GENESIS 3:8-24 | WHERE ARE YOU? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?

WHERE ARE YOU?

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?

GENESIS 3:8-24

MAY 7, 2017

THEY ARE A PARENT’S WORDS: WHERE ARE YOU?  WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?

THE PARENT, IN THIS CASE, IS GOD THE CREATOR; AND THE CHILDREN, HIS FIRST TWO, A-D-A-M AND E-V-E.  ADAM – MEANING MANKIND; AND EVE – TO GIVE LIFE.

AND BEFORE THEY WERE THE “PARENTS” OF ALL THE REST OF US, THEY WERE GOD’S FIRST CHILDREN.

AND THEY HAD DONE SOMETHING WRONG.  AND THEY WERE HIDING FROM GOD.

THEY HAD DONE THE ONE THING… THE ONE THING…! GOD HAD TOLD THEM NOT TO DO – THEY HAD EATEN OF THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL.

SOME SAY IT WAS AN APPLE TREE, ALTHOUGH APPLES DO NOT GROW IN THE MIDDLE EAST.  OTHERS A POMEGRANATE, WHICH SEEMS MORE LIKELY, BUT WHO KNOWS?!

GROWING UP HERE IN FLORIDA, I THINK I HAVE TOLD YOU BEFORE, THE SENIOR PASTOR OF THE CHURCH IN WHICH I WAS RAISED, SAID IT WAS AN ORANGE.

(I THINK HE ONLY DID THAT TO REMIND US THAT THE STORY OF ADAM AND EVE IS OUR STORY; AND THEIR DISOBEDIENCE IS OUR DISOBEDIENCE.)

THE TRUTH IS – BY TELLING ADAM AND EVE THAT THEY COULD EAT OF ALL THE TREES OF THE GARDEN, EXCEPT ONE; GOD MIGHT AS WELL HAVE PUT UP A “NO TRESPASSING” SIGN; A “WET PAINT” SIGN; OR A “DO NOT TOUCH” SIGN;

BECAUSE WHAT’S THE ONE THING WE WANT TO DO WHEN WE ARE TOLD NOT TO TRESPASS, BUT TO EXPLORE WHAT’S BEYOND THE FENCE; AND WHAT DO WE WANT TO DO WHEN WE SEE “WET PAINT” BUT TOUCH IT TO SEE IF IT’S DRY;

AND WHAT DO WE WANT TO DO MORE THAN ANYTHING, BUT TOUCH THAT WHICH IS SUPPOSEDLY UNTOUCHABLE!

THERE’S A REASON WE CALL IT THE FORBIDDEN FRUIT – AND IS THERE ANYTHING MORE DESIROUS THAN THAT WHICH WE CANNOT HAVE?

OR, HAVING HAD IT, FINDING OURSELVES IN AS BIG A MESS AS ADAM AND EVE?!

WHERE ARE YOU?  WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?

WHERE ARE YOU? LAYS BARE THE PRESENT.  ADAM AND EVE ARE HIDING, THAT’S WHERE THEY ARE, AND THEY ARE HIDING BECAUSE THEY KNOW THEY’VE DONE WRONG; DISPLEASED GOD; AND FAILED NOT ONLY GOD, BUT THEMSELVES.

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? LAYS BARE THE PAST.  WHAT DID THEY DO TO GET WHERE THEY ARE?  WHAT GOT THEM INTO THIS PREDICAMENT?  WHAT DID THEY HOPE WOULD HAPPEN BY DOING IT?  WHAT DID THEY FEAR MIGHT HAPPEN IF THEY DID IT?  WHAT WAS IS THAT MADE THEM FEEL SO ASHAMED?

AND NOW GOD WAS LOOKING FOR THEM, AND THEY KNEW THEY WERE ABOUT TO MEET THEIR MAKER.

DID YOU EVER FEEL THAT WAY WHEN YOU WERE A CHILD?

EVER STILL FEEL THAT WAY?

AS IF THINGS COULDN’T GET ANY WORSE, ADAM AND EVE, ARE ABOUT TO MAKE THEM WORSE BY WHAT THEY DO NEXT.

“HAVE YOU EATEN FROM THE TREE WHICH I COMMANDED YOU NOT TO EAT?” GOD ASKS.

