The Saddest Love Story

Nathan Hall

Midland SDA Church

February 9, 2019

Good afternoon and Happy Sabbath! I am so happy to be here worshipping with each of you today! I can say that Sabbath is by far, my favorite day of the week!

There is a popular holiday coming up next week, that you may or may not celebrate. It’s a holiday about love. Yes, Valentine’s Day is on Thursday, and I am convinced that this holiday is nothing more than a clever scheme to drain the pockets of unsuspecting husbands, fiancés and boyfriends. Haha! I’m mostly just kidding! But seriously, when else can florists charge $50-$75 for a dozen roses? Now, don’t get me wrong, I love my wife and I love buying her gifts and doing special things for her, but it should be all year long, not just on Valentine’s Day. So, in keeping with the spirit of the season, I thought it would be fitting to do a sermon about love. But before we go any further, I would like to have a prayer to ask God’s blessing on this message.

PRAYER

We all like a good love story don’t we? I don’t want you to raise your hands, but how many of you love to watch Hallmark movies at Christmas time? Every single one of them is a sappy, love story that has a happy ending. Now, I’m sure you can find something objectionable about each of them, but it’s about as clean as television gets these days.

There are many famous love stories that we’ve all heard. Whether tale or true, there is something about each one that captures our attention. Let’s take a look at a few of these stories.

The first story is about the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

· The Duke and Duchess of Windsor - In 1936, King Edward VIII (8^th) gave up his throne to marry “the woman he loved”, a twice-divorced American socialite named Wallis Simpson. The scandal rocked the British empire and captivated the rest of the world, but the couple remained devoted to each other until the Duke’s death in 1972.

Now this love story is a little happy and sad. It’s happy because they stayed married the rest of their lives. The sad part is that it caused trouble for the British empire. This is definitely not the saddest love story.

One of the most famous love stories is of Romeo and Juliet. Now, for those of you who have heard this story, you know that it does not have a happy ending.

· Romeo and Juliet – In Shakespeare’s classic story of forbidden love, Romeo and Juliet fall in love despite their families’ longstanding feud. Miscommunication and other plot twists lead to the death of both lovers, but the tragedy and shared grief unite the two families and bring lasting peace. Now, this is a sad love story, but it is not the saddest love story.

Reference:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/relationships/40-greatest-love-stories-of-all-time/ss-AA3gojX

Bible love stories

Now, how about some Bible love stories? There are plenty of love stories in the Bible. In each of these stories, you see happiness mixed with heartache. Some of the heartache was due to poor decisions and some was due to other circumstances.

· Abraham and Sarah – Abraham chooses to follow God’s leading him away from his hometown and family. During the journey, Abraham lies twice about Sarah being his sister because he was afraid that he would be killed by foreign rulers. In addition, since Sarah was barren, she gave her servant, Hagar, to be Abraham’s wife. They were trying to take into their hands what only God could do. Even though Hagar had a son, it was not the son that God had promised to give Abraham. Abraham and Sarah experienced much grief in their household due to that decision.

· Isaac and Rebekah – Abraham’s servant goes to find a wife for Isaac. Through the leading of the Lord, he meets Rebekah and she agrees to come back with him so that she can be Isaac’s wife. Even though Isaac was only married to one wife, their marriage was not perfect either. They had two sons. One was Isaac’s favorite and the other was Rebekah’s favorite. She ends up deceiving Isaac into giving Jacob the birthright blessing instead of her son Esau. Esau is so mad, that Jacob has to flee for his life. Rebekah never saw Jacob again.

· Jacob and Rachel/Leah – Jacob flees for his life to his mother’s hometown. He falls in love with Rachel and agrees to work 7 years for her hand in marriage. On the wedding weekend, he is tricked by his father-in-law into marrying her sister Leah. He loves Rachel so much that he agrees to work 7 more years for her, but he gets to marry her immediately.  Obviously, there is much heartache in this family due to Leah knowing she’s not loved as much as Rachel is and Rachel’s lack of ability to produce offspring for Jacob makes her feel inadequate compared to Leah. And in apparent disregard for the poor choices that Jacob’s Grandmother made, Rachel gives her servant to Jacob as a wife so that she may have children by her. In return, Leah also gives her servant to Jacob as a wife. He ends up having 12 sons by his 4 wives. Rachel, his true love, dies giving birth to her second son Benjamin. Her firstborn son, Joseph is sold into slavery in Egypt due to his brothers’ jealousy. Jacob spends over 20 years believing that Joseph had died.

