“And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Genesis 2:9

Why did God create the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, especially considering God’s warning in verses 16-17: “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die”? Did you ever wonder?

The truth is that we don’t know. Some suggest it was put there as a test of man’s respect, love and trust for God since Adam and Eve were created with a free will (which was lost in the fall) rather than as robots doing what they were programmed to do. Others think it may have had another purpose in the garden.

One thing that is certain is that God did not put the tree there to be a temptation to sin for “God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one” (James 1:13), nor is it God’s fault that Adam and Eve sinned and brought sin into the world.

Some, of course, would like to blame God for everything, saying, “He made me like that,” and implying that God is the cause of our sinful inclinations, thoughts, words and actions. The blame, however, lies squarely upon us, and it is only of God’s undeserved love and kindness that He sent Jesus to bear our punishment and be our Savior!

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

I have sinned, O God, and gone astray. You sent Your Son to win my stay. Grant that I trust in Him alway. Amen.

Psalm 33

1 Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful. 2 Praise the LORD with the harp; make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. 3 Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy. 4 For the word of the LORD is right, and all His work is done in truth. 5 He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD. 6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deep in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. 9 For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. 10 The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. 11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations. 12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance. 13 The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. 14 From the place of His dwelling He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth; 15 He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works. 16 No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not delivered by great strength. 17 A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. 18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, 19 To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. 20 Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. 22 Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, just as we hope in You.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

1. Read verses 1-3. What does this psalm say about worshipping the LORD? What type of instruments are mentioned for use in praise? What kind of song was to be used in praise?

2. Who is to be worshipped and praised? What does the word “LORD” indicate?

3. Read verses 4-5. Why were God’s people to worship the LORD? Cf. Psalm 96.

4. Read verse 6. How were the hosts of heaven created? How are they sustained? Cf. Genesis 1:14-19; Nehemiah 9:6; Hebrews 1:1-3.

5. What is described in verse 7? Cf. Genesis 1:9-10.

6. Read verses 8-9. What does the psalm here enjoin? Why? Do the people of this world do so? Why or why not?

7. Read verses 10-11. What does the psalmist say about the plans of men and nations? About God’s plans? How long do God’s plans continue to be carried out and fulfilled? What is His desire and plan for us? Cf. Ezekiel 33:11; 2 Peter 3:9; Luke 24:46-47.

8. Read verse 12. Which nation and people are blessed of the LORD? Is it of their own will or choosing, or of the LORD’s mercy? Cf. John 1:12-13; 2 Tim. 1:9.

9. Read verses 13-15. Who made our hearts and sees all that we think and do? Is anything hidden from the eyes of the LORD? Cf. Psalm 139:1-16.

10. Read verses 16-19. Are kings (presidents and rulers) and nations saved by their great armies and military might? Will great strength or human weapons save us? Who does the LORD look upon and save in the day of trouble? How alone can we be spared in the day of judgment? Cf. Acts 4:12; John 14:6; John 3:18,36.

11. Read verses 20-21. In whom do we place our hope? Why? Cf. Psalm 130:7-8.

12. Read verse 22. For what does the psalmist pray? For what should we pray?

Look at LSB Hymns No. 816 and 717. How do these hymns echo the message of this psalm?

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:17-20

Some in Jesus’ day misunderstood and thought that Jesus was trying to throw out all that is taught in the Old Testament Scriptures because He offered forgiveness and life through faith in His name. Unfortunately, some today assume that Jesus’ teaching does away with the Old Testament and makes these Scriptures obsolete and unnecessary for Christians. Many even believe and teach that one can be a Christian and disregard some or all of what the Bible teaches. This couldn’t be further from the truth!

It is as Jesus said: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” Jesus, the long-promised Messiah and Savior, came to fulfill all that is taught in the Old Testament, not to destroy it. Not the smallest letter (iota) of the Law or the smallest part of a letter (a dot or tittle) in the Scriptures will pass away until all is fulfilled.

Thus, Jesus went on to say: “Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

It is a grave offense to break or compromise even the smallest commandment in the Scriptures and teach others so. Those who do so will find themselves called least in God’s kingdom — possibly even being excluded from it. And those who do and teach all that God commands in His Word will be called great in God’s kingdom, being faithful stewards of the mysteries of God (cf. 1 Cor. 4:1f.).

And, as a study of the Scriptures will reveal, the righteousness which God demands is far greater than the outward righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. It far exceeds the righteousness of the churchgoers of our day who depend on their own righteous works and deeds (See Matthew 5:21ff.).

The Scriptures demand perfect righteousness of heart, soul and mind (cf. Lev. 19:2; Matt. 5:48). The Scriptures demand a holy life in thought, word and deed — righteousness which we do not have and cannot attain by our own attempts to keep God’s Law (cf. Rom. 3:19-20).