“THE WOMAN YOU GAVE TO BE WITH ME, SHE DID IT, SHE GAVE IT TO ME TO EAT, AND I ATE IT.”

(AND YOU THOUGHT “THROWING SOMEONE UNDER A BUS” WAS A NEW THING!  WE USED TO CALL IT “PASSING THE BUCK.”)

AND ADAM IS A PRO AT IT, BECAUSE HE GETS TWO SHOTS IN AT ONCE; HE KILLS TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE; HE NOT ONLY THROWS EVE UNDER THE BUS, HE TOSSES GOD UNDER THERE AS WELL!

“THE WOMAN YOU GAVE TO BE WITH ME, SHE DID IT, SHE GAVE IT TO ME TO EAT…”

IT’S HER FAULT.  IT’S YOUR FAULT, GOD.

NOT TO BE OUTDONE, EVE IMMEDIATELY PASSES THE BUCK TO THE SERPENT, “THE SERPENT TRICKED ME, AND I ATE.”

NOW THE SERPENT, THE SERPENT GOES ALL J. MICHIGAN FROG ON GOD!

DO YOU REMEMBER THAT CARTOON?  WHERE THE GUY FINDS THE SINGING FROG, AND DREAMS OF MAKING MILLIONS…?

THE ONLY PROBLEM IS, EVERY TIME THE FROG’S AROUND ANYBODY OTHER THAN THE MAN ALONE, THE FROG STOPS SINGING; HE JUST WON’T PERFORM.

SO, HERE WE HAVE A SERPENT WHO, BEFORE, WAS TALKING UP A STORM WITH EVE, TEMPTING HER WITH BOTH THE BEAUTY AND PROMISED SUCCULENCE OF THE FRUIT, ASSURING HER NOTHING BAD WOULD HAPPEN TO HER, IF SHE DID;

NOW GOING SILENT BEFORE GOD, NOTHING BUT A LONG HISSSSSS…

NO ONE ELSE TO SCAPEGOAT, I GUESS.

WHERE ARE YOU?

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?

THERE’S NOTHING LEFT FOR GOD TO DO BUT TO METE OUT PUNISHMENTS AND CONSEQUENCES BEFITTING THE CRIMES; BUT GIVEN GOD’S ACTIONS HERE, AND THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE BIBLE, AND BEYOND;

IT SEEMS LESS A MATTER OF VINDICTIVELY INFLICTING THEM WITH THE PUNISHMENTS, THAN OF HONESTLY CONFRONTING THEM WITH THE CONSEQUENCES.

BECAUSE OF WHO THEY ARE AND WHAT THEY’VE DONE, THIS IS THE RESULT.

THERE IS NO UNDOING IT.  THERE’S NO GOING BACK TO THE GARDEN.

AND HERE I’D LIKE TO INJECT A POINT MADE IN A SERMON LONG AGO, ONCE, WHEN I WAS SITTING WHERE YOU ARE, A POINT WHICH RESONATED WELL WITH ME THEN, AND STILL DOES.

I’VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING MORE WRITTEN ABOUT THIS; NEVER HEARD ANYONE OTHER THAN THE PREACHER FROM WHOM I HEARD IT, AND MYSELF IN SERMONS SINCE, EVER SAY IT;

BUT THERE’S ANOTHER TREE.  ANOTHER TREE FROM WHICH GOD DOES NOT WANT ADAM AND EVE TO EAT.  THE TREE OF LIFE.

A TREE FROM WHICH, SUPPOSEDLY, IF THEY EAT, THEY WILL LIVE FOREVER.

NOW, THAT DOESN’T SOUND SO BAD, DOES IT?  SO, WHY WAS GOD SO ADAMANT ABOUT KICKING THEM OUT OF THE GARDEN?  PREVENTING THEM FROM EATING OF THE OTHER TREE?

EVEN STATIONING A CHERUBIM AT THE EASTERN GATE, ARMED WITH A SWINGING, FLAMING SWORD, TO BE SURE THEY DON’T TRY TO SNEAK BACK IN AND EAT OF THE TREE OF LIFE?

