Sunday, May 25, 2008
WHERE ARE YOU?
Gen. 3:7-13
Consider a hardened criminal. He is 57 years old and has been in and out of prison since he was 20. If you want to read his rap sheet, you better sit down in a comfortable chair; you’re going to be there for a while. This man is bad news. He has been convicted of just about everything except murder, and you figure he’s done that too, just didn’t get caught.
Now let’s suppose you had the opportunity to ask our convict about his crimes and why he did all those things. To your great surprise, this man would look you right in the eye and tell you that he is not guilty. Not guilty of which ones? Not guilty of any of them. So why has he spent all this time in prison? According to his version, because of people who framed him, crooked judges, etc. He is the picture of innocence.
If you ask someone in the social sciences what the problem is, he or she will be quick to point out that this man never had a chance. He grew up in a very dysfunctional family. Furthermore, the family lived in a terrible part of a large city. The handwriting was on the wall; this is exactly what you would expect from a man who had none of the advantages that most of us enjoy.
Let’s ask one other question about our convict friend. Is he repentant? Does he at least demonstrate some sorrow for the things he has done? None. Again, he won’t even admit he has done anything wrong. He is so convincing that you begin to wonder if he believes his own lies.
As we come to the Bible this morning, keep this man in mind, and ask the question: “How much sin does it take for a person to become proud and unrepentant?”
Now let’s read again from Gen. 3. Last week we read the entire chapter; this morning let’s read Gen. 3:1-13…
Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2. And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3. But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10. And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12. And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
I. Looking at the Genesis Account
Last week we focused on the first 7 or 8 verses. Today we want to focus on verses 7-13. We talked about verse 8, about how the voice of the LORD God came walking in the garden in the cool of the day. That word translated “voice” is in some other places translated “sound.” Perhaps that is the idea here, as it’s hard to conceive of a voice walking, but we can certainly imagine the sound of the Lord walking in the garden. Very likely, this is one of those cases where the Lord took on human form in His fellowship with man. God is spirit. Nevertheless, throughout the Old Testament we find times when He did indeed appear in human form.
What do we make of the fact that it was in the cool of the day that the Lord came to them. Literally, “God came walking in the garden in the wind of the day.” Most would equate this with the evening, when the sun is setting. The point is this – it was later in the day. We don’t know what time of day it was when Adam and Eve sinned, but this gives us the impression that there had definitely been some time between when they sinned and when God came looking for them. This idea is supported by the fact that they needed some time to sew the fig leaves together in an attempt to cover themselves.
Let’s be reminded of the situation that has occurred. The way verse 8 is written implies that the walking of God in the garden was not something new. This must have been what He did on a regular basis, as He had close fellowship with Adam and Eve. Imagine that. This man and woman were in close relationship to the God who created the entire universe out of nothing. Yes, the Lord God condescended to their level and walked among them. Think of the most important person in the world and what it would be like to walk up and shake hands with him or her just once. That was nothing. Adam and Eve walked and talked on a daily basis with the God who made them and who made all the important people in the world. We cannot understand this passage, if we don’t get a grasp on the glory of being in God’s presence.
Now let me ask you a question. When God came walking in the garden in the cool of the day, was He surprised that He didn’t find Adam and Eve? Remember, they were hiding from Him. Was God upset that He didn’t find them? Let’s read verse 8 again, "And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden." Was God wondering what had happened to Adam and Eve?
Let’s look at how God responded to the fact that they were hiding, that they did not appear in His presence. verse 9, “And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?” Did you hear that? God called out, “Where are you?” Isn’t that interesting. God lovingly placed them in that beautiful, fruitful garden, and now they are using it to hide from Him.
It doesn’t take a genius to discover the truth of the situation. They thought they were hidden from God, but they weren’t. God knew exactly where they were. Then why did God say, “Where are you?” Was He really trying to discover where they were? Remember who we are talking about. This is God, the Creator of the universe. David wrote about the omnipresence of God in Ps. 139:1-12…
O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. 2. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. 3. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. 4. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. 5. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. 6. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. 7. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8. If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 9. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10. Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. 11. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. 12. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
It does no good to hide from God. He made the hiding place. If God knows even the thoughts of our minds, surely He has no trouble keeping track of our physical location.
If that is true, then why does the Lord say, “Where are you?” Think about it for a bit. Why would the Almighty God who knows everything ask a question of one of His creatures? He can never ask a question to which He does not know the answer. So why even ask? While you’re thinking about that, let me give you another question to ponder. What might God have said to Adam and Eve? He could have said, “You have disobeyed my commandment; now you must die.” That would make a lot more sense than, “Where are you?” After all, the Lord had already told them what would happen if they ate of the fruit – “In the day you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen. 2:17). No doubt, they feared that very prediction. Surely they wouldn’t have been surprised if the Lord had showed up and said, “Because of your disobedience, prepare to die.” But instead, He called to Adam, “Where are you?”
Do you think maybe God had in mind something far deeper than their physical location? The physical location was not even an issue. Then what was the issue? Their spiritual condition. Wasn’t God saying, “Adam, now that you have disobeyed me and tried to cover yourself, where are you now? How are you doing now? What is the current state of your experience?
By asking a question, the Lord was giving Adam an opportunity to speak the truth. The Lord was gently probing. Rather than thundering in judgment, the Lord comes and gently asks this probing question. “Adam, tell me where you really are. Really, Adam, what’s going on?” What an opportunity for Adam to come out of his hiding place, fall on his face before God, and say through his tears, “Lord, I disobeyed your command. After all you’ve done for me, I refused to trust you. I did what I wanted to do instead of what you told me to do. I have no excuse.” That seems like such a natural and reasonable response, doesn’t it? I believe that is why the Lord came with such a gentle question.
So how did Adam respond? We find the answer in verse 10, “And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” We quickly see that Adam didn’t take the opportunity God gave him to come clean with everything. Adam didn’t go back to eating the forbidden fruit. Instead, he began with hearing the voice of the Lord. Adam was truthful in that he said, “I was afraid.” He was indeed afraid, afraid that the Lord was going to pronounce judgment and then carry out that judgment. But that is where the truth ends. Adam said, “I was afraid, because I was naked.” That was a half truth at best. He was naked, but that wasn’t the reason for his fear.
Now the Lord probes deeper in verse 11, “And he said, Who told you that you were naked?” You get the picture, don’t you? They had been naked since God created them, but they had felt no guilt or shame. It was only after their disobedience that they were shamed and sewed fig leaves to cover themselves.
Listen to me. This is what sin does. It not only cuts us off from God, but it corrupts our relationship with the people around us. Not only were Adam and Eve hiding from God, but they were also hiding from one another. Disobedience toward God opened the door for impure thoughts toward one another. This is no small thing. There was only one explanation for their shame in being naked and it was their sin against God.
I don’t know how long the Lord paused between the question and the answer, which God Himself provided. If He did pause, Adam had no answer. No one had told them they were naked. There was no one else there to speak. This knowledge came about through their sin. Let’s go back to Satan’s promise. He told Eve that eating the fruit would make her wise and that she would know good and evil. I’m not sure how much she learned about good, but she learned plenty about evil. Both Adam and Eve knew evil by committing evil. Before they knew anything mentally, they experience evil at the core of their being.
Since Adam had no answer, God Himself provided the answer. Again, verse 11, “And he said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded you that you should not eat?” To ask the question is to give the answer. Yes, Adam had eaten of the forbidden fruit, and it was that act of disobedience that not only revealed their nakedness, but which filled them with guilt and shame.
Please understand that knowledge is not always a good thing. We live in a society that praises knowledge, enticing us to believe that knowledge is the answer to all our problems. We are often told that lack of knowledge will create all kinds of problems. The world tells parents, “If you shield your kids from the world, you will mess them up. No, instead let them experiment for themselves. If you tell them that homosexuality is wrong, what you will likely do is cause them to want to adopt that very lifestyle. And when it comes to religion, don’t restrict your children to your own beliefs. Give them knowledge of many different religious persuasions and then they can make a healthy choice about what they believe.” That kind of thinking finds no basis in the scriptures. That is Satan’s way, not God’s way. As knowledge tempted Eve, it still tempts mankind today.
So instead of coming to God and confessing his sin, Adam only confessed the consequences of his sin. He admitted that he was afraid and that he had hidden himself. By not confessing his own disobedience, he begins to lay the blame on God. Can you hear what Adam is saying? “God, I was afraid because you said I would die. I had to hide myself, because you are overbearing. What else could I do in light of your power and your judgment?”
But Adam isn’t through yet. Now verse12, “And the man said, The woman whom you gave me to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” This is the classic response that even many in the world know about. “Eve made me do it.” But it goes much deeper than that. We might read it with this emphasis: The woman whom you gave me to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. Or we might read it with this emphasis: The woman whom you gave me to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. If he was simply saying, “Eve made me do it,” there would be no reason for those additional words “whom you gave me to be with me.” Ultimately, Adam is placing the blame on God. Not only is God overbearing in His judgment upon their sin, but He is the blame for what Adam did. God should have left Adam alone, or He should have made him a more suitable helper.
So the Lord then turned to Eve. Verse 13, “And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that you have done?” Again, notice that the Lord asks her a question. He could have said, “Because you have misled your husband, you must die.” The Lord certainly had the right to say that. Instead, He asks the question. As with Adam, He gives her the opportunity to come clean. Surely Eve should have said, “I blew it. I knew you didn’t want us to eat from that one tree, but I did it anyway. I disobeyed you, Lord, and then I gave the fruit to Adam as well.” But that is not the way she responded. Her response is at the end of verse 13, “And the woman said, The serpent tricked me, and I did eat.” She admitted that she ate the fruit, but surely it wasn’t her fault. How could God expect her to stand up against the crafty snake? Surely she didn’t bear any responsibility.
II. A New Testament Commentary on Genesis 3
My purpose in focusing on this passage is to emphasize that sin not only cuts us off from God, but it also keeps us there. Sin separates us from God, and then sin sees to it that we don’t come to Him for reconciliation. We see it in this story. Adam and Eve not only disobeyed God, but then they refused every opportunity to humble themselves and repent. We don’t see them bowing down before Him. Rather, we see them bowing up to maintain their dignity and rights, refusing to take responsibility for what they had done.
Now come back to our 57-year-old convict. We understand that a life of crime has hardened him. Certainly, it’s no one’s fault but his own, but still this is a hardening that has taken place over the years. We aren’t surprised that he has become a good liar, as he has had years of practice. What could we expect from such a man?
Now come back to Adam and Eve. Why were they so evasive and unwilling to face the truth? Why were they so proud that they refused to fall down before the Almighty? Why did they refuse to repent and fall upon the mercy of their Creator? There is only one answer – sin. But it was only one sin. They did not have a history of sin. They had not made a long practice of lying. Until this particular day (however long it had been), they had never told a lie. They had never disobeyed. They had never thought an evil thought. They were completely innocent. But now, after one act of disobedience, they are so steeped in pride that they refuse to acknowledge their wrongdoing. That is the power of sin! I repeat – that is the power of sin.
