![[#44] Genesis 3:11-13 – The Blame Game](https://redeeminggod.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Adam-blames-Eve-150x150.jpg)
There are six revolutionary and foundational truths in Genesis 2–3. Today we see the fifth.
These truths help you understand God, Scripture, society, culture, and yourself like never before. The one we see today is absolutely critical for understanding why God appears so violent at various places in the Bible.
If you have ever wondered how to understand the violence of God in the Bible, make sure you listen to this episode.
The Text of Genesis 3:11-13
And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”
Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”
And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
In this discussion of Genesis 3:11-13 we look at:
- The fifth foundational and revolutionary truth from Genesis 2–3
- Why God asks Adam about his nakedness
- God does not blame Adam and Eve for what happened
- Adam blames Eve; Eve blames the serpent. Ultimately, Adam blames God
- Why humans blame and scapegoat others
- How God is the ultimate Scapegoat in Scripture and history
- Two ways of reading Scripture and how Jesus shows which way is correct
Resources:
- The Atonement of God on Amazon
- Amazon Prime for free for 30 days
- Episode 38 – Scapegoating Eve
- Episode 43 – Do not be Afraid
- Subscribe and Leave a Review on iTunes
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OK. I have wondered about all the blood and gore in the O.T. I even get the idea that we humans do scapegoat God. But I have not understood the cause of the flood? Unless you read Immanuel Velikovskyl? So I got your book the Atonement of God.
I have never heard of Immanuel Velikovskyl … what does he say about the flood?
http://varchive.org/ Here is a link. He is Russian. Died in 1978, I think? Knew Einstein.
As far as I can tell, he is not a believer. But think he is interesting,
Howard,
It’s impossible to understand what was going on with the flood without getting into cosmic geography, what happened at Mount Hermon, and the hybrids that were hellbent on 1) wiping out the Jews from the face of the earth 2) defeating God’s plan for redeeming mankind.
The wars of conquest are inextricably tied to the Giant Clan problem. A problem that started in Genesis when Bene elohim took on human flesh, cohabited with women and formed these half-human hybrids(Genesis 6).
Check out Dr. Michael Heiser’s ‘Unseen Realm’ for a good treatment of this problem. A problem the biblical authors assume bible readers are completely aware of.
A few highlights in an interview with Dr. Heiser
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wW_hgsgges
One further note, the flood destroyed the ‘eretz.’ Eretz can mean world, but it is often translated earth. It can refer to the entire globe, or a limited geographic area(IE. the bible talks about ‘Eretz Israel’ the land of Israel, not the GLOBE of Israel). I’ve seen no compelling evidence that we MUST think of this as a worldwide flood. A localized flood of some sort is a valid interpretation. I keep an open mind on that subject since it’s not 100% clear from the text.
Thanks Dave
I am glad it was a long episode. It took a little while for me to digest. I’ve been on that page of love for others and responding as Christ would. Thank you. And I might pick up that book the gentlemen above (Worlds in Collisions) recommended, that too is intriguing.
Thanks Doreen. I believe in the 1950’s the book was made into a movie. I will look for the book.
50
I don’t understand
Great episode, Jeremy. Yes, the way we read what the Bible says affects our view of not only God, but also of other people. If we think the Bible says that God told ancient Israel to slaughter multitudes of people, and even today sends terrorists, hurricanes and a variety of other things to slay and punish the “wicked”, then it really does follow that it’s fine for us to also slay our enemies, real or perceived. We imagine it to be God’s will. Of course, it’s God’s will that we destroy our perceived enemies, but those people are terrorists and religious extremists if they say it is God’s will that they try to destroy us.
Somehow, Jesus and what he had to say are relegated to the sidelines. Nice stuff, but it doesn’t work in the real world. Right? When Jesus said to love our neighbor, he didn’t mean Mexicans, Muslims, gays and a whole bunch of other people. Right? He meant people like us, whoever “us” is. At least that’s what we’ve been taught and are being told this very day by some very loud voices, voices that proclaim their “Christianity” for all to hear.
Religion has been used for thousands of years to justify many evils. Tell me that your sacred book, sacred Scriptures, priests or whatever or whomever has decreed what God has said. Convince me. Get angry and call me names and threaten and attack me if I disagree with you. Better yet, banish me from among you, imprison me and kill me if you can to silence me so that what you say stands. It should work. Right? Wasn’t that what they did to Jesus? Isn’t that what those with the most power and biggest mouths continue to try to do this very day?
Now I understand why so many believe that religion is one of the greatest evils ever visited upon humankind. Yes, Jesus came to save us from that, but have we allowed him to do so? Do we listen to him or to the voices of the powerful, the religious and political leaders – those who tell us what to think?
