Lesson: Genesis 3:8-17, 22-23;
Golden Text: “And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken” (Genesis 3:22-23).
INTRODUCTION. One of the hardest lessons to learn is to admit when we are wrong or that we are to blame. The old blame game has been around for a long time. In fact, it started with Adam and Eve, and many of us are guilty of playing it as well. The Scripture for this week’s lesson tells us about the first pair of humans and how they started the blame game. As we study this text we will see how that went. Their behavior is the heart of the lesson.
II. EXPOSING THE SIN (Genesis 3:8-13). Background for the Lesson: Moses is the author of the Book of Genesis and in the background for our lesson, he writes that after creating man, God placed him in the Garden of Eden to “dress it and keep it” (see Genesis 2:15). God then told Adam that he was free to eat from any tree in the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. If he did, he would surely die (see Genesis 2:16-17). Commenting that it wasn’t good for man to be alone, God took one of his ribs during a deep sleep and made woman and brought her to Adam, thus officiating the first marriage (see Genesis 2:18-24). Chapter 2 ends with the statement that both Adam and Eve were naked and not ashamed which emphasized their innocence. The serpent is introduced in Genesis 3:1 and he proceeds to entice Eve to eat of the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Eve then gave it to Adam and he also ate of the fruit. As soon as Adam ate, we are told that their eyes were opened and they realized that they were naked and sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves (see Genesis 3:1-7). This is where our lesson begins.
A. God calls to Adam (Genesis 3:8-9).
1. (vs. 8). After making aprons to cover themselves this verse says “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.” All of a sudden their shame from being naked quickly turned into fear when the guilty couple “heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden.” The word “voice” here more likely means “sound.” The Lord is pictured here as walking around in the garden. This may be figurative language to describe His presence or an indication of a theophany---an appearance of God in human or angelic form (see Genesis 16:7-13; 18:1-33; Judges 6:12-16). Note: A theophany is any direct, visual manifestation of the presence of God. The key word is visual, since God reveals His presence and power throughout the Bible in a variety of ways. But even in a theophany a person does not actually see God Himself because this is impossible according to Exodus 33:20; I Timothy 6:16 and I John 4:12. Theophanies are most prominent in the Old Testament where God’s presence is manifested in the “Angel of the Lord.” Whenever, this Angel appears He makes promises that only God can make. He never speaks for God, but always says “I will…” speaking as God Himself. The way God’s presence in the garden is introduced implies that walking in the garden was something God did regularly. It’s noteworthy that Adam and Eve immediately recognized God’s presence probably because of past experiences with Him. The phrase “in the cool of the day” refers to the time of the day when breezes would normally come up which was probably the evening. Prior to this, Adam and Eve had enjoyed their encounter with their Maker; now however, they “hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.” Sin had made the difference!
2. (vs. 9). Here Moses writes “And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?” The phrase “the Lord God called unto Adam” is an anthropomorphic (meaning giving God human qualities) way of describing God as calling out to Adam as if He couldn’t find him. God called out to Adam asking “Where art thou?” not because He didn’t know where he was, but because He wanted Adam to think about what he was doing. Of course God knew very well exactly where they were. The question “Where art thou?” is always God’s invitation to sinners to take stock of their lives. God loved Adam and Eve just as he loves us today. He is not willing that any one of us should perish, yet many run and try to hide.
B. God’s question for Adam (Genesis 3:10-11).
1. (vs. 10). Realizing that he was busted, so to speak, Adam answered God’s question. He said, “I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” Adam gave the weak explanation that he hid in fear because he was naked. This reason seemed logical in Adam’s now sinful mind. Prior to his disobedience, Adam’s nakedness had not been a problem during his meetings with God, but it was a weak excuse now. The truth is, his nakedness had never been a problem until guilt and shame entered his life as a result of sin.
2. (vs. 11). God then asked Adam “Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” Adam had been without clothes since the beginning, and until now he considered that condition to be normal. So God asked “Who told thee that thou wast naked? God was really asking Adam who had put the idea that nakedness was abnormal into his mind. Of course no one had told Adam this. The idea of being ashamed of his nakedness came from within Adam himself as a result of his disobedience, and his new sinful nature. God questioned Adam further, “Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” God knew that the only possible explanation for Adam’s fear and shame was directly connected to his eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The intent of God’s question was to drive Adam to admit his guilt. But unfortunately, that would not be the case. God wants people to acknowledge their sinful condition and confess their sins. Then He is more than willing to forgive them, cleanse them, and give them another chance (see I John 1:9).
C. God’s question for Eve (Genesis 3:12-13).
1. (vs. 12). In response to God’s question, Moses writes “And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” At this point another characteristic of the sinful heart arises---an attempt to transfer blame from oneself to someone else. Adam told God that “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” Adam admitted that he had eaten the fruit, but he refused to take full responsibility for the deed he knew was wrong. For some reason the hardest words in the English language seem to be “I was wrong. Will you please forgive me?” Undoubtedly this was hard for Adam to say in whatever language he spoke, because he immediately pointed the finger at Eve instead of accepting responsibility for his actions. When Adam said “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me” he was blaming God as well. The implication was that if God had not given him this woman, he might not have disobeyed. Earlier Adam had been delighted with the partner God had given him (see Genesis 2:23), but now that they had become partners in sin, there was no more talk of “bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.” Instead he implied that God’s creation of woman was flawed. In his sinful condition, Adam forgot about all the benefits of God’s gift of woman, and it also revealed that he lacked love for both God and Eve.