Please come with me to John 3. Now let’s read John 3:14-21…
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
The one who does not believe is condemned already. Why? Because he has not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God, who is the Lord Jesus Christ. And why does that condemn him? Because he is under the wrath of God, as we read in Jn. 3:36, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” Until there is life through believing on the Son, we are under the wrath of God. That is the condemnation we read about here in verse 18.
So that should be a simple matter. If a person is under God’s wrath and has not believed on the Son, then just turn to the Son. Surely any person in his right mind will turn from his own sin and throw himself on the Savior. So it would seem. But now come again to verse 19, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” This verse is an accurate commentary on what we see in the Garden of Eden. Light came into the garden that day, because “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (I John 1:5). Why didn’t Adam and Eve fall at His feet and confess their sin through tears of sorrow? Because men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. The first example of this truth is in Genesis 3. Adam and Eve are living illustrations of this truth. And it only took them one sin to get there. Isn’t that amazaing!
Even stronger are the words of verse 20, “For everyone that does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” Those who continually practice evil hate the light and refuse to come to the light. Why? Because they don’t want their evil deeds to be exposed for what they are. Light exposes darkness. And so was with Adam and Eve. They hid from the light, so that there deeds would not be brought to light, exposed as evil.
So right at the beginning we learn about the power of sin to harden the heart and to make a person unrepentant. We see that sin defies all reason, keeping a person from the only One who can do him any good. We find the same thing when we come to the end of the Bible and the end of this age. Rev. 16:8-11…
And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. 9. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory. 10. And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, 11. And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
That is unbelievable. They were scorched with great heat. It was so bad that they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. I don’t know about you, but pain does something to me. I would like to think that I would be true to the Lord, no matter what happens to me, but when I read of some of the tortures that believers in other parts of the world experience, I have to say, “Lord, you know.” I’m not going to willingly endure great pain, unless there is a very, very good reason. Yet these people are so proud, they would rather endure excruciating pain than humble themselves before God. They refuse to repent of their evil deeds, all the while blaspheming God. Sin defies all reason, and this sin began in the garden, when Adam and Eve refused to repent of their deeds.
III. Repentance as a Gift from God (see Acts 5:31; 11:18; II Tim. 2:25)
Is it any wonder that the New Testament refers to repentance as a gift? Reason will not cause a person to repent. All we have to do is look at Adam and Eve. They had enjoyed sweet fellowship with God. They knew what it was to experience the tender love of the Almighty. When they sinned, everything in all the universe dictated that they should humble themselves before the Lord, confess their sin, and cry out for mercy. If not for their own benefit, they should have done it for the glory of God. They knew who God was. They knew that He was holy and righteous, worthy of all praise and honor. There is not a single hint that they cared the least for his glory and honor after they disobeyed him. They refused to repent, and that’s the way it has been ever since.
No one repents unless God grants him that supernatural gift. There is a sense in which a man will not repent and cannot repent. Sin has hardened his heart and he cannot make it soft again. As we read in Jer. 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?” As we read in John 3, men (and women) love darkness and refuse to come to the light, lest their deeds be exposed. Quoting from the Psalms, Paul put it like this: “There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God” (Rom. 3:10-11). No one seeks God. People turn away from God, not toward Him. Why? Because God is light, and men love darkness.
Now I ask you, have we not given a very accurate description of the world in which we live? And we’re not just talking about the United States of America. There are those who still believe that our society is corrupt, but there are pure societies, if we are just willing to seek them out. They believe that deep in the jungles of Africa there are people who have not been corrupted by such sinful attitudes. Paris Reidhead was such a man. He became a missionary and went to the jungles of Africa, seeking to bring the gospel to people who were eager to hear about Jesus. As he put it, “I didn’t think it was right for anyone to go to hell without a chance to be saved. So I went to give poor sinners a chance to go to heaven.” This is the way he later described his experience there…
And when I got to Africa, I discovered that they weren’t poor little heathen running around in the woods, waiting for someone to tell them how to go to heaven. But they were monsters of iniquity. They were living in utter and total defiance of far more knowledge of God than I ever dreamed they had. They deserved hell, because they utterly refused to walk in the light of their conscience and the light of the law written upon their heart and the testimony of nature and the truth they knew… When I got there, I found out they knew about heaven and didn’t want to go there, that they loved their sin and wanted to stay in it.
You may think it harsh that he says they deserved hell. Friends, every person on the face of this earth deserves hell because he or she cares nothing about the glory of God but lives only for self. And if it doesn’t appear that way to us, it’s because we are easily deceived. If you want to know what mankind is like, look at those descriptions we gave earlier from Gen. 3 and Rev. 16. Start in the beginning and go to the end, and you will find the same thing – people who live in sin and refuse to repent.
God doesn’t deceive us. He tells us the story from the very beginning. Do you believe that Genesis 1-11 is a part of God’s Word, that it is truth from God? Then believe what it says. Agree that even the one sin buried man so deep that he cannot claw his way out of a life (death) of sin and unrepentance.
Conclusion
We could stop there and do no violence to the truth of God, but there is something in us that always wants the rest of the story. Surely someone will say, “But look around. There are people who come to the light. There are those who are zealous for the glory of God. How does that square with what we have read from the scripture this morning?” There is only one way to square things. There is only one solution, and that solution is Jesus Christ. Outside of the life and work of Jesus, there would be no more rest of the story. Without Him, we would have to close the book with the hard facts we have outlined this morning.
But praise God that “God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Though men loved darkness, there was a man who came into this world, and He was the light of men (Jn. 1:4). Come again to John 3:20, "For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” But now let’s read verse 21, “But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." You say, “See there. There are some who come to the light.” That’s right, but the context of scripture makes it clear that they come to the light for one reason – because God grants them the gift of repentance, because God the Father draws them to His Son, because where sin abounded, grace did much more abound in Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:20).
We read earlier from Rom. 3 that no one seeks after God. Then how do we explain it when a person does seek after God? We explain it by realizing that God has intervened and given that person a heart to seek him. So who receives the glory? God and God alone. When you see a person seeking the Lord, know that our God is at work and come alongside Him and enter into that work through prayer, love, encouragement, and the sharing of the truth.
So let me ask you this morning, “Where are you?” You can be sitting here this morning and still be in sin and unrepentance. Though you admit outwardly that you are a sinner, you can still defend sin in your heart, refusing to repent of that which God has convicted you. Where are you? Are you trying to hide?
Because of who Jesus is and what He has done, you can come clean this morning. You can fall down before Him and admit that you are undone and have no hope outside of Him.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
The Fall of Man -- 5/18/08
Sunday, May 18, 2008
THE FALL OF MAN
Gen. 3:1-8
[Young kid comes in and walks along the narrow edge of a two by four. Then he leaves and the board is removed. When all is done, begin to speak.]
Did you see that? What did you think? You think I’m crazy. Well, let me put things in perspective. Picture that same young man walking the narrow edge of that same two by four, but now put that two by four 40 feet up in the air. Would you have reacted differently than you did? I guarantee you would have. There would have been gasps. Some of you would have done everything in your power to dissuade the boy from attempting it. Some of you would have hidden your eyes.
Why the difference? Because of the height of the board. In the first case, if he fell, no big deal. It wasn’t far to fall. In the second case, a fall would have had great consequences. How far you have to fall makes a big difference.
And that brings us to our passage for this morning. We have worked our way through Genesis 1 and 2. Obviously, there was much more we could have said about those two chapters, but we did learn some very key principles from that portion of God’s Word. This morning we come to chapter 3.
Before we read, remember the situation. God has created everything. Man was the pinnacle of His creation. After He had created everything else, He made man in His own image. Because it was not good for the man to be alone, God created a helper for man. Adam called her woman. And now God has put the man and the woman, Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden, a place of great beauty. It was their privilege to care for the garden. There was only one thing God told Adam not to do. He told him not to eat from the tree in the middle of the garden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Not only did God tell him not to eat from it, but He also told him what would happen if he did. We read it in Gen. 2:17, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
Now we’re ready for chapter 3. Read Gen. 3:1-24…
Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2. And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3. But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10. And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12. And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. 14. And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 16. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 17. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. 20. And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. 21. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. 22. And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23. Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
From the context of this passage and other biblical passages, we know that the serpent was none other than Satan himself. Could Satan disguise himself as a snake? Indeed, he could. As a matter of fact, Paul tells us that Satan can even disguise himself as an angel of light (II Cor. 11:14). One of the chief characteristics of Satan is his craftiness, his trickiness. Though he is powerful as a roaring lion, it seems that he most often works through deception. That was certainly the case here in the Garden of Eden.
Notice how the conversation went…
Satan... “Did God really say that you must refrain from eating of every tree of the garden?”
Already he is twisting what God said. God said only that they couldn’t eat from the one tree, not every tree.
Eve…. “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. The only tree we can’t eat from is the tree in the middle of the garden. Of it, God said, ‘You must not eat from it nor touch it, or you will die.’”
At first, we think the woman has it right, when she reminds the serpent
that it is only the one tree in the middle of the garden whose fruit is
forbidden. But she doesn’t stop there. She then says that God told them
not to touch that tree. Where did she get that? God said no such thing.
It seems that Satan has successfully caused her to question God. Now she
is making God out to be more strict than he is. There may be the slightest
thought that God is a hard taskmaster after all.
Satan... “You won’t die. God knows that when you eat the fruit, your eyes will be opened and you will be like Him. You yourself will know the difference between good and evil.”
Do you catch what he is saying? "God has an ulterior motive. He knows you
won’t die. He is just saying that so that you won’t go ahead and eat from the
tree, because He doesn’t want you to become like Him. God is working hard to
keep you in your place." Notice that while he is still very tricky, he has boldly
called God a liar by saying, “You won’t die.” But by the time Satan gets through,
he is the hero and God is the bad guy.
That’s the end of the conversation. Satan had the last word. Now we read in verse 6, “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” She noticed three things about the tree: it was good for food; it was pleasant to look at; it was able to make her wise. But didn’t she know it was good for food before? Hadn’t she seen the beauty of the tree before? Apparently not. Why? Was it not because she had no reason to study the tree? God had told them not to eat from it. But now that Satan brought it to her attention, she looked at it much more closely and found it attractive in every way.
Isn’t that the way it is with temptation? If we give in and begin to study the pleasures of what is forbidden by God, Satan will always make it attractive. He’s an expert at that. He will always paint a one-sided picture, emphasiz-ing how pleasant it is but never mentioning the consequences.
