The Blame Game

Monday, 11th February 2008

OK, now that the hols are over, let’s resume the series on revelations from the book of Genesis.

As a kid growing up in Sunday School, I remember being told the story of the “original sin”, ie. Adam and Eve disobeying God by eating the forbidden fruit.

I don't recall being told that they ate from the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil”. Maybe that phrase itself was quite a mouthful. The fruit was instead being often referred to as an “apple”.

I suppose that's how the term "Adam’s apple" came about. Legend had it that God called out to him just as he was about to partake of the fruit, so he quickly swallowed it whole, and it got stuck bulging in his throat.

But let's examine what actually happened that fateful day? The devil had taken the guise of a serpent to enter the garden of Eden. He had no legal right to be on earth at that point in time because God had put man in charge. It was only after man disobeyed God that Adam forfeited his God-given authority and handed it over the devil.

Some people say that it was Eve’s fault because she was the one who succumbed to temptation. However, we read in Gen 3:6, “… her husband was there with her, so she gave some to him, and he ate it too.” Adam was there all the time when Eve and the devil were having the conversation, yet he chose not to say or do anything. Adam became "ah-dumb". What he should have done was to exercise his God-given authority over the animals, rebuke the serpent and banish it from the garden.

While he chose to remain silent when he was supposed to speak up, he suddenly found his voice a few verses later. When God asked him if he had eaten the forbidden fruit, he was quick to reply, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate (Gen 3:12).

In Gen 2:23, Adam was so appreciative of Eve that he exclaimed, “bones of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.” Yet, here we find him turning against her. Instead of standing by his "flesh and bones" and taking responsibility for not protecting her from the evil one, he tried to push the blame to *both* Eve and God: to Eve for being the one who offered him the fruit, and to God for giving Eve to him!

Notice that Eve was a fast learner and quick to shift blame too. In Gen 3:13, she said to God, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

However much Adam tried to play the blame game, God still held him responsible. We read in Rom 5:12-19 the following passage that Paul wrote about how the sin of one man (ie. Adam) caused the downfall of mankind...

Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ
12Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— 13for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.
15But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. 18Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. 19For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

Which brings me to a current-day application. We as husbands are given the authority as head of our wife, just like Christ is head of the church. Let us take responsibility for the spiritual well-being of our family unit.

I am now reading the book of Numbers (as part of the daily bible reading plan) and there is a very interesting topic relating to the authority that the husband has over the words spoken by his wife (and as a father to his unmarried daughter). If a wife says or confesses something negative, the husband has the authority to annul what she says by speaking against it. Even though this is one of the laws of Moses, I believe the principle behind it still applies in the New Covenant.

Let us learn from the example of Adam and not remain quiet when our wives are under enemy attack. Let us instead rise up in godly leadership and speak out against the enemy with the authority that God has given to us as head of our households. Amen?