2. (vs. 13). God now probed the accusation Adam had made against his wife. This verse says “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.” When God asked Eve “What is this that thou hast done?” He was giving Eve a chance to confess and seek His forgiveness. Eve, like her husband attempted to shift some of the blame from herself. She said “The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.” Again like Adam she admitted that she had eaten the fruit, but she refused to carry the full responsibility for doing so. She blamed the serpent that had “beguiled” or deceived her.Note: There is a joke among people to say “The devil made me do it” when faced with a wrongdoing.In Eve’s case that’s exactly what she said when she blamed the serpent. Satan had used the serpent to tempt Eve.The truth is that no one made anyone sin in this whole account. And in the overall scheme of things, no one can make anyone sin; it’s a choice.The devil has no power over the believer to make him or her sin (see I John 4:4), however he can influence one to sin (see Acts 10:38) but it still remains a choice.
III. PUNISHING THE SIN (Genesis 3:14-17, 22-23)
A. A curse on the serpent (Genesis 3:14-15).
1. (vs. 14). Now it was time for the Lord to issue His judgment. He began with the serpent. Moses wrote “And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.”God’s judgment affected all the animal life, but the serpent was “cursed.”The curse included crawling “upon thy belly” which implies that the serpent originally was an upright creature.The serpent was also cursed to eat dust, or crawl with his mouth close to the ground, all the days of his life.
2. (vs. 15). Still speaking to the serpent, the Lord went on to say “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” In pronouncing this curse on the serpent, God was actually talking to Satan, stating “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed.” The phrase “enmity” comes from a root word that means “enemy.” Eve’s offspring would begin with Cain and continue throughout all humanity. Satan’s offspring include the demons who followed him in his rebellion as well as people who reject God and make Satan their “father” (see John 8:44). Ultimately Eve’s seed would be Jesus and Satan shall “bruise his heel.” This took place at Calvary when Christ was crucified. At that time Satan was only able to bruised Christ’s heel. Satan and his seed will continue to be the enemies of God’s people and God Himself, until Christ returns to “bruise thy (Satan’s) head” defeating him and casting him into the lake of fire (see Revelation 20:10). Christ’s final victory over Satan would be just like a fatal blow to one’s head.
B. New difficulties for Eve (Genesis 3:16). In this verse, Moses writes that God turned to Eve and said “I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” Eve’s punishment for her involvement in sin would be great pain and sorrow during childbirth or the labor process. Childbearing for the woman would not be the joyful event it could have been had they not sinned. The phrase “and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee” seems to mean that the woman would crave her husband’s attention while he exercised authority over her. Because of sin and the curse, the man and the woman will face authority struggles with each other in their relationship. Sin has turned the peaceful God ordained roles into distasteful struggles of self-wills.
C. Toil and pain for Adam (Genesis 3:17). Now God turns to Adam “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.” Since Adam had deliberately disobeyed the command God gave to him personally, the Lord said “cursed is the ground for thy sake.” Because of Adam, the earth itself would be cursed for “Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field” (see Genesis 3:18). Because of Adam’s sin, the earth would produce thorns and thistles which it didn’t produce before the Fall. God also said that “in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.” In other words, getting food had once been an effortless delight, now it would be a toilsome and painful process as long as Adam lived (see Genesis 3:19). Of course the curse continues unto this day.
D. Drastic change of environment (Genesis 3:22-23).
1. (vs. 22). After passing judgment on Adam and Eve and the serpent, Moses writes “And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever.” The phrase “the man is become as one of us” means that God spoke to the Son and the Holy Ghost stating that since man had eaten of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, he had become like them. God never wanted His precious creation to have an intimate knowledge of evil, sin, pain, or death. Notice that God said “The man is become as one of us, to know good and evil.” Before Adam and Eve’s sin, only our omniscient Lord knew what evil was, but He didn’t partake of it. God wanted Adam and Eve to only know goodness, righteousness, and peace. When they sinned, evil became an inseparable part of the human experience. Since Adam and Eve were not able to resist the temptation to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they could not be trusted to remain in the presence of the tree of life. If they ate of the tree of life as sinners they would live forever, but separated from God forever. Living forever in a state of sin means forever trying to hide from God, and that’s not living. Note: While these words from Genesis present a rather painful picture of the origin of human sin, we should be encouraged by the goodness of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Without Christ, mankind does not only know about evil, mankind is enslaved to it. However, trusting in Christ as Saviour, and being born again provides fallen man with freedom. Through Christ we are liberated from the bondage of evil and have the power to obey God. What a beautiful message of deliverance!
2. (vs. 23). In our final verse Moses wrote “Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.” Since Adam and Eve could not be trusted to remain in the garden without eating of the tree of life, God put them out of the Garden of Eden so there would be no possibility of them eating of that tree and living forever as sinners separated from God. Once expelled from Eden, Adam would fulfill the curse placed upon him to “till the ground from whence he was taken.” Note: If we think that being thrown out of the Garden of Eden was harsh treatment, then we are missing the presence of God’s grace and mercy. If Adam and Eve were allowed to stay in the garden in a sinful state they would live forever, separated from God with no way to get back to Him. This would be the same as eternal death. But by putting them out, God was giving them a chance to be reconciled to Him which would be fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Genesis chapter 3 ends with verse 24 which is not part of our printed text. In that verse, we have the first mention of angels. Cherubim were set in place to guard the tree of life which will appear once again in the New Jerusalem (see Revelation 22:1-2).
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