Good morning and a blessed Thursday morning to you. Would you open up your Bible please to Genesis, the third chapter. Genesis chapter three for our time in God's Word. Here's a question. What are the first two questions recorded in Holy Scripture?

To answer that, we go to Genesis. The picture is the Garden of Eden. God had placed our first parents, Adam and Eve there. God had clearly communicated to them his will.

They could eat of any tree of the garden save one. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan comes in the form of a serpent and he comes to tempt. Here's the first question. Chapter three, the second part of verse one.

"Did God say, you shall not eat from any tree in the garden?"  Well, Eve certainly knew what God had said. Eve said in verse two.  "The woman said to the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden. But God said, you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it or you shall die."

Eve was very clear what God had said. However, when Eve says that they weren't to touch it, well, she was adding on to what God had said already. Eve was going on her owned authority. But what was the purpose there of that first question? What was the purpose of the question where Satan asks, "did God say you shall not eat from any tree in the garden?"

The purpose of the question was to set up the lie. The lie is recorded at the beginning of verse four. "But the serpent said to the woman, you will not die." That was a lie, wasn't it? And the purpose of the question was to set up the lie.

As Satan tempts, we can be tempted to believe the lie. When Satan comes to us, for example, and says, "you know, everybody's doing it, everybody's saying it, everybody's thinking it. Well then it can't be wrong." Well, that's a lie if it goes against the very Word of God.  

We've talked before about statistical morality, where morality is determined based upon surveys. Morality is determined based upon whether or not the majority of people think something is right or wrong and not God's Word. The purpose of the first question was to set up the lie. And Satan continues to tempt us to believe various lies, lies that are lies because they depart from the Word of God. 

Now what was the second question? A second question is recorded over in verse nine.

"But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, where are you?" Where are You? That's the second question. God comes to confront our first parents, Adam and Eve, in their sin, certainly. But God also comes to bring them good news.

The very first prediction, the passion prediction of our Lord... the very first one is recorded a little bit later in chapter three, where God, in speaking to the serpent says, "I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and herbs. He will strike your head and you will strike his heel." Obviously, it's much more serious to have a strike of the head than rather a strike of the heel. This is the first prophecy of the Lord, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus, that what Jesus would do would be strike the head of the devil.

Jesus victorious on the cross where he bore all of our sin, redeeming us, buying us back.... Jesus striking the head of the evil one, Satan himself.

"Did God say?" That was the first question. The second question, "where are you?" Those two questions are really, really important, aren't they? Because when you know about those two questions and when you know about the prophecy of the Lord Jesus Christ, that is a great deal of knowledge to know. .

Gracious Heavenly Father, we give you thanks for this time in your Word. Your Word is truth. We thank you, Lord, that as we turn to the Word, the very voice that we hear is your voice. That the Word is the solid rock upon which we stand.

Lord, Satan came with that first question to set up a lie. And Satan still tempts us with lies. Strengthen us, O Lord, through your Word to resist the lies of Satan. And we praise you, O Lord, that as you came to our first parents, Adam and Eve, so also you come to us through Word and Sacrament with the proclamation that the very prophecy of the Lord recorded all the way back in Genesis 3 has been fulfilled....That we are forgiven through the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. We praise your holy and blessed name. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. 

God bless you today.  Encourage someone.

Pastor Eibel