Trinity 7 July 23, 2023
Genesis 2:7-17 A Word to Trust V.16-17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Dear friends in Christ,
our text for today is the backdrop–the prelude, if you will–to one of the darkest moments in all human history–the Fall of mankind into Sin. For herein we see the Lord God create man–Adam–in His own image. For “the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” Then “the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.” So, God makes man–Adam–and He puts Adam in this beautiful garden that He had made–a place filled with God’s life and love for mankind–a place of abundant blessing, peace, and joy–where all that there is is GOOD. Into this paradise where there is water to drink and trees and plants for food, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” So there is Adam in the Garden of Eden. He is there to work it and keep it–to be a steward of God’s good creation–helping all to flourish and grow according to God’s good purpose. And then the Lord God blessed Adam even 2 further by giving him a Word to live by. “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Now, beloved, we often find this to be a hard word of God. We think to ourselves, “Why would God plant a tree that could potentially cause so much trouble? So much pain, hardship, and death?” First of all, because God’s Word is always good. Obeying it–trusting it–trusting God and His Word–brings life. For remember as Moses later records in Deuteronomy 8:3, “man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” You see, trusting in and keeping God’s Word brings life. It is disobedience to God’s Word that brings death. Without this warning to Adam concerning this tree of which he was not supposed to eat, Adam had no Word of God to obey. And since Adam knew nothing BUT life, God could only warn Adam properly with death. This tree was intended to be a place of worship where Adam would teach his family the blessed Word of God–that by NOT eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge they would continue to enjoy life with God forever. So God was not tempting Adam, for as the Scriptures clearly declare (James 1:13), God “Himself tempts no one.” But rather the Lord God was giving Adam 3 and all future human beings the means by which to properly worship and honor God–by obeying His Word and trusting in it. But what is the first great sin, beloved? Is it not pride? Pride which arises in the human heart and declares, “I know better than God. I trust myself and my word more than I trust God and His Word.” Indeed, as the saying goes, “Pride goes before the Fall.” And this is exactly the stage that is set in Genesis 2 for the Fall of mankind into sin in Genesis 3. For Pride often manifests itself in disobedience to God’s Word–to declare that we know better. God had said to Adam, “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Here God gave a good Word to Adam–a Word of promise and life–to keep God’s Word would bring nothing but continued blessings and joy–to disobey God’s Word would bring sin and death–for as St. Paul declares in Romans 6:23, “the wages of sin is death.” But Eve and Adam would both discount God’s Word–and seek to trust in the word of another–the devil disguised as a serpent–which would encourage them to pridefully cast off the good word of God and instead embrace their own word, which would bring death. For the devil said in contradiction to God’s Word (Genesis 3:4b-5), “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” How 4 dangerous this is, beloved, for as Jesus declares to the 72 when He sends them out to preach in His name (Luke 10:16), “The one who hears you hears Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me, and the one who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.” The devil tempted Adam and Eve to reject the Word of God and to embrace their own knowledge–to distrust God’s Word and rejoice in their own. We have abundant examples of this from our own lives and the world around us. Not just rejecting God’s Word, as we are often wont to do–especially those bits and pieces we don’t like–that are hard to keep and make us feel bad. But also re-writing God’s Word entirely! Indeed, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), recently commissioned an Artificial Intelligence (AI) ChatbotGPT to rewrite the book of Genesis to be more in line with their own particular ideas regarding the nature of humanity and animal life. Indeed, the main message is a Vegan interpretation of creation, wherein “God created every sentient being, He saw that they were good, and He gave them greens for sustenance.” Their website declares, “In the beginning, all animals were treated with respect, according to PETA, which has given the Bible’s Book of Genesis a modern makeover using ChatGPT to send a can’t-be-missed animal rights message filled with vegan teachings. PETA hopes the new, cruelty-free Story of Creation will appeal to Generation Z, 73% of whom identify as animal rights activists.” 