What is shame? When did it first appear in human history? The text describes the consequences of that deadly sequence in the story of Adam and Eve which brought it about, temptation, enticement, disbelief, grasping, consequence. When Adam and Eve sinned, their eyes were opened to their failure. When they tried to cover their shame, even that was a […]
Why do we sin? Why do we do evil things? Our text answers with a description of the first rebellion against God and His Word. This historical account is significant not only because it tells of the tragic first sin in a pristine world, but because it reveals to us the nature of the evil desires […]
The trees of the garden in Eden were a mark of God‘s generosity to our first parents Adam and Eve. But doubt in God’s goodness was instilled in the mind of Eve when the serpent deceived her by questioning the veracity of God‘s word and the integrity of His motives. In this text we get a glimpse […]
God’s good creation in Eden was all our first parents would ever need or want, but when they were tempted by Satan in the form of a serpent, they caved and set into motion a future world history corrupted by sin. Satan succeeded because he was cunning and able to deceive Adam and Eve. If we are […]
In this final reading of our text we explore three additional purposes for marriage. The first of these is procreation. Children are a blessing from God and together with parents form the family, the first fundamental institution of society. From the family derives two additional institutions, government and the church. All these reflect the glory of God.
In our fifth reading of this text and related scriptures, we find God’s roles for the married man and woman in daily life. The man is to be lover, leader, and learner. The woman is to be follower, fan, and friend. And when a marriage is rightly ordered, it reflects our salvation as it points to the relationship […]
God’s formation of man to oversee His creation extends to the man’s authority for the care and protection of those who worship God, up to and including today’s church. God’s creation of woman to help him also extends to the role of women in that arena. Today’s fourth reading of the text in this series lays the […]
In this installment on the subject of marriage we continue to mine our Genesis text for more of the Christian worldview in this gift from God. There we find that God has at least three purposes for a couple united in marriage–joy and unity in their life together, the sign of sexual intimacy, and growth toward […]