Blameshifting: Genesis 3:8-13 (Sermon)
.png)
WELCOME : I’M LATE
Well, I am sorry; I took longer to get up here because I had to get some coffee, talk to the projection, and find my Bible. I tend to be late. That is how God made me. [Pause]… I feel like the Devil has been working overtime. [Pause] Okay, that was a bit of a stage performance to illustrate blame shifting. I have done it from time to time, and so have our ancestors. And God doesn’t appreciate it. As we preach verse by verse, chapter by chapter, we get to see the first example of blame-shifting in history. Genesis is the book of beginnings. It tells us how the universe started, how humans began, what has gone wrong with the world, and where blame-shifting all started.
TEXT
We have asked … to come up front here and read for us. Please stand with me in honor of God’s Word.
And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Genesis 3:8–13, ESV)
PRAYER
Thank you. Let’s pray, Heavenly Father: looking at our sin can be hard. We want to get beyond it. Our temptations can be great. And our guilt and shame can be greater. Remove the weight of sin from us. Make us more like your Son, Jesus. We pray in his precious name. Amen. You may be seated.
CONTEXT
After God created everything in Chapter 1, Chapter 2 backtracks to the creation of the first man and woman. God put Adam in the Garden of Eden with one prohibition. He should not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Then, God made Eve. In Chapter 3, Satan came along and questioned this command. Eve let the idea sit and acted on the Devil’s suggestion. She shared the fruit with Adam, who was with her, and he ate. They discovered that they were naked and needed to cover up, so they did.
STRUCTURE
Verse 8 ties back to verse 7, where Adam and Eve tried to hide what they now knew. In verses 9 through 12, God confronted Adam. And he gave his excuses. In verse 13, God confronted Eve. And she joined in justifying herself. If you are taking notes, here are two points:
Vs. 8: Hiding
Vss. 9–13: And Blameshifting
MAIN IDEA
These verses document that Adam and Eve kept hiding from God even after they were found. The text, context, and our own experience can give us some clues as to why. As I said, God didn’t appreciate their creative excuses and had another way. Let’s dig into the text.
VERSE 8
Verse 8:
“And they [Adam and Eve] heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8, ESV).
Adam and Eve heard God walking around. God walked with them. Hearing and seeing him was not a shock. We know from the context. God had given them paradise, unlimited food, water, and blessings beyond anything you have ever experienced. They were to be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth, subdue, and have dominion over it. There was no sin. Life was amazing! Shangri-La, utopia, heavenly, and with only one rule: don’t eat from one tree: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Then, in chapter 3, a talking serpent appears. Eve was not surprised. This story is fantastical.
DOUBT
As we talk about this, I want to speak to my childhood. I grew up surrounded by scientists. Some lumped this story into myth. Some were devout Christians. I heard many scientific explanations for miracles: the Red Sea was the Sea of Reeds, the numbers were exaggerated, the flood was regional, walking on water was actually Jesus stepping on stones, and feeding the 5000 was a miracle of sharing. But? Can’t God do what he wants? Certainly, there are various kinds of miracles; we call what doctors do the miracle of modern medicine. But other miracles are when God times natural occurrences to answer prayers and demonstrate his power. Other times, he who made natural law alters and suspends it. For some reason, modern minds have no problem with millions of years and random chances that seem as improbable as walking down a path, seeing a grandfather clock in the woods, and calling it random chance, or with faith in ghosts, angels, and aliens. Still, our culture resists viewing the Bible as fact. Why? I think because it claims a part of our lives. Think of all the miracles in the Bible. Some are more difficult to wrap my brain around than others.
The future foretold.
A talking donkey.
A floating axe head.
The sun staying put.
Not getting burned in a fire.
Water turning to blood and wine.
Bodies of water parted.
Storms stilled and started.
The lame walking.
The blind seeing.
The demon-possessed freed.
A virgin birth.
Raising the dead.
And a man ascending into heaven.
We can try to figure out what God was doing; we can ask questions, we can categorize miracles, but let us not miss the point or water down God’s authority in our lives. The Bible may be hard to believe and understand at times, but it is true, unlike any other book in history. It speaks to our souls, calls us to account, and gives us a vision for a life now and forever. So let us listen to all that it has to say to us today as we talk about this text.
CONTEXT
The serpent questioned God’s word, and Eve listened to the serpent and did what she wanted. God had given Adam the rule. Eve was not alive yet. We don’t know how she knew the rule or when. But she was aware. The line was tight. Don’t eat from one tree. They could eat from any other plant, but not that one. And God gave the warning,
“the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17b, ESV).
And what did Adam and Eve do? They ate it. After eating, they knew their plan had backfired. What would they do next? They hid. Remember last week they sewed fig leaves on. They aren’t done hiding.