And what about Adam? I grew up always thinking that Adam was in another part of the garden and Eve took the fruit to him. However, we are not told that. Why wouldn’t Adam be right there by Eve’s side? She was a helper suitable to him. As a matter of fact, notice what the text actually says: “…she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” She gave unto her husband with her. The text actually says that Adam was with her. He could have restrained her, but he did not.
So what happened as a result of them eating the fruit? Verse 7, "And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons." Satan had already told them what would happen, in that he had said their eyes would be opened. What he didn’t tell them was what they would see when their eyes were opened. He made it sound like a very positive thing, but it wasn’t. They saw they were naked and they were filled with guilt? Why? Because they were naked? No. It was because their eyes were opened.
Satan had said that when their eyes were opened, they would be like God, knowing good and evil. He told the truth, but not the whole truth. They did become like God in that they now knew good and evil. They not only knew what evil was, but they themselves were guilty of committing the evil. On the other hand, they were like God in that they knew good and evil, but that is the only way they became like God. They definitely weren’t expecting what they got.
Isn’t that the way it always is with temptation and sin? The forbidden sin holds great promise. That is why it is so tempting. Satan has to convince us that it will be worth it. But what do we find from the Word and experience? It’s never worth it… never! Has anyone here ever yielded to temptation and found that it was worth it? It you think it was, you are still deceived.
Now verse 8, "And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden." Here we see the great consequences of their sin. Not only were they full of guilt and shame, but they were cut off from God. The way in which this is stated suggests that in the past they had walked and talked with God in the garden, but now we see them actually hiding from God. Something had fundamentally changed. Their sin had separated them from God.
We are not going to deal with the rest of chapter 3 this morning. Rather, let’s focus on what we have already seen. There is no better title for Gen. 3:1-8 than “The Fall of Man.” What we must understand is that it is no small thing. When Satan was talking with Eve in the garden, Adam and Eve seemed to regard it like you did when our young man was walking on the board. They should have seen it like a tiny boy walking on a board hundreds of feet in the air. They should have realized that flirting with disobedience was no small thing.
Mankind hasn’t learned very much since that time. In general, the world sees the fall of man as no big thing, but that viewpoint doesn’t come from God. Let’s come to the New Testament and read from Rom. 5:12-14,18-19…
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: 13. (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come… 18. Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 19. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
So we’re thinking about the fall of man. When someone falls, it may not be any big deal. It depends on what he falls into. When I was a kid, we were visiting relatives out in west Texas. They had a little pony that I and my cousins had been riding. It was great fun. We left for home, but we forgot something. When we went back to their house to get it, I jumped out and ran for the pony. I had to have one more ride. Unfortunately for the rider, the pony wasn’t interested in one more ride. He bucked me off. That’s right; I fell. No, I didn’t break any bones. The fall itself wasn’t that big a deal. The key was what I fell into, and what I fell into was a patch of grass burrs.
Adam and Eve fell that day in the Garden of Eden. Not only did they fall, but we fell with them. When they sinned, we sinned. What happened to them happened to us, as this passage in Romans 5 points out so clearly. So what is it that they and we fell into? Verse 12 tells us. We fell into sin and death. Verse 19 summarizes: “…by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners.” David said, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Ps. 51:5). David understood that the sin in his life went deeper than the adultery and murder he had committed. He was a sinner from birth. That was the root of the problem.
Adam and Eve fell into sin (or dove in headfirst), and we experience the consequences of that fall. We are fallen creatures when we are born into this world. Yes, we are sinners from birth. We prove we are sinners by sinning. That’s why we don’t have to teach our kids to sin. We don’t have to teach them to be selfish. The concepts of “my” and “mine” come very naturally, because that’s the way sinners think.
Isaiah had it right when he said, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.” As Adam and Eve forsook trust in God and turned to their own way, so we have all turned to our own way. What that means is that we are locked into self-sufficiency. Instead of trusting God, we come into this world trusting self. Though we may find many ways to disguise it, the fact is that we depend on self.
Not only have we fallen into sin, but we have fallen into death, because death is the consequence of sin. What did God say would happen, if Adam ate from the tree in the middle of the garden? Gen. 2:17, “…for in the day you eat from it, you will surely die.” Was God telling the truth? Did Adam die the day he ate from the tree? Indeed, he did. Though he would live to be 930 years old, he died the day he ate the fruit. This is what demonstrates for us that death is deeper than the physical. Though physical death would be delayed, spiritual death was immediate. When they ate the fruit, they were cut off from God, as is demonstrated by the fact that they hid from Him.
When we come back again to Paul’s letter to the Romans, we read these words in Rom. 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death…” Sin earns a wage, and that wage is death. But again, it goes much deeper than physical death. Death has three aspects…
1. Spiritual death – spiritual separation from God. That’s the way we come into this
world. Paul says to believers that God has made us alive, because we were dead
in our trespasses and sins. That is, we were separated from God.
2. Physical death – when the body is separated from the spirit
3. Eternal death – when spiritual separation from God becomes eternal separation in
hell. There is no remedy for this death; it is final separation.
Trey and Paola, I didn’t necessarily preach a graduation message for you, but I do want to speak specifically to you and to all the young people here this morning. The biblical truth of the fall of man, rooted here in Genesis 3, is a truth that you must grasp. It is crucial.
I. Know It for Yourself
If you don’t understand this truth, you will never progress any farther than the sin of self-sufficiency. And I tell you that self-sufficiency is a curse. There is nothing worse than being left to your own resources. Please allow me to read a rather lengthy passage of scripture from Prov. 1. Please listen very carefully… Prov. 1:20-33
Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: 21. She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, 22. How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? 23. Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. 24. Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; 25. But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: 26. I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; 27. When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. 28. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: 29. For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: 30. They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. 31. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. 32. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. 33. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.
Did you hear that? Those who refuse the truth of the Lord, even His correction, will have to eat the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices. In other words, they will be left to themselves and what they can do for themselves. Ultimately, that means such a person will have to stand before God and have nothing to lean on but himself. If that doesn’t strike fear into the heart of every unbeliever, it is because he or she is absolutely blind.
Understand, young people, that we come into this world as fallen creatures. We have already fallen into sin and death, separated from the God who created us. Know and understand this truth.
II. Guard This Truth in the World
You are living in a world that increasingly sees the fall of man as no big deal. As a matter of fact, much of the world doesn’t even believe that man is a fallen creature. Much of our world sees the sin of self-sufficiency as a good thing. Man is the measure of all things. The world will tell you there is nothing you can’t do, if you just set your mind to it. That is a lie. You cannot conquer sin and death, no matter what the world tells you.
Even many religious people in our country have failed to grasp the truth of the fall of man. The idea has become: “Yes, we are sinners, but all we need is a little help from God. We have been blessed with many things; now we will just add Jesus and everything will be fine.” That lie will condemn millions to hell. A little help from God will never raise a single person from death to life. Only when all hope in self and others is renounced and Jesus Christ becomes the only hope will there be life from death.
Guard this truth, because if you don’t, the world will squeeze you into its mold and you will swallow the lie.
III. Proclaim It for the Glory of God
I was talking to a brother the other day. I was asking him about a young man for whom he has asked us to pray. He said something like this: “The biggest challenge will be getting him lost.” Do you understand what he is saying? His young friend thinks like the world because he is part of the world. He doesn’t see any need for a Savior, because he doesn’t understand he is dead. He thinks he is alive and life is just pretty good. Until he realizes that he has fallen into sin and death, there is no hope for him.
What is true of that young man is true for every human being on this earth. When the Pharisees asked why He hung around with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus answered like this: “They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Lk. 5:31-32). If you don’t think you’re sick, you won’t go to the doctor. Jesus is the great doctor of the soul. He didn’t come for people who think they are all right spiritually, for people who think they just need a little help from God. Jesus came for those who realize they are sick and lost and dead. They are the only ones who can respond to Jesus call to repentance and faith.
If you aren’t willing to confront people with the truth of sin and death, you can’t help them. I’m not saying it’s wrong to tell people that God loves them, but they will never understand that love until they understand they are dead sinners. For the glory of God and the good of others, may God give all of us the grace to speak the truth in love, even the truth about sin and death.
Conclusion
Let me ask one other question. Adam and Eve fell into death and sin, but what did they fall out of? Come back to Gen. 3:8, “And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day…” We are not given the details, but I don’t believe we have to do much reading between the lines to grasp what is going on here. They heard the voice of the Lord walking in the garden in the cool of the day. They recognized the voice immediately because they had heard it many times before. Adam and Eve had the privilege of walking and talking with God. The God who created the entire universe out of nothing condescended to have fellowship with the man and woman He had made. Adam and Eve walked with God. Surely the cool of the day emphasizes the sweet, refreshing nature of that fellowship.
But this time things are different. Instead of running to the God who created them and lovingly put them in this beautiful garden, they hid themselves. We read it so easily, but do we grasp the tragedy here? Suppose a young man takes a young lady to be his bride. This young man truly gives himself to his bride. He prepares everything for their life together. The wedding day comes and they are married. They have a wonderful honeymoon, come back, and settle into their new home. Then one day he comes home from work and says, “I’m home, sweetheart.” No response. He finally finds his wife in the kitchen, dutifully cooking his supper. When he speaks to her, she responds, but something is different. Her face no longer lights up at his presence. He hasn’t changed one bit. He loves her with all his heart. But there has been a change. For no good reason, she has broken her marriage vow on this day, giving herself to another man. There is no explanation as to why she would do it. She had everything a wife could want. She had a husband who loved her and cherished her, but she has disrupted that loving relationship.
That is a graphic picture, but it is nothing compared to what happened in the garden. Even the closeness between a man and his wife is a pale picture of the privilege Adam and Eve had in relating so closely to the living God. It is impossible for us to get hold of how far they fell they day, when they fell out of fellowship with the living God.
Now for the good news. We have focused on the message of three passages – Gen. 3; Rom. 5:12-19; Rom. 6:23. You may have noticed that we either didn’t read the rest of the passage or we didn’t give attention to it. Well, now it’s time to do so.
In Genesis 3, we see man separated from God, but we also see something else. There wasn’t anything Adam and Eve could do for themselves. They covered up with fig leaves, but they were still ashamed and hid from God. But in verse 15 we find a wonderful promise from God. Even though the words were spoken to Satan as part of a curse, they are indeed a blessed promise. Gen 3:15, "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." We won’t go into the details this morning, but understand that this is the first promise of the coming Savior. Jesus would be the seed of Eve and at the cross He would bruise the head of Satan himself. There He would win the victory over sin and death.