Sam wrote –
If we think the Bible says that God told ancient Israel to slaughter multitudes of people
So what should God have done instead? Maybe instead, God should have let the waring tribes obsessed with wiping out all the Jews, instead of God keeping His promise to Israel, are you saying He should have let them wipe out the Israelistes He promised to protect? And we know historically that in most(not all) cases these weren’t people like you and me, they were demonic hybrids, and Satan was trying to pollute the gene pool, making Jesus’ incarnation and redemption impossible. So maybe God should have just let things run their course, meaning ultimately everyone would go to hell?
You wrote:
When Jesus said to love our neighbor, he didn’t mean Mexicans, Muslims, gays and a whole bunch of other people………..At least that’s what we’ve been taught and are being told this very day.
I notice you didn’t put Americans on the list of people that are deserving of ‘love.’ Between 2008-2014, in TEXAS ALONE, illegal immigrants committed over 200,000 crimes, including over 2,000 MURDERS. SO then, instead of enforcing existing laws, already on the books to prevent thousands from being slaughtered, we should just ‘love the Mexicans’ and ISIS members pouring in thru the borders? Is such lawlessness Jesus’ idea of love?
Should we sing Kumbaya while the members of Muhamed’s death cult try to implement worldwide Sharia Lawa? They are merely following the over 100 injunctions in the Koran to convert or kill.
If we are concerned about loving gays, do we really want Islamic jihadists coming here throwing gays from rooftops? You do realize that’s accepted culturally in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iran, and other Islamic countries ruled by Sharia.
Is love really this pacifistic notion where we do nothing to protect law abiding citizens from certain slaughter?
Dave, Jesus said to love our neighbor as ourselves. Period. One can find examples of violence and law-breaking among any group, but Jesus did not add “except for….” to what he said. We try to imagine that Jesus surely didn’t mean those people, but he never said any such thing. He did not give us any “wiggle room” so that we need not love any person or any group of people. We are the ones who created such an idea.
Each culture, each society has laws, and those laws also prescribe the penalties for breaking those laws. Yes, if Muslims, Isis, gays, Americans, Texans or Georgians, Evangelicals, preachers or whoever it may be break those laws, then society should fairly and equally apply its laws to the law-breakers. This doesn’t mean all laws are fair or equal. But none of this excuses us as followers of Jesus from loving any individual or any group or groups of people, no matter what we may think of what they do and the reasons they give for doing it.
You and I do not understand the Bible in a similar way. I read those Old Testament accounts and, similar to Jeremy, see that they reveal the heart of man, the wickedness that lies within him, not the violence and hatred of God against certain people groups. This is not unlike people today who single out certain groups and seemingly condemn the entire group, somehow making them unworthy of the love that Jesus clearly commanded, based on the actions of certain members of those groups. That may be politics, it may be twisted religion, but that is not the way of Jesus. Read Jeremy’s “The Atonement of God.”
Sam, you wrote:
Dave, Jesus said to love our neighbor as ourselves. Period.
I agree 100%. But I would say we have to also love our American citizens at least just as much as the foreigner we don’t know(yes, I do know that you’ve done this in deed for some time now in the charitable work that you do. And I applaud you for that.) Why should American lives be considered disposable? If we don’t love and protect American citizens, we are violating Jesus’ commandment too. We(we as in the United States) are sacrificing US citizens on the altar that the elite globalists and social justice warriors have erected, and too often our corrupt religious leaders have perverted Jesus’ gospel into a message of social work(not that social work is bad, but it isn’t the gospel). I don’t think it’s loving to American citizens to guarantee their slaughter by having a lawless open borders policy and call it ‘love.’ Do you think it’s unloving to secure the border to prevent the further slaughter of American’s? Do you think we should vet those coming into the country? Or do we instead guarantee that our children will live in a world where every week a terror attack targets civilians and law abiding citizens die?
You wrote:
I read those Old Testament accounts and, similar to Jeremy, see that they reveal the heart of man, the wickedness that lies within him, not the violence and hatred of God against certain people groups.
SO are you saying that God should have let those groups successfully engage in genocide and wipe out the Jews? Should God have done nothing and allowed the dark spiritual forces to stop God’s plan of paying for our sins?
Do you think that there are times in our lives in which it is right to use violence in the defense of others? For instance, as a husband and father if someone were to be trying to take the life of my wife and children; would it be ungodly for me to do all I can to save their lives even if it means I have to kill the assailant? What do you think?
Chris – you’ll find that the majority here give you a token ‘yes’ to that question, but they put handcuffs on God and tell Him that he can’t do the same to protect Israel.