Day 2 - Genesis 3:1-24 - The Fall

The Deceiver

It doesn't take long into the Bible to see satan do what he does best: deceive. What satan does here is the same he often does to us...it's all about manipulation and causing us to doubt. Notice that the serpent didn't begin by telling Eve that she should eat fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Instead, satan started with a question - a slyly worded question - to cause Eve to doubt what God said. The questions the serpent asks as phrased in Genesis 3:1 asks, “’Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?’” Notice how the serpent uses the word "actually." The serpent doesn't start off by saying that God didn't mean what He said. Instead, the serpent starts by causing her to question if she heard God correctly. Many times in our own lives, this is the same tactic that satan will use. Have you ever heard something from God, only to begin doubting it right after? We ask ourselves, “Did God really want me to do this?” When those moments of doubt come, we must stand firm in what we know to be true and not allow satan to try to deceive us. Eve seems to answer with certainty that she knew what God had said, so the serpent seems to move to tactic 2: Challenging God's word. If we look back to Genesis 2:17 we see that God said, “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’” In Genesis 3:4 we read, “But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die.” The serpent completely contradicts God. Then, satan gets Eve how he gets to most of us: pride. Notice that the serpents net line to Eve as recorded in Genesis 3:5 is telling Eve that if she eats the fruit she will be like God. That sounds like a compelling argument that seems pleasing to us when we hear it, but let us not be confused...we will NEVER be equal to God. He is our Creator. We are His created. We must be careful not to be deceived in the same way that Eve was. Let us remember Jesus' words in John 8:44 when He says, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” And often times, his lies are the worst kind: twisting the truth.

The Blame Game

Adam and Eve had just sinned against God by disobeying His command. They hear God walking in the garden (which is so awesome that they had the opportunity to see God and fellowship with Him so closely) and they hid themselves because they were afraid because they were naked. God asks them how they knew they were naked (of course, God - Who knows everything - already knew the answer), was it that they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Let me sum up Adam's response in Genesis 3:12, “It was Eve's fault.” And now let me sum up Eve's response in Genesis 3:13, “It was the serpent's fault.” Adam and Eve admitted their guilt, which was good. God gave them the opportunity and they did not try to lie (which only makes things worse). Though they admit their guilt, they go right to excuses and start the blame game. Have you ever been guilty of playing the blame game? I know I have. But let's be honest to ourselves. We are responsible for the decisions that we make.

Consequences

There are always consequences for our bad decisions. Even when we ask and receive forgiveness, we, often, still have consequences to face. For example, if I robbed a bank, I could ask God to forgive me and as long as that request was sincere He would. Even though God would forgive me, I would still go to jail. There are consequences for our actions. Aside from the greatest consequence for Adam and Eve's sin (which we will discuss in our next section), there are some other peripheral consequences, including: enmity between snakes (which as a result, would have to slither on their bellies) and mankind, painful childbirth, toiling labor with thorns and thistles, no longer having only scrumptious fruit to eat, etc. (Genesis 3:14-19).

Substitutionary Sacrifice Initiated

My favorite verse of this chapter is one of my favorite verses of the entire Bible. In just a few simple words, I believe that the loving, compassionate yet just mercy of God is shown. And if we're not paying attention, it's easy to miss it (I did for quite a long time). Genesis 3:21 says “And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.” Did you catch it? If not, read it again and see if it jumps out at you. As we discussed in the previous reading of Genesis 1, 2, Adam and Eve were vegetarians. There is no indication that they ate animals. In fact, there is no indication that an animal had ever died. So that begs a big question in Genesis 3:21, “Where did the garments of skin come from?” Let's back up just a little bit for a moment. Remember we discussed that God said that if they ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil then they would die. We know that God's word is truth. So, why didn't Adam and Eve die? Some suggest that the death only referred to spiritual death. I believe that this is certainly part of the equation, but not the whole picture. I believe that the reason Adam and Eve didn't die in the garden that day was because God allowed an animal to die in their place...the first substitutionary sacrifice, the first act pointing to Jesus death for our sins on the cross. Why do I think this? Let's look at what we know from the text and its context. God killed an animal in order to give them the garments of skin to use as clothes. Jumping ahead for just a moment, we see Cain and Abel bringing sacrifices to God in Genesis 4:3-7. Cain brought an offering of fruit but Abel brought the firstborn of his flock and the fat portions. Genesis 4:4b, 5a says, “And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard.” The sacrificial system did not begin with Abraham or Moses. We know this because Abel was already bringing a proper substitutionary sacrifice. And I believe that God did so for Adam and Eve also, showing them what they must do in order to live.

The Other Tree

Last time, we discussed how we may sometimes forget that there was another tree specifically mentioned to be in the midst of the Garden of Eden: the tree of life. We read in Genesis 3:22-24 that if they were to eat of the tree of life they would live forever. It's safe to say that had they eaten of it prior to being banished it would have had the same result. And as we discussed last time, there is no indication that they were forbidden from eating of it. But, they did eat fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil so God banished them from the garden and placed the cherubim and a flaming sword to guard the way to the tree of life. Notice that God did not simply remove the tree of life. Instead, He guarded the way to it. In the same way that we read about the tree of life at the beginning of the Bible, it is also mentioned at the end. In a description of Heaven, the tree of life is indicated to be on either side of the river of the water of life (Revelation 22:2). Revelation 22:14 says, “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.” Finally, Revelation 22:18, 19 reads, “¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, ¹⁹ and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”