Then we read these words in verse 21, “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” This may seem like a small thing, but it’s bigger than we might think. First of all, God did for them what they could not do for themselves. They tried to cover up, but God adequately clothed them. What a beautiful picture of what God can do for us spiritually. We can try to cover up, to pretend that everything is okay. Or we can do all in our power to try to fix things, only to find out that we are still spiritually naked. But God and God alone can clothe us with the righteousness of Jesus Christ, His Son. And that is exactly what we see pictured here. What did God use for clothing? He used the skins of animals. An animal had to die in order for Adam and Eve to be clothed. It wasn’t fair. They are the ones who disobeyed God; they should have died. Instead, an animal served as their substitute. In the same way, Jesus Christ served as our substitute when He went to the cross. We are the ones who sinned; we should have died. But Jesus died in our place. Praise God!
Then we come back to the passage in Romans 5. Let’s read the summary again in verse 19, "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." Tragic that through the disobedience of one man many were made sinners, but glorious that through the obedience of one many are made righteous. The obedience of Jesus has overcome the disobedience of Adam.
And finally, we come back to Rom. 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Through Adam, we all fell into sin and death. Through Christ, we can have life, for God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved (Jn. 3:17). When a person is willing to face up to His sinful and dead condition, admitting that there is not a thing he can do about it, then he knows he needs a savior. Jesus is that Savior.
We noted the tragedy of Adam and Eve falling out of fellowship with the living God. Can
we catch a glimpse of what eternal life means? It means having that fellowship restored. It means walking and talking with the living God.
Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers, commanding them not to be yoked together with unbelievers. In that context, let’s read II Cor. 6:16-18…
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
Those of us who are in Christ are included in that description – He is our God, and we are His people. He is our Father; we are His sons and daughters. The more completely we are conformed to the image of Christ, the more intense our fellowship with Him. When we come to the end of the book, we find the glorious end (really, the beginning) of the story. Rev. 21:1-3…
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
This is that unhindered divine presence Jesus promised when He said… (Jn. 14:1-3)
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Come quickly, Lord Jesus.
THE FALL OF MAN
Gen. 3:1-8
[Young kid comes in and walks along the narrow edge of a two by four. Then he leaves and the board is removed. When all is done, begin to speak.]
Did you see that? What did you think? You think I’m crazy. Well, let me put things in perspective. Picture that same young man walking the narrow edge of that same two by four, but now put that two by four 40 feet up in the air. Would you have reacted differently than you did? I guarantee you would have. There would have been gasps. Some of you would have done everything in your power to dissuade the boy from attempting it. Some of you would have hidden your eyes.
Why the difference? Because of the height of the board. In the first case, if he fell, no big deal. It wasn’t far to fall. In the second case, a fall would have had great consequences. How far you have to fall makes a big difference.
And that brings us to our passage for this morning. We have worked our way through Genesis 1 and 2. Obviously, there was much more we could have said about those two chapters, but we did learn some very key principles from that portion of God’s Word. This morning we come to chapter 3.
Before we read, remember the situation. God has created everything. Man was the pinnacle of His creation. After He had created everything else, He made man in His own image. Because it was not good for the man to be alone, God created a helper for man. Adam called her woman. And now God has put the man and the woman, Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden, a place of great beauty. It was their privilege to care for the garden. There was only one thing God told Adam not to do. He told him not to eat from the tree in the middle of the garden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Not only did God tell him not to eat from it, but He also told him what would happen if he did. We read it in Gen. 2:17, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
Now we’re ready for chapter 3. Read Gen. 3:1-24…
Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2. And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3. But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10. And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12. And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. 14. And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 16. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 17. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. 20. And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. 21. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. 22. And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23. Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
From the context of this passage and other biblical passages, we know that the serpent was none other than Satan himself. Could Satan disguise himself as a snake? Indeed, he could. As a matter of fact, Paul tells us that Satan can even disguise himself as an angel of light (II Cor. 11:14). One of the chief characteristics of Satan is his craftiness, his trickiness. Though he is powerful as a roaring lion, it seems that he most often works through deception. That was certainly the case here in the Garden of Eden.
Notice how the conversation went…
Satan... “Did God really say that you must refrain from eating of every tree of the garden?”
Already he is twisting what God said. God said only that they couldn’t eat from the one tree, not every tree.
Eve…. “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. The only tree we can’t eat from is the tree in the middle of the garden. Of it, God said, ‘You must not eat from it nor touch it, or you will die.’”
At first, we think the woman has it right, when she reminds the serpent
that it is only the one tree in the middle of the garden whose fruit is
forbidden. But she doesn’t stop there. She then says that God told them
not to touch that tree. Where did she get that? God said no such thing.
It seems that Satan has successfully caused her to question God. Now she
is making God out to be more strict than he is. There may be the slightest
thought that God is a hard taskmaster after all.
Satan... “You won’t die. God knows that when you eat the fruit, your eyes will be opened and you will be like Him. You yourself will know the difference between good and evil.”
Do you catch what he is saying? "God has an ulterior motive. He knows you
won’t die. He is just saying that so that you won’t go ahead and eat from the
tree, because He doesn’t want you to become like Him. God is working hard to
keep you in your place." Notice that while he is still very tricky, he has boldly
called God a liar by saying, “You won’t die.” But by the time Satan gets through,
he is the hero and God is the bad guy.
That’s the end of the conversation. Satan had the last word. Now we read in verse 6, “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” She noticed three things about the tree: it was good for food; it was pleasant to look at; it was able to make her wise. But didn’t she know it was good for food before? Hadn’t she seen the beauty of the tree before? Apparently not. Why? Was it not because she had no reason to study the tree? God had told them not to eat from it. But now that Satan brought it to her attention, she looked at it much more closely and found it attractive in every way.
Isn’t that the way it is with temptation? If we give in and begin to study the pleasures of what is forbidden by God, Satan will always make it attractive. He’s an expert at that. He will always paint a one-sided picture, emphasiz-ing how pleasant it is but never mentioning the consequences.
And what about Adam? I grew up always thinking that Adam was in another part of the garden and Eve took the fruit to him. However, we are not told that. Why wouldn’t Adam be right there by Eve’s side? She was a helper suitable to him. As a matter of fact, notice what the text actually says: “…she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” She gave unto her husband with her. The text actually says that Adam was with her. He could have restrained her, but he did not.
So what happened as a result of them eating the fruit? Verse 7, "And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons." Satan had already told them what would happen, in that he had said their eyes would be opened. What he didn’t tell them was what they would see when their eyes were opened. He made it sound like a very positive thing, but it wasn’t. They saw they were naked and they were filled with guilt? Why? Because they were naked? No. It was because their eyes were opened.
Satan had said that when their eyes were opened, they would be like God, knowing good and evil. He told the truth, but not the whole truth. They did become like God in that they now knew good and evil. They not only knew what evil was, but they themselves were guilty of committing the evil. On the other hand, they were like God in that they knew good and evil, but that is the only way they became like God. They definitely weren’t expecting what they got.
Isn’t that the way it always is with temptation and sin? The forbidden sin holds great promise. That is why it is so tempting. Satan has to convince us that it will be worth it. But what do we find from the Word and experience? It’s never worth it… never! Has anyone here ever yielded to temptation and found that it was worth it? It you think it was, you are still deceived.
Now verse 8, "And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden." Here we see the great consequences of their sin. Not only were they full of guilt and shame, but they were cut off from God. The way in which this is stated suggests that in the past they had walked and talked with God in the garden, but now we see them actually hiding from God. Something had fundamentally changed. Their sin had separated them from God.
We are not going to deal with the rest of chapter 3 this morning. Rather, let’s focus on what we have already seen. There is no better title for Gen. 3:1-8 than “The Fall of Man.” What we must understand is that it is no small thing. When Satan was talking with Eve in the garden, Adam and Eve seemed to regard it like you did when our young man was walking on the board. They should have seen it like a tiny boy walking on a board hundreds of feet in the air. They should have realized that flirting with disobedience was no small thing.
Mankind hasn’t learned very much since that time. In general, the world sees the fall of man as no big thing, but that viewpoint doesn’t come from God. Let’s come to the New Testament and read from Rom. 5:12-14,18-19…
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: 13. (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come… 18. Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 19. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
So we’re thinking about the fall of man. When someone falls, it may not be any big deal. It depends on what he falls into. When I was a kid, we were visiting relatives out in west Texas. They had a little pony that I and my cousins had been riding. It was great fun. We left for home, but we forgot something. When we went back to their house to get it, I jumped out and ran for the pony. I had to have one more ride. Unfortunately for the rider, the pony wasn’t interested in one more ride. He bucked me off. That’s right; I fell. No, I didn’t break any bones. The fall itself wasn’t that big a deal. The key was what I fell into, and what I fell into was a patch of grass burrs.
Adam and Eve fell that day in the Garden of Eden. Not only did they fall, but we fell with them. When they sinned, we sinned. What happened to them happened to us, as this passage in Romans 5 points out so clearly. So what is it that they and we fell into? Verse 12 tells us. We fell into sin and death. Verse 19 summarizes: “…by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners.” David said, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Ps. 51:5). David understood that the sin in his life went deeper than the adultery and murder he had committed. He was a sinner from birth. That was the root of the problem.
Adam and Eve fell into sin (or dove in headfirst), and we experience the consequences of that fall. We are fallen creatures when we are born into this world. Yes, we are sinners from birth. We prove we are sinners by sinning. That’s why we don’t have to teach our kids to sin. We don’t have to teach them to be selfish. The concepts of “my” and “mine” come very naturally, because that’s the way sinners think.
Isaiah had it right when he said, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.” As Adam and Eve forsook trust in God and turned to their own way, so we have all turned to our own way. What that means is that we are locked into self-sufficiency. Instead of trusting God, we come into this world trusting self. Though we may find many ways to disguise it, the fact is that we depend on self.
Not only have we fallen into sin, but we have fallen into death, because death is the consequence of sin. What did God say would happen, if Adam ate from the tree in the middle of the garden? Gen. 2:17, “…for in the day you eat from it, you will surely die.” Was God telling the truth? Did Adam die the day he ate from the tree? Indeed, he did. Though he would live to be 930 years old, he died the day he ate the fruit. This is what demonstrates for us that death is deeper than the physical. Though physical death would be delayed, spiritual death was immediate. When they ate the fruit, they were cut off from God, as is demonstrated by the fact that they hid from Him.
When we come back again to Paul’s letter to the Romans, we read these words in Rom. 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death…” Sin earns a wage, and that wage is death. But again, it goes much deeper than physical death. Death has three aspects…
1. Spiritual death – spiritual separation from God. That’s the way we come into this
world. Paul says to believers that God has made us alive, because we were dead
in our trespasses and sins. That is, we were separated from God.
2. Physical death – when the body is separated from the spirit
3. Eternal death – when spiritual separation from God becomes eternal separation in
hell. There is no remedy for this death; it is final separation.
Trey and Paola, I didn’t necessarily preach a graduation message for you, but I do want to speak specifically to you and to all the young people here this morning. The biblical truth of the fall of man, rooted here in Genesis 3, is a truth that you must grasp. It is crucial.
