January 30, 2017
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

So Who Do I Listen To?

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

Mighty God, in You I find completeness and wholeness. Guide me in the way everlasting.

Read Genesis 3:1–13

[1] Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” [2] The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, [3] but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'” [4] “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. [5] “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” [6] When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. [7] Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. [8] Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. [9] But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” [10] He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” [11] And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” [12] The man said, “The woman you put here with me-she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” [13] Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflect

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am Your God. I will strengthen you and help you” (Isa. 41:10).

Perhaps the best commentary on this section comes in 1 John 2:16,17: “Everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” Note the parallels with Eve’s thinking. She ate the fruit because it was “good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom” (6). The temptations common to humankind in the first millennia of human history haven’t changed much. We still can be led astray by lust for food, beauty and knowledge. Eve believed the snake when he said that disobeying God would bring benefits rather than death. John knew otherwise!

These verses are in some sense a reflection on the fact that women and men are created responsible and will eventually be held accountable for decisions they make. I have heard it suggested that God should never have put such a tree in the garden in the first place. It wasn’t fair to put temptation in the way of the people he had made. However, the prohibition actually provided a real opportunity for Eve and Adam to exercise their God-given responsibility to live as God’s image and to follow his purposes. It provides evidence that they were not created as robots but as decision-making human beings. The fact that they made a wrong decision and listened to the snake rather than to God does not change that fact. Today’s world is constantly telling us to ignore God and listen instead to the lures of modern life presented in so many different ways. Our responsibility to God remains the same!

Apply

How much are you influenced by popular culture and its worldview? As a Christian, how can you keep worldly attitudes at bay?

Closing prayer

Righteous Lord, help me each day to listen to You and fulfill the responsibility You have given me to live my life according to Your purposes.

Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.

© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.

Encounter with God is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.

View all readings

Get ENCOUNTER:

in your email:

in Print:

Become a Member | Visit our store