Most of you know that in the Old Testament the Lord made a covenant with his people that required various sacrifices. Among all the sacrifices in the Old Testament is one we may often overlook. It was called the “drink offering.” Drink offerings were to be a part of burnt offerings. The drink offering involved pouring out some wine at the base of the altar. As mentioned, it was connected to the burnt offering. That means that every single morning when a lamb was offered at the Temple as a burnt offering for Israel, and when every day ended with another lamb sacrifice, a priest stood and poured out wine at the base of the altar.

The other day I ran across this “Pre-Travel Checklist.” It is supposed to be a helpful tool for someone about to travel somewhere. It contains nearly sixty things you need to do before you travel. Before travel, you should “clear fridge of perishable items” and “water house plants” and “charge electronic devices.” As I said, it recommends sixty things you MUST DO to travel.

Our text today from Genesis 3 is often called the story of “The Fall.” Right here we are confronted with a question. How bad a “fall” is it? I mean, not all “falls” are the same. Some falls are rather minor and some are rather major. Falling and skinning my knee is not the same as falling off the rim of the Grand Canyon. So what is the story before us today? Is it the story of humanity skinning its knee or of humanity plunging off a cliff?

Oftentimes in life, paying attention to a light means the difference between life and death. Drivers better pay attention to the traffic lights as they approach an intersection. Green means I can go; red means I better stop or risk being T-boned. The pilot of a plane flying on a foggy night better pay attention to the runway lights as he comes in for a landing. Long before the days of satellite global positioning devices, ship captains at sea knew they better pay attention to the light from lighthouses on shore to avoid running aground, or worse.

Human pride is a stunning thing . Sometimes it is stunning in its silliness. For example, there is a character in a movie named Miles Gloriosus. He is a captain in the Roman army. And in one scene, before getting off his horse, he announces, “Stand aside everyone! I take large steps!” Sometimes human pride is stunning because it is nonsensical. Nietzsche once wrote: “I have reached such a height that when I stand atop the summit, I look down upon myself.” Huh? Or, a musician once commented, “My greatest pain is that I cannot watch myself perform live.” Sometimes pride is stunning because it is so blasphemous and disturbing. Some of you will remember years ago when the Beatles were at their peak and John Lennon announced, “We’re more popular than Jesus now.” Another pop artist of more recent vintage proclaimed, “Some accuse me of worshiping the devil. If there was a devil, he would worship me.”