Somebody Loves You

Raul Ries: Many times there's this power struggle in marriage where if the husband's not taking care of the wife and really taking care of the home, the wife automatically has to take the leadership over home, or home would be destroyed. I really want to challenge you men here today and you women to get focused biblically, what does the Word of God say?

Guest (Male): Welcome to Somebody Loves You radio, the Bible teaching ministry of Raul Ries in Diamond Bar, California. We're glad you've tuned in for our continuing focus on helping you nurture your marriage in godliness and faith. Exploring the mistakes Adam and Eve made in Eden, Raul will urge you to stand united with your spouse, not allowing Satan to take advantage of any weakness or division. Stay with us to see that God will strengthen your relationship when you humbly submit to Him and to each other. Now with the continuation of our study, Marriage Must Be Tested, here's Raul Ries in Genesis chapter three.

Raul Ries: There are three areas that Satan always attacks. He attacks the Word of God, he attacks the deity of Jesus Christ, and he attacks the work of the Holy Spirit within the life of the believer. The reason is because he is a serpent, he always wants to deceive people. He's the deceiver of the world. He is also a liar and a murderer. The Bible says that. He also is always disguising himself as an angel of light and then he always misuses the scriptures, always adds to the Word of God or takes away from the Word of God. He is always trying to scheme concerning Christians. How can I deceive this person? How can I destroy this marriage?

When we looked at chapter two of the Book of Genesis, what a perfect setting. God created men, God created woman, brought them together. They were happily married until we get to chapter three as we studied last time when we met, when the woman began to hear the voice of deception. We really don't know where Adam was at this particular time in chapter three, but it seems that her husband was separated from her, and when Satan saw that her husband was not there, the serpent came in full power for the jugular to kill the woman.

I think of how many marriages today are being attacked by Satan. Yet God has called every one of you males here today to be the spiritual heads of your homes. The Bible says that the woman is the weaker vessel, the one that is supposed to be loved, the one that is supposed to be nourished, the one that really, truly can become a helpmate to you. Most of the time this doesn't happen with many marriages because the husband first of all doesn't even love his wife, doesn't take care of her as Christ took care of His church. It's of importance that we understand that the serpent came into the Garden of Eden, Satan behind the deception, transformed himself into an angel of light.

The first thing we see in chapter three, verse one is that Satan, when he sees the opportunity of loneliness, he begins to challenge the Word of God. How does he do that? By putting doubt into the mind of the woman. Putting doubt, does your husband really love you? I don't think he really loves you, if he did, he would be with you. All of a sudden the woman found herself as Satan began to put all this doubt into her mind. When the time was right, then the serpent said, has God indeed said you shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Did God really say that? Is that really in the Bible? Do you really believe it in your own life?

The woman answered. She should have never answered, but because her head was not around she took the position of leadership and she began to speak to Satan, to the serpent. Not only did she speak to the serpent, she added to the Word of God. When Satan saw the weakness of woman adding to the Word of God, he took full advantage of destroying her and destroying her husband. Because she said in verse two, the woman said to the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden God has said you shall not eat of it. She should have stopped there. This is what she added, nor shall you touch it lest you die. God never said that. She added to the Word of God.

When Satan saw the door open, what does he do? He contradicted the Word of God. The enemy sees the opportunity with the weaker vessel. I see so many marriages today that are being destroyed because the head of the home, the strong pillar, the strong tower, the male is not taking the leadership of his home as God declares in the Bible. The woman becomes now the head taking care of the children, taking care of the needs in the home while the husband is not only working, but the husband's playing. Think of how many homes have been destroyed by a husband having other relationships with other women or wives with other men because they fell out of love in their own marriage and women have been hurt and males have been hurt too.

When Satan sees that actually a husband and wife or a home is divided, Satan has a great opportunity of coming in and destroying that home and the children and the mother and the father. Just think of all the hundreds and thousands of divorces in America today. Think about it. Children that have been hurt by divorce, having a second marriage or a third marriage or a fourth marriage, we're going up to five marriages now. That was never God's will. God said one man, one woman for the rest of your life. Maybe you're sitting here today, you're a Christian today, maybe you made that mistake before you came to Christ. God says all things are forgiven, all things become brand new. If you are a Christian today and you're married and you're thinking of divorce, you're going against the Word of God.

