King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Sunday, January 02, 2022
Chapters: Genesis 3-5
Message: Bear Temptation
Hello My Friend,
There are two types of temptation, [1. Solicitation of the passions; enticements to evil proceeding from the prospect of pleasure or advantage. 2. Trial.] The the first type of temptation is the enticement to commit evil on the passions, in other words, lust. This type of temptation solicits one to commit sin for the object of pleasure or advantage. We see this right from the beginning when Satan tempted Eve. And the second type of temptation is to be put through a trial, in other words, a test. This type of temptation is used to test our our loyalty or commitment. Both types of temptation are used to try our faith in God, to know the difference is to know that God will never tempt us to commit evil. So, if what we are be tempted with is trying to get us to sin, then it is always Satan, [There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. – 1 Corinthians 10:13]
As we continue in the reading of Genesis, we come the account of the fall of man, and how we are all born with a sin nature, even from creation. It is Satan himself that brought sin to earth, notice that he does not appear to us himself, he is too much of a coward to face us, he is subtle about it, [Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. – Genesis 3:1-5]
[Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast] [Subtle; Sly in design; artful; cunning; insinuating.] This was not your ordinary looking snake, he was a creature of beauty, and even had feet. How do we know that this was Satan? There are several verses that describe him as the serpent or snake that he is, [And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, – Revelation 20:2]
[Ye shall not surely die:] That is how the devil always deceives us, he disguises himself into something that looks good, and is actually quite patient, and will always cause us to second guess God’s Word. Eve trusted him enough to have conversations with him, and must have been talking to him for a while, and he had to have watched her eyeing the tree for quite some time. The temptation to sin does not come to us instantly, it is something that was thought about, for quite some time, [Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. – James 1:13-15]
[then your eyes shall be opened,] Eve’s eyes were opened all right, and so were Adam’s, even though God did not say that they could not touch the fruit, He did say, [But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. – Genesis 2:17]. Eve walked up to the tree, she saw that the fruit on it was just beautiful, staring at it, she kept thinking of how good it looked and how it would be to know what God knows. Then she grabbed a piece of the fruit, took a bite, and realizes that she is still alive, ecstatic, she calls Adam over, and convinces him to take a bite also, and that is when their eyes were opened, not only seeing that they sinned, but that they were naked. Of course, God knew right away they had sinned when they tried to hid themselves from Him.
[And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 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? – Genesis 3:6-11]
[she took of the fruit thereof,] It was Eve’s heart that lusted after the one thing that was forbidden, and that is all the devil needed to entice her. As for Adam, his heart was Eve, he loved her so much that he was willing to do whatever she asked him. And God knew right away that they had sinned, and what do they do when He confronts them? They blame someone else, [And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 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. – Genesis 3:12-13]
Instead of admitting they sinned, Adam blamed Eve, and even went as far as saying that God was partially to blame because He gave her to him. Then Eve went and blamed the serpent for enticing her into taking the fruit off the tree to begin with. Until we admit that we are a sinner, God will not save us from death, [For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. – Romans 10:10]
They really did not know what death was, but would now, and God gives the sentence to all of them, including the serpent, [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: 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. 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. 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; 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.- Genesis 3:14-17,19]
[it shall bruise thy head,] This is of course, Jesus, who would be the seed sent through a woman to bruise Satan’s head, meaning destroy him when Jesus became incarnate and suffered and died, [The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, – Luke 4:18]
[till thou return unto the ground;] That was the death sentence given to all mankind, but they lost something that day, the presence of God Himself. He threw them out of Eden, but He also surprisingly does something else, He clothed them, [Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. 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: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 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. – Genesis 3:21-24]
[the LORD God make coats of skins,] While it is not written here, this was the first death, an animal, God at this time, had to have showed Adam that they were to sacrifice an animal in order to reconcile with Him for their sin. The most amazing thing about God is that even though He knows we are sinners, that does not stop Him from loving us and taking care of us. Yes, we must face those natural evils because we are sinners by nature, and there are always consequences to sin, but He will never leave nor forsake those who are true believers, [The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us: – 1 Kings 8:57]
I do not care what you believe, every person born wants God in their lives, it is their hearts that change as God loses respect for their halfhearted efforts. When God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply that is what they did. In fact, they had several children, and their children had children, but their first two sons mentioned were Cain and Able, [And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. 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: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. – Genesis 4:1-5]
[he also brought of the firstlings of his flock] This is why I said that it was God who showed Adam and Eve how to do this when He made their clothes. Many will say that God had respect for Abel’s sacrifice because it was the blood that was required, and while that is true to some aspect, there is something else to consider, Abel gave God a pure, unblemished sacrifice, and it was the very first of His flock, meaning, He always gave God his very best of what he had to offer, and that is what He expects,