ADAM
Turn back to the Bible. Look at verse 9:
“But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ And he said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself’” (Genesis 3:9–10, ESV).
Adam’s first answer. Adam started to shift the blame in this response. He said that he was afraid. Although fear of the Lord is good, this was not it. His fear seems to have driven him away from honesty and intimacy with God. This type of explanation puts God on the stand and points the finger at him. Functionally, Adam’s actions were speaking louder than his words. By eating the fruit, he chose to listen to Eve over God’s command in 2:17, and he immediately knew afterward that he had done wrong. Adam’s sin was more than just eating. It began in his heart. So he ducked behind some trees to hide from God, explained his feelings, and then started to pass the buck.
CHOCOLATE CAKE
It’s like this: a mom and dad are putting on a birthday party for the kids. They make cupcakes and frost them. It is going to be a blast. They put them on the counter. Now Mom and Dad take a short walk before the chaos begins. When they come back, something is amiss. It is eerily quiet, too quiet. No one is around. They look at the counter. The cupcakes don’t look the same; something, or something, is missing. A crumb trail leads to a room with a child quietly reading. He asks why they are looking at him, but the path on the floor and the chocolate on his face answer for them. In another room, a child sits intent on his computer. “What are you doing?” “Studying.” The parents notice a cupcake wrapper in the garbage. “Is that all?” They hear a vacuum upstairs. Taking the stairs, they find the final child and ask why he is cleaning. He admits he dropped a cupcake, but quickly adds that it was because his older siblings offered it to him. [PAUSE] Like kids trying to hide their indiscretions, Adam was hiding from God. I picture Adam ducking behind a tree, thinking if he didn’t move, God wouldn’t see him. Psychologists call this object permanence in toddlers. When I was in preschool, I had watched Scooby-Doo and thought if a person pretended to be a statue, they wouldn’t be found. But for some reason, I always get caught. I didn’t get it? It worked on TV. I was not the sharpest kid. Adam’s hiding seems like that. He didn’t get that God sees and knows all things. He hid, and so do we. We wear masks and pretend everything is alright. Our Facebook and Instagram posts show only the good. At church we politely ask, “How are you doing?” “Fine.” At the dinner table we ask, “How was school?” “Okay.” We might ask a friend, “How can I pray for you?” And the person thinks of something safe to share, but not touch on the real pain. Part of us wants to be deeply known. Another part is deathly afraid of it. I think we can relate to Adam in how we relate to each other.
SPIRITUAL HIDING
He hid spiritually, too. Jump to verses 11 and 12.
“He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?’” (Genesis 3:11, ESV).
God could have come down with the gavel of judgment after Adam disobeyed him. He could have accused him right then and there; instead, he asked questions. God knew the answers. He knows all things. What was he doing asking questions? He was giving Adam grace. This was an invitation to admit what he had done. He was being gracious. Let that sink in. God is gracious in the first act of rebellion. We find four questions in these few verses.
ADAM’S ANSWER
Turn to verse 12 again:
“The man said, ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate’” (Genesis 3:12, ESV).
Who did Adam blame? Eve. But beyond that? [God.] Adam was blaming God! Can you believe it? That takes guts. It is like a kid saying, “I ate the cupcake that you didn’t put the tinfoil on it.” You left them out. You made them so good. It is your fault, Mom. Really? How would you feel if you were God hearing Adam’s excuse? I would be livid. But the Lord was patient and sought to hear from Eve.
EVE
After her husband ran her over with the blame bus, what did she say?
“Then the LORD God said to the woman, ‘What is this that you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate’” (Genesis 3:13, ESV).
DEVIL MADE ME DO IT
On January 11, 1970, the stand-up comedian Flip Wilson, using his normal and falsetto voice, narrated a hilarious story about a preacher and his wife. She bought a fancy dress from a high-end department store that was way beyond their means. His wife had plenty of dresses. The reverend confronted her. What was she thinking? Why did she buy this when she had a closetful of nice clothes? She heard him out and told him, “The Devil made me do it.” He forced her, and she went on with a litany of other things he made her do. The Devil didn’t make her do anything. But he can deceive. He is the Father of Lies, and he tricked Eve.
NO EXCUSE
The Bible says Eve was correct: the Devil pulled a fast one on her, and she ate. However, did that mean that eating the forbidden fruit wasn’t her fault or a sin? We can look at other Scriptures to see. Let’s reference how the New Testament looks back on this passage:
“The woman was deceived and became a transgressor” (1 Timothy 2:14, ESV).
She was also punished a few verses after this. God is good and just. He wouldn’t punish her if she hadn’t been culpable. So although she was correct that Lucifer lied and she ate, that didn’t absolve her.
HIDING
The Bible says everyone is without excuse:
For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. (Romans 1:18–23, ESV).
We make excuses too, don’t we? I do.
Everyone does it.
