Genesis 3 is perhaps the darkest and bleakest of Bible chapters. Is there any hope to be found here? Read Genesis 3:20-24 Adam now names the woman. He calls her “Eve” which has the idea of “life” and “living”. Notice that here in the darkness of the Fall is a ray of light. There is… Continue reading Grace and banishment
Category: Bible Study
The verdict
God has come to meet with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, they have been caught in their sin and their guilt and shame is exposed. Instead of taking responsibility they look for ways to blame each other and the serpent. God does not allow them to use the blame game to get… Continue reading The verdict
The blame game
How do you respond when you are caught in sin? Are you able to own up quickly, even before you are caught? Or do you seek to deny the sin and even to blame others? Read Genesis 3:9-13 God calls out to the man “Where are you?” The man’s response is not exactly straight. In… Continue reading The blame game
Failure
Satan has launched at attack on Eden, seeking to tempt Adam and Eve to disobey God’s one command, he casts doubt on God’s truthfulness and goodness. How will they respond? Read Genesis 3:5-8 The woman observes three things about the fruit. It looks good, it is suitable food – suggesting it is likely to taste… Continue reading Failure
Attack
We’ve been introduced to a good and beautiful world with a loving God who creates and cares for his people. However, we know that this isn’t our experience of the world today. We live in a world where there is pain, suffering, decay and death. How did that come about? Read Genesis 3:1-5 The serpent… Continue reading Attack
Irresistable grace – the lost sheep revisited
How do you imagine the lost sheep responding when the shepherd arrives to find it? Perhaps you see it there, hearing it’s master’s voice and running, or hobbling to get close. Maybe, you picture it docile as the shepherd speaks gently and picks it up into his arms. Both are possible depending on the sheep’s… Continue reading Irresistable grace – the lost sheep revisited
Abandoned? How do we square the difficult bits of Song of Songs?
I keep coming back to the question that Mike Ovey frequently asked his students at Oak Hill, “Will you let God disagree with you through his word?” The point he would make was that we can tell the difference between an imaginary friend and a real friend by whether or not the friend disagreed with… Continue reading Abandoned? How do we square the difficult bits of Song of Songs?
Shameless
Genesis 2:25 says Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. The point of nakedness is that it is now associated with embarrassment and vulnerability. The point about shame is that it is something which causes us to hide, either ourselves of the thing that causes shame. In the Garden of Eden,… Continue reading Shameless
Not alone
Last time, we saw that God had made the man, Adam and placed him in Eden with the duty of caring for the garden and guarding it. God had commanded him to abstain from the fruit of one specific tree. Against this backdrop, God identifies that it isn’t good for him to be alone. This… Continue reading Not alone
When Scripture asks the questions
Steve Kneale has written helpfully here about what to do when a Bible passage doesn’t seem to be answering your questions. As Steve observes, it can often be the case that the passage simply isn’t intended to answer the question that you and me are asking. Indeed, it may well also be the case that… Continue reading When Scripture asks the questions
Faithroots 