← Don't Miss This Study
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- [00:00]
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Hi there. Welcome to Don't Miss this, a scripture study podcast with Dave Butler and Grace Freeman.
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Each week we point out things in the scriptures that we love and think you don't want to miss.
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Thanks for listening. We do things that we're ashamed of. We fall into traps of temptation.
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Oh, you think God's so kind to you. He's not even letting you eat every tree in this garden.
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We try and cover it up and we try to run and we try to hide and we try to blame everybody else.
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What is my goal here? How can I screw this up?
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What did the serpent tell you about me that made you think I was the kind of God you should be afraid of?
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I fully see you. I know you fully, and I will confidently say you are worth the sacrifice.
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Where are you going? Why are you running and hiding from the only one who can actually help you? Hi, I'm Dave Butler.
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I'm Grace Freeman.
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Welcome to Don't Miss this, our weekly scripture study class. You guys, we're so excited week. January 19th to 25th, Genesis 3 and 4, Moses 4 and 5. And if you missed last week's lesson or the week before and you're just joining, welcome. Old Testament, we're loving it as we're in these couple like beginning chapters. We're in the book of Genesis and in the book of Moses because the book of Moses is the inspired translation and some editions of the book of Genesis. So you can. In this chapter in particular, I think it's worth reading both of them because Moses 4 and 5 have some additional parts to the story that I think are super valuable. So for this particular lesson, I for sure would read both of those. But are you loving the Old Testament already? We hope that you are. Last week's lesson, I loved teaching so much the story of the creation. Here's what you're gonna need today. No tipp ins today. So if you don't have your tip ins yet, great week to go get them. Cause we only have two that you've used so far and more yet to come. We'll show you our word of the week, so get your journal. If you don't have your journal yet, grab your journal soon so you can. Some of you like to just sit down and open up this journal and either listen or watch the lesson and take notes in it. Or some of you like to listen on a walk and then come home after and just open it up and take some time with the reflection questions and the digging deeper page that's in each of these. We kind of just simplified it, but also picked the lessons that would be, I think, most meaningful from each lesson for this. So get your journal out and get ready to go. We have a timeline piece this week. So the timeline, all the journal and the study resources are all on goodnewsbrandco.com or you can go get them in Deseret book if you want to just pick them up. Or if you're in Lehigh, Pioneer party has them too. Or near Lehi, Utah. So, okay, but timeline, we have a free PDF printout. It's a big one. You can do it either in 11 by 17 or 24 by 36. Timeline of the Old Testament. So and throughout several of the weeks, we'll be putting timeline pieces on so you can watch the story unfold and remember like, oh, here's where we are in the story that becomes particularly important as we get halfway through and the Old Testament kind of circles back and starts over again. So it'll just help you keep clear, like, where all the stories are. And everyone knows, like, oh, yeah, there's a Red Sea story, there's a lion's den story, there is an Esther story, and there's a Ruth. And it's nice to see, like, oh, that's where they all fit. And that's what was happening in the connect.
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That's how they progress.
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Right, Right. So the timeline piece for this week is a tree. It represent the tree found inside the Garden of Eden. That's the central one of the central characters of today's lesson. And you'll put it on the circle spot on the timeline that says January 19th. Just reaching to grab that and putting that on ours.
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For some reason, I loved when you just called it a central character because it made it feel like it's like the tree in Harry Potter.
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I think that might be too zoomed in to see this, but now we have.
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It's getting cute.
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Those two pieces on there. What if I back up and just do this? I'm gonna. Just for people who are watch, hold it like this.
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Look at a big smile.
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Yeah.
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So cute.
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This is gonna get awesome. All right. Okay, you guys. So you got your journals open? We're open up to Genesis chapter three. You got a tab in Moses chapter four. Also yesterday or it was this morning, actually. I was driving to the gym. You didn't need to know the gym. I just wanted to throw that in there so that all of you knew that. And there was a cop behind me at the light. And listen, I love. I have several friends who are police officers And I love them, and they're some of the finest individuals I've ever met in my entire life. But for some reason, whenever I drive in front of a police officer, I just feel on edge. I'm like, maybe I just know I'm breaking every law. Like, sometimes I just want to put the car in park and go put handcuffs on myself and say, sometimes I will pull over.
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I'm just gonna be 100% for real. Like, I will take a turn that I was not supposed to take just to try to dodge the car.
