| Date | Version | Reading Plan |
|---|---|---|
| @January 3, 2024 | ESV (2016) | M’Cheyne Plan 2024 |
Genesis 3
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate (Gen. 3:6)
The woman did not just see that the tree made one wise but that it was to be desired to do so.
He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? (Gen. 3:11)
The man did not know what it meant to be naked until he transgressed and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The LORD God said to the serpent… (Gen. 3:14)
God addressed the serpent first, then the woman (Gen. 3:16), then the man (Gen. 3:17).
The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. (Gen. 3:20)
Eve is not named until after the fall. This delay in naming is interesting and quite different than his naming of the animals in Gen. 1:19.
He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. (Gen. 3:24)
I recently listened to an excellent sermon by R. C. Sproul in which he said that the blood of Christ doused the fire of the sword guarding entry to the garden, thus granting access where it was once denied (paraphrase). Check it out here.
Matthew 3
I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. (Matt. 3:11)
John the Baptist says he is unworthy to carry Jesus’ sandals but in John 1:27, he speaks of how he is unworthy to untie the straps of them.
Ezra 3
From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid. (Ezra 3:6)
That the altar for offerings was made before the foundation of the temple itself is interesting. It seems to point to the altar being of primary importance.
And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD (Ezra 3:11)
The qualifier “responsively” is interesting here in the ESV. Other translations have “together” (KJV) or omitting the qualifier entirely (CSB). In any case, it illuminates the passion with which we are to sing and give praises to God.
Acts 3
(The man lame from birth who was laid daily at the gate of the temple) Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk! 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. (Acts 3:3-7)
Take a moment to imagine that you were lame from birth and that you laid in front of a temple every day to beckon the generosity of those entering. Then, one day, two men come up, tell you to look at them and, expecting to receive a monetary gift, you are instead given the name of Jesus and the ability to walk. What kind of impact would that have on your life and faith?
And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: ‘Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?’ (Acts 3:12)
This answers the previous question and the amazement this healing caused. Peter is faithful in pointing to the Source from which all healing comes.
But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. (Acts 3:14–15)
This would have been some rebuke right after witnessing the man’s healing.
Carson on Genesis 3
God’s curses on the human pair is striking. The first (Gen. 3:16), which promises pain in childbearing and disordered marriages, is the disruption of the first designated task human beings were assigned before the Fall: male and female, in the blessing of God, being fruitful and increasing in number (1:27-28). The second (Gen. 3:17-19), which promises painful toil, a disordered ecology, and certain death, is the disruption of the second designated task human beings were assigned before the Fall: God’s image-bearers ruling over the created order and living in harmony with it (1:28-30).
This is fascinating. I’ve never noticed how the order of the curses followed the order of designated tasks of original creation.