HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 376
G EN ES IS 3
• Sexuality
G E NE S IS 2 :2 4
When the unity candle is lit at a wedding,
it symbolizes a unique relationship—
leaving father and mother and joining
as bride and groom in such a way that
the two become one. We don’t fully
understand sexual union, but we do know
that God intended it to bond married
people together in a way different from
any other relationship. This physical
intimacy is designed to be experienced
exclusively and uniquely within marriage,
and it is a model of the vulnerability and
unity that should be experienced in all
other aspects of marriage.
Our fallen world has come to view
sex simply as an act of pleasure rather
than a doorway to deepest vulnerability
and sharing. That is why sex outside
of marriage is so wrong: It destroys the
proper view and function of sex as the
ultimate act of intimacy that two people
can experience together. A casual
view of sex devalues it and takes away
one of the most powerful channels of
communication between a husband
and wife. When sex is seen simply as a
physical act, it loses its power to bond
two people together. Lack of intimacy
is one of the great destroyers of a
marriage. Use all of the resources God
has given you to keep sex alive in your
marriage, functioning as it was designed
to function.
• Temptation
G E NE S IS 3 :1 -6
The first key to understanding
temptation is recognizing the power
and cunning of the tempter. Notice that
the serpent does not approach Eve
with something obviously evil but with
a lovely piece of fruit. He then twists
God’s command just enough to make
it seem to Eve as if God didn’t really
mean what he had commanded. Hidden
behind these obvious “benefits” was the
lie that Eve could become like God by
violating God’s specific command. How
often Satan uses this deceptive strategy
with us! How does Satan most often
employ temptation in your life? Pray that
God will help you cling to his will and
recognize the lies of the one who would
destroy your soul.
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chose a name for each one. 20 He gave names to
all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all
the wild animals. But still there was no helper
just right for him.
21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into
a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God
took out one of the man’s ribs* and closed up the
opening. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman
from the rib, and he brought her to the man.
23 “At last!” the man exclaimed.
“This one is bone from my bone,
and flesh from my flesh!
She will be called ‘woman,’
because she was taken from ‘man.’”
24 This explains why a man leaves his father
and mother and is joined to his wife, and the
two are united into one.
25 Now the man and his wife were both naked,
but they felt no shame.
The Man and Woman Sin
The serpent was the shrewdest of all the
wild animals the Lord God had made. One
day he asked the woman, “Did God really say
you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees
in the garden?”
2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in
the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the
fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that
we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not
eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”
4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the
woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be
opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be
like God, knowing both good and evil.”
6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the
tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious,
and she wanted the wisdom it would give her.
So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she
gave some to her husband, who was with her,
and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes
were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at
their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man* and his wife heard the Lord God
walking about in the garden. So they hid from
the Lord God among the trees. 9 Then the Lord
God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”
11 “Who told you that you were naked?” the
Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree
whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”
12 The man replied, “It was the woman you
gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”
13 Then the Lord God asked the woman,
“What have you done?”
3
2:21 Or took a part of the man’s side. 3:8 Or Adam, and so
throughout the chapter.