It's not the unpardonable sin, but at the same time you will sin against God. It's really important that only God can redeem your marriage and God can bring peace to your marriage if you're willing to submit and surrender your life. It's not about you, it's about Him. Yet there's this power struggle in marriage so many times where if the husband's not taking care of the wife and really taking care of the home, the wife automatically has to take the leadership over home, or home would be destroyed. I really want to challenge you men here today and you women to get focused biblically, what does the Word of God say? We have the example Eve was deceived by the serpent. He began to challenge and to contradict the Word of God. He said the serpent said to her, you shall not die. You're not going to get caught. Nothing's going to happen to you. Just do what you have to do.

For God knows that in the day that you eat, your eyes will be opened and you'll become like God, knowing good and evil. Notice defaming the character of God, defaming the character of God, Satan. But the woman listened to the serpent. She was in a weak point in her life. Look what it says in verse six, the woman's disobedience to God's Word. When the woman saw the lust of the flesh, the tree, that it was good for food, and that it was pleasant the lust of the eyes, and the tree desirable now the pride of life, to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate and she gave also to her husband with her and he ate. Now we see her husband at her side and he's eating of the same fruit.

This is now where the first marriage in the Bible comes to a fall, comes to destruction where God has to intervene or Adam and Eve will be lost forever and they would not have a second chance. Even as God in every Christian marriage steps in, He never leaves the marriage, He's always there before us, but the problem is not God, the problem is us. We don't listen. We're not honest with God. We're not honest with ourselves. What do I mean? Look what it says beginning with verse seven through 13 now, the voice of love. Notice that the eyes of them both were opened as soon as they partook of that tree. What happened? Their eyes were both opened.

Here we see at the beginning of the first marriage that Adam and Eve, the first thing that they do is that their eyes are opened and the second thing they see is their awareness of their sin. Notice what it says, and they knew that they were naked. Notice that in verse seven. Thirdly, they sewed fig leaves together and made aprons or coverings for themselves. There was a guilt that they were carrying and they tried to cover it up. They never knew they were naked in the Garden of Eden, but now they do and they're ashamed. Guilt because of sin.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Somebody Loves You radio with Raul Ries. For Bible-based resources to help you better understand the mind and heart of God, visit somebodylovesyou.com. You can also download our free app for digital studies, live-streamed Bible teaching and much more. Now back to more with Raul Ries.

Raul Ries: In verse eight, and they heard the sound of the Lord walking in the garden in the cool of the day and Adam and his wife, notice instead of running to God like before, they hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. What happens when you're living a life of sin, the presence of God is not with you anymore? There's no anointing. The Holy Spirit is grieved because of sin. He can't work until there's confession, until there's repentance, until there's acknowledgment. Sin always separates me from God, sin always makes me hide. I'm ashamed of what I'm doing and we see that in the Garden of Eden.

Next we see in verse nine that the Lord God called Adam and said to him, where are you? God's challenge now to man when He's calling out to man and to woman. Notice He calls out to the leader of his home, not to the woman, to the man. Where are you? You have to be responsible, you have to be accountable to God. Here we hear the sound of the voice of God not in anger, not trying to beat down the man or the marriage, but it's an actual voice of a father over his son when a son has fallen with a broken heart, son, what happened Adam? Where are you? What is God looking for here? God is looking for confession and repentance, not excuses.

Where are you? What happened Adam? That's a question that God continues to ask in almost every marriage. Listen to his answer. He said, like most husbands, I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself. Notice no longer in communion with God. But here now Adam confessing to God that fellowship has been broken, fellowship is broken with God and Adam. God trying to get men back into fellowship. Notice what it says in verse 11, and then he said, God tells Adam, who told you that you were naked? First question. Again, what is God looking for? Confession, repentance, humility.