I. Know It for Yourself
If you don’t understand this truth, you will never progress any farther than the sin of self-sufficiency. And I tell you that self-sufficiency is a curse. There is nothing worse than being left to your own resources. Please allow me to read a rather lengthy passage of scripture from Prov. 1. Please listen very carefully… Prov. 1:20-33
Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: 21. She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, 22. How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? 23. Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. 24. Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; 25. But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: 26. I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; 27. When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. 28. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: 29. For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: 30. They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. 31. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. 32. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. 33. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.
Did you hear that? Those who refuse the truth of the Lord, even His correction, will have to eat the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices. In other words, they will be left to themselves and what they can do for themselves. Ultimately, that means such a person will have to stand before God and have nothing to lean on but himself. If that doesn’t strike fear into the heart of every unbeliever, it is because he or she is absolutely blind.
Understand, young people, that we come into this world as fallen creatures. We have already fallen into sin and death, separated from the God who created us. Know and understand this truth.
II. Guard This Truth in the World
You are living in a world that increasingly sees the fall of man as no big deal. As a matter of fact, much of the world doesn’t even believe that man is a fallen creature. Much of our world sees the sin of self-sufficiency as a good thing. Man is the measure of all things. The world will tell you there is nothing you can’t do, if you just set your mind to it. That is a lie. You cannot conquer sin and death, no matter what the world tells you.
Even many religious people in our country have failed to grasp the truth of the fall of man. The idea has become: “Yes, we are sinners, but all we need is a little help from God. We have been blessed with many things; now we will just add Jesus and everything will be fine.” That lie will condemn millions to hell. A little help from God will never raise a single person from death to life. Only when all hope in self and others is renounced and Jesus Christ becomes the only hope will there be life from death.
Guard this truth, because if you don’t, the world will squeeze you into its mold and you will swallow the lie.
III. Proclaim It for the Glory of God
I was talking to a brother the other day. I was asking him about a young man for whom he has asked us to pray. He said something like this: “The biggest challenge will be getting him lost.” Do you understand what he is saying? His young friend thinks like the world because he is part of the world. He doesn’t see any need for a Savior, because he doesn’t understand he is dead. He thinks he is alive and life is just pretty good. Until he realizes that he has fallen into sin and death, there is no hope for him.
What is true of that young man is true for every human being on this earth. When the Pharisees asked why He hung around with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus answered like this: “They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Lk. 5:31-32). If you don’t think you’re sick, you won’t go to the doctor. Jesus is the great doctor of the soul. He didn’t come for people who think they are all right spiritually, for people who think they just need a little help from God. Jesus came for those who realize they are sick and lost and dead. They are the only ones who can respond to Jesus call to repentance and faith.
If you aren’t willing to confront people with the truth of sin and death, you can’t help them. I’m not saying it’s wrong to tell people that God loves them, but they will never understand that love until they understand they are dead sinners. For the glory of God and the good of others, may God give all of us the grace to speak the truth in love, even the truth about sin and death.
Conclusion
Let me ask one other question. Adam and Eve fell into death and sin, but what did they fall out of? Come back to Gen. 3:8, “And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day…” We are not given the details, but I don’t believe we have to do much reading between the lines to grasp what is going on here. They heard the voice of the Lord walking in the garden in the cool of the day. They recognized the voice immediately because they had heard it many times before. Adam and Eve had the privilege of walking and talking with God. The God who created the entire universe out of nothing condescended to have fellowship with the man and woman He had made. Adam and Eve walked with God. Surely the cool of the day emphasizes the sweet, refreshing nature of that fellowship.
But this time things are different. Instead of running to the God who created them and lovingly put them in this beautiful garden, they hid themselves. We read it so easily, but do we grasp the tragedy here? Suppose a young man takes a young lady to be his bride. This young man truly gives himself to his bride. He prepares everything for their life together. The wedding day comes and they are married. They have a wonderful honeymoon, come back, and settle into their new home. Then one day he comes home from work and says, “I’m home, sweetheart.” No response. He finally finds his wife in the kitchen, dutifully cooking his supper. When he speaks to her, she responds, but something is different. Her face no longer lights up at his presence. He hasn’t changed one bit. He loves her with all his heart. But there has been a change. For no good reason, she has broken her marriage vow on this day, giving herself to another man. There is no explanation as to why she would do it. She had everything a wife could want. She had a husband who loved her and cherished her, but she has disrupted that loving relationship.
That is a graphic picture, but it is nothing compared to what happened in the garden. Even the closeness between a man and his wife is a pale picture of the privilege Adam and Eve had in relating so closely to the living God. It is impossible for us to get hold of how far they fell they day, when they fell out of fellowship with the living God.
Now for the good news. We have focused on the message of three passages – Gen. 3; Rom. 5:12-19; Rom. 6:23. You may have noticed that we either didn’t read the rest of the passage or we didn’t give attention to it. Well, now it’s time to do so.
In Genesis 3, we see man separated from God, but we also see something else. There wasn’t anything Adam and Eve could do for themselves. They covered up with fig leaves, but they were still ashamed and hid from God. But in verse 15 we find a wonderful promise from God. Even though the words were spoken to Satan as part of a curse, they are indeed a blessed promise. Gen 3:15, "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." We won’t go into the details this morning, but understand that this is the first promise of the coming Savior. Jesus would be the seed of Eve and at the cross He would bruise the head of Satan himself. There He would win the victory over sin and death.
Then we read these words in verse 21, “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” This may seem like a small thing, but it’s bigger than we might think. First of all, God did for them what they could not do for themselves. They tried to cover up, but God adequately clothed them. What a beautiful picture of what God can do for us spiritually. We can try to cover up, to pretend that everything is okay. Or we can do all in our power to try to fix things, only to find out that we are still spiritually naked. But God and God alone can clothe us with the righteousness of Jesus Christ, His Son. And that is exactly what we see pictured here. What did God use for clothing? He used the skins of animals. An animal had to die in order for Adam and Eve to be clothed. It wasn’t fair. They are the ones who disobeyed God; they should have died. Instead, an animal served as their substitute. In the same way, Jesus Christ served as our substitute when He went to the cross. We are the ones who sinned; we should have died. But Jesus died in our place. Praise God!
Then we come back to the passage in Romans 5. Let’s read the summary again in verse 19, "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." Tragic that through the disobedience of one man many were made sinners, but glorious that through the obedience of one many are made righteous. The obedience of Jesus has overcome the disobedience of Adam.
And finally, we come back to Rom. 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Through Adam, we all fell into sin and death. Through Christ, we can have life, for God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved (Jn. 3:17). When a person is willing to face up to His sinful and dead condition, admitting that there is not a thing he can do about it, then he knows he needs a savior. Jesus is that Savior.
We noted the tragedy of Adam and Eve falling out of fellowship with the living God. Can
we catch a glimpse of what eternal life means? It means having that fellowship restored. It means walking and talking with the living God.
Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers, commanding them not to be yoked together with unbelievers. In that context, let’s read II Cor. 6:16-18…
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
Those of us who are in Christ are included in that description – He is our God, and we are His people. He is our Father; we are His sons and daughters. The more completely we are conformed to the image of Christ, the more intense our fellowship with Him. When we come to the end of the book, we find the glorious end (really, the beginning) of the story. Rev. 21:1-3…
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
This is that unhindered divine presence Jesus promised when He said… (Jn. 14:1-3)
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Come quickly, Lord Jesus.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
God's Command & the Fear of Man -- 5/4/08
Sunday, May 4, 2008
GOD’S COMMAND AND THE FEAR OF MAN
I Samuel 15
This morning I want us to look at an event in the life of King Saul. You will recall that Saul was the first king of Israel. Actually, if we want to be absolutely accurate, Saul was the second king of Israel. Who was the first? We find the answer in 1 Sam. 12:12, "And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said unto me, Nay; but a king shall reign over us: when the LORD your God was your king." Samuel reminded them that the Lord Himself was their king, but they rejected Him as king in favor of a man. Through Samuel, the Lord warned the people of Israel of the consequences of having a king. Nevertheless, He gave them what they wanted. So in response to their request, the Lord had the prophet Samuel anoint Saul to be their first human king.
The particular event in Saul’s life which we want to consider this morning is found in I Sam. 15. We don’t have time to discuss exactly when this event took place in the forty year reign of Saul. What we do know is that it is one of the defining events of his reign, along with the time early in his reign when he offered a sacrifice himself instead of waiting for Samuel (I Sam. 13).
As we work through this chapter, I want you to notice especially the prominence of the fear of man in Saul’s life. We will outline the chapter like this…
1-3…………. The Command of God
4-9…………. The Action of Saul
10-23……..... The Dialogue between Saul and Samuel (Samuel’s Rebuke and Saul’s
Defense)
24-31………. Saul’s Admission of Sin and Further Requests
32-35………. The Fulfillment of God’s Command
The Command of God (1-3)
Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD. 2. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. 3. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
God commanded Saul to wipe out the Amalekites. The command is based upon two facts: 1) He made Saul to be king over His people Israel; 2) The Amalekites had greatly wronged Israel.
Down through the centuries, people have emphasized the severity of this command. Read it again in verse 3, “Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.” It is easy to see why the severity of this command has received much attention. There are people who flatly say they will not have anything to do with a God who would give such a command.
This is not a typical command from God. Most often, God spared the women and children. And the common practice was to allow the soldiers to have the spoils of war. However, that is not the case with the Amalekites. Surely it would be in order to ask the simple question: “Why such harshness on this occasion?” We find the answer in God’s Word.
From Gen. 36:12, we learn that Amalek was a descendant of Esau. In Ex. 17:8 we read, “Then came Amalek [the descendants of Amalek], and fought with Israel in Rephidim.” The verses following tell the story of how Joshua led the Israelites in battle and defeated the Amalekites. Then we read in 17:14, “And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.”
But that isn’t the end of the story. Many things that are narrated in Exodus and Numbers are given further attention in Deuteronomy. Remember what Deuteronomy is. It’s name “Deuteronomy” literally means “Second Law.” Not only does it repeat the Ten Commandments and other laws from Exodus and Leviticus, but it also gives us some reviews much of the history of the exodus and even gives further details that are not included in the narratives of Exodus and Numbers. This is a perfect example. Let’s read now from Deut. 25:17-19…
Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; 18. How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God. 19. Therefore it shall be, when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it.
While God’s command in I Sam. 15 may seem harsh on the surface, understand that God had reason for what He told Saul to do. The Amalekits carefully tailored their strategy to attack the weak and feeble among the Israelites. Those who were in the back because they had trouble keeping up were attacked without mercy. That is why the Lord told them to wipe out all of the Amalekites. The women and children were to be killed, so that they could not produce more Amalekites. This was the determined punishment of God upon them for what they had done. It is very similar to the way the Israelites went into the land of Canaan and were commanded to wipe out all of the Canaanites in the land. When they took Jericho, Ai, and the other cities, they left no one alive (see also Josh. 9:24). Why not? Because the iniquity of the Amorites was full (Gen. 15:16). God used the Israelites to punish the people in the land of Canaan for their idolatry and sin against God. And so it is with God’s command that Saul utterly destroy all the Amalekites. There are severe consequences for sin against God.
