DON’T PLAY THE BLAME GAME

What do you do when you don’t know what to do? By all means, don’t get caught up in the blame game. Playing the blame game will get you totally sidetracked from dealing with the present situation in a biblical manner. People are constantly drawn into this satanic lure. The blame game has been around along time. But where did it exactly originate?

WHERE DID THE BLAME GAME ORIGINATE?

1. The blame game originated in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). Satan deceitfully created this game in the home life of Adam and Eve.

2. This deadly game resulted in the ruin of the human race. When Adam and Eve sinned, the blame game began!

3. It has been the most played game in the history of human civilization. Nations have fought against nations to play this game. Political tyrants have engaged in this struggle. Men of great power and wealth have made sport of this game. Even little children compete in this contest. Our prisons are full of inmates that have played this game. Graveyards are plenteous because of this sport. The business world constantly thrives on what has become office recreation. In reality, every man, every woman, every boy and girl that has ever lived has played the blame game.

4. Genesis chapter three records for us the first episode of the blame game. Notice the game began immediately after the fall. “And they heard the voice 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 amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou” (Genesis 3:8-9)?

5. The first game that man played with God was hide and seek. The Hebrew wordchaba' {hide} means to hide in secrecy. Adam and Eve knew they were out of fellowship with God.

6. When they heard that first sound of the Lord walking in the garden Adam and Eve immediately distanced themselves from God. The scripture says that they fled to the trees. Isn’t it rather ironic that man actually believes he can hide from an omniscient God? By the way, God knew exactly where they were, “amongst the trees.” While Adam and Eve hid, God pursued them. Thus, Adam and Eve play hide and seek with God. Yet, when God called for Adam, he responded by playing the blame game. The scripture says,

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 (Genesis 3:9-12).

7. Why did Adam hide from God? Because Adam was yare' {afraid} of God. For the first time Adam and Eve stood bare before God with dreadful fear. Previously, they enjoyed wonderful fellowship and intimacy with Him. But now, they were terrified, because of the guilt of sin.

8. They knew they were naked. For the first time Adam was self-conscience of his body. Sin had brought a self-awareness and insecurity to the heart of Adam. Verse 7 tells us exactly what happened when Adam and Eve sinned,“And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked;and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons” (Genesis 3:7).

9. The cover up began! The first seamstress in the Bible was Adam and Eve. They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves a chagowrah {loin coverings}. What type of clothing did Adam and Eve wear before the Fall? Why were they not self-conscience of their bodies before their disobedience? Before the Fall, did Eve ask Adam, “honey, does this dress make me look fat?” Concerning the clothing of Adam and Eve before the Fall, Dr. John Phillips gives this interesting observation.

Before the Fall, Adam and Eve were probably clothed with light, because God covers Himself with light as with a garment (Psalm 104:2) and because the Lord Jesus, in His transfiguration, was similarly arrayed (Mark 9:2-3). The moment they sinned, Adam and Eve saw the light go out. The death of the spirit within them caused the light to be extinguished and, suddenly, the physical side of their being was thrust into a prominence it had never had before. They knew they were naked. That was the knowledge for which they had sold their place in paradise, their daily fellowship with God, and their prospects of life for evermore.[1]

Nevertheless, the cover-up began. However, Adam did not take into account that you cannot pull the wool over God’s eyes. He saw through Adam’s cover-up!

10. Since this ploy did not work, Adam moved on to his next tactic, the blame game. “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat” (v. 12). Adam made a futile attempt to blamed Eve! It’s my wife’s fault! Husbands are prone to shift the blame. We seem to excel in this area.

11. Furthermore, Adam not only blamed Eve, he had the audacity to blame God, “the woman whom thou gavest to be with me.” In essence Adam was saying, “It’s your fault God. You gave me this woman. She’s the one who gave me the forbidden fruit.” Notice a couple of observations:

First of all, Adam was responsible to inform and instruct his wife concerning God’s command about the garden of Eden. God revealed His perfect will to Adam and he was responsible to make it crystal clear to Eve (Genesis 2:15-17). Perhaps Adam could have made God’s will more understandable to Eve. Furthermore, where was Adam when the tempter deceived his wife? If he was present, he should have stopped her. It is difficult to determine the time element involved when Adam willfully ate the fruit. The text seems to insinuate that it was right after the deception of Eve (v.6).

Secondly, Eve was deceived, yet Adam willfully disobeyed God. Thus, the process of self-justification had begun. Adam blamed Eve and then he blamed God. Self-exoneration always involves placing the blame on someone else. Nonetheless, we must remember that Adam willfully rebelled against God. Adam knew he was doing wrong. Yet, he consciously went his own way and did his own thing. Solomon said, “The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself” (Proverbs 14:14). Carnal man has been dominated by self-rule since the fall of Adam. Self-gratification and self-indulgence have been handed down by the father of all living.

Refusing to be out done by Adam, Eve too got caught up in the blame game with the serpent. “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” (Genesis 3:13). In essence Eve said, “The devil made me do it.” By implicating the serpent Eve shifted the responsibility of her sin on Satan.

Discussion

1. Where did the blame game originate?
2. When was the last time YOU played the blame game?
3. Why did Adam hide from God?

[1] John Phillips, Exploring Genesis: An Expository Commentary, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1980), 59.