But Jesus came to keep every commandment of the Scriptures perfectly for us. He regarded the Scriptures as the very Word of God and was obedient to every teaching of the Law and the Prophets! He fulfilled all and regarded all as absolute truth (cf. John 10:35; Heb. 4:15; 1 Pet. 2:22). He fulfilled the righteous demands of the Scriptures for us.

Jesus also, as prophesied by the Law and the Prophets (the Old Testament Scriptures), took our place under God’s Law and took the guilt and punishment of our sins upon Himself, that we might have forgiveness and life through faith in Him and His blood shed for us upon the cross (cf. Isa. 53:6; 1 Pet. 2:24; 3:18; Luke 24:45-47).

And these same Scriptures declare to us Christ’s full atonement for our sins and the acceptance and pardon of a merciful God for Jesus’ sake (Cf. 2 Cor. 5:18-21; Rom. 3:21-28; 4:3-8; 5:18ff.)! They offer to us the imputed, perfect righteousness of Christ Jesus that we might stand in God’s judgment through faith in Jesus’ name.

Dear LORD Jesus, holy Son of God and true man, our Savior, thank You for fulfilling for us the perfect righteousness taught and demanded in the Holy Scriptures, and thank You for bearing upon the cross the full and just punishment for all our sins and then rising again to grant us forgiveness and life — perfect righteousness — through faith in Your name. Amen.

[Scripture quotations are from The ESV® (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:10-11

God’s Word – whenever and wherever it is read, preached or proclaimed – will accomplish God’s purpose. It does not return to God empty, but it accomplishes what God purposes and succeeds in the thing for which God sent it.

Notice that God does not say it will accomplish our purpose but His, and sometimes that can be a surprise to us and unexpected. Let me give you a couple of examples.

I recently made calls on a church member in a nursing facility, each time sharing a short Scripture reading and a few words of explanation and application regarding that Word of our God. Though it was on some occasions difficult for me to see a response in the church member, it opened the door to frequent conversations with another resident of the facility who expressed his desire to hear more and professed his faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And though our church member has since gone home to be with the Lord, I still visit the other resident and share with him the Word of our God.

Just yesterday I stopped at a rehabilitation hospital to share a reading from Psalm 130 with a man who is a family member of one of our church members. After explaining that none of us would or could measure up and be acceptable to God if He were to keep a record of our sins and hold them against us but that there is forgiveness with God because of the abundant redemption provided for all by Christ Jesus when He died for our sins and rose again, I heard a voice behind the divider curtain saying, “Pastor, when you are done there, could you come and visit me also?”

I visited the second man. He had been a pastor for many years and then had served as a chaplain but was clearly somewhat discouraged because of his health problems. He told me that I was the first pastor he had heard in the facility since he had been there. I was privileged to assure Him of God’s grace and mercy in Christ Jesus as well and to take his hand and pray for him.

In both of these examples – and I could give you many more because “the fields are white for harvest” (John 4:35) – I went and shared the Word with one purpose in mind, but God had an even greater purpose than I had anticipated. Through the sharing of His Word, He also gave comfort and assurance to others whom He has chosen and called to be His own.

All this goes to show that God’s Word never comes back empty and fruitless. God works through it to convict the impenitent and to comfort those who are troubled over their sins. He lifts up the discouraged and broken-hearted with the promises of His Word and strengthens and builds up His children in the faith.

And, even when we don’t or can’t see the results, God’s Word is at work, accomplishing His purposes.

And what does all this have to do with our preparation for worship on Sunday? God’s Word is like the rain and snow which come down from heaven and water the earth so that it produces food to nourish and sustain both the farmer and the eater. As we gather to hear God’s Word and to receive Christ’s Supper, God is at work in ways we often do not expect or anticipate.

God uses the Word to reveal our sins and failures to live as He desires and commands, but He also speaks to us through His Word and the Lord’s Supper to give to us and assure to us the forgiveness of all our sins and a place in His everlasting kingdom because of what Jesus did for us when He died on the cross and rose again.

Through His Word and Christ’s Supper, God lifts us up from the depths of despair over our sin and guilt and comforts us with the plenteous redemption provided for us in Christ Jesus. Again, if God were to keep track of our sins and hold them against us, who could stand? But, there is forgiveness with Him because of the abundant redemption accomplished for us by Christ Jesus!

God’s Word, and His Sacraments, will not return empty. They will accomplish God’s purpose and succeed in the thing for which He sent them. Come, you might even be surprised at the work God has purposed for you!

Pastor Randy Moll

[Scripture quotations are from The ESV® (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]