5 “So, what’s wrong with that?” some may ask. Well, first of all, it pridefully presumes to have authority to change God’s Word. Secondly, it misses the whole point of Genesis and the Bible. It derails the story of mankind’s sin where God’s good creation was broken by man’s rebellion against God’s Word, which then brought death and suffering into all of creation. Death is the penalty for sin as Genesis 2:17 declares, along with Romans 6:23. And beloved, animal rights activists are not the only ones in danger of disobeying or even rewriting God’s Word. We are in constant danger of doing so in our own hearts–ignoring what we don’t like–changing what makes us uncomfortable. We are usually OK with calling out the sins of the world around us–like the LGBTQ community (at least in the safe confines of the walls of our church or surrounded by our church family), but we tend to ignore the sins of which we are so often guilty. We gossip freely about our neighbors, but justify it to ourselves calling it “venting” when God warns us against “bearing false witness against our neighbor.” Or we may rewrite the Third Commandment in our hearts to read, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy…unless it’s a super nice day, or you’re really tired, or the fishing is good…then feel free to stay at home or out on the lake.” Beloved, these and more are all sin–all deserving of God’s punishment–all deserve death and hell. Yet thanks be to God that there was another special tree 6 planted in the Garden of Eden–the Tree of Life. This tree was pointing God’s people forward to the great gift of the Tree of the Lord Jesus’ cross–the tree by which He would pay for the sins of the whole world–suffering all the death for all people for all time–and so grant us life through faith in Him. For we now have the Word of God made flesh–the Lord Jesus–of whom St. Paul writes in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This Jesus began the great work of restoring God’s broken creation, as we see hints of in the Gospels–like Jesus using some loaves of bread and a few fish to feed a multitude of people (Mark 8). Furthermore, this Jesus who died in your place and conquered death by rising again three days later, now speaks a Word of forgiveness and mercy to you, which gives you life. He restores and renews your heart by the power of His Word spoken through His pastors in Holy Absolution. He washes you clean with His almighty creative Word combined with water in Holy Baptism–just as He cleansed the world with a flood. As St. Peter declares (1 Peter 3:21), “Baptism, which corresponds to this [the flood], now saves you…” And when you grow hungry and weary from the assaults of the devil upon your soul–and from curbing your own wicked flesh from its sinful desires–and from denying the pleasures and temptations of the world, which would lead you to forsake God’s good Word of life to embrace a false word of death–Jesus prepares a 7 feast for you of His own body and blood in bread and wine–that you may eat and drink of His righteousness–His forgiveness and peace–and so be comforted amidst your trials and sin. Truly, Jesus fills you with His forgiveness and grace–fills you with His body and blood–so that you may eat of Jesus by faith and so be satisfied and filled with the forgiveness of sins. And that is a good Word upon which you can always trust and rely. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Genesis 2:7-17 A Word to Trust V.16-17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Dear friends in Christ,
our text for today is the backdrop–the prelude, if you will–to one of the darkest moments in all human history–the Fall of mankind into Sin. For herein we see the Lord God create man–Adam–in His own image. For “the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” Then “the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.” So, God makes man–Adam–and He puts Adam in this beautiful garden that He had made–a place filled with God’s life and love for mankind–a place of abundant blessing, peace, and joy–where all that there is is GOOD. Into this paradise where there is water to drink and trees and plants for food, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” So there is Adam in the Garden of Eden. He is there to work it and keep it–to be a steward of God’s good creation–helping all to flourish and grow according to God’s good purpose. And then the Lord God blessed Adam even 2 further by giving him a Word to live by. “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Now, beloved, we often find this to be a hard word of God. We think to ourselves, “Why would God plant a tree that could potentially cause so much trouble? So much pain, hardship, and death?” First of all, because God’s Word is always good. Obeying it–trusting it–trusting God and His Word–brings life. For remember as Moses later records in Deuteronomy 8:3, “man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” You see, trusting in and keeping God’s Word brings life. It is disobedience to God’s Word that brings death. Without this warning to Adam concerning this tree of which he was not supposed to eat, Adam had no Word of God to obey. And since Adam knew nothing BUT life, God could only warn Adam properly with death. This tree was intended to be a place of worship where Adam would teach his family the blessed Word of God–that by NOT eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge they would continue to enjoy life with God forever. So God was not tempting Adam, for as the Scriptures clearly declare (James 1:13), God “Himself tempts no one.” But rather the Lord God was giving Adam 3 and all future human beings the means by which to properly worship and honor God–by obeying His Word and trusting in it. But what is the first great sin, beloved? Is it not pride? Pride which arises in the human heart and declares, “I know better than God. I trust myself and my word more than I trust God and His Word.” Indeed, as the saying goes, “Pride goes before the Fall.” And this is exactly the stage that is set in Genesis 2 for the Fall of mankind into sin in Genesis 3. For Pride often manifests itself in disobedience to God’s Word–to declare that we know better. God had said