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Vol. 12 No. 6 June 2010 |
Page 6 |
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Vol. 12 No. 6 June 2010 |
Page 6 |
Bob Howton
The Lord God Almighty planted a garden eastward in Eden, and therein He placed the man whom He had created of the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7). God’s instructions to the man were both clear and unmistakable! “And the Lord God commanded the man saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 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” (Genesis 2:16-17). Later, God made a woman and took her unto the man. I do not personally know of any passages that indicate that God or Adam instructed the woman with regard to the forbidden fruit, but the following verses clearly show that she was aware of the instructions given to Adam. “And the woman said unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 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” (Genesis 3:2-3).
Following this, there is a sad disclosure that the man and the woman having disobeyed the Lord, partook of the forbidden fruit. We see them after this, hiding from the face of God, as He walked in the Garden, in the cool of the evening (Genesis 3:8). God called out to Adam, “Where art thou?” Since we know that God is omniscient (all knowing), we realize that this question is figurative, because God already knew where they were. Remember this thought and couple it with the following idea: “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3). This information gives us a clear picture of man’s transgression, and his attempt to hide from God, but leaves us with the unmistakable truth that man cannot hide his transgressions, nor his foolish attempts to bargain with God when man’s ways are not the same as the ways of God.
Realizing all of this, we should have no problem understanding that our attempts to impose our flawed thinking above that of Almighty God are to no avail! Let us look in the mirror of truth and see how we stack up, compared to some of the long ago who thought they could beat God at His game. (It is really not a game!) “Where art thou” when the Lord’s body has assembled and you are nowhere to be seen? Is your judgment to do what you deem more important than what God said to do the standard by which you measure your activities of life? “Where art thou” when the sick are needful of visitation, and the needy are perishing for the necessities of life, and you are noticeably absent? Do you think that God can neither see nor hear? When Bible classes are convened, and the Word of God is being lovingly studied and discussed, “Where art thou” when your seat amongst the saints is empty? Does God not know? Can He not see you as you hide behind your lame excuses?
Are we so naïve as to think that God is fooled by our devious excuses, or that He will overlook our blatant disregard of His loving entreaties and invitation? The Christian should be as solidly convinced of his abiding in Christ as a man named Hudson Taylor, who was staying in the home of a neighbor on one occasion. His host asked him, “Are you conscious of always abiding in Christ?” “While sleeping last night, answered Mr. Taylor, did I cease to abide in your home because I was unconscious of the fact?” The answer is quite obvious! Our lives should be so lived as to ensure that we are confident in our abiding in God’s great love, even if we are not aware of every moment of it.
Mike Benson
One good Samaritan rescued a wounded man on the Jericho Road (Luke 10).
One aged man (Noah) was instrumental in saving mankind from extinction (Genesis 6; Hebrews 11:7).
One man (Moses) who felt unqualified confronted a Pharaoh and led the Exodus (Exodus 3).
One woman (Esther) broke longstanding tradition, walked into the king’s throne room and saved an entire nation from genocide (Esther 4).
One boy (David) faced a nine-foot giant and saved the Israelites from slavery (1 Samuel 17).
One boy’s lunch of five loaves and two fish fed thousands (John 6).
One slave girl was instrumental in healing a world military leader (2 Kings 5).
One vote gave Oliver Cromwell control of England in 1645.
One vote gave America the English language instead of the German language in 1776.
One vote saved Andrew Jackson from impeachment in 1868.
One vote gave Adolf Hitler control of the Nazi party in 1941.
“But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the
children of Israel out of Egypt?’” (Exodus 3:11).