While others so drab are given a fate full deserved,
Being raked and burned, their dullness addressed.

So our lives often so pretty in the spring as they bud,
Some so green in the summer; some fast faded,
In the fall of our years, some brilliant others dulled
Fall to the ground, some preserved others burned.

We all have been given the same time to be radiant;
The opportunity to be pressed in the pages of His Book of Life.
The question comes forth "What will your color be?"
Time draws to the end; "Will it be burned or will it be brilliant?"
Christian - 2008

Dear readers, as I reflected upon fall and all its beauty, I thought I would share with you a poem . Look for more in depth discussion later this week. As for me, I've got to hit the books. School has begun!!
Our God is an awesome God!!!
Christian

But I Don't Want To Go!!!!

God has just handed out His divine judgement upon the disobedient creation. As we watched, He passed judgement upon the serpent, the devil, the Woman, the ground, and Adam. Now let us turn our attention to the crowd's reaction. . . .


And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
Here Adam finally give his wife an identity - He names her Eve. Prior to this she was known as Woman which was the equal of Man. Adam, by the way, means "ruddy", Eve means "lifegiver". In so naming Eve, he designated her primary task: "the mother of all living." God set Adam's primary task in chapter 1:26-28, in chapter 2:15, and again reiterated it in His sentence upon man here in chapter 3:17-19. It is to have mastery over the earth and to provide the necessities for him and his family.

Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. Interesting point from the Scriptures here. God's standard of decency is NOT the same as man's. As we discussed briefly in reading verse 7, man sewed together fig leaves (remember fig leaves are approximately 5-7 inches in length) into an apron (word means a belt or girdle) which would then cover from the waist down and thought that was decent. God's standard of decency was that of a complete covering. Coat then meant the same thing essentially as it means today - a covering, a coat or robe. (all definitions of Hebrew words taken from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible with Greek and Hebrew Lexicons). God covered from the neck down.

And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Satan was right. The truth was that man would become as his Father: he would know the difference between good and evil. Man now has that aspect of God and because of God's sentence of physical death and spiritual redemption, man would not be allowed to access the tree of life and eternal life. Can you imagine one man (or many) living for all time committing sin and wickedness? We are not talking about a man who lives a span of 60-100 years in his sin and wickedness but one that has been living since the creation of the world. As we know the reveled plan of redemption, eternal life is offered only through obedience to one Man (John 10:25-30; I john 2:23-25); the Man that Adam foreshadowed - Jesus (Romans 5).

Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. To prohibit man from gaining a eternal life physically, God sent him from the garden. Not only did this accomplish the purpose of prevention, it also signified the end of God providing their sustenance. This literally meant that man would have to toil to cause the ground to produce his food.

So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. Man did not want to leave. God sent, and then drove (no not in a Beamer) man out of the garden. The word drove here means "A primitive root; to drive out from a possession; especially to expatriate or divorce: - cast up (out), divorced (woman), drive away (forth, out), expel, X surely put away, trouble, thrust out." Then to prevent man from returning, God put a guard. Did you ever notice how much East figures prominently in the Bible? Just a thought question. The entrance to the garden was on the east side and the guard was placed there. The guards were of the heavenly beings and were known as cherubims (see Ezekiel 10 for a description of cherubims), and they had a flaming sword that turned about every which way. This means that it watched all sides, no one could enter to gain access to the tree of life.

Readers, I am adding a new subsection to each post entitled "Lessons from this text." I hope you will help me develop this section in the comments with your own lessons.
Lessons from this text:
1.) Names have meanings: They can be used for identity, for position, and for description. Example: Eve means "lifegiver" and was given because she was the mother of all living (Genesis 3:20). Esau means "hairy" and was so named because he was a hairy child from birth (Genesis 25:25). Jesus means "Jehovah is salvation" and He was named so because "for he shall save his people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21).
2.) God's ways and standards are not the same as man's ways and standards. Man thought he was decent with just a simple apron. God's standard of decency was more covering in the form of a robe. Sure shows how far man has fallen when one looks at the "fashions" of today.
3.) God means what He says.
A.) When God has a plan, no one interferes with the carrying out of that plan including a tree of life.
B.) When God passes judgement, it is carried out completely. There is no compromise. His court is fair, and just the first time with no need for a retrial. Our judgement has yet to happen. We need to make sure that the evidence for our salvation is clear and present or we will not be judged favorably.
C.) When God sends, you go. Jonah found this out the hard way as well (read the book of Jonah). God sent and man went though not very willingly.

Christian

Crime and Punishment or THAT'S NOT FAIR!!!

My, My how time doth fly. I suddenly realized that it has been a couple of weeks since I posted here. My sincerest regrets to you dear readers.

Last post, the buck was passed and it stopped at the serpent. God asked why they hid, how they knew they were naked, and who told them. Adam blamed Woman for giving him the fruit and God for giving him the woman. Woman blamed the serpent for deceiving her into eating. And now, God turns His attention to the subtil serpent as we pick up where we left off.

