Scripture:
Genesis 3:8-13 ESV
[8] 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. [9] But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” [10] And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself.” [11] He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” [12] The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” [13] 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.”
Observation:
I have gotten into the habit of chasing everything back to the garden. Let’s take a look at this scripture and see what we find. The first thing that pops out to me is that Adam and Eve’s behavior changed pretty drastically. They went from wanting to hang out with to hiding from HIM when they heard HIM coming… and all that in a place that HE created. Behind trees that HE carefully placed. This probably came from a misunderstanding of what the LORD was saying when HE was speaking to Adam before HE put him to sleep and made Eve. Man, I could honestly dive in here. The LORD had told Adam that if you eat off that tree, you will surely die. So this makes me think that Adam, knowing that he had done what he was told not to might, might have feared for his life. So, in his mind, hiding was the only option. However, GOD knew that all this was going to happen. HE knew that Jesus was going to be the answer from the start. So when HE called out to Adam, I’m sure HE knew right where he was. I can almost picture the LORD standing over the very bush Adam and Eve were “hiding” behind, kind of chuckling to HIMSELF thinking, and they thinking they are hiding. I believe the reason GOD called out to Adam is HE wanted him to expose himself. HE wanted Adam to admit where he was and what he had done. Adam’s answer to the LORD was honest… we heard you coming and with this new information about being naked, we had no choice but to hide. Again, I’m pretty sure GOD knew the answer to both the questions HE was about to ask. Who told you you were naked? Did you eat from the tree I told you not to. Adam knew that he was not going to get away with this and made his best confession. Of course, blaming most of the issue on his wife… not even realizing it all comes back to him. You see, GOD made Adam from the dust and gave him the rules of the garden, and HE put him into a deep sleep and made Eve. Adam’s responsibility was to lead his wife… he dropped the ball somewhere, and my guess would be it’s in the translation. From what GOD told him about the tree. But that’s all rabbit trail. The point is Adam’s best confession blamed his wife for something he did not do correctly. Instead of leading by example, he followed. Then, he blamed his lack of leadership on his wife. My best guess is Eve’s desire to be led brought her to the encounter with the serpent.
Application:
I could honestly go on and on with this portion of scripture. There is so much in it. I had intended to write a SOAP about hiding from GOD…and well we will probably see some of that in the application. However, it looks like what GOD wants me to do is call out the man in you. So, ladies, you can continue to read if you want to because I’m sure the LORD has something for you here as well. But men put your stealtoed boots on this morning. I honestly believe we need stronger men… Men who will stand up and lead their homes. Men who will take responsibility for what’s going on and make the effort to change it. Men who will run to GOD and not from HIM. Listen, I know I am not perfect… and I have a lot of improvements to make. I love my wife, and I want her happy… and honestly, the only real way for true and lasting happiness for her is for me to lead our home right to the foot of the cross. Yes, it’s true if Mama isn’t happy, then no one’s happy. That’s not the question… The question is… what makes her happy?? My answer… a man chasing after the heart and face of GOD. A man leading her not pushing her. This is my war cry. I am calling out the man not only in you but in myself as well. We need to stand up, put our armor on, and get in this fight. It’s our homes, our families, our wives, and children at stake here. We have to stop hiding from GOD and run to HIM… confess to HIM take responsibility for not leading in the manner in which you should and start today. Step up and lead. But here’s the catch you can’t push. You don’t lead from the back. The question I’m asking myself at this point is how I lead without pushing. It’s my job to seek the face of GOD in my home. To pray about everything. My wife needs to be a part of that prayer life. A family that prays together stays together. I need to make GOD the number one priority in my life. HE commands me to love my wife and serve her, laying down my life for her as Christ did for the church. Looking at Jesus, for our example, we see him leading by serving. Washing the feet of the disciples. HE wasn’t demanding or pushy. HE just loved it, and that made HIS disciples want to follow HIM. Love is serving, and serving is leading.
Prayer:
Father, hear our battle cry. Help us take our homes back. As men, we want to lead. We don’t want our wives getting instructions from some snake in the grass. We want them to get them from you. Help us put a stop to all the destroyed homes and broken families. Show us as men how to lead. How to lay down our lives for those we say we love. Show us in your words how to do that. We want your presence to be all around us. When other men look at us, we want them to see a reflection of you. Help us to lead our homes the way you always intended us to. Rise up an army that will stand firm and say NO… not my home, not anymore. Let cut the head off the snake that has caused so much havoc in the world and take back the ground the YOU gave us to begin with. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus I pray amen.