Notice on a slight format change:

Except for July 2012, these are mostly a collection of current devotional notes.

July 2012 is a re-write of old quiet times. My second child was born Nov 11, 1987 with multiple birth defects. I've been re-reading my QT notes from that time in my life, and have included them here. They cover the time before the birth and the few years immediately after the birth. They are tagged "historical." I added new insights and labeled them: ((TODAY, dd mmm yy)).

Monday, July 21, 2025

QT 7/21/2025 Gen 3:14–19, Consequences of being our own gods

Genesis 3:14–19 (ESV) —

14 The Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,

cursed are you above all livestock

and above all beasts of the field;

on your belly you shall go,

and dust you shall eat

all the days of your life.

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and her offspring;

he shall bruise your head,

and you shall bruise his heel.”

16 To the woman he said,

“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;

in pain you shall bring forth children.

Your desire shall be contrary to your husband,

but he shall rule over you.”

17 And to Adam he said,

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife

and have eaten of the tree

of which I commanded you,

‘You shall not eat of it,’

cursed is the ground because of you;

in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;

and you shall eat the plants of the field.

19 By the sweat of your face

you shall eat bread,

till you return to the ground,

for out of it you were taken;

for you are dust,

and to dust you shall return.”

 

NOTE: A lot happens in this passage. Instead of a beautiful eternal existence on a lovely planet with relationships and purpose and meaningful work, everything changes. God starts with the serpent and proceeds in chiastic fashion back to man. The serpent is the only one who does not speak at all in this sequence.

 

Kenneth Matthews argues that the penalty for the serpent is humiliation and ultimate defeat by the women's offspring. For the women, the penalty is painful labor in childbirth (although I would add child rearing -- the pain (emotional and psychological) really never ends), and the ultimate defeat in her conflict with her husband. Finally for the man, the penalty is painful labor in his agriculture (I would argue frustration with work which was supposed to bring purpose and meaning), and his defeat is with the ground (he dies and returns to the earth as dust, as does all mankind).

 

One thing that hits me is how wonderful life was originally planned -- meaningful work, enjoyable relationships, and no death. If we are upset about the pain in life, the problem is not God (or an argument against his existence), but it was our rebellion. We wanted to be our own gods, and God let us choose the path with its consequences: pain, frustration, and death.

 

PONDER:

Am I still in rebellion with God? Or have I taken the first step in restoring the relationship by faith in Jesus?

 

PRAYER: Father, life is painful and that was our choice, not yours. I so look forward to the day when I will have a resurrected body like Jesus. But for now, as the story in Luke 19 teaches, I have been given a 'minas' just like everyone else who has believed in Jesus, and I need to use my 'minas' for the good and glory of the kingdom.

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