ADAM WHERE ART THOUGH? – PART 5
TEXT: GEN. 3: 9-10 - And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
Brethren in this last of the series on our theme Adam where art thou, we shall be looking at the similarities between Adam sin and King Saul sin and the punishment they both received for their sins. We would also look at the differences in the punishment each of them received. In Gen. 2:15 – 17 God commanded Adam not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God also told Adam the consequences of not obeying this commandment, which is death. Surprisingly, despite knowing the consequences of disobedience, Adam still ate of the fruit of knowledge of good and evil. What does that say of every one of us? Like the first Adam, many of us are still in the same habit of committing sins or disobeying God’s commandment even when the bible tells us that the soul that sin must surely die (Eze. 18:20). Compare this with the word of God again on the blessings associated with righteousness. In Isa. 3:10 the bible says “Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds” (NIV). Brethren, if I pray that you would enjoy the fruits of your deeds as promised in the bible, would it be a curse or a blessing to you. This is because that verse can be a dangerous curse if your deeds are evil. That is why following immediately in the same chapter; in verse 11 the bible says “Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them! They will be paid back for what their hands have done” (NIV).
Dear reader, which would you choose from these 2 verses? Reward or sanctions? I am convinced that none would want to choose disaster. So if we do not want to choose disaster why then do we still disobey God? For instance, the bible says in Eph. 4: 26 “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger” (NIV). Similarly, in the same chapter in verses 31-32 the bible went further to state “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (NIV).
Beloved, if you do not want disaster to come upon you as it happened to our forefather Adam, why do we still hold grudges against one another? Dear readers, it would amount to double jeopardy for someone to hurt you and for you to let that hurt make you to disobey God and be punished by God for their actions. You may not have control over the behaviour of others, but you have control on how you react to their behaviour. That is why it is important for us to decide within ourselves that we would not permit anyone to make us to offend God. Perhaps the fellow is not even aware they have offended us or have repented of their sins and have been forgiven and pardoned by God and already on their way to heaven (as in the case of Apostle Paul) while the offended is on their way to hell because of their unforgiveness. Therefore, as much as possible try to talk over any issue between you and anyone that may have offended you.
In I Sam. 13: 12 – 14 we read about the first act of disobedience by King Saul. Here King Saul committed the disobedience against the order that God set up as to who should perform sacrifices/burnt offerings unto the Lord in Leviticus chapter 1 – 7. This led to a pronouncement of judgement by Prophet Samuel. It was not quite long from that moment that he disobeyed God again in I Samuel 15: 1 -23. Here King Saul committed another act of disobedience against God, which seals his fate irreparably. In I Sam. 15: 2- 3, God was very specific about what King Saul should do to the Amalekites – to totally destroy them. However, in verses 7 -9, we were told that King Saul spared everything that was good. 7Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, to the east of Egypt. 8He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. 9But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calvesb and lambs—EVERYTHING THAT WAS GOOD. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed (NIV). Brethren, most of the things that are good are destructive. This account of King Saul is similar to what we read in Gen. 3: 6a. According to the bible “when the woman saw that the fruit of the tree WAS GOOD for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it”. Eve saw that the tree was good and ate, just as King Saul spared everything that was good.
When King Saul was confronted by Prophet Samuel, his excuse was that he spared the good things so that he might use them to offer sacrifices unto God (I Sam. 15: 15). In I Sam. 15: 22 – 23,
22But Samuel replied:
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
23For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.”
Brethren, you cannot serve God or sacrifice unto God with a disobedient heart. You cannot deceive God. God is more interested in our obedience and would not permit any excuse for our disobedience. For instance, you cannot use the excuse of been in the developed world, such as the UK as a reason for not been faithful in your service to Him. For instance, the bible says in Exod. 20: 8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” (NIV). Also, in Exod. 31: 13 & 15 the bible says “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy. 15 For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is a day of Sabbath rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day is to be put to death (NIV). While it may not be possible not to work on Sunday for some categories of people because of the intricacies modern day environment; however, it would be unexpected of you to deliberately opt to work at the time when you should be in the house of the Lord where you have a choice for financial gain. I pray that you would not be rejected like King Saul in Jesus name.
Interestingly, though they both disobeyed God’s command, they received different punishment. In the case of Adam, he lost the source of his supplies and became cursed (Gen. 3: 17 – 19). For King Saul, he lost his kingdom, his sanity and eventually his life. This confirms what the bible tells us about the end of anyone who is disobedient unto God (Isa. 3: 11). The end is always disaster. I pray that you would not end in disaster in Jesus name. As noted earlier, both Adam and King Saul lost their peace and relationship with God; and were taken over by fear. However, God remembered mercy in His wraths towards Adam, as we see in Gen. 3: 21 (The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them). This is an act of mercy unto Adam. For King Saul it was a total disaster.
In concluding this series I would leave you with Rev. 3:2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God (NIV). Brethren you must act now before it is too late. Finally, as I close this charge, I enjoin you to pray the prayer of Prophet Habakkuk recorded in Hab. 3: 2 “LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy” (NIV).
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Shalom.
HYMN: I AM THINE O LORD, I HAVE HEARD THY VOICE
Dr. Yinka Okude
Pastor-in-Charge
RCCG Jesus Sanctuary, Northampton