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I just feel like they're searching for all of my. Like, does he have insurance? Like, on their little computer thing?
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Why do I get so scared about what they're searching up about me? I have no record.
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Me neither. I don't have a record either. But I just feel like I'm breaking laws. And in my mind, I know this is not true. But in my mind, I feel like they're out to get me, that they are looking for everything that I am doing wrong, and they're just waiting for me to go one mile over the speed limit or forget to put on my blinker or not stop for two seconds or whatever you're supposed to do the stopping for. See, I don't even know. Okay, that's the problem. This is the problem, right? So it just feels, like, so anxious when they're following behind you. And unfortunately, I think a lot of people have that same kind of relationship with God where they feel like he's out to get them, that he's just waiting to watch and bust them for going one mile over the speed limit, for making any kind of mistake, that he's counting them up, that he's keeping score, and they feel anxious about him and anxious in his presence because he is a God who's trying to find what is wrong and sinful about me and to put me into heavenly jail. I have met way too many people who have that kind of relationship with God, and I don't know where that comes from. I think it is in all of our hearts and souls. All of us, to some extent, kind of have a little bit of that in us. And I don't know where it started, but it seems to have started in the very, very beginning.
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Well, and it's interesting because it's like, I just am thinking so much, like, I got pulled over. So this is like, sorry, I did get pulled over. And I was so scared. And it was last year, and I was terrified, and I was like. And the cop came up, and I Rolled the window down. And the policeman was like. He was like, hey, like, I'm here to, like, talk to you about your registration. And, like, I, like, immediately, like, panic. Like, I'm crying. Like, I will be so 100% honest. Like, it was when my dad had cancer, and I was like, my dad has cancer, and he usually does my registration, and I'm, like, having all these reasons why. And he, like, stopped. And he was like, whoa, whoa, whoa. He's like, listen, like, I'm not giving you a ticket. Like, I'm not angry at you. He's like, I'm just telling you that, like, within the next three weeks, like, you probably should get your registration done. And then he, like, left. And it was like, nice. And he was so kind, and he was so thoughtful. And I remember, like, pulling back onto the freeway and just thinking in my head, like, why on earth did I think he was gonna be so angry at me? Like, that was, like, really unjustified. And it was fixed really quickly. But it is so interesting to me that I think you get a glimpse of that with God. Like, the idea that, like, oh, he's so mean. And then, like, you'll watch the interaction and you'll be like, wait, why did I ever think that?
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Right, right. So Genesis 3 is a story that you might be familiar with. And let's just start by saying this. I used this word last week. I'm gonna use it again this week. This is written in a style called imagistic style. All right? So it's written symbolically. It is talking about some historical event, the start of mankind. But its purpose is not to necessarily lay out. This is exactly the order of events and how they happen. In fact, if I said to you, today we're going to be looking at a story with a talking snake, with magical trees, with angels, with flaming swords, with women who are taken from ribs of men. Like, you probably wouldn't go into the history section necessarily of the library to find that book. So there is something did happen. Right? This is giving the lessons. The intention of the writing style of this is to give the lessons of mankind's first story. Is. Is sort of what it is. So as you read through, give your. Be super liberal with yourself and. And seeing the language of symbolism, what is the lesson God is trying to teach in these stories? And you remember we come into chapter three from chapter two, where we've just come off of seven days of gift giving, seven days of grace, where God has given, given, given, given, given to Adam and Eve, set them as a king and queen ruling and reigning over this paradise place where everything is abundant and multiplies in there, and it just is. We're coming off of that experience. And then a serpent comes into the garden at the beginning of Genesis chapter three and begins to tempt Adam and Eve to eat the fruit of this one particular tree. Now, God had given so many trees and said, you can eat from any of these trees. And the devil comes in and gets Adam and Eve, Eve partakes of the fruit, then she gives it to Adam, the scriptures say, and he eats of that fruit also. It is a fruit that God. God said, if you eat this, you are going to die. So I am forbidding you to eat this fruit. But they eat it, and then they hear the voice of God and they run and they hide. Well, the very first thing they do, the scriptures say, is when they hear his voice in verse seven, it says they both their eyes were opened and they knew that they were naked. Now, naked. In Scripture, symbolism is a symbolism of shame, of being fully exposed. All of my. Everything about me, you now know, even. And especially the things I don't want you to know, a sense of embarrassment. And so they hear God's voice and they run and they hide and they make fig tree leaf aprons for themselves to cover up themselves. And it says they hear the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden. And Adam and Eve had hid behind the trees. And then he asked this question, where are you? Which obviously is not a location question. And I like the translation that you find in the book of Moses in Moses, chapter four. And another way it's translated is, where goest thou? Right. Where are you? And where are you going? Whenever I find scriptures in. I mean, questions in scripture, I like to pause and ask myself the question, especially the way that God intended it. David, where are you right now in your life? And David, where are you going? He clearly knows where Adam and Eve are, but he's asking that question.