to Adam, “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Here God gave a good Word to Adam–a Word of promise and life–to keep God’s Word would bring nothing but continued blessings and joy–to disobey God’s Word would bring sin and death–for as St. Paul declares in Romans 6:23, “the wages of sin is death.” But Eve and Adam would both discount God’s Word–and seek to trust in the word of another–the devil disguised as a serpent–which would encourage them to pridefully cast off the good word of God and instead embrace their own word, which would bring death. For the devil said in contradiction to God’s Word (Genesis 3:4b-5), “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” How 4 dangerous this is, beloved, for as Jesus declares to the 72 when He sends them out to preach in His name (Luke 10:16), “The one who hears you hears Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me, and the one who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.” The devil tempted Adam and Eve to reject the Word of God and to embrace their own knowledge–to distrust God’s Word and rejoice in their own. We have abundant examples of this from our own lives and the world around us. Not just rejecting God’s Word, as we are often wont to do–especially those bits and pieces we don’t like–that are hard to keep and make us feel bad. But also re-writing God’s Word entirely! Indeed, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), recently commissioned an Artificial Intelligence (AI) ChatbotGPT to rewrite the book of Genesis to be more in line with their own particular ideas regarding the nature of humanity and animal life. Indeed, the main message is a Vegan interpretation of creation, wherein “God created every sentient being, He saw that they were good, and He gave them greens for sustenance.” Their website declares, “In the beginning, all animals were treated with respect, according to PETA, which has given the Bible’s Book of Genesis a modern makeover using ChatGPT to send a can’t-be-missed animal rights message filled with vegan teachings. PETA hopes the new, cruelty-free Story of Creation will appeal to Generation Z, 73% of whom identify as animal rights activists.” 5 “So, what’s wrong with that?” some may ask. Well, first of all, it pridefully presumes to have authority to change God’s Word. Secondly, it misses the whole point of Genesis and the Bible. It derails the story of mankind’s sin where God’s good creation was broken by man’s rebellion against God’s Word, which then brought death and suffering into all of creation. Death is the penalty for sin as Genesis 2:17 declares, along with Romans 6:23. And beloved, animal rights activists are not the only ones in danger of disobeying or even rewriting God’s Word. We are in constant danger of doing so in our own hearts–ignoring what we don’t like–changing what makes us uncomfortable. We are usually OK with calling out the sins of the world around us–like the LGBTQ community (at least in the safe confines of the walls of our church or surrounded by our church family), but we tend to ignore the sins of which we are so often guilty. We gossip freely about our neighbors, but justify it to ourselves calling it “venting” when God warns us against “bearing false witness against our neighbor.” Or we may rewrite the Third Commandment in our hearts to read, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy…unless it’s a super nice day, or you’re really tired, or the fishing is good…then feel free to stay at home or out on the lake.” Beloved, these and more are all sin–all deserving of God’s punishment–all deserve death and hell. Yet thanks be to God that there was another special tree 6 planted in the Garden of Eden–the Tree of Life. This tree was pointing God’s people forward to the great gift of the Tree of the Lord Jesus’ cross–the tree by which He would pay for the sins of the whole world–suffering all the death for all people for all time–and so grant us life through faith in Him. For we now have the Word of God made flesh–the Lord Jesus–of whom St. Paul writes in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This Jesus began the great work of restoring God’s broken creation, as we see hints of in the Gospels–like Jesus using some loaves of bread and a few fish to feed a multitude of people (Mark 8). Furthermore, this Jesus who died in your place and conquered death by rising again three days later, now speaks a Word of forgiveness and mercy to you, which gives you life. He restores and renews your heart by the power of His Word spoken through His pastors in Holy Absolution. He washes you clean with His almighty creative Word combined with water in Holy Baptism–just as He cleansed the world with a flood. As St. Peter declares (1 Peter 3:21), “Baptism, which corresponds to this [the flood], now saves you…” And when you grow hungry and weary from the assaults of the devil upon your soul–and from curbing your own wicked flesh from its sinful desires–and from denying the pleasures and temptations of the world, which would lead you to forsake God’s good Word of life to embrace a false word of death–Jesus prepares a 7 feast for you of His own body and blood in bread and wine–that you may eat and drink of His righteousness–His forgiveness and peace–and so be comforted amidst your trials and sin. Truly, Jesus fills you with His forgiveness and grace–fills you with His body and blood–so that you may eat of Jesus by faith and so be satisfied and filled with the forgiveness of sins. And that is a good Word upon which you can always trust and rely. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.