Story 8: The Blame Game


[Song] “Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life.  Let me more of their beauty see, wonderful words of life.”

Hello, I’m Mrs. B!  Welcome to Lifeline English, the podcast that helps you know God and know English.

You can read the written script for today’s lesson online at lifelineenglish.com.

Today I want to teach you three words.

The first word is call.  Call rhymes with ball and all.  Can you say “call”?  Call.  Call.  To call is to try to speak to someone who is not nearby.  If you are close to me, I can speak to you, but I don’t call you.  A mother calls her children to come into the house for supper.  A girl walks through the forest, calling to her lost cat.  My friend in China called me on Skype last week. 



The second word is deceive.  Deceive rhymes with receive.  Repeat after me.  Deceive.  Deceive.  To deceive is to lie.  It is to say something that misleads the people who hear you.  The boy told his teacher that his dog ate his homework.  The boy deceived his teacher. 

The third word is blame.  Blame rhymes with ‘name’.  Now you say it.  Blame.  Blame.  To blame is to assign responsibility for a wrong.  The man thinks he is a bad husband because his father was never at home.  The man blames his father for his bad marriage.  The woman blamed her stove for burning the food.   Blame can also be a noun.  It means the responsibility for doing something bad.  The man took the blame for losing the car keys. 

In our last story, the man and the woman disobeyed God.  They ate the fruit that God told them not to eat.  They saw that they were naked.  So they made clothes from fig leaves.  Then they heard God coming.  They were afraid, so they hid.  What will God say to them?  Is He angry?  You’ll find out in today’s story.  Today’s story is called, “The Blame Game”. 

When I ask a question, I will leave a space.  You can answer my question.  Then I will say the answer.  You can compare your answer with my answer. 

The Lord God called to the man.
Who called to the man?  The Lord God called to the man.
Did the man call to God?  No, God called to the man.
Did God call to the woman?  No, God called to the man.
Did God whisper to the man?  No, God called to the man.

The Lord said, “Where are you?”
Is there anything God does not know?  No, God knows everything.  There is nothing that God does not know. 
Did the Lord know where the man was?  Yes, the Lord knew where the man was.
Why did the Lord ask where the man was?  The Lord wanted the man to confess his sin.

The man answered, “I heard you walking in the garden.
Who was walking?  God was walking.
Was God running?  No, God was walking.
Who heard God walking?  The man heard God walking.
Where was God walking?  God was walking in the garden.

I was afraid because I was naked.
Was God afraid?  No, the man was afraid.
Who was naked?  The man was naked.
Was the man wearing any clothes?  Yes, the man was wearing clothes made from fig leaves.
Why was the man afraid?  The man was afraid because he was naked. 
Why did the man feel naked while wearing fig leaves?  The fig leaves covered his body, but they did not cover his sin. 

So I hid.”
Did God hide?  No, the man hid.
Why did the man hide?  The man hid because he was afraid.
Of whom was the man afraid?  The man was afraid of God.

The Lord God said, “Who told you that you were naked?
Did God tell the man that he was naked?  No, God did not tell the man that he was naked. 
Did anyone tell the man that he was naked?  No, no one told the man that he was naked.
How did the man learn that he was naked?  When the man ate the fruit, he saw that he was naked.

Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
Did God eat from the tree?  No, God did not eat from the tree.
Who ate from the tree?  The man ate from the tree.
What did God command the man?  God commanded the man not to eat from that tree.
Did God know that the man ate?  Yes, God knew that the man ate.
Why did God ask if the man ate?  God wanted the man to confess his sin.

The man said, “You gave this woman to me.
Who gave the woman?  God gave the woman.
To whom did God give the woman?  God gave the woman to the man.
Who did the man blame for his sin?  The man blamed God for giving him the woman.

She gave me fruit from the tree. So I ate it.”
Did the man eat the tree?  No, the man did not eat the tree. 
What did the man eat?  The man ate the fruit.
Who gave fruit?  The woman gave fruit.
Did the woman give fruit to God?  No, the woman gave fruit to the man.
Who did the man blame for his sin?  The man blamed the woman for giving him the fruit.
Did the woman put the fruit in the man’s mouth?  No, the woman did not put the fruit in his mouth.
Who put the fruit in the man’s mouth?  The man put the fruit in his own mouth.

Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What have you done?”
Did God know what the woman had done?  Yes, God knew what the woman had done.
Why did God ask what the woman had done?  God wanted the woman to confess her sin.


The woman said, “The snake deceived me. So I ate the fruit.”
Did the snake deceive the man?  No, the snake did not deceive the man.
Who did the snake deceive?  The snake deceived the woman.
Did the snake eat the fruit?  No, the snake did not eat the fruit.
Who ate the fruit?  The woman ate the fruit.
Who did the woman blame for her sin?  The woman blamed the snake for her sin.
Did the snake put the fruit in the woman’s mouth?  No, the snake did not put the fruit in her mouth.
Who put the fruit in the woman’s mouth?  The woman put the fruit in her own mouth.

Let’s listen to the whole story together.

The Lord God called to the man. The Lord said, “Where are you?”
The man answered, “I heard you walking in the garden. I was afraid because I was naked. So I hid.”
The Lord God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
The man said, “You gave this woman to me. She gave me fruit from the tree. So I ate it.”
Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What have you done?”
The woman said, “The snake deceived me. So I ate the fruit.”


This story uses direct quotations.  Let’s change the story to use indirect quotations.  When we indirectly quote a question, we begin the indirect quote with the word “ask”. When we indirectly quote a statement, we begin the indirect quote with the word “that”.

Here is the story:

The Lord God called to the man.  The Lord asked him where he was. 
The man told the Lord that he had heard the Lord walking in the garden, and that he was afraid because he was naked, so he hid. 
The Lord God asked the man who told him that he was naked, and whether he ate from the tree that God had commanded him not to eat from.
The man answered that the Lord had given this woman to him, and that she gave him fruit from the tree, so he ate it. 
Then the Lord God asked the woman what she had done.
The woman answered that the snake had deceived her, so she ate the fruit.

Do you have questions?  You can write me.  Go to our website, lifelineenglish.com.  Our web site also has more information about each lesson that is not included in this podcast.  

Until next time, may Jesus help you know Him and know English.  Good bye!

[Song] “Jesus only savior, sanctify forever, beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life.  Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life.”

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