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And I am obsessed with journaling, first of all, and second of all, with New Year's. And I think that this is coming out such a cool time to study, to really pause and with your family or as yourself as an individual, or if you're a teacher. And to say, let's start this year with those same two questions. Yeah, that where are you and where are you going? Honest answers only. Think about who you are as a person. Think about where you're going. And like, I just think that if it were me, and I was like planning a lesson that would Be the first thing that I do. I would open up to those two verses and I'd say, I would walk people along this lesson as if they are Adam and Eve. Ask the same questions. Ask them what they're hiding from. Why are they ashamed? They go through and take this and personify it for you as an individual, for your family, for the people that you're teaching. And I think one of the best ways to do that is to actually don't just think about those answers. Write them down, unpack them, think about them, actually.
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Yeah. Because listen, again, written in a way that's supposed to teach a lesson that all of us can relate to. All of us have been given commandments from God that were put in place by a gracious good God to keep us from death, to keep us from the things we're trying to avoid. And we're tricked and we fall for them, and immediately we don't want to pray and we don't want to be near God. The book of Genesis does not say what Adam was thinking and what Eve was thinking behind that tree. But I've been behind the tree before, and I know what they're thinking. I can't believe I did this. How could I have let myself do this? I let him down. He's gonna be disappointed in me. And they stay hiding, and finally they come out from behind the tree. In verse 10, I heard your voice and I was afraid. I just want to pause for a second and we'll come back to this. But that breaks my heart as a father every single time to think of one of my kids, for me to come home. And I said, where were you when I was calling your name? And I said, well, I was afraid of what you were going to say and what you were going to do. And then he says, did you eat that fruit that I told you not to eat? And then he plays the blame game because it says, verse 12, the woman that you gave me gave me of the fruit and I did eat, right? So you two are going to have to work that out, because had you given me this nice, obedient woman, I probably wouldn't have eaten that fruit. So the woman that you gave me. So it's actually going to be one of your two faults, so you're going to have to figure that out. And he says, eve, did you eat it? And she was like, it was the snake, okay? He came, he slithered to me, and he told me to eat of the fruit of the tree. And I get to this point in the story every time I read it, and I think we have been mimicking our first parents ever since. We make mistakes. We do things that we're ashamed of. We fall into traps of temptation, and then we try and cover it up, and we try to run and we try to hide, and we try to blame everybody else for what happened. Adam, where are you? If you would just come out from behind that tree and say, father, this is where I am. I'm not gonna cover it, I'm not gonna hide it. I'm not going to make excuses for it. I'm just going to tell you exactly where I am and exactly the direction that my heart was going and where it wants to be. And those questions from God are questions that draw you out from behind the tree. And I can almost hear him asking this when I read it. Where are you going? Why are you running and hiding from the only one who can actually help you? What did the serpent tell you about me that made you think I was the kind of God you should be afraid of? Apparently, you have been given the wrong picture of my heart. And what is it? And let me see if. If I can't fix that.
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Well, and it's interesting because I think that. That it almost seems as though that's the serpent's goal all along. And right when he starts speaking, you can see in chapter three, go to verse number one, very. The very, very beginning, and he's going to look. And the first thing you know about him is if you look in the footnotes to chapter three, I'm in the King James Version, verse number one. And then B, it's like crafty and sly. He is not just, like, going in there planless. The serpent isn't just like, oh, let me just that out. Once I'm in there, let me just freestyle. He's going in, and he's got to just be thinking, what is my goal here? How can I screw this up? And all of a sudden, you, like, you read his plan in verse number one. It's so simple. He looks and he says unto the woman, yay. Has God said, you shall not eat of every tree in this garden? Oh, like you think God's so kind to you, he's not even letting you eat every tree in this garden. Automatically, the first thing the serpent does is look at Eve and try to get her to start thinking about God differently from one question. The next thing, if I were Eve, that I would think is, oh, yeah, why doesn't God want me to eat every tree of the garden? First of all, all Of a sudden, your mind starts doing this. He must not be that nice. He's kind of restrictive. He's not really giving me everything that he has. He could be doing more for me. And then if that's not where you go, then the next thing that I would start thinking is this. Does he not even trust me? Does God not like me enough that he's like. He's not even, like, giving me the chance. He doesn't think that I'm gonna make good choices. Why is he automatically restricting me? And from the very beginning of the serpent story, you start realizing his goal is to change the way we see God. And that has not changed. That is still true today, that there are still lines that that same serpent will use that will make us question who God is. Why is he so restrictive? Does he not trust me? Why doesn't he care about me? Doesn't he want to give me the most he possibly can? Those are the same lines we say.
