Good Afternoon Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Last week we read about The Blessing God pronounced over Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:28 and again over Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3. We also read where Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, didn’t heed The Blessing and created a situation where God had to move Jacob’s son Joseph from Canaan to Egypt in order for The Blessing to promote Joseph into the role God originally intended for him in Canaan. God planned for Joseph to use The Blessing to prepare for and feed the world during the upcoming severe famine. Had Jacob gone to God with Joseph’s dream and inquired, God would have shown Jacob His plan. The world would have been fed by Jacob and his family from Canaan, and the Children of Israel would not have spent 430 years in slavery in Egypt.
There is another time in The Word of God where we see a Believer make a decision without consulting God that had a profound impact on mankind. This man was Adam. It is common misconception Adam was elsewhere in the Garden when Satan, in the form of a serpent, was tempting Eve. Let’s read Genesis 3:6.
Genesis 3:6
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Notice the bolded text – “and gave also unto her husband with her.…” Adam was right there by Eve’s side the entire time and never said one word. Had Adam done what God had taught him and enquired of God about what Satan said, God would have explained it, and the fall of man would not have taken place. In fact, God had given dominion of the earth to Adam in Genesis 1:28. Let’s look again at Genesis 1:28.
Genesis 1:28
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Notice Genesis 1:28 says, “have dominion over….and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” Is a spirit, good and/or bad, a “living thing?” Of course. Because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not living. Adam had dominion over evil spirits and ministering spirits (angelic heavenly beings). This meant Adam had dominion over Satan. Adam had the power to permanently kick Satan out of the Garden of Eden. God’s intent was for Adam to create the Garden of Eden throughout the whole earth. Had Adam banished Satan from the Garden of Eden and fulfilled God’s assignment to replenish the earth with the Garden, Satan would have been banished from the earth as well.
Notice what our Father God has to say to us about consulting Him in Proverbs 3:6.
Proverbs 3:6
In all thy ways acknowledge Him [God], and He shall direct thy paths.
This is the Holy Spirit speaking through Solomon telling us IN EVERYTHING WE DO, come to Him about it, and our loving, caring Father will direct us. God wants us to come to Him about EVERYTHING – small and great. Many Believers, when I share this, admit to not believing it’s important for God to be involved in every little thing we do. My response is, “look at what God’s Word says.” “IN ALL THY WAYS…” What does God want us to bring to Him? EVERYTHING. Sometimes, Believers still struggle with this concept God wants to be involved in “YOUR EVERYTHING.” My reply to them is, “and how’s it been working for you making your own decisions?” I think we all know the answer to this: “Not so well.”
Adam and Jacob are righteous men. We’ll see them in Heaven and rule with them on this earth. Why did God put the good, the bad, and the ugly in The Scriptures about Adam and Jacob? So we wouldn’t have to make the same mistakes and suffer the consequences. God’s lesson for us through the example of these two men is to “acknowledge God in all our ways, and He will lovingly, caringly, and bountifully direct our paths.”
Blessings in the Matchless Name of Jesus Christ,
Larry