YOU SEE, AS I HEARD IT, AND DO IN PART BELIEVE:

SHOULD THEY EAT OF THE TREE OF LIFE NOW, IN THEIR FALLEN STATE, IN THEIR SINFULNESS, IN THEIR SEPARATION FROM GOD…

IS IT POSSIBLE?  IS WHAT GOD IS SAYING IS… THAT THEY WILL LIVE FOREVER, YES; BUT THEY WILL LIVE FOREVER – IN THEIR SIN; SEPARATED FROM GOD, FOREVER; APART FROM GOD, FOREVER?!

GOD WAS NOT ABOUT TO ALLOW THAT TO HAPPEN.

NOW, WE KNOW, GOD IS GOING TO SPEND THE BETTER PART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, AND ALL THE NEW, AND EVERY MOMENT SINCE, TRYING TO GET HIS PEOPLE TO RETURN TO HIM, AND LIVE WITH GOD FOREVER.

GOD DOES EVERYTHING IN GOD’S POWER, RIGHT UP TO BECOMING ONE OF US, TO SEE IF HE CAN WIN US OVER…

GOD COULD HAVE LET THEM EAT OF THE TREE OF LIFE, IN THEIR SEPARATED STATE, AND BEEN DONE WITH THEM; DONE WITH US; AND SAVED HIMSELF A LOT, A LOT, OF TIME AND TROUBLE.

BUT THAT WAS NOT GOD’S PLAN IN THE BEGINNING, AND IT’S STILL NOT GOD’S PLAN FOR US.  RATHER, GOD’S DESIRE FOR US IS TO LIVE IN GOD NOW, AND WITH GOD FOREVER.

AND THE ONLY WAY WE CAN DO THAT IS ON GOD’S TERMS; AND ON OUR OWN.  GOD OFFERS THE GIFT OF GRACE, MERCY, AND PEACE, AND WE MUST CHOOSE TO ACCEPT GOD’S GIFT.

SO, GOD KICKS ADAM AND EVE OUT OF THE GARDEN, BUT BEFORE SENDING THEM ON THEIR WAY, HE ALLOWS THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR ACTIONS TO CATCH UP WITH THEM.

ONE OF THE WAYS WE LEARN; ONE OF THE BEST WAYS WE LEARN RIGHT FROM WRONG, IS BY THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR OWN ACTIONS.

BUT EVEN THE “CONSEQUENCES” OF OUR ACTIONS ARE REDEEMABLE.

PEOPLE MAY HAVE TO WORK HARD IN LIFE, THE SWEAT OF THE BROW, AND ALL THAT, AND EVEN THE PART ABOUT HOW “WE WORK HARD, AND THEN WE DIE.”

“WE ARE DUST, AND TO DUST WE WILL RETURN.”

BUT THERE IS SOMETHING HONORABLE ABOUT HARD WORK;

AND AS BELIEVERS, WE KNOW THAT DUST IS NOT OUR END, BUT ONLY A MEANS TO AN END; FOR WE BELIEVE THERE IS LIFE BEYOND THIS LIFE.

AND WOMEN MAY ENDURE PAIN IN CHILDBIRTH; GREAT PAIN;

BUT THERE IS ALSO SELECTIVE MEMORY LOSS; AND AT SOME POINT THE PAIN IS FORGOTTEN, AND THE GAINING OF A CHILD OUTWEIGHS THE PAIN ENDURED, AND YET TO BE ENDURED, AS CHILDREN GROW UP.

(IF THIS WERE NOT SO, WE WOULD ALL BE “ONLY CHILDREN;” AND WOMEN WOULD HAVE STOPPED MAKING US A LONG TIME AGO!)

EVEN THE ENMITY BETWEEN HUMANS AND SERPENTS IS REDEEMABLE, IF ONLY IN THE FACT THAT THEY ARE A PHYSICAL REMINDER THAT EVIL AND TEMPTATION ARE FOREVER NIPPING AT OUR HEELS;

AND OUR BEST DEFENSE, IS A QUICK STOMPING OF EVIL INTO THE GROUND.

(NOT THE LITERAL STOMPING OF SERPENTS, BY THE WAY, MOST OF THEM ARE HARMLESS, AND DO THEIR OWN JOB IN KEEPING POPULATIONS OF VERMIN DOWN.)  EVEN OUR PUNISHMENTS ARE REDEEMABLE.

BEFORE SENDING ADAM AND EVE ON THEIR WAY, GENESIS TELLS US THAT GOD MADE THEM GARMENTS OF SKINS TO WEAR IN THEIR NEW WORLD, IN THEIR NEW WAY OF LIVING.

