Good Questions - Day 1

Day One 

“Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

Read: Genesis 3.

Our first question is the first question asked in the Bible. It’s not spoken from God but from the evil one. God follows the evil one’s questions with a few of His own, and we’ll examine each of those questions in today’s study. 

This new study aims to examine who we are and where we are now. The Garden is our starting point as human beings and defines and expresses how we relate with God. It’s super important we understand what happened there, but maybe more important is how we respond to God today, in the here and now. 

Chapter 3 opens with this line, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made.” The serpent is “crafty.” The Hebrew word is nachash, which means “burning one” or “bright one.” “Darkly shrewd” is another interpretation of the serpent. 

We know from the reading of Genesis 3 that the serpent is well aware of Genesis 1-2. He quietlyslithers next to Eve, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

At first glance, this might not sound like much, especially seeing that Eve has been living in the Garden of Eden alongside Adam and God. The question is not combative, ugly, or even aggressive. It’s so subtle…it’s crafty.

The serpent’s purpose is clear. He desires the total destruction of the bonds of love, which will result in aloneness and the shackles of fear.  

He plants a seed of doubt. “Did God really say?” 

The serpent causes Eve pause. She begins to wonder, question and then doubt herself and her recollection of the conversation, and more importantly, the nature of her relationship with God. 

I can hear the serpent saying, “God is holding out you…He doesn’t want you to be like Him…You are not as important as you think.” He slithers in nearer and whispers, “You are not enough.” 

The serpent uses doubt to rupture this most holy relationship.

And then the fall. 

That’s what happened in the Garden. That’s what happens today: in our car, in our kitchen, on the ballfield, or maybe even lying in bed.

The serpent now satisfied with this fractured relationship slithers away.  

So what, then, does God really say? 

God reenters the Garden knowing the utter devastation, nakedness and shame. He too asks questions. Not questions meant to separate but questions of grace meant to bring about restoration. Can we spend just a moment listening to God? Maybe even grabbing a friend and listening together for His voice of tenderness and compassion.

Where are you? 

Hear God say, “You don’t have to hide. You don’t have to be afraid. I know where you are, I know how you are, and I’ve come to be with you in your fallenness. 

Who told you that you were naked? 

Hear God say, “Who told you that?” Hear Him say, “Who told you you were not enough - not spiritual enough, not holy enough, not righteous enough? It wasn’t me.”

What have you done? 

Hear God say, “What have you done that is so bad that my blood given in love has not already been purchased?

Questions to Consider:

When and where are you most vulnerable to doubt? 

What seeds of doubt have grown so powerful that you feel separated from yourself, another person, or even God?

Benediction:

Today —

May your heart lift as you hear

the Gardener’s sure footsteps

come to free you from death into Life.

How tenderly He names your name.

Turn towards His voice and run.

Run to Mercy.

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