· Samson and Delilah – Samson was a mighty judge and warrior of Israel. Samson’s strength came from the Lord. As long as Samson chose to obey the Lord’s command to never let a razor touch his head, he would keep his strength. Well, Samson falls in love with and gets married to a Philistine woman, who through a series of events betrays him and is given to his best man for a wife. Later, Samson falls in love with another Philistine woman named Delilah. The Philistines pay her to find out the secret of his strength. She tries to trick him into telling her. When that doesn’t work, she pesters him day by day until he gives up and tells her the truth. The Philistines are finally able to capture him. They blind him and make him a slave. In his final act, he stands up for the Lord and gets his great strength back so he can fight for the Lord one last time.

· Ruth and Boaz – Ruth married Naomi’s son Mahlon while they were living in Moab. Both he and his brother die. Ruth decides to follow her mother-in-law, Naomi, back to Israel to take care of her. In her attempt to find food for them, she begins working in the fields of a man named Boaz, who was a relative of her husband’s family. He is impressed by seeing her care for Naomi and falls in love with her. He buys her family’s property and marries her. They have a son named Obed who was the grandfather of King David.

· David and Bathsheba – In the early years of David’s life, he seems to be a man of strong faith and unquestionable character. After many years of being King of Israel, he has already married many wives. One day he is overlooking Jerusalem and he sees Bathsheba bathing on a rooftop and decides to have an affair with her even though her husband was one of his mighty men. After she becomes pregnant, he tries to cover it up and when he fails to do that, he has her husband killed. The child dies because of David’s sin. He then marries Bathsheba and they eventually have another son named Solomon who was king after David died.

· Hosea and Gomer – God tells Hosea to marry a harlot and to have children by her. He marries a woman named Gomer who he has children with. She not only is unfaithful to him, but God tells Hosea to redeem her, to buy her back and restore her as his wife.  Hosea’s marriage and heartache were to show how Israel had been unfaithful to the Lord and had turned their backs on Him.

· Mary and Joseph – Mary and Joseph were to be married. Sometime during the engagement, she is told by an angel that she will be the mother of the promised Messiah. Joseph is hesitant to go through with the marriage once he finds out she is pregnant. But an angel tells him the same thing and Joseph has faith to go through with the marriage. These two earthly parents were chosen by God to raise Jesus. What an amazing responsibility!  In their household, “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”  Luke 2:51-52 I’m sure that Mary did not know exactly what Jesus’ life would look like, but I’m sure she didn’t expect Him to die on a cross. What heartbreak she must’ve experienced, not only as mother, but as a believer.

Adam and Eve – a tragic beginning

As sad and tragic as these love stories are, none compare to the story of Adam and Eve. Our first parents were also the first married couple. God gave Eve to Adam as a companion. Now, we don’t know how long their happiness in Eden lasted before the fall, but we do know that they were in love with each other. Let’s take a look at the story.

Genesis 2:18-25

18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam, there was not found a helper comparable to him. 21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 23 And Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

How amazing their life must’ve been at the beginning! God had created them both perfect, perfect in both body and mind. What joy and harmony they must’ve experienced as husband and wife! Not only did they experience perfect peace in their marriage, but their lives were free from the many distractions that face us today. They didn’t have to decorate or do repairs to their house. Their home was a beautiful garden that was planted by God. They didn’t have to do laundry because they were clothed with a robe of light. There weren’t any dirty dishes because they ate their meals right off the tree. They did not have any financial worries or have any deadlines they had to meet. Now, that doesn’t mean they were idle. On the contrary, they had a lot to do. Not only were they to obey and worship God. They were to tend the garden, take care of the animals and grow their family. Talk about the ideal life! That sounds a lot like what each of us want our lives to be like. The only problem is, we are not perfect, and our world is no longer perfect. Therefore, we are currently unable to experience life as God intended it to be. Let’s continue the story.

Genesis 3:1-7

1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day 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, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

A few weeks ago, I was reading this story in chapter 3 of Patriarchs and Prophets. While reading, my heart was deeply moved as I began to realize that this is truly the saddest love story ever! I would like to

share with you a few excerpts from the chapter.
PATRIACHS AND PROPHETS CHAPTER 3 (p. 55-57)

The serpent plucked the fruit of the forbidden tree and placed it in the hands of the half-reluctant Eve. Then he reminded her of her own words, that God had forbidden them to touch it, lest they die. She would receive no more harm from eating the fruit, he declared, than from touching it. Perceiving no evil results from what she had done, Eve grew bolder. When she “saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat.” It was grateful to the taste, and as she ate, she seemed to feel a vivifying power, and imagined herself entering upon a higher state of existence. Without a fear she plucked and ate. And now, having herself transgressed, she became the agent of Satan in working the ruin of her husband. In a state of strange, unnatural excitement, with her hands filled with the forbidden fruit, she sought his presence, and related all that had occurred.

