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Last week we ended off with Eve, Falling for the trap of the enemy, entering into disobedience.
Genesis 3:6
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.
This week we're going to speak about the The Price of Disobedience and how our flesh is weak.
Our Flesh Is Weak
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Eve had a fleshly desire to become wise, she fell into temptation which produced death.
Romans 7:5 For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death.
Our flesh works against the spirit of God and it produces death. When we act out in our flesh, you can believe that God is not pleased because our flesh destroys but his spirit brings life.
The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
God was not happy with what happened in the Garden. He warned them beforehand, not to partake of the tree, now he has to judge them in a way that will change their life forever.
Eve fell into disobedience. Her actions affected her husband Adam. And they both had to pay a dear price. Our actions affect more than just us in one way or another. We can cause a set back to ourselves, our loved ones, friends, coworkers, strangers, etc. Our actions are bigger than what we think.
Genesis 3:7
7 Then the eyes of the two of them were opened [that is, their awareness increased], and they knew that they were naked; and they fastened fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool [afternoon breeze] of the day, so the man and his wife hid and kept themselves hidden from the [d]presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Most times when we commit sin, we try to hide it. We don’t want anyone to know what we have done but we can’t hide from God. We may as well be honest with God, repent and let him know what you have done. This is you being transparent with God and this is how you and God can develop a relationship {you telling God how you feel, why you did it} you receive correction from God and move forward but this is what Adam and Eve did when they were confronted...
Genesis 3:9
9 But the Lord God called to Adam, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of You [walking] in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked;Note: Sin bring fear, doesn’t it? so I hid myself.” 11 God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten [fruit] from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 And the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me—she gave me [fruit] from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent beguiled and deceived me, and I ate [from the forbidden tree].”
Neither Adam nor Eve wanted to take full responsibility of what they have down.
There is a spiritual law called "You reap what you sow."
Galatians 6:7 Amplified Bible (AMP)
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked [He will not allow Himself to be ridiculed, nor treated with contempt nor allow His precepts to be scornfully set aside]; for whatever a man sows, this and this only is what he will reap.
The Price to pay for Disobedience
God questions Adam and Eve but he doesn’t give the serpent a chance. He curses the serpent right away {pay attention to what God speaks over the serpent because his penalty involves Eve, which also involves us}.
14 The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all the cattle, And more than any animal of the field; On your belly you shall go, And dust you shall eat All the days of your life.
A part of Eve’s punishment…
15 “And I will put enmity (open hostility) Between you and the woman, And between your seed (offspring) and her [e]Seed;
Do you understand what Enmity means?
Enmity means: hatred, hostility, malice, a grudge, a feud, a form of a jealousy and accusation.
Who put this there? God did. And he put it there between woman and the serpent who is our enemy.
Do you understand why we are at war constantly with the enemy? God placed enmity between the woman and the enemy and the enemy’s seed and her seed.
Last week I spoke to you and said that Eve is considered the Mother of all living things. We are the seed of Eve and we are in constant war because of her disobedience and it’s nothing we can do about it but fight. We are constantly under attack. The enemy hates us and he is forever accusing us before God, holding grudges against us, bringing hostility towards us, bruising our heels.
We should repent on behalf of Eve bringing this war into our bloodline.
We Win!
Now in all of this, we still win. We're are in constant battles but God has called us to be Overcomers!
Genesis 3:15
He shall [fatally] bruise your head, And you shall [only] bruise His heel.”
This means we can totally destroy the enemy and he can only touch us by so much.
Eve's Judgement
Genesis 3:16
16 To the woman He said:
“I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be [e]for your husband, And he shall rule over you.”
Do you understand what God spoke over Eve? God said "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception." Sorrow and Conception are separated within this text.
Sorrow means: a feeling of deep distress caused by loss, disappointment, or other misfortune suffered by oneself or others.
Conception means: the action of conceiving a child or of a child being conceived.
In pain, she will have children and who are considered twins in the text of the bible. One brother kills the other and shows no remorse. You want to talk about sorrow? (misfortune, deep distress caused by loss) this will do it!
Her desire is no longer to be wise. God changed her desire to be for her husband and he shall rule over her. This was not God’s perfect plan for their life. When they fell in the garden, they now have entered into God’s permissive will, meaning they have altered the Perfect Will of God and stepped out of the true blessings that God intended for their life from the very beginning.
We don’t want to do that right? We don’t want to alter God’s perfect plan for our lives and miss the opportunities that He’s spoken over us from the foundation of the Earth. We want to have true obedience so that we may complete the works of God and receive His goodness to the fullest.
Adam's Judgement
17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:
“Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall [f]bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”
20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve,[g] because she was the mother of all living.
21 Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
Because Adam and Eve’s life has been altered, God understands that they now have new needs in a different way. God being who He is, made them Tunics of skin and clothed them.
Tunic: a loose garment, typically sleeveless and reaching to the wearer's knees.
God didn’t have to do this. He could've kept them in the state they put themselves in {feeling exposed} but God covered them. It's in his nature to help, to love, to show mercy and grace.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Because there’s a spiritual law you reap what you sow, Eve has to walk this judgement out, but tonight I want you to understand that our flesh kills, it destroys us, and can affect others around us.
I know a lot of times we look through the eyes of our flesh and feel as if we need to do or we need to have specific things but if we can only trust in the Lord, obey his voice, keep our minds stayed on him, he will give us perfect peace.
Isaiah 26:3 English Standard Version (ESV)
3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
So let’s keep our minds stayed on the Lord so that we can see victory in our lives throughout this week and going forth.
There’s more to Eve’s story. Next week we are going to go deeper and find out how desires of the flesh has fallen down into her bloodline and how as a mother, the suffering just begins.
I’ll see you next week for more Daughters’ of The King in our Series, A Woman of Virtue, Becoming the Best you.
Rev. Kathryn Gore