The Action of Saul (4-9)
And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah. 5. And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley. 6. And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye showed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 7. And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. 8. And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 9. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
Saul gathered his soldiers and prepared to attack the Amalekites. But before the attack came, he warned the Kenites to separate themselves from the Amalekites. We have little knowledge of why the Kenites were living with or close beside the Amalekites. However, Saul indicates that they had been kind to God’s people when they came up out of Egypt. So when the Kenites had removed themselves, Saul did indeed attack the Amalekites from Havilah to Shur. This whole area is in southern Judea and further south.
We read in verse 8 that Saul “utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.” The truth of that statement has been questioned a great deal. If that is true, how do we read of the appearance of Amalekites at a later date? For example, 1 Sam. 30:1, "And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire." You may also remember that it was an Amalekite that finished off King Saul, after he had been severely wounded. It is obvious that there were still Amalekites left. Some would say that Saul did not obey God’s command to destroy all the Amalekites. However, we must remember that this is not Saul’s testimony in verse 8, but rather the inspired account of what happened. (Of course, we know that he spared Agag, but Samuel himself would later kill Agag.) I don’t know with certainly the solution to this dilemma, but it seems to me that Saul destroyed the Amalekites that were in that area but not all the Amalekites everywhere. Judging from the fact that they were a warlike people who raided towns like Ziklag, a sizable number of Amalekites may have been absent from the area where Saul carried out his deed. I am not in any way trying to defend King Saul. As we will see, his disobedience is very evident and very serious. Nowhere does the Lord reprimand him for failing to kill some of the Amalekites, except for King Agag.
Verse 9 tells us that “Saul and the people” spared Agag and the best of the animals. This is the first mention of the actions of the people, but it won’t be the last. Concerning the sheep and the oxen, notice which ones they destroyed and which ones they kept. Those that were of no use they destroyed, but the good animals they saved. Though Saul will claim they saved them to sacrifice to the Lord, that is not what the narrative account says. There is no mention of such a motive here. It sounds like they were selfish and wanted to keep the spoils, though the Lord had told them to destroy everything.
The Dialogue between Saul and Samuel (= Samuel’s Rebuke and Saul’s Defense)
(10-23)
Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying, 11. It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night. 12. And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal. 13. And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD. 14. And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? 15. And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. 16. Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on. 17. And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel? 18. And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. 19. Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD? 20. And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. 22. And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 23. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel. I like to think of Samuel as the bridge between the judges and the kings. If you simply go through the books of the Bible, you find that is his place. I and II Samuel is situated between Judges and I Kings. Samuel wasn’t a king, but he was a “kingmaker.” He anointed Saul as king and he would later anoint David as king. It was through Samuel that Saul received the command to wipe out the Amalekites, and it is through Samuel that he will receive a firm rebuke from the Lord.
The Lord shares His heart with Samuel. We read in Ps. 25:14, “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him.” So the Lord said to Samuel, “It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king.” Saul’s disobedience grieved the Lord. Don’t misunderstand. The Lord is not saying that He made a mistake when He made Saul king of Israel. On the other hand, don’t think that God cannot be touched by the events that occur in this world. Then the Lord goes on to tell us why He is grieved over making Saul king. It is because Saul turned back from following the Lord and did not carry out His commandments. It is implied that there was a time when Saul wanted to follow the Lord, but he turned away. And what grieved the Lord grieved Samuel as well. As a result, the prophet cried unto the Lord all night.
When Samuel did catch up with Saul the next day, it would seem that Saul spoke with a certain enthusiasm: “Samuel, you are blessed of the Lord; I have obeyed the Lord’s commandment” (13). To which Samuel replied, “Saul, if you obeyed the commandment of the Lord, then why do I heard the bleating of the sheep and the lowing of the oxen?” Notice his answer: “They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed” (15).
Isn’t it interesting that when it came to the disobedience of the Lord’s commandment, it was they who spared some of the sheep and oxen, but when it came to the part where there was obedience, it was we who destroyed them. Saul puts the blame on the people. Nevertheless, he defends them by saying they had a noble motive in saving those animals. As I mentioned before, the narrative itself says nothing about sacrificing the animals. Best I can tell, that was the people’s excuse for saving the best animals. Perhaps it was when Saul questioned them that they came up with that answer. Regardless of motive, the Lord would not be impressed.
Up to this point, the only words of Samuel were, “Then why the bleating of the sheep and the lowing of the oxen?” Now, in verses 17-19, we have the official rebuke from the Lord, delivered by the prophet Samuel. The reminder that when the Lord first called Saul, he was little in his own eyes, seems to point to the fact that there was a time when Saul was humble and trusted the Lord. Samuel quickly moves from the time of his being anointed as king to the assignment to kill the Amalekites. In verse 19 Samuel directly asks Saul, “Why didn’t you obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord?” Samuel’s words indicate that there was a desire for the spoils, even though the Lord said there was to be no spoils of war; they were to destroy everything. This is further evidence that the saving of the animals were intended for sacrifice was not a true motive, but a cover-up.
In verse 20-21, we have the further defense of Saul. He would not give up easily. “Yes, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord.” Though it is Samuel who is standing before him, Saul is arguing with the Lord, who had just said that he disobeyed. Saul never says why he didn’t kill Agag. Though we might speculate, we simply don’t know. What we do know is that the sparing of Agag was willful disobedience against the command of the Lord.
After admitting that he didn’t kill Agag, Saul then returns to the sparing of the animals, and again he acknowledges that this was the idea of the people. But this time he admits that all of those animals should have been destroyed (21). Though the people said they saved them for sacrifice, Saul knows that they should been destroyed, for that was the command of the Lord. Saul says he obeyed, but at the same time admits that he didn’t.
Now comes the well-known words of Samuel in verse 22, "And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” Even if their motive had been pure and they had saved the animals for sacrifice, does the Lord delight in offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience? Then Samuel answers his own question: “To obey is better than sacrifice.”
What a message for all of us – to obey is better than sacrifice. But weren’t they obeying the Lord? Wasn’t it the Lord who commanded that they bring sacrifices? While the Lord did indeed call for sacrifice, that was not what He commanded on this occasion. There could be no question that the Lord commanded them to kill every animal, even those which would have made suitable sacrifices. The first order of business is obedience. If the Lord says, “Sacrifice,” then sacrifice; but if the Lord says destroy the sacrifices, then do it.
Let me give you a New Testament parallel. Matt. 5:23-24, "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24. Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." Bringing the gift to the altar is a pretty good parallel to the sacrificial offerings of the old covenant. I don’t think we will do violence to the scripture to put it in terms of coming to the worship service this morning. Is it a good thing to come and worship the Lord, to encourage brothers and sisters in Christ, even to give our offerings to the Lord? Yes, it certainly is… unless, to do such gets in the way of obedience. If you know that a brothers or sister has something against you, then to come here for worship is sin. The only proper thing to do is to go and be reconciled to that brother or sister. Anything else – even coming to worship – is disobedience.
In verse 23, Samuel spells out the seriousness of Saul’s disobedience. While he is speaking about Saul, the form of his words make it clear that this is a principle that reaches right down into our own lives. Hear what he says and hear it well. “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” Samuel does not say, “Saul, though you have obeyed 90 percent of what the Lord said, you are sadly mistaken in thinking you have obeyed the commandment of the Lord.” Instead, he boldly calls Saul’s action rebellion. And that rebellion is as bad as witchcraft. Other translations render this word “divination,” which the dictionary defines as: “the art or practice that seeks to foresee or foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge.” God hates such practices and condemns them outright. Saul’s disobedient rebellion is just that serious.
The word translated “stubbornness” is seldom used in the Bible and it is kind of hard to get a handle on it. The NASV translates it “insoubordination” and the NIV “arrogance.” The idea seems to be that Saul decided to do it his way, regardless of what the Lord said. This sin is like iniquity and idolatry. “Idolatry” is a very strong term. Though Saul wasn’t bowing down to a physical image, he might as well do so, because he refused to obey the living God. He bowed only to his own desires. He became his own sovereign.
We must hear the Lord at this point. Disobedience is of the utmost seriousness. No sacrifice or act of worship can make up for obedience. It is no less than rebellion against the Lord and idolatry. Furthermore, the Lord requires complete obedience. Though Saul obeyed 90% of God’s commandment, the Lord Himself interpreted it as willful disobedience.
Saul’s Admission of Sin and His Further Requests (24-31)
And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. 25. Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD. 26. And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. 27. And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. 28. And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. 29. And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent. 30. Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God. 31. So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD.
Finally, Saul says: “I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words…” He has no place to hide. His sin is evident and he can no longer deny it. He acknowledges that he has transgressed God’s commandment, that he has stepped across the line and has clearly disobeyed.
And now Saul gives the reason for his disobedience: “because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.” Up until now he has said that it was the people who spared the best of the animals, but now he owns up to his own responsibility. Saul admits that it was sin to fear the people and do what they wanted. When he says that he feared the people, he is not saying that he feared for his life. It wasn’t like people were going to hurt him. Nevertheless, we know what he meant, don’t we? Saul feared going against the will of the people. Why? Because they might not like him. They might sulk and pout. They might talk about him behind his back. They might accuse him of being unreasonable in not letting them enjoy the spoils of war. The list of “mights” could go on and on.
What person or people do you fear? This story teaches us that the fear of people can lead us into very serious sin. While on the surface, our desire to have people like us and speak well of us might seem to be a rather small and insignificant matter, in fact such a desire can lead to very serious sin, as in the case of Saul.
Turn to John 5. If you want a fuller discussion of these verses, get the tape from this past Wednesday evening. For now, let’s just read Jesus’ testimony in Jn. 5:41, “I receive not honor from men.” And then listen to what He tells the Jewish leaders in verse 44, “How can ye believe, which receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from God only?” As I shared with some of you, God has used that question to search my heart. How can I trust God, when I desire the approval of man? For several years I have been praying that God would deal with the fear of man in my life. He is doing that by confronting me with how wicked it is and exposing my sin in this area. Though it is painful, I thank Him for it. Trusting God and fearing man do not go together.
Now come back to I Sam. 15:25, “Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord.” Keep that request in mind. When Samuel refused, Saul grabbed his clothing to try to prevent him from turning away. When Samuel’s garment ripped, the act painted the perfect picture of how God was going to rip the kingdom from Saul’s grasp because of his great sin. Now come to verse 30, “The he [Saul] said, I have sinned; yet honor me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God.”