And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed 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: The serpent, because he decieved Woman and brought about the entrance of sin, death, and seperation from God into this world, receives his punishment. This curse has not ended, serpents everywhere still crawl upon their bellies in the dust.

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. This part of the punishment was a prophecy intended to bring hope to mankind and was addressed to THAT serpent we know as the Devil a murderer and the father of lies (Revelation 20:2; John 8:44). Some have suggested that the enmity was only between Woman and the serpent, yet I would to ask them, "Are not men a part of that seed?" Regardless, we know that the seed referred to here is Jesus as is referenced by the third person singular pronoun in the latter part of the last phrase, and He had no earthly father to sire Him (Matthew 1:18-25; Galatians 4:4; I John 3:8).

Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
Now He turns to the second part of the equation that brought sin, death, and seperation from God into this once pleasing earth - Woman. The curse of Woman is in three parts. 1.) greater sorrow and children; 2.) greater sorrow in children; and 3.) desire towards and subjection to her husband. Notice in our discussion of Genesis 2:20-24 that Woman was created from man for the purpose of being a suitible helper. As such she was equal in standing with man (bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh). Because she listened to and followed her desire instead of ruling it, God put that desire under the rule of man. Because she tempted man to sin by offering the fruit, she was and is subjected to man. Paul reiterates this point in I Timothy 2:11-15, I Corinthians 11:7-12 and Ephesians 5. Notice too, that it is God, not man, that places Woman in that position.

And 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 shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; God now turns to the third party in this deed - Adam. Adam stands accused of two sins: 1.) Obeying his wife instead of God, and 2.) Breaking the commandment of God. Because of man's sin, man must face the consequences. One consequence is that of death (Romans 5:12) which is a direct result of disobedience to God's commands. As for the other, God pronounces a curse upon the ground. Man would not be allowed to enjoy the fruits of God's labour (the garden) but must earn them through labor/worry/toil/sorrow (itstsabone - translated here as sorrow) throughout the whole of his life.

Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; The ground would yield thorns and thistles as Adam toiled and instead of the garden with its fruits, Adam would have to eat of the fruit of the field.

In 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. God wanted Adam to realize the extent of the damage that his sin caused and therefore explained it to him. Adam now would be required to work and not just any work - TOIL (i.e. work hard). "Adam, you will eat the product of your sweat (meaning hard work) until the day you die and return to dust for you were made from dust. Because you are from dust, you will return to dust."

God, it seems, always starts at the begining. :) He began the Bible at the begining of this universe to answer where we came from. He began at the begining of sin with the one that instigated it. Satan had begun the incident with a lie, Woman had perpetuated it with desire, Adam had finalized it with disobedience. Satan's tool was cursed, Satan was punished, Woman was punished, Adam's livelihood was cursed, Adam was punished. Woman-kind suffers sorrow and subjection as a result of Woman's sin. Man-kind suffers death and toil as a result of Adam's sin. And the earth was forever marred.

Christian

"The Devil Made Me Do It

Mankind has just eaten of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and, in so doing, become aware of the difference between what is good and what is evil. Upon hearing the Voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the evening, they felt new emotions: shame and fear. We ended the last post with God asking them if they had eaten of the tree that He had commanded them not to eat. And so we continue.




And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? As we pointed out last time, God gives them an opportunity to realize they had disobeyed His commandment and to repent of that wrong. Being God, He knew they had eaten of the tree, and He let them know he knew by equating their knowledge of their nakedness with the eating from the tree.
And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. Here Adam makes his second blunder by introducing world to the "passing the buck" attitude (also known as playing the blame game), trying to pin the blame on God. He says "God, its your fault because YOU gave me this woman as a companion and she brought me this fruit from the tree for me to eat. Since you gave her too me as a helper, how was I to know this was wrong?" Obviously I am paraphrasing, giving voice to the attitude that Adam exemplifies here.
And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. God turns to the woman and asks her what her part was in the matter. She also has the opportunity to repent of the wrong but chooses instead to follow her husband's lead (reminds me of another couple in the book of Acts wherein the wife followed the husband's lead and it also led to severe consequences, but I digress). Woman responds to God by also passing the blame. She says, "The serpent made me do it!"



Readers, an important fact that one must learn from this account is this: the blame resides with the one committing the action/wrongdoing/sin and not with any one or thing else.



Adam said it was God's fault for giving him a defective companion who would give him (Adam) the fruit that God commanded them not to eat. And he said it was Woman's fault for giving him the fruit. But Adam missed the fact that he ate! He did not have to eat of that fruit. Woman did not have him tied up and force him to eat. She simply gave the fruit to him. He chose to obey Woman who said "Here, eat this."



Woman also missed that same fact. She ate! It simply was not the serpent forcing Woman to eat fruit by stuffing it down her throat. The serpent was guilty only of deceiving Woman. Woman was guilty of believing the serpent and eating the fruit and giving it to her husband. She could have turned a deaf ear to the serpent. She could have chosen to obey God and not eat the fruit. Having eaten the fruit, she could have chosen not to give it to her husband. But instead, she chose to obey the desire of her heart rather than God, she chose to cause another to stumble.



Christian