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The Root of the Problem - Genesis 3:9-14
The Root of the Problem - Genesis 3:9-14 [9] And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
[10] And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
[11] 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?
[12] And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
[13] 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.
[14] And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
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INTRODUCTION
It is imperative that man consider the root of a problem when one presents itself. In scripture, the Lord would often accomplish this by asking man questions. Before entering the garden the Lord knew what had transpired, but the first thing that He did was ask Adam where he was. The Lord did not do so because He needed to know, but because He needed Adam to get to the root of the problem. Adam did acknowledge what transpired to bring about the current problem, but failed to take personal responsibility for the problem. When a problem presents itself, man should take time to seek the cause of the problem, but he should also be willing to take personal responsibility.
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS
- (For smaller children) God told Moses, when he was receiving the Law, what the people were doing below (Exodus 32:1-8 [1] And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
[2] And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
[3] And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
[4] And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
[5] And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.
[6] And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
[7] And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:
[8] They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
See All...). When questioned, Aaron blamed the people instead of facing his fear of man and his compromise. His answer was also dishonest (Exodus 32:21-24 [21] And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? [22] And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief. [23] For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. [24] And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.
See All...). - Why is it so important for people to strongly consider the root of a problem? How could this consideration possibly prevent a second occurrence of the same problem in the future?
- A problem cannot be solved long term without considering what initially brought about the problem. What does this suggest about solutions that do not consider the root of the problem?
PRAYER NEEDS
- Ask the Lord to help you identify the root of your problems.
- Ask God to help you take responsibility for your problems.
HYMN
I Surrender All
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