- [18:47]
A
You know, it's interesting, and I've never really thought through this before, but there's the line that. And I think it's in Moses 4 that he sought to destroy the agency of man. We see that in other spots in Scripture, too. And I think, you know, there's a lot of ways that you can interpret that. And one of those is he's kind of taking away from them the chance to make an educated choice. Right? Yeah. Like, we went back to Moses, chapter one, and there we saw Moses was like, wait, I can tell the difference between the two of you because I've experienced God, and. And now he's making a choice, a choice based off of, oh, I actually know the two choices in front of me. And Satan tries to blur that choice a little bit, almost make it as if you don't really have one. He's compelling you to one. And I've wondered, is that a way of talking about destroying the agency of man? Like, I'm not giving you a choice, really. Right. Because if they really knew who he was and if they remembered who he was. That's why I really want Adam and Eve to think about the. What God has done for you so far. Right. So somehow the adversary has tricked them into thinking that he is all of these different things. And I would just like to look at the Scriptures. Right. Let's look at what we actually know and learn about God. One of them is verse 8. It says, after they had made their mistake. And I want to add, too, I don't think he's. He destroys the character of God to them, but also reframes what mistakes are. He has made mistakes damning. He's made them irreversible. He's made them something to be ashamed and afraid of as well. And after they made their mistake, it says they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. Walking into the garden in. In. In the breeze of the day. Can you just see the picture of that right now? What I want to tell you is I've read a lot of translations of the Bible and none of them that I've read so far of verse 8, say. And God came stomping into the garden saying fee fi, fo, fum, with a heated and blow the top temper. No. He comes walking in in the cool of the day. It's an image of gentleness. That is how he's approaching a mistake he knows they made at this point. They have broken exactly 100% of the laws God gave them, right? And to a couple that have broken 100% of his laws, he comes calmly walking in with a cooled temper. That is the God that they worship. That's the one that they were hiding from, right? What else is here? Verse 15. This is a fantastic verse. And if you look in your journal, we talk about this in the did you know section. This word I'm about to say is right there. The did you know that Genesis chapter 3, verse 15 is known as the Proto Evangelium. That's a Latin word that means the first mention of the gospel is right there in 3:15, where it says, I'll put enmity between you and the woman. I'm going to set bounds between the two of you. And there's a prophecy in 15 when you will bruise his heel, but he will bruise thy head is what it says. So this is to bruise somebody's heel means that they'll be inflicted, that they'll be harmed. But a bruise to the head is a mortal wound. That's to crush an enemy. That's to defeat it. And he says to the serpent, I have a plan for you. And that plan is that you will be crushed one day. But in that crushing you will bruise the heel of the one who crushes you. Which is in reference, it's a first mention of the gospel that Jesus will be bruised and broken and torn and hurt in order to crush the serpent's head. But the promise is there that the serpent and the curse that he brings will one day be crushed and finished.
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B
And that word I've been thinking about nonstop is enmity. And I think it's because we just don't really use that word anymore. So it's just like kind of like it automatically sticked out to me, stuck out to me. And I just have been thinking about it so much. And one of the definitions I read was relational distance. And what I think is so powerful about the God we believe in is he knows the power of a relationship. And knowing the power of a relationship, how important that is to humans. He looked and he said, I will make sure that there is distance in that relationship between Satan and humanity. But also his plan all along was a plan that said, and I will create a different relationship for them to have. And if this whole book is about covenants, if this is describing a covenant relationship, I love a God who looked and said, satan is gonna wanna be as close as he possibly can. So what I can do in that moment is I can set boundaries and I can say there's gonna be relationship distance there. But humans are gonna crave relationship. They're gonna need relationship. That's why they Satan in the first place is that that seems like an easy relationship to have. So they're automatically souls crave a relationship. If they're drawn there, I will put boundaries there. But also I will give them opportunities to create a relationship that is far better, a divine relationship, a covenant relationship that is far better than any of the needs that would be met through his. And that is what I love about God's plan. That's what I love about the. If that's going to give us a picture of the gospel, it's going to say, I will eliminate that relationship. I will give you a better one. And there will be someone in the middle who is willing to take the hit and give you something better.