Are you getting the picture? Twice Saul says, “I have sinned.” Nevertheless, after both confessions, he has one concern – that Samuel go with him to worship. Saul is trying to save face. He wants the leaders and the people to think that everything is okay. The man has just been rejected as king, and he wants to pretend that everything is fine. He admits it when he asks Samuel to honor him before the elders and the people.
Notice the difference between Saul and David, who would be his successor as king. David also committed a great sin. He committed adultery and tried to cover it up with murder. Like Saul, David also confessed his sin, saying, “I have sinned against the Lord” (II Sam. 12:12). But what did David do next? He fasted and prayed for his infant, whom the Lord had struck down. And if we want to find further evidence of David’s attitude, all we have to do is read Psalm 51. David’s least desire was to save face before the people.
The Fulfillment of God’s Command (32-35)
Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. 33. And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal. 34. Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul. 35. And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.
What can we say about that? Samuel did what Saul failed to do. You may think Samuel’s actions were extremely harsh and cruel. God thought Agag’s actions were harsh and cruel in leading the Amalekites in attacking the weakest people of Israel, and God takes sin seriously. Instead of viewing our culture in light of God and the Word, many in our society view God in light of the ideas of our culture. Our God is not politically correct; He is righteous.
In verse 35 we note that the same Samuel who cut Agag in pieces mourned for Saul. How it must have grieved Samuel that this man with so much promise produced such folly in Israel. How it must have grieved over the confusion it produced in all of Israel.
Conclusion
What a story! That’s one of those that many people would cut out of the Bible, if they had a chance. Many are offended by this story. Praise God that He included it for “our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope” (Rom. 15:4).
Let’s close with one last thought. What could Saul have done differently? That is no trick question. Anyone can answer it. Saul could have obeyed the Lord. Now for a second question: Would it have been difficult for Saul to obey the Lord? No. Someone might say, “Surely it would be hard for him to kill all those people.” Apparently Saul had no difficulty in killing those people, in obedience to the Lord’s command. There is nothing said about such a difficulty. That part of carrying out God’s command is not in question. They killed many Amalekites.
I repeat. Obedience was not a difficult thing. God told him exactly what to do. All he had to do was obey the command? But something got in the way. In this case, the primary obstacle seemed to be his fear of man. He wanted to please the people, and the people wanted the best of the spoils. Even then, Saul knew what the Lord wanted him to do. There was no question about that. Obedience would have led him to say to the people, “No, we cannot save any of these animals. They must die, according to the commandment of the Lord.”
Saul had to make a decision: obey God or seek man’s approval. It was a clear-cut choice, and Saul chose the approval of man. By his own admission, he feared the people and obeyed their voice. Later, the leaders of Israel would demand that Peter and John not speak or teach in the name of Jesus. Remember their answer? “But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20). And what did Peter and John do? They continued to speak and teach in the name of Jesus for the glory of God. They did the opposite of what Saul did.
Obedience to God is not difficult… unless we have an idol that looms large in our lives. The Lord has convicted me that the idol of man’s approval is large and it must be shattered in my life. We can repent of our idolatry and that is good. Nevertheless, nothing brings down such an idol like saying, “Yes, Lord. By your grace, I will obey. I will do what you say for your glory!”
One other thing. Did you notice the phrase “thy God” in this chapter? Three times Saul says speaks to Samuel of “thy God” (verses 15, 21, 30). Not once does he say “my God” or “our God,” only “thy God.” Saul was the king of God’s people, but he makes no claim that the great God Jehovah is his God. He seems content to relate to God only through Samuel.
If we want to be free of the fear of man, we must long to know God personally. It is that strong personal relationship that will lead us to fear Him and make the decisions that bring glory to His name. “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His suffering, being made conformable to His death” (Phil. 3:10).
GOD’S COMMAND AND THE FEAR OF MAN
I Samuel 15
This morning I want us to look at an event in the life of King Saul. You will recall that Saul was the first king of Israel. Actually, if we want to be absolutely accurate, Saul was the second king of Israel. Who was the first? We find the answer in 1 Sam. 12:12, "And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said unto me, Nay; but a king shall reign over us: when the LORD your God was your king." Samuel reminded them that the Lord Himself was their king, but they rejected Him as king in favor of a man. Through Samuel, the Lord warned the people of Israel of the consequences of having a king. Nevertheless, He gave them what they wanted. So in response to their request, the Lord had the prophet Samuel anoint Saul to be their first human king.
The particular event in Saul’s life which we want to consider this morning is found in I Sam. 15. We don’t have time to discuss exactly when this event took place in the forty year reign of Saul. What we do know is that it is one of the defining events of his reign, along with the time early in his reign when he offered a sacrifice himself instead of waiting for Samuel (I Sam. 13).
As we work through this chapter, I want you to notice especially the prominence of the fear of man in Saul’s life. We will outline the chapter like this…
1-3…………. The Command of God
4-9…………. The Action of Saul
10-23……..... The Dialogue between Saul and Samuel (Samuel’s Rebuke and Saul’s
Defense)
24-31………. Saul’s Admission of Sin and Further Requests
32-35………. The Fulfillment of God’s Command
The Command of God (1-3)
Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD. 2. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. 3. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
God commanded Saul to wipe out the Amalekites. The command is based upon two facts: 1) He made Saul to be king over His people Israel; 2) The Amalekites had greatly wronged Israel.
Down through the centuries, people have emphasized the severity of this command. Read it again in verse 3, “Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.” It is easy to see why the severity of this command has received much attention. There are people who flatly say they will not have anything to do with a God who would give such a command.
This is not a typical command from God. Most often, God spared the women and children. And the common practice was to allow the soldiers to have the spoils of war. However, that is not the case with the Amalekites. Surely it would be in order to ask the simple question: “Why such harshness on this occasion?” We find the answer in God’s Word.
From Gen. 36:12, we learn that Amalek was a descendant of Esau. In Ex. 17:8 we read, “Then came Amalek [the descendants of Amalek], and fought with Israel in Rephidim.” The verses following tell the story of how Joshua led the Israelites in battle and defeated the Amalekites. Then we read in 17:14, “And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.”
But that isn’t the end of the story. Many things that are narrated in Exodus and Numbers are given further attention in Deuteronomy. Remember what Deuteronomy is. It’s name “Deuteronomy” literally means “Second Law.” Not only does it repeat the Ten Commandments and other laws from Exodus and Leviticus, but it also gives us some reviews much of the history of the exodus and even gives further details that are not included in the narratives of Exodus and Numbers. This is a perfect example. Let’s read now from Deut. 25:17-19…
Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; 18. How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God. 19. Therefore it shall be, when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it.
While God’s command in I Sam. 15 may seem harsh on the surface, understand that God had reason for what He told Saul to do. The Amalekits carefully tailored their strategy to attack the weak and feeble among the Israelites. Those who were in the back because they had trouble keeping up were attacked without mercy. That is why the Lord told them to wipe out all of the Amalekites. The women and children were to be killed, so that they could not produce more Amalekites. This was the determined punishment of God upon them for what they had done. It is very similar to the way the Israelites went into the land of Canaan and were commanded to wipe out all of the Canaanites in the land. When they took Jericho, Ai, and the other cities, they left no one alive (see also Josh. 9:24). Why not? Because the iniquity of the Amorites was full (Gen. 15:16). God used the Israelites to punish the people in the land of Canaan for their idolatry and sin against God. And so it is with God’s command that Saul utterly destroy all the Amalekites. There are severe consequences for sin against God.
The Action of Saul (4-9)
And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah. 5. And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley. 6. And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye showed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 7. And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. 8. And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 9. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
Saul gathered his soldiers and prepared to attack the Amalekites. But before the attack came, he warned the Kenites to separate themselves from the Amalekites. We have little knowledge of why the Kenites were living with or close beside the Amalekites. However, Saul indicates that they had been kind to God’s people when they came up out of Egypt. So when the Kenites had removed themselves, Saul did indeed attack the Amalekites from Havilah to Shur. This whole area is in southern Judea and further south.
We read in verse 8 that Saul “utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.” The truth of that statement has been questioned a great deal. If that is true, how do we read of the appearance of Amalekites at a later date? For example, 1 Sam. 30:1, "And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire." You may also remember that it was an Amalekite that finished off King Saul, after he had been severely wounded. It is obvious that there were still Amalekites left. Some would say that Saul did not obey God’s command to destroy all the Amalekites. However, we must remember that this is not Saul’s testimony in verse 8, but rather the inspired account of what happened. (Of course, we know that he spared Agag, but Samuel himself would later kill Agag.) I don’t know with certainly the solution to this dilemma, but it seems to me that Saul destroyed the Amalekites that were in that area but not all the Amalekites everywhere. Judging from the fact that they were a warlike people who raided towns like Ziklag, a sizable number of Amalekites may have been absent from the area where Saul carried out his deed. I am not in any way trying to defend King Saul. As we will see, his disobedience is very evident and very serious. Nowhere does the Lord reprimand him for failing to kill some of the Amalekites, except for King Agag.
Verse 9 tells us that “Saul and the people” spared Agag and the best of the animals. This is the first mention of the actions of the people, but it won’t be the last. Concerning the sheep and the oxen, notice which ones they destroyed and which ones they kept. Those that were of no use they destroyed, but the good animals they saved. Though Saul will claim they saved them to sacrifice to the Lord, that is not what the narrative account says. There is no mention of such a motive here. It sounds like they were selfish and wanted to keep the spoils, though the Lord had told them to destroy everything.
The Dialogue between Saul and Samuel (= Samuel’s Rebuke and Saul’s Defense)
(10-23)
Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying, 11. It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night. 12. And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal. 13. And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD. 14. And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? 15. And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. 16. Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on. 17. And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel? 18. And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. 19. Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD? 20. And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. 22. And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 23. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel. I like to think of Samuel as the bridge between the judges and the kings. If you simply go through the books of the Bible, you find that is his place. I and II Samuel is situated between Judges and I Kings. Samuel wasn’t a king, but he was a “kingmaker.” He anointed Saul as king and he would later anoint David as king. It was through Samuel that Saul received the command to wipe out the Amalekites, and it is through Samuel that he will receive a firm rebuke from the Lord.
The Lord shares His heart with Samuel. We read in Ps. 25:14, “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him.” So the Lord said to Samuel, “It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king.” Saul’s disobedience grieved the Lord. Don’t misunderstand. The Lord is not saying that He made a mistake when He made Saul king of Israel. On the other hand, don’t think that God cannot be touched by the events that occur in this world. Then the Lord goes on to tell us why He is grieved over making Saul king. It is because Saul turned back from following the Lord and did not carry out His commandments. It is implied that there was a time when Saul wanted to follow the Lord, but he turned away. And what grieved the Lord grieved Samuel as well. As a result, the prophet cried unto the Lord all night.