[Cain brought of the fruit of the ground] I am sure that Cain brought the very best fruits, vegetables, and grains that he had, but there was something about his offering that God disapproved of and He explains it to him, [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. – Genesis 4:7]
Do you understand what God was saying to him? The offering was not given from the bottom of his heart, he was not remorseful or repentant, he just expected God to be pleased with what he had given because it was his best. And this is where religion fails, it tells you that as long as you bring your very best to God, then it will get you to heaven, but it is just not the sacrifice that pleases God, it is the humbleness of the sacrifice. [sin lieth at the door.] Let me tell you, sin is right there constantly knocking at the door when our heart is not right with God. Cain was not really interested in living the way God wanted him to live, he just wanted all the blessings from God, and that is what He has no respect for. He could have repented right then and there, but he did not, and actually went after 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. And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; 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. And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. – Genesis 4:8-13]
[that Cain rose up against Abel his brother,] Since they cannot attack God, they attack the ones who are faithful to Him. And if you ever wondered why God keeps the wicked around when they clearly have no intention of repenting, it is part of their punishment. While we may not see it, they go through so much more pain than we ever will. And on top of that, there is no end to their suffering, when they die, they end up in hell. They can pretend to be all religious, believing in God, and working in false churches, but God knows their heart, [Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. – Luke 18:10-14]
And at that moment Cain walked away from God all together, then Eve had another son, Seth, who would lead the way to what would be known as the sons of God, [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. And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. 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. And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD. – Genesis 4:15-16, 25-26]
[then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.] This is when the people truly started looking to God. God does not want us to come to Him out of obligation, or just to get out of hell, He wants us to come to Him willingly, and when we do, we will give Him our very best, and He will accept it. It really is sad to think of all the people born and only a fraction of them called upon the name of the LORD. Chapter five gives an account of all the sons born from Seth that would walk with God, at least, to some extent.
[This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth: And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died. And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos: And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan: And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel: And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared: And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch: And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: – Genesis 5:1-3,5-6,9,12,15,18,21]
[and called their name Adam,] This was to signify that being one flesh first by nature, and afterwards one flesh by marriage; it was fitting they should both have the same name, in token of their union. This is why the woman takes the last name of her husband when they are married. The thought that we are all just brothers and sisters sounds a bit incestuous, but it really is not because during this time God created them to populate the earth, and since they had all of the twenty-three genes that make up our DNA, this was possible without the genetic side affects that happens today. Now, God gives a little more info on Enoch.
[And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech: And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son: And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed. And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth. – Genesis 5:22-25, 28-29,32]
[and he was not; for God took him.] Enoch was one of only two people since God created man to ascend up to heaven without dying first. Now, we can speculate to say that Enoch never sinned, but that was not the case since we are all sinners (except for Jesus), but there was a different reason behind all this, there were very few people who called on the name of the LORD, both those who knew of God and those who refused God were living quite wickedly, and there was lawlessness like you would not believe. In fact, his son Methuselah, his name means; [man of a dart.] [Dart; To throw suddenly or rapidly; to send; to emit; to shoot;] and refers to the prophecy that God had given Enoch, when Methuselah dies, man dies, a flood will suddenly come.
[And he called his name Noah,] Noah’s name means rest, he was born during a time when there was a severe drought. Now, since there was no such thing as rain back then as water would come up out of the ground to water everything, it was comforting seeing some kind of vegetation after what seemed to be very rocky and thorny ground they were planting in. An interesting fact is that because we are created in the likeness of Adam we are also born with the same sin nature that he had. Because of our sin nature, we come short of being perfect and whole as when God first created Adam. Now, there is a second Adam, who is the last Adam, the one who makes us perfect through our faith in Him, by whom, when we do accept Him, we become the likeness of Christ through our faith in Him, [For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. – 1 Corinthians 15:21-22]
Let Us Pray: God, Thank You for giving me life, and for the life that You have given me. While I do not always understand the temptations placed before me, I do understand that I am Your precious child through my faith alone in Your Son, and the devil cannot touch my soul because it belongs to Him. I do want to live my life to please You, I want to value life by living it guided by Your Word, and walking side by side with Jesus. Lord, give me Your power to love life, no matter where You place me, give me Your strength to sustain life by being a witness and testimony of how living a moral and just life leads to Your Son. And keep my eyes on Your Son that I might not be tempted by the evils of this world. I pray this in Your name, Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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