- [25:14]
A
Yeah. We quoted from this version of the Bible last week, but this is how the message says it. I love this line. It says, I'm declaring war between you and the woman, right? That that enemy, I will defend her against you. And I will step in between the two of you. And whatever it is that you think to inflict upon her, I'm going to take it. And in so doing, I'm going to defeat you is what's going to happen.
- [25:43]
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And it's going to be a fight, and it's going to hurt and people are going to get wounded, but it's going to be a victory.
- [25:49]
A
Yeah. So this is another lesson that we're learning about, about this God. And there's another one which is in verse 21, and he says, unto Adam and also his wife. Now, this is right after he says, you're going to have to leave this garden and you're going to have to go into a world that's full of pains and it's full of thorns and it's full of thistles and it's full of obnoxious weeds. It's going to afflict and torment you by the sweat of your brow. Will you eat your bread all the days of your life? Life outside of this garden is going to be hard. It's going to be difficult. But I'm going to send you into that place prepared. And in verse 21, he says, it says that for Adam and Eve, the Lord did make coats of skin and clothed them. Now, remember we talked about the symbolism of nakedness is that fully exposed, ashamed, embarrassed, potential of being hurt. To be clothed is a symbol of protection. It's also a symbol of redemption. It's a symbol also of taking on identity. We're going to see so much clothing throughout the Old Testament and the Lord God is covering them and protecting them in these coats of skin. Now, something that you would have to read into as you read this is the coats of skin made the skin off of an animal. And the only way to get the skin off of an animal is for that animal to die. That animal is being sacrificed in order so that Adam and Eve's sin and shame can be covered. And I hope you can see that in this story an innocent creature is being sacrificed so that Adam and Eve could be protected and covered and claimed and have the identity of God as they leave and they walk out into. Into the lone and dreary world. That was a clothing of grace, a gift that was that they did not pay for, but that an innocent being did and gave their life and their blood so that they could be covered. And I just imagine that Adam and Eve will wake up every morning to start the day and they will put on that coat of skins and they will remember that God was willing to sacrifice for them. And they'll remember the promise that one day the serpent will be crushed and all of these thorns and thistles and pains will be a part of our distant memory. And they'll remember that I'm here to cover you and to protect you and. And what a gift to be able to wake up each morning and to put on that reminder of that sacrificial love and to be covered in that grace and to feel that claim being hugged and wrapped around them as. As they. As they face whatever it is that they're going to face well.
- [28:57]
B
And that they were aware. They were aware of their nakedness, and they knew. They knew their shame. They knew what they were embarrassed about. They knew everything that they had done wrong. And after that is when the sacrif and the covering came as they were aware of all of it. And they said, this is it. This is what I have to offer. This is all my shame. This is all my mistakes. And I tried to hide it, and I obviously can't. And still there was a God who looked at them and said, I see all of you. I know you fully. I know you completely. And I will look you in the eyes, all of you fully known, and I will say, you are worth the sacrifice. You will be worth it. That is something that I can look at every single part of you. And sometimes in our soul, there's something about us that says, but if you knew everything that I had done, if you know exactly who I was, if you knew what I was thinking about, if you knew the things I said, you wouldn't think it was worth it for me. You would give that to someone else. And here he is at the very beginning of the story, God looking at them and saying, I fully see you. I know you fully. And I will confidently say, you are worth the sacrifice.