It’s not that bad.
I will make up for it.
Others are worse.
I am just curious.
It won’t hurt.
No one will find out.
I won’t think about it.
This will be the last time.
I want to try so that I know what people are talking about.
I don’t feel guilty.
I am just expressing myself.
It feels right.
I read that it is good.
RESPONSE
If Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the Devil, and that was wrong, what should they have done? What was God looking for? Could it be some transparency and responsibility? We can look to other passages in the Bible for some corroboration. If, as a parent, my kids scratch my vehicle, I would rather they tell me than discover it myself. It is good for us to go to God and let him know what he already knows: that we have sinned. He wants us to take some personal responsibility and own up.
I think of Ken Sande’s book, The Peace Maker. It offers seven A’s of Confession, which are super helpful. I use it for most of my pastoral counseling. The seven A’s are,
Address
Avoid
Admit
Acknowledge
Accept
Alter
Ask
So a person confessing their sin needs to address everyone affected. Adam and Eve could have apologized to each other.
We need to avoid qualifying our sin like Adam and Eve, saying I sinned, but she made me do it. Or I am sorry if you think it is an issue.
We admit what we do wrong. Think of Biblical terms. Get specific.
We acknowledge how this has affected others. Think about what it is like to be on the receiving end. Adam could acknowledge how he felt, but he could have recognized that this hurt God and his marriage.
We accept the consequences. If we do wrong, we can break trust. The relationship might be permanently changed. There are consequences for our actions.
We commit to alter our behavior and repent. We want to turn from what we did wrong to do the right thing.
And finally, we want to ask forgiveness. These 7 A’s are not a list to check off, but a helpful tool when relationships have broken down.
Thousands of years after this blame-shifting debacle, King David gave in to his desires. He ate a different fruit. He saw a naked woman and wanted her for his wife. He got her to visit him. But she was already married to one of his thirty mighty men, part of Israel’s special forces who were close to David. He didn’t care. He wanted her and did what many Kings can do with pretty women. A while later, she discovered that he had made her pregnant. He tried to get his friend and her together so that he would think it was their kid. The timing didn’t work. So he had his buddy killed. Good move. David was so far gone from being the man after God’s own heart that I don’t think he would have predicted this from his humble beginning as a little musical shepherd boy writing psalms in the Judean countryside. But here he was. How did he deal with himself? He probably busied himself with work. Maybe he compared himself to the other kings he knew. He wasn’t that bad. What was happening in his heart? We don’t know exactly. A little while later, the prophet Nathan came to him and told him a story of a rich man stealing a lamb from a poor farmer. David was furious. He pronounced a strict judgment on this injustice. Nathan turned to David and told him this rich man was him. God saw what had happened to his friend. God knew about the baby. David was caught. He had hardened his heart and hid from reality. But this confrontation broke David. Look at what he wrote after this:
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me. (Psalm 51:1–3, ESV)
David knew the particulars of his sin. And God had developed a system of sacrifices to cleanse his people from their sins. They would still face the relational and civil consequences of sin, but they could cover the spiritual ones through faith and repentance, clinging to God’s mercy.
David also wrote in Psalm 32.
Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah (Psalm 32:1–4, ESV)
Have you ever been where David was? Maybe you are there right now. Do you feel horrible about addictive behavior, hopeless, helpless, doomed, or damned? David did and wanted relief. And Nathan came to his rescue. A loving confrontation can be like that. Sometimes, deep down, getting caught is precisely what we want. Psalm 32 goes on:
I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
Therefore let everyone who is godly
offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
surely in the rush of great waters,
they shall not reach him.
You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah (Psalm 32:5–7, ESV)
We need to trust God and go to him honestly for mercy. He is our hope and help. We will sin. That is no excuse. Let’s not hide from him, but in him. If we are in Christ, we are moving toward Christ. So as we move toward him, we can cling to Christ and hide in him.
APPLICATION
Where are you today? I believe this is a holy moment when God is asking you to think through your relationship with him. Will you confess your sins today? Come out of hiding behind the trees. Not to revel in rebellion, but to hide your sin behind a different tree, the tree that hung our Savior, Christ. Let us hide ourselves in him. When we go to the doctor, they need to see everything, even the not-so-pretty things. If anyone can see us in all our bare blemishes and brokenness, it is God—so there’s no need to hide from him. Tell him what you were thinking, feeling, saying, and doing. Work it out with him. Proverbs says,
“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy” (Proverbs 28:13, ESV)
[Pause - Right now]
Will you trust in him? Cling to the good news found in Jesus. He is our only hope in this life and the next.
1 John 1:8 and 9 state,
“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8–9, ESV).
Romans 8:1 & 2 state,
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1–2, ESV).
PRAY
Let’s pray.
*All Rights Reserved. Use by Permission
.png)
Comments
Post a Comment