Who told you that you were naked? Giving man an opportunity to repent and confess his sin. Then God says, have you eaten? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? How many times God will come to the husband and say, listen, you got married in the Lord and you heard the vows that you made and you know what the Bible says, why aren't you keeping according to the Word of God? That's why your life is a mess and your marriage is a mess. If men don't take the right of leadership and become the spiritual leaders of their home, you'll be just like Adam and your wife will suffer and your children will suffer and your relationship will suffer with God until God gets your attention like Adam.

But you know what, men are just like Adam, we start making a bunch of excuses. The first thing we do, guess what, we blame it on our wives. You don't believe me? And then the man said, the woman you gave me to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I ate. That's where it all started. Mark it down, put a big star by that. The next time your husband comes to you say, remember the star? Right there it is. It's so sad how people are always blaming their wives, blaming their wives. Then the woman doesn't blame the husband, but she says the devil made me do it. Look at verse 13. And the Lord God said to the woman, what is this that you have done? And the woman said, the serpent deceived me and I ate. You see, nobody wants to repent, nobody wants to say I'm wrong.

So then how can God heal the relationship? Adam and Eve were not honest with God when they sinned against God. So what does God have to do? He has to intervene. He has to step in. In verse 16 through 19 we hear the voice of God's judgment. God has to judge sin. So what does He say? So the Lord God said to the serpent, judgment against Satan. Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all the cattle, more than every beast of the field. On your belly you shall go and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. Then in verse 16, He said to the woman, I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception, in pain you shall bear forth children and your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you.

What He says there is you'll rule over her in God's love. In God's love, not with a rod of iron. Not with a rod. You need to learn your right place in the body of Christ as a father, as a husband. The woman needs to know her place in the home, that she's underneath her husband. When Paul the Apostle is writing the epistles on marriage, he says husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. God never says to the wife love your husband. Why? Because when a husband loves his wife, the wife will do anything for her husband, but if a wife is neglected, she will not do anything for him. That's just the way it is.

It's really important to love your wife as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. That's why here he says and then to Adam he said, because you have heeded the voice of your wife, this is one time he should have never listened to his wife, but he did, and have eaten from the tree which I commanded you saying, you shall not eat of it, cursed is the ground for your sake. In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns, here's the first time if you want to make a mark on your Bible, where thorns are mentioned. Where do we hear about thorns in the New Testament? The crown of thorns that Jesus Christ took upon the curse of men. Thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herbs of the field.

In sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken, for dust you are and dust you shall return. Notice that. We're going back to the earth because of what Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden, but our spirit and our soul goes to be with Jesus Christ forever and ever. So important that we understand the curse. Then the voice of God's grace in chapter three, verse 15 through verse 20 to 24. The first promise of the Redeemer that would come to redeem the world. I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. Your seed is who? Satan was going to be separated and all of his angels.

Then notice the word Seed in big capital letter, it's speaking of Jesus. Jesus shall bruise your head and you shall bruise His heel. Imagine that. Speaking of Jesus coming and becoming the King of kings and Lord of lords, the ruler of all things, and that the snake would be defeated, Satan. Verse 20, and Adam called his wife's name Eve because she was the mother of all living, that's what it means. Also for Adam and his wife, the Lord God had made tunics of skin and clothed them. What is this? The first atonement in the Bible, if you want to make a note. The first atonement made by God. Otherwise man would be eternally lost forever and ever. God killed an animal, probably a lamb, and gave the blood in sacrifice and then brought the skins and placed them upon them to cover their shame.

Check this out, this is amazing here, verse 22. Then the Lord God's protection. Notice He said, behold the man has become like one of us, capital U-S, speaking of God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, the trinity of God, to know good and evil. Now lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and live forever, God says if man comes back into the garden and grabs from the tree of life they'll be dust for the rest of their lives so we're going to protect it. God protected the marriage. God protected the man and the woman, not for their own sake but for future generations, you and I. Or we would have been dust, we would have been lost.