- [30:09]
A
Yeah. And just to remember that truth, like every time they put on those coat of skins, every single morning, they're remembering all of these truths is what I imagine. And how desperately God wants to rescue them and to cover them. Right. And to save them. In fact, let's add on to this. Now we're gonna have to go over to Moses chapter five, to add on to this, because there's this scene, and it's another picture of the heart of God that initially they were hiding from. And God's trying to help them know. I think the rest of this book is God's answer to the lie that they believe behind the tree. The rest of this book is going to show story after story after story of you. I am not a God you have to hide from. Let me help you understand who I am. But in Moses, chapter five, they're outside of the garden. It says, starting in just the beginning of there. And they're outside the garden, and they hear the voice of God inside the garden. And they were shut out. It says in verse four, this is Moses, chapter five, verse four, shut out of his presence. And I always imagine that the question that they're asking right then is, how do we get back in? How do we get back to Eden? How do, how do we come back to that place that we were? And the answer comes in verse five, and it says, you should worship the Lord your God, and you should offer the first things of your flock for an offering unto the Lord. And it says, and Adam was obedient to that command, meaning they would take the first of their flocks and offer them as a sacrifice. Now you have to remember, Adam is coming from a place where there was no blood and there was no death. So this commandment of sacrifice of one of their animals would have been horrifying and gut wrenching and just terrible to participate in. And it says in verse six, after many days, an angel comes and says, why are you, what are you doing? Why are you offering those sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam answers back and verse six says, I, I, I don't, I don't know. Only the Lord commanded me. And I want to say, bless your obedient heart, Adam, because you are like, he is offering this sacrifice. And he's like, I don't even know why I'm doing this. And it breaks my heart to do it, actually. And you know, obviously there are people who have to, you know, they eat and you know, you have to do that to eat. But it's still, it's like not easy and really hard and super confusing. And then verse seven, the angel says this, essentially, this is the answer to your question, Adam. That's why we're having you do this. Your question, how do we get back into the Garden of Eden? He says, it will be through the heartbreaking, terrible sacrifice of an innocent creature, one that will break your heart to even watch it happen. He says, in seven, this thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the only begotten, the Father, which is full of grace and truth. Now, I don't know fully what that phrase grace and truth means, but one of the meanings to me is something that this grace with a capital G just taught to us, which is, he's full of grace and truth. He knows the full truth, but he also has full grace. And he's reframing and helping them understand their mistakes, how he views them, and what his intention is. I will give my only begotten son to rescue you. I am doing everything I can to get you back into Eden. That's the God that I am.
- [33:54]
B
And then it seems like in verse number nine of chapter five in Moses, there's a moment that Adam and Eve begin to start realizing what the story is all about. And there's this line that I want to engrave on my heart. I love it so much. And it's just at the very end, I am the only begotten of the Father from the beginning, henceforth and forever. And then right here, that as thou hast fallen, you might be redeemed. That is the whole story. It is a story of redemption, it is a story of rescue. And it is not even like, plan B. I think sometimes, like, we're like, oh, that was like the backup plan. Or we get worried about that. And even, like at the very end of chapter five, in verse 57, there's this moment that starts talking about the sacrifice of Jesus. For they would not hearken unto his voice, nor believe on his only begotten son. Even him who he declared should come in the meridian of time, who was prepared from before the foundation of the world. This plan, the plan of Jesus sacrificing himself for us was not a random idea. That was just like, oh, I need a backup plan. This isn't working the way I thought. This was the plan. Jesus was the plan. Redemption and rescue was the plan from the very beginning. And all of a sudden, by verse number 10, their eyes are opened and they start realizing that I will have joy and again in the flesh, I will see God that I messed up. I screwed up the plan. I didn't know and I didn't do what God wanted me to do. But I can be rescued. I can be saved. And then eve in verse 11, his wife heard all of these things and was glad. Of course she was. The second she realized that there was someone who would look at her and see everything she had done, all the choices that she had made, all of exactly who she was in completeness, and said, I will sacrifice for you. I will take all of that upon you. And she says, were it not for our transgression, we never should have had seed and never should have known good and evil and the joy of our redemption and the eternal life which God gives unto all the obedient. She looked and she saw and she understood the plan. And I just love that little moment when it says and she was glad. Because I think once you start really understanding God's plan, that is the word you would use to describe it. Oh, I am so glad. This is good news. That is the gospel. This is the plan. And of course we're glad. How could we not be glad that there was someone who looked at us and was willing to die for us so that we could be rescued, so we could spend our entire life experiencing sorrow and joy, sadness and happiness, confusion, and knowledge. We will experience it all on earth. That's the plan.