An expression of sadness came over the face of Adam. He appeared astonished and alarmed. To the words of Eve he replied that this must be the foe against whom they had been warned; and by the divine sentence she must die. In answer she urged him to eat, repeating the words of the serpent, that they should not surely die. She reasoned that this must be true, for she felt no evidence of God’s displeasure, but on the contrary realized a delicious, exhilarating influence, thrilling every faculty with new life, such, she imagined, as inspired the heavenly messengers.

Adam understood that his companion had transgressed the command of God, disregarded the only prohibition laid upon them as a test of their fidelity and love. There was a terrible struggle in his mind. He mourned that he had permitted Eve to wander from his side. But now the deed was done; he must be separated from her whose society had been his joy. How could he have it thus? Adam had enjoyed the companionship of God and of holy angels. He had looked upon the glory of the Creator. He understood the high destiny opened to the human race should they remain faithful to God. Yet all these blessings were lost sight of in the fear of losing that one gift which in his eyes outvalued every other. Love, gratitude, loyalty to the Creator—all were overborne by love to Eve. She was a part of himself, and he could not endure the thought of separation. He did not realize that the same Infinite Power who had from the dust of the earth created him, a living, beautiful form, and had in love given him a companion, could supply her place. He resolved to share her fate; if she must die, he would die with her. After all, he reasoned, might not the words of the wise serpent be true? Eve was before him, as beautiful and apparently as innocent as before this act of disobedience. She expressed greater love for him than before. No sign of death appeared in her, and he decided to brave the consequences. He seized the fruit and quickly ate.

After his transgression, Adam at first imagined himself entering upon a higher state of existence. But soon the thought of his sin filled him with terror. The air, which had hitherto been of a mild and uniform temperature, seemed to chill the guilty pair. The love and peace which had been theirs was gone, and in its place they felt a sense of sin, a dread of the future, a nakedness of soul. The robe of light which had enshrouded them, now disappeared, and to supply its place they endeavored to fashion for themselves a covering; for they could not, while unclothed, meet the eye of God and holy angels.

They now began to see the true character of their sin. Adam reproached his companion for her folly in leaving his side and permitting herself to be deceived by the serpent; but they both flattered themselves that He who had given them so many evidences of His love, would pardon this one transgression, or that they would not be subjected to so dire a punishment as they had feared.

Satan exulted in his success. He had tempted the woman to distrust God’s love, to doubt His wisdom, and to transgress His law, and through her he had caused the overthrow of Adam.

But the great Lawgiver was about to make known to Adam and Eve the consequences of their transgression. The divine presence was manifested in the garden. In their innocence and holiness they had joyfully welcomed the approach of their Creator; but now they fled in terror, and sought to hide in the deepest recesses of the garden.

When I read this section of the chapter, I was moved by how devastated Adam must’ve felt as well as the awful position that he suddenly found himself in. He found himself having to choose between being obedient to God and joining his wife in her fate. Now it’s easy for us to sit back and criticize Adam for his choice. We always seem to think we would’ve done differently when we read stories from the Bible. But how often do we find ourselves in similar circumstances where we must choose to do what we know is right versus what seems most pleasing in the moment. And who can blame Adam? God had given Eve to him as his forever companion. They were undoubtedly in love with each other and he could not bear to live without her. Ultimately, Adam chose Eve over God because he valued her more. God was not his first love. How sad it is when we give priority to anything other than our Lord and Savior. Let’s pick up the rest of the story in Genesis chapter 3 verse 8.

Genesis 3:8-24

8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”

12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”

13 And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Jump down to verse 22)

22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

If it’s alright with you, I want to share one more short section from Patriarchs and Prophets. Let’s see what it says about this story.

PATRIARCHS AND PROPHETS CHAPTER 3 (p. 57, 61-62)

Adam could neither deny nor excuse his sin; but instead of manifesting penitence, he endeavored to cast the blame upon his wife, and thus upon God Himself: “The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” He who, from love to Eve, had deliberately chosen to forfeit the approval of God, his home in Paradise, and an eternal life of joy, could now, after his fall, endeavor to make his companion, and even the Creator Himself, responsible for the transgression. So terrible is the power of sin.