When Samuel did catch up with Saul the next day, it would seem that Saul spoke with a certain enthusiasm: “Samuel, you are blessed of the Lord; I have obeyed the Lord’s commandment” (13). To which Samuel replied, “Saul, if you obeyed the commandment of the Lord, then why do I heard the bleating of the sheep and the lowing of the oxen?” Notice his answer: “They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed” (15).
Isn’t it interesting that when it came to the disobedience of the Lord’s commandment, it was they who spared some of the sheep and oxen, but when it came to the part where there was obedience, it was we who destroyed them. Saul puts the blame on the people. Nevertheless, he defends them by saying they had a noble motive in saving those animals. As I mentioned before, the narrative itself says nothing about sacrificing the animals. Best I can tell, that was the people’s excuse for saving the best animals. Perhaps it was when Saul questioned them that they came up with that answer. Regardless of motive, the Lord would not be impressed.
Up to this point, the only words of Samuel were, “Then why the bleating of the sheep and the lowing of the oxen?” Now, in verses 17-19, we have the official rebuke from the Lord, delivered by the prophet Samuel. The reminder that when the Lord first called Saul, he was little in his own eyes, seems to point to the fact that there was a time when Saul was humble and trusted the Lord. Samuel quickly moves from the time of his being anointed as king to the assignment to kill the Amalekites. In verse 19 Samuel directly asks Saul, “Why didn’t you obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord?” Samuel’s words indicate that there was a desire for the spoils, even though the Lord said there was to be no spoils of war; they were to destroy everything. This is further evidence that the saving of the animals were intended for sacrifice was not a true motive, but a cover-up.
In verse 20-21, we have the further defense of Saul. He would not give up easily. “Yes, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord.” Though it is Samuel who is standing before him, Saul is arguing with the Lord, who had just said that he disobeyed. Saul never says why he didn’t kill Agag. Though we might speculate, we simply don’t know. What we do know is that the sparing of Agag was willful disobedience against the command of the Lord.
After admitting that he didn’t kill Agag, Saul then returns to the sparing of the animals, and again he acknowledges that this was the idea of the people. But this time he admits that all of those animals should have been destroyed (21). Though the people said they saved them for sacrifice, Saul knows that they should been destroyed, for that was the command of the Lord. Saul says he obeyed, but at the same time admits that he didn’t.
Now comes the well-known words of Samuel in verse 22, "And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” Even if their motive had been pure and they had saved the animals for sacrifice, does the Lord delight in offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience? Then Samuel answers his own question: “To obey is better than sacrifice.”
What a message for all of us – to obey is better than sacrifice. But weren’t they obeying the Lord? Wasn’t it the Lord who commanded that they bring sacrifices? While the Lord did indeed call for sacrifice, that was not what He commanded on this occasion. There could be no question that the Lord commanded them to kill every animal, even those which would have made suitable sacrifices. The first order of business is obedience. If the Lord says, “Sacrifice,” then sacrifice; but if the Lord says destroy the sacrifices, then do it.
Let me give you a New Testament parallel. Matt. 5:23-24, "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24. Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." Bringing the gift to the altar is a pretty good parallel to the sacrificial offerings of the old covenant. I don’t think we will do violence to the scripture to put it in terms of coming to the worship service this morning. Is it a good thing to come and worship the Lord, to encourage brothers and sisters in Christ, even to give our offerings to the Lord? Yes, it certainly is… unless, to do such gets in the way of obedience. If you know that a brothers or sister has something against you, then to come here for worship is sin. The only proper thing to do is to go and be reconciled to that brother or sister. Anything else – even coming to worship – is disobedience.
In verse 23, Samuel spells out the seriousness of Saul’s disobedience. While he is speaking about Saul, the form of his words make it clear that this is a principle that reaches right down into our own lives. Hear what he says and hear it well. “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” Samuel does not say, “Saul, though you have obeyed 90 percent of what the Lord said, you are sadly mistaken in thinking you have obeyed the commandment of the Lord.” Instead, he boldly calls Saul’s action rebellion. And that rebellion is as bad as witchcraft. Other translations render this word “divination,” which the dictionary defines as: “the art or practice that seeks to foresee or foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge.” God hates such practices and condemns them outright. Saul’s disobedient rebellion is just that serious.
The word translated “stubbornness” is seldom used in the Bible and it is kind of hard to get a handle on it. The NASV translates it “insoubordination” and the NIV “arrogance.” The idea seems to be that Saul decided to do it his way, regardless of what the Lord said. This sin is like iniquity and idolatry. “Idolatry” is a very strong term. Though Saul wasn’t bowing down to a physical image, he might as well do so, because he refused to obey the living God. He bowed only to his own desires. He became his own sovereign.
We must hear the Lord at this point. Disobedience is of the utmost seriousness. No sacrifice or act of worship can make up for obedience. It is no less than rebellion against the Lord and idolatry. Furthermore, the Lord requires complete obedience. Though Saul obeyed 90% of God’s commandment, the Lord Himself interpreted it as willful disobedience.
Saul’s Admission of Sin and His Further Requests (24-31)
And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. 25. Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD. 26. And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. 27. And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. 28. And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. 29. And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent. 30. Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God. 31. So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD.
Finally, Saul says: “I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words…” He has no place to hide. His sin is evident and he can no longer deny it. He acknowledges that he has transgressed God’s commandment, that he has stepped across the line and has clearly disobeyed.
And now Saul gives the reason for his disobedience: “because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.” Up until now he has said that it was the people who spared the best of the animals, but now he owns up to his own responsibility. Saul admits that it was sin to fear the people and do what they wanted. When he says that he feared the people, he is not saying that he feared for his life. It wasn’t like people were going to hurt him. Nevertheless, we know what he meant, don’t we? Saul feared going against the will of the people. Why? Because they might not like him. They might sulk and pout. They might talk about him behind his back. They might accuse him of being unreasonable in not letting them enjoy the spoils of war. The list of “mights” could go on and on.
What person or people do you fear? This story teaches us that the fear of people can lead us into very serious sin. While on the surface, our desire to have people like us and speak well of us might seem to be a rather small and insignificant matter, in fact such a desire can lead to very serious sin, as in the case of Saul.
Turn to John 5. If you want a fuller discussion of these verses, get the tape from this past Wednesday evening. For now, let’s just read Jesus’ testimony in Jn. 5:41, “I receive not honor from men.” And then listen to what He tells the Jewish leaders in verse 44, “How can ye believe, which receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from God only?” As I shared with some of you, God has used that question to search my heart. How can I trust God, when I desire the approval of man? For several years I have been praying that God would deal with the fear of man in my life. He is doing that by confronting me with how wicked it is and exposing my sin in this area. Though it is painful, I thank Him for it. Trusting God and fearing man do not go together.
Now come back to I Sam. 15:25, “Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord.” Keep that request in mind. When Samuel refused, Saul grabbed his clothing to try to prevent him from turning away. When Samuel’s garment ripped, the act painted the perfect picture of how God was going to rip the kingdom from Saul’s grasp because of his great sin. Now come to verse 30, “The he [Saul] said, I have sinned; yet honor me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God.”
Are you getting the picture? Twice Saul says, “I have sinned.” Nevertheless, after both confessions, he has one concern – that Samuel go with him to worship. Saul is trying to save face. He wants the leaders and the people to think that everything is okay. The man has just been rejected as king, and he wants to pretend that everything is fine. He admits it when he asks Samuel to honor him before the elders and the people.
Notice the difference between Saul and David, who would be his successor as king. David also committed a great sin. He committed adultery and tried to cover it up with murder. Like Saul, David also confessed his sin, saying, “I have sinned against the Lord” (II Sam. 12:12). But what did David do next? He fasted and prayed for his infant, whom the Lord had struck down. And if we want to find further evidence of David’s attitude, all we have to do is read Psalm 51. David’s least desire was to save face before the people.
The Fulfillment of God’s Command (32-35)
Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. 33. And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal. 34. Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul. 35. And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.
What can we say about that? Samuel did what Saul failed to do. You may think Samuel’s actions were extremely harsh and cruel. God thought Agag’s actions were harsh and cruel in leading the Amalekites in attacking the weakest people of Israel, and God takes sin seriously. Instead of viewing our culture in light of God and the Word, many in our society view God in light of the ideas of our culture. Our God is not politically correct; He is righteous.
In verse 35 we note that the same Samuel who cut Agag in pieces mourned for Saul. How it must have grieved Samuel that this man with so much promise produced such folly in Israel. How it must have grieved over the confusion it produced in all of Israel.
Conclusion
What a story! That’s one of those that many people would cut out of the Bible, if they had a chance. Many are offended by this story. Praise God that He included it for “our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope” (Rom. 15:4).
Let’s close with one last thought. What could Saul have done differently? That is no trick question. Anyone can answer it. Saul could have obeyed the Lord. Now for a second question: Would it have been difficult for Saul to obey the Lord? No. Someone might say, “Surely it would be hard for him to kill all those people.” Apparently Saul had no difficulty in killing those people, in obedience to the Lord’s command. There is nothing said about such a difficulty. That part of carrying out God’s command is not in question. They killed many Amalekites.
I repeat. Obedience was not a difficult thing. God told him exactly what to do. All he had to do was obey the command? But something got in the way. In this case, the primary obstacle seemed to be his fear of man. He wanted to please the people, and the people wanted the best of the spoils. Even then, Saul knew what the Lord wanted him to do. There was no question about that. Obedience would have led him to say to the people, “No, we cannot save any of these animals. They must die, according to the commandment of the Lord.”
Saul had to make a decision: obey God or seek man’s approval. It was a clear-cut choice, and Saul chose the approval of man. By his own admission, he feared the people and obeyed their voice. Later, the leaders of Israel would demand that Peter and John not speak or teach in the name of Jesus. Remember their answer? “But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20). And what did Peter and John do? They continued to speak and teach in the name of Jesus for the glory of God. They did the opposite of what Saul did.
Obedience to God is not difficult… unless we have an idol that looms large in our lives. The Lord has convicted me that the idol of man’s approval is large and it must be shattered in my life. We can repent of our idolatry and that is good. Nevertheless, nothing brings down such an idol like saying, “Yes, Lord. By your grace, I will obey. I will do what you say for your glory!”
One other thing. Did you notice the phrase “thy God” in this chapter? Three times Saul says speaks to Samuel of “thy God” (verses 15, 21, 30). Not once does he say “my God” or “our God,” only “thy God.” Saul was the king of God’s people, but he makes no claim that the great God Jehovah is his God. He seems content to relate to God only through Samuel.
If we want to be free of the fear of man, we must long to know God personally. It is that strong personal relationship that will lead us to fear Him and make the decisions that bring glory to His name. “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His suffering, being made conformable to His death” (Phil. 3:10).
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