- [37:02]
A
Yeah. Yeah. And they seem to be realizing this idea. There's this. You might be familiar with this Japanese kind of art called Kintsugi art. And it's pottery and plates that are deliberately broken, and then they are glued back together with just kind of this. This golden glue. And you can see the gold, like, where all the cracks. And the thought behind the art is that it is more beautiful having been broken and then fixed than if it had never been broken at all. That there is beauty that Eve and Adam see in their transgression, both their. Their disobedience and also their stepping into mortality. We could read it in both of those ways. All. We never would have learned these things had it not been for the choices that we made. And I think it's interesting that I don't think she's celebrating, really. There's two parts to read this. One is to see transgression as our coming into mortality. But part of mortality is making mistakes, right? And she also sees that, like, oh, God, can take even our mistakes and turn them into lessons for us and turn them into progression. And it sort of is the lesson that is symbolized in the garden with the two trees. So in your journal, if you open up, you have this page that shows the two different trees that are on here. And here's the instructions on this, that under each of these trees, write down the experiences in your life that you have felt eating its fruit. Now, we've put on here for you that the tree of knowledge is a symbol of mortality and everything that comes with mortality. When they partook of that fruit, they are now going to experience the thorns, the thistles, the opposition, the. All the aspects of mortality. And so open up your journal and spend some time writing down that. When have you found. When have you had. Excuse me, experiences that have brought you knowledge, that have brought you some sort of progression? You've learned lessons through the experiences of mortality. Right. You might think about the time that you were battling an illness, and what lessons did you learn? What did your heart become through that particular process? Or it might be from loss, or it might be from struggle, or it might be from weakness, all the things that are a part of mortality. Now, what's interesting is when you had read those words in Genesis, chapter three, like sorrow and struggle, labor and pain, it's hard to say, are those good things or are those bad things? Because you want to say, yes, they're bad. Nobody wants them. And yet when we think about mortality, we would say like Eve does, were it not for that hard season, I never would have known the joy of redemption. I never would have come as close to Jesus as I did. I never would have become the woman or man that I am without that particular experience that I had. And so that's what you're writing in the trees on the left one. It's the experiences of mortality that have taught you something, but only because of the right tree. And by that I mean the one on the right in the worksheet because of Jesus Christ. Christ it was. There were both trees that were there and both trees were going to be needed for progression and for exaltation, the experiences of mortality, but also the hope, the strength, the healing and the closeness through Jesus Christ. None of us. It's not mortality that's going to get us there, it's Jesus Christ who's going to get us there. We learned that in Moses 5. Through the sacrifice of my only begotten, who is full of grace and truth, you will experience redemption, but redemption from sin, redemption from death, and redemption from all the hardships of mortality. It's in this chapter that we see it symbolize. We need both trees in order to make it back. And so you're going to write down and all of the experiences so far in your life that have like been experiences that you can now answer like Eve did. Were it not for these experiences, I never would have known what healing grace. I never would have known miracles. I never would have been whatever it is that you want to fill out. P.S. a little side thought. If you are wanting to use this worksheet as a class, all these fill out worksheets are available on the don't miss this app. So just go to domisthestudy.com and go to the app section. Subscribe to the app. And all of these worksheets are there for printoutness. They're printable and print as many as you want if you want to hand these out to a class or to your family for a study like that. So FYI, if you're wanting to use those for that.
- [42:13]
B
And there's just something to me about putting both of those experiences, your mortality experiences and the experiences that have brought you close to Jesus that like as I was doing that in my head immediately, I just started thinking about how intertwined those are and how I think that's just the best part of life, is that all of mortality is wrapped up with all of the Jesus that shows up for us. And I started like, listening through. And I like, remember a week last year that it was like the best week of my entire life. And I was like, in Cancun, and there was this moment that we were like, swimming in the ocean, me and my friends, and the whole entire ocean turned pink because it was like sunset and we were so happy. And I remember thinking, like, I like, said in my head, I am God's favorite kid. Like, I must be God's favorite kid. And I knew that the joy in that moment I was experiencing was because of him. And what happened exactly a week later is my dad was diagnosed with cancer. And I remember getting that call and experiencing that. And I remember that night sitting there and thinking, I, like, saw, like my screensaver was a picture from the week before when I felt like God's favorite kid. And I remember thinking, like, oh, what a joke that I ever thought that I could be God's favorite. Because if anything, like today is evidence that that is just simply not true. And so quickly I heard the spirit say, I am just as close today as I was last week. And what I love about human experience is that we get Jesus in the highest highs and the lowest lows and that he will show up every single day of mortality. That is the plan, is that Jesus will experience mortality with us.
