God’s Goodness & Severity - Day 6
“For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.” Psalms 57:10-11
Adam and Eve are about to experience what we read in Romans 11:22 which says, “Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God…” When we, God’s children sin, we can expect His disciplining hand, His severity, which brings a correction and our reconciliation, His goodness.
Genesis 3:9-11 says,
“And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, ‘Where art thou?’ And he said, ‘I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.’ And he said, ‘Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?’”
God is asking questions of Adam to which He knew already knew the answers. He was holding Adam accountable for his deeds: his thoughts, words, and actions. Adam had to answer to God, his maker, for his wrong choices. And so do we. God has the rightful authority to hold us all accountable to Himself because all life belongs to Him. Acts 17:25 says, “…seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things…”
Adam and Eve were wrong in disobeying God. They knew they were wrong and showed it by their deeds. Our deeds always give us away and reveal to those around us if we are walking in right relationship to God or not. Adam and Eve’s thoughts revealed their sin; their eyes were open to the fact that they understood they were naked. Their actions likewise revealed their sin; they ran and hid and covered their naked bodies. Lastly, we see their words revealed their sin. Genesis 3:12-13 says,
“And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.”
Their words revealed they still did not want to admit or take responsibility for their choice to disobey God. Adam didn’t want to admit a thing but blamed both Eve and God! . “…the woman whom Thou gavest...” It is amazing how fast sin corrupts. So Adam blamed the woman and God, Eve blamed the serpent, but God already knew the truth. God knows everything, perfectly.
“Thank You, Father, for Your severity when I sin. And praise You, for your severity is always to bring about Your good. Amen.”
