Gen 13: Chapter 3, vv 1-7
Book of Genesis #13
The Fall remains a mystery.
The account of the fall given in verses 3:1 through 3:7 is terse and to the point, yet it is deep in meaning and needs to be studied carefully.
Adam and Eve were two perfect beings who were given the opportunity to live forever in the strength of their youth without sickness, toil, or sweat. They had everything they needed to be happy. Why then did these two beings, superior in intellect, beauty, and strength, lose it all by stealing what God wanted to give them?
On the one hand, one must come to terms with the power of the enemy for the devil is like a lion prowling about seeking whom he may devour as St. Peter warns us and most of us underestimate the angelic power whose nature is vastly different from ours.
The devil is pure evil; something we cannot understand for none of us in the natural order has the intellectual capacity to fully comprehend extremes but we can all understand that he hates us and wants us damned.
On the other hand, we tend to overestimate the devil's responsibility and exonerate Adam and Eve. Another common error is to lay the blame squarely on Eve's shoulder and declare Adam innocent from the guilt. Nothing could be further from the truth.
This lecture takes us to the heart of the matter. We study the fall carefully, slowly, methodically to understand what took place and most importantly to realize that we are all in danger of committing the same sin that Adam and Eve committed. This in turn should increase our deep gratitude for the Lord Jesus Christ whose Grace overcomes our sin and strengthens our weaknesses and allows us -- if we choose so -- to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect.
