p. 14 | THE SUNDAY SCHOOL

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jul 10, 1901

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 27, No. 28.

THE SUNDAY SCHOOL

INTERNATIONAL SERIES

LESSON 2.—JULY 14.—BEGINNING OF SIN AND REDEMPTION.

Lesson Scripture Gen. 3:1–15, R.V.

Golden Text.—“Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” Rom. 5:20.

1 “Now the serpent was more subtil 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 any tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 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 God, knowing good and evil. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she 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 the man 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 the man, 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 shouldst 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 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, cursed art thou 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.”

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.

(1) What was the leading characteristic of the serpent? What did he say to the woman? Verse 1. (2) Of what did the woman say they might eat? Verse 2. Note 1. (3) Of what tree might they not eat? What else were they forbidden to do? Verse 3. (4) What was the serpent’s reply? Verse 4. Note 2. (5) What further falsehood did the serpent utter? Verse 5. (6) What was the result of the serpent’s talk with the woman? Verse 6. Note 3. (7) What was the effect of their eating the fruit? What did the man and woman do to cover their nakedness? Verse 7. Note 4. (8) What did they hear in the evening? What did they do when they heard the voice? Verse 8. Note 5. (9) What did the Lord call unto the man? Verse 9. (10) What did the man reply? Verse 10. (11) What further question did the Lord ask? Verse 11. (12) What excuse did the man give? Verse 12. Note 6. (13) What did the Lord ask the woman? What was her reply? Verse 13. Note 7. (14) What sentence did the Lord pronounce upon the serpent? Verse 14. (15) Then what promise was given to the lost race? Verse 15. Note 8.

NOTES.

1. Talking with the Enemy.—The woman stopped to parley with the deceiver, and of course he was more than a match for her. Her place was by her husband, her natural protector, and away from the forbidden tree. Had she remained away from the thing she was forbidden to touch, she would not have been subjected to the “counsel of the ungodly.”

2. Contradicting God.—The enemy first cunningly questioned the woman about God’s commandment, as tho it were hardly possible that God would say such a thing. Then when he had partially gained her confidence, he openly contradicted the Lord’s word. This is just the manner in which the enemies of the Scriptures work their deceptions to-day. They first question, then deny. And their victims first listen to the skeptical queries, and then believe the outright denials of the truth.

3. “The Woman Saw.”—That is, she was convinced by the plausible argument of the serpent. So much for “standing in the way of sinners,” and “giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” If what the serpent had said to the woman was true (and she was led to believe that it was), then indeed God had been depriving her of knowledge. But the deceiver misrepresented God, who desires His people to have the knowledge of good and not of evil. The knowledge of evil has been the curse of the race, “and to depart from evil is understanding.” Job 28:28.

4. The Eyes of Both Were Opened.—True, as Satan had promised, “the eyes of them both were opened,” but they did not see as they expected to see. What they saw did not bring them the promised happiness; it only brought shame and confusion. In every proposition to disbelieve and disobey God’s Word, no matter how flattering the prospect, the result is disaster. When Satan succeeded in bringing the man and woman to shame, he had no remedy for them, no clothing to give them. They were left in their poverty to their own devices, left to shift for themselves.

5. Hiding from God.—The promised exaltation to “be as God” lost its glamour when God Himself appeared on the scene. They had nothing to show for their new dignity but a regalia of fig leaves. Realizing the utter failure of the attempt to elevate their position by following the adversary of God, they naturally shrank from His presence. And no wonder, for as yet they had no knowledge of any relief from their great degradation. Only the penalty of transgression stared them in the face. And all who are in that condition when Christ comes to judgment will call for a hiding-place. See Rev. 6:14–17.

6. The Language of Desperation.—When the transgressor finds himself without excuse, and without hope of relief from any other source, he will instinctively resort to laying the blame upon others. The disposition to blame God for unfortunate circumstances, or with man’s inclination to sin, is still prevalent. But He has left every one “without excuse” (Rom. 1:18–21), especially as He has provided a Saviour for every one who will accept salvation (John 3:16).

7. The responsibility of the instigator of sin does not relieve the perpetrator. Tho the blood of the soul be found in the skirts of the one who has led the victim to ruin, that can not save the sinner. “The wages of sin is death.” God will destroy sin, and the sinner is destroyed because he clings to the sin. He who refuses to leave the sinking ship will inevitably go down with it.

8. Hope for the Erring.—But the loving Creator did not leave the erring ones to despair and death. He had already provided a second Adam, who should be manifested as the Seed of the woman, and should destroy the destroyer. God puts in every one a spark of light which, if followed, will reveal the true character of the adversary, and set the soul at enmity with his evil suggestions and purposes. Christ is the “true Light,” and by the Spirit He “lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” John 1:9. The sad feature of it is that so many reject the light.

See, also, article entitled “Where Art Thou?” on page 7 of this paper.