The Father’s Vision
The Good Father Series by Toby Eisenberg - Guest Speaker from Forest Community Church
Genesis 3:1-13, 22-23
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 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, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.
Our guest speaker, Toby Eisenberg, continues his series on taking us through creation to understand our purpose and focusing this week on sight. In Genesis, the first thing that God creates after observing the earth is light (Gen. 1:3). Toby shares with us that this light is notably created before the sources of light, namely the sun and stars. In fact, the light that God creates is more so the ability for creation to know God, comprehend his presence, and grow to know his character. It is this light that we struggle to seek and be basked in.
Seeing with the Father’s eyes
We see God’s light in Genesis 3 by listening to Him and discerning His will. When Adam names creation, he must engage fully and realize on his own that no suitable partner exists—then trust God to provide. This shows that true success comes when we rely on God’s vision, not just our own.Choosing blindness
Although it's easy in theory to trust God, we often rely on our own understanding. A small twist in truth can blind us, as seen in Genesis 3. The serpent subtly misquotes God, prompting Eve to correct him—but her correction is also inaccurate. God gave the original command to Adam before Eve was created, suggesting she was either misinformed or misunderstood. This shows a loss of God’s goodness in her words. The serpent tempts Eve by saying the fruit will open her eyes, and Adam remains silently complicit. In Hebrew, sin means “to miss the mark,” whether intentionally or not. Eve deliberately eats the fruit; Adam passively joins. Their eyes are opened—not physically, but morally—leading to shame. When confronted, neither seeks forgiveness; instead, they blame others. In doing so, they reject God's light and choose blindness.Restoration of vision
Is that it—choose blindness and move on? Thankfully, God never gives up on us. Throughout the Old Testament, God repeatedly pursues His people, despite their constant rejection of His light. Then in John, the Word—Jesus—becomes flesh. Rather than leaving us to choose alone, God sends Jesus to transform our hearts, so we desire Him and begin to seek His light. With that being said, although our hearts may align with God, we still can choose to deny looking with his vision; leading us to have dim sight. Toby tells us this is how we can have lukewarm Christian’s and we can prevent this from happening by daily returning to God, meditating on his word, and aligning our eyes with his vision.
Toby finishes by sharing with us Paul’s testimony in Acts 26:16-18. When we are filled with the Spirit of God, our purpose shifts to God’s vision and our desire becomes his. What is God’s desire? For us to be fruitful and multiply (Gen. 1:28), to love God and one another (Matt. 22:37-39), and to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19-20). In another way, we whose eyes have been restored to see God’s light now see the blind around us; how could we stop or deny them from restoring their sight?
Reflection Questions
Did you behold/meditate on God's creation, our status as God’s children, or proper/improper beholding? What did you reflect on?
What are some situations where you find yourself choosing blindness rather than God’s vision? Is there something that you reflected on this past week that would help you overcome the temptation to discern with your own eyes?
Have you asked God to give you his vision? If you haven’t, why not? If you have, what are some practical steps you take in ensuring that you maintain in God’s light?