- [43:54]
A
Yeah, yeah. So it's just, it's hard and beautiful. And listen, the pains of mortality, Jesus promises to overcome. He says they won't always be here, but in the meantime, right, we're going to experience them and they're gonna be part of our growth and they're gonna be part of our redemption story. Now Moses 5 ends in this, in a really sad story that just demonstrates just the depravity of mortality. Two brothers who feud against each other, one against the other in particular, Cain and Abel. And this chapter five is almost like a snapshot of what can happen if we keep hiding behind the tree and we keep turning and listening to the lies of the adversary. And this is almost, I don't want to say a study of sin, but Moses, chapter five kind of exposes just the vulnerable parts of our heart. I guess where he just says to Cain, for example, sin lieth at the door. In verse 23. There's something that happens that we obviously don't know the full background to, because Cain and Abel both offer an offering to the Lord. And the verses that explain why Abel's was acceptable and Cain's was not is not enough information. It feels like an over exaggeration. So clearly there's things happening behind the scenes, Moses 5 opens up more of what might be going on than you find in the Genesis story. But clearly something is happening between the. The two of them. But that verse 23 is so interesting because Cain is upset that he's not accepted before the Lord. And I love that the Lord comes to him and says, if thou doest well, thou shall be accepted. He is showing him how to fix whatever it is that was happening. And he says, careful, because sin lieth at the door. It's like Crouching Tiger. It's something that starts small, but it can overtake you. So let's handle this together. Quit hiding. Quit turning your. Your back on me. He says, I will deliver you up right this. Like, this is what. Or those were the words of the adversary. Sorry, except you hearken unto my commandments. Like. Like you'll just be left to whatever the adversary wants to do with you. But he's saying, I can save you. I can protect you from that. I can keep you from verse 24, the father of lies. So let me help you do that. So you have a good example in Adam and Eve when they're hiding behind the tree and God calls their name and they come out from behind the tree and they say, this is. This is what we're dealing with. This is what's hard. Can you please help and. And fix this? And then you have this story that comes right after of someone who doesn't. Right. Someone who's offered it and doesn't. And. And he ends up killing his brother. Which you may know that part of the story. And then there comes this question that I feel like is an invitation to all of us. The Lord comes to Cain and he says, where is Abel your brother? And he says, I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper? And that's actually the very first question that a person in the Bible asks to God. It's almost like humanity's first question to God in the Bible. Am I my brother's keeper? Am I supposed to be in charge of him? I like this thought in that we have in our Read It, Live it calendar. This is what it says for the reading on this day. It's gonna be January 20th. So a little preview for this. If you don't know what this is, it's a little thought from the scriptures that you're reading every single day. 365 you put on your. On your counter. But it says, Cain asked a question he should have known the answer to. Yes, we are our brother's keeper. Love looks out for each other. And I just as part of being. And then the invitation for this day is, go be your brother's keeper. And I think part of being your brother's keeper is reminding people what God is actually like and reminding them of his promises and reminding them of his covering grace and reminding them that their mistakes aren't damning anymore, but they're developmental, that he can take any issue and part of mortality, whatever it may be, the ones that tempt us to turn our backs to Him. He can turn them into growing and beautiful experiences. And that's actually our word for the week, is to become. It's through the both of those trees, the hardships of mortality and the redemption and the hope in Jesus that we become the experiences that we wish we could get rid of. It's like, oh, those are the ones that actually turn us into gold. Those are the ones where God takes the pieces of our broken heart and puts them back together with the. With the gold paint in between them and turns us into something good and. And beautiful. So whatever it is, this. This is what I want to hang up in the house to remind everybody who passes by whatever hardship that we are facing, even if you cause them yourself, God can take them and turn them into becoming situations. He can mold and change your heart through every single one of them. And as a brother's keeper, I want to remind people about that. I want to remind them every time I read that story of Judas in the New Testament, I'm like, why didn't. Why. Maybe they did. But why did nobody go to him and remind him about who Jesus was and who he could be? And that's who I want to be. I want to be my brother's keeper and take care of people. And the best way I can is to remind them who Jesus Christ is and what he's like. All right, you guys, we're going to see you next week. If you want to follow along in everything we're doing, you can find us on Instagram at. Don't miss this study at this week's Grace and rdavebutler.
- [50:15]
B
And if you want to subscribe to the app or get our weekly newsletter, all of the information can be found@don'tmissthisstudy.com.
- [50:21]
A
See you next week.