In humility and unutterable sadness they bade farewell to their beautiful home and went forth to dwell upon the earth, where rested the curse of sin.

As they witnessed in drooping flower and falling leaf the first signs of decay, Adam and his companion mourned more deeply than men now mourn for their dead. The death of the frail, delicate flowers was indeed a cause of sorrow; but when the goodly trees cast off their leaves, the scene brought vividly to mind the stern fact that death is the portion of every living thing.

You see, this is just terribly sad to me. Adam goes from not being able to live without Eve, to blaming her for his sin. Isn’t it amazing too how quickly sin had changed them! You’re talking mere moments from experiencing total happiness and joy to fighting and blaming each other. Yes, Satan had been successful in his attempt to bring down our first parents. And even though they did not die immediately for their disobedience, they began to witness death all around them. God himself made them clothes out of animal skins. Obviously, this means that animals had to die in order to get their skins. And this was just the beginning. Over the next 900 years or so, their hearts were broken as they saw firsthand suffering and death, including the death of their own son. What regrets must’ve filled their hearts. I’m sure they wished they could take it all back. But we can never take our sins back. God can and will forgive us but that doesn’t mean He will take away the consequences.

I believe that there are two main reasons that Adam and Eve failed their test of obedience. We’ve already touched a little bit on both of them. But as we are coming to the end of today’s message, I would like to highlight them again for you.

#1 – The primary reason for Eve’s fall is that she allowed herself to be deceived by the serpent or Satan. Now, you may be wondering what I mean by, “she allowed herself to be deceived”. Let’s look back at the story and see the progression of events. First, Eve wanders away from Adam and finds herself near the tree. Next, she is at the tree talking to the serpent. It’s not long before she is holding a piece of fruit and then she goes into all out disobedience when she eats the fruit. Satan knew he had to be subtle in his deception. He knew that Eve would need to take small steps. She probably would’ve turned Satan down if he had started out by trying to get her to eat the fruit. No, he knew that wouldn’t work. He had to lead her into his trap slowly. Temptation is truly a slippery slope. That is why when you find yourself in a situation where you know you shouldn’t be, you need to get out of there. Don’t let Satan have any opportunity to try to talk you into staying. Once you begin the conversation with him, you have already lost the battle. That’s why we are warned about a coming deception at the end of time on this earth. This deception will be so powerful that if possible, it will deceive even the elect.

Matthew 24:26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it.

In our digital world, the text could also read, don’t turn on the TV or don’t click on the link. Do not satisfy that curiosity. If you give in a little, you will be conquered. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you can withstand Satan by yourself. His resume includes thousands of years of job experience and he has successfully taken down billions of people. Your only hope is in the strength and wisdom of the Lord.

#2 The primary reason for Adam’s fall was found in his choosing Eve above God. As we saw earlier, Eve was deceived but Adam wasn’t. (1 Timothy 2:14) He knew exactly what he was doing when he willingly chose to disobey God. Adam chose to eat and join Eve in her fate. His first love was Eve and not the Lord God. He loved her so much that he could not bear the thought of life without her. Instead of worrying about life without Eve, he should’ve focused on what his life would be like being separated from God’s presence. His first love should’ve been God. Each of us needs to take a look at what’s important to us and see if the Lord is at the top of that list. If He’s not, then we need to pray that He will help us give Him that priority in our lives. In Luke 14:26 & 33, Jesus said: 26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.”

Those are some pretty strong words to use. Now, God does not call everyone to leave their families, etc. to follow Him. But He tells us that only His true disciples will be willing to leave everything for Him. Are you willing to do that? Are you willing to say, “I’ll go where you want me to go, dear Lord, O’er mountain, or plain or sea; I’ll say what You want me to say, dear Lord, I’ll be what you want me to be?

Fortunately for us, this is not the end of the story. God was not willing for this story to have a sad ending. Even though Adam and Eve both disobeyed and caused a curse to be on our race and our planet, God had a plan. He already had a plan to save us from eternal destruction because our God is a God of happy endings! Let’s look back in Genesis 3:15.

God said to the serpent, Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.

How many of you know the best way to kill a snake? The best way is to cut off or crush the head. Ultimately, the Lord God is telling Satan that he will not win this battle. He will be utterly defeated by Jesus. God’s plan to redeem us is the happiest and greatest love story ever!

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave us only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.