IT’S THE MOST MOVING PART OF THE STORY.  IT IS, IN A SENSE, AN ACT OF FORGIVENESS, AND AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO DO BETTER IN THE FUTURE.

THEY CAN’T GO BACK, BUT THEY CAN GO FORWARD, CLOTHED IN A NEW WAY;

NOT IN THE SENSE OF HAVING THEIR OLD DEFENSES AGAIN, BEHIND WHICH THEY HIDE WHO THEY ARE AND WHAT THEY HAVE DONE;

BUT IN THE SENSE OF HAVING A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF WHO THEY ARE, AND A NEW STRENGTH TO DRAW ON FOR WHAT LIES BEFORE THEM TO DO NOW.

AS I SAID NEAR THE START, THEIR STORY IS OUR STORY, AND WHAT WAS TRUE FOR THEM, IS TRUE FOR US.

WHERE ARE WE?

WHAT HAVE WE DONE?

ONE IS A QUESTION ABOUT OUR PRESENT.  THE OTHER A QUESTION ABOUT OUR PAST.

BUT IT IS GOD WHO GIVES US A PATH INTO THE FUTURE; WHO DRESSES US UP IN FORGIVENESS AND GRACE, AND SENDS US OUT INTO OUR LIVES.

YES, GOD KEEPS CALLING US BACK TO GOD’S SELF; BUT GOD ALSO SENDS US ON OUR WAY; TELLING US TO FORGET ABOUT LOOKING BACK AT WHAT ONCE WAS;

THE GOOD AND THE BAD OF IT; THE HAPPY AND THE SAD OF IT; OUR BEST AND OUR WORST;

FOR OUR LIVES ARE TO BE LIVED IN THE PRESENT AND FOR THE FUTURE.

TRY AS THEY MIGHT; TRY AS WE MIGHT, ADAM AND EVE, AND THE REST OF HUMANITY CANNOT UNDO GOD’S PLANS; CANNOT RUIN GOD’S PLANS; AND THE MORE WE TRY; AND THE NEW AND EVER-MORE DESTRUCTIVE WAYS WE TRY;

ARE NEVER QUITE ENOUGH TO THWART GOD’S LOVE FOR THE WORLD, OR GOD’S ATTEMPTS AT SAVING IT; SAVING US FROM OURSELVES.

AND EVERY TIME DARKNESS SEEMS TO GET THE UPPER HAND, SOMETHING HAPPENS TO REMIND US THAT LIGHT IS STILL GREATER THAN DARKNESS;

AND “WHERE WE ARE…” AND “WHAT WE’VE DONE…” ARE NOTHING IN COMPARISON TO “WHERE GOD IS…” AND “WHAT GOD IS DOING…”

YOU SEE, WHETHER WE TAKE THE STORY OF ADAM AND EVE, IN THE BOOK OF GENESIS, LITERALLY OR FIGURATIVELY, IT IS LITERALLY OUR STORY, AGAIN AND AGAIN.

THE STORY DOESN’T HAVE TO BE FACTUALLY TRUE TO BE FACTUALLY TRUE OF US.  THEIR STORY IS OUR STORY, AND VICE VERSA.

THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT GOD IS THE CONSTANT IN THIS STORY.

GOD ALLOWS US THE FREEDOM TO MAKE OUR OWN CHOICES IN LIFE; ALLOWS FOR THE GOOD AND THE BAD, THE HAPPY AND THE SAD; US – AT OUR BEST AND AT OUR WORST;

AND GOD ALLOWS FOR THE “CHIPS TO FALL WHERE THEY MAY;”

THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR ACTIONS, OUR INACTIONS, OUR MISSTEPS, MISCALCULATIONS, AND MISHAPS, USUALLY TURN OUT TO BE PUNISHMENT ENOUGH.  BUT EVEN OUR PUNISHMENTS ARE REDEEMABLE.

AND GOD ALWAYS SEEMS TO BE THERE, READY TO CLOTHE US, NOT IN GARMENTS OF SKIN, BUT IN OUR OWN SKIN;

AND, ALSO, WITH GOD’S GRACE, MERCY, AND PEACE; BEFORE SENDING US BACK INTO THE WORLD; BACK INTO OUR LIVES, TO TRY, TRY AGAIN.