I mentioned in yesterday’s devotion under Goal #2 that I read recently read how Eve diminished God’s Word; she added to God’s Word; and she softened God’s Word. I’d like to elaborate on that very briefly in this devotion.
First, those thoughts came from Daily Strength-A Devotional for Men published by Crossway and compiled by various writers. These thoughts are from the January 2nd devotion and the writer is R. Kent Hughes. The main thoughts are his. Much of the supporting material is mine. Now to the thoughts:
1. Eve diminished God’s Word. In Gen. 3:2 she tells the serpent: “Of course, we may eat from the trees in the garden.” She diminished God’s Word by leaving out the word “every” as in “every tree.” Her shrunken rendition left out God’s generosity.
2. Eve added to God’s Word. In 2:17 they are told not to eat the fruit, but in 3:3 she adds that touching the tree was also forbidden. Seems like a small thing but by adding the word “touch” she magnified God’s harshness.
3. Eve softened God’s Word. She left out the word “surely” in 3:3 that we find stated by God in 2:17. Her omission removed the certainty of death which the serpent exploited in 3:4.
So…here is what I see as it applies to today. God’s Word is often diminished as we see feelings and “follow your heart” become the mantra and take precedence over “What does God’s Word really say?” Second, people are constantly adding to God’s Word to make it say what they want it to say. Add a little here; add a little there. What’s the harm? Third, we see God’s Word softened often. “Hell? There’s no hell, no eternal punishment for sin. Speaking of sin. What’s that?” Or we will hear “Everyone makes their own path to God. God doesn’t care.”
One more thing (and I’m grateful to John Eldredge from Wild at Heart for pointing this out years ago): The whole time Eve was having this exchange with the serpent, Adam was standing right there. (See Gen. 3:6b). Yep, good old Adam. Standing idly by. He sinned with his eyes wide open, watching the exchange. He never stepped in. He never put a hold or a stop to the conversation.
Perhaps the best way to conclude is a word from Mr. Hughes: “Eve followed the snake, Adam followed Eve, no one followed God.” Jesus once said, “Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Mt. 4:4) Let’s allow His Word to guide us.
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Please let me remind you again about my review of Martha Orlando’s The Glade Series I posted at Cycleguy’s Spin. You can access that here.
Interesting thoughts in regards to diminishing, adding, and softening of God’s word. Not much has changed today. Also, in regards to Adam standing silently by… Sad to say not much has changed in regards to spiritual leadership there either.
Agreed on both Ryan. I was hoping my comments would be taken as “today.” As for Adam standing by…yeah, not much has changed.
You make such great points here, Bill. We need to check our minds and hearts every single day to make sure we are following God’s Word, and not the interpretations of others of that Word(s). If we are following God alone, everything will fall in place.
Blessings!
Thanks Martha. We too often find ourselves, and others, following the whims of culture instead of God’s Word.
Good points to ponder on Bill. To quote Tony Evans:”Truth is the absolute standard by which reality is measured. God views and words are the absolute truth.” We always have to ask what is the Bible’s view, what does God say to do. God covers all the things we need to know and how to handle them, we have a great resource available but we have to read it, study it, and go to God to make it work.
I totally agree with Tony’s quote. And like you say, we must always ask what is the Bible’s view.
It’s crazy how Adam “standing by” becomes the precursor of so many Christian marriages where only one side is actually involved in ministry.
Very true Ed, but not just in ministry but in life as well. Many marriages falter because of the inattentiveness or lack of attention of the husband.
This is so sobering and made me think of the verse in Revelation that warns us not to add to or take from.
It is sobering Cheryl. I am awe struck by home many do not heed the warning to not add or subtract from God’s Word. Makes me shudder.