Genesis 3:1-24
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How sin entered the world; its consequences
- The serpent (Satan) tempted; woman was deceived; the man chose (knowingly) to disobey God. In this manner, sin was brought into the human race, and would affect all of creation.
- In the judgment that necessarily followed, there was also an expression of hope. And because of that, there could be a future; all was not forever lost. As events would develop (in later centuries), the victory would be snatched from the serpent's (Satan's) grasp and given to Jesus Christ.
Details
- Either response (eating or not eating) would have resulted in knowledge. The difference would be in the consequences - the effect each choice would have on our ability to make choices, the effect it would have on one's will, etc. In the end, they would either lose the ability to make sinful choices, or lose the ability to make righteous choices.
- Note that the woman hasn't yet been given the name "Eve"; so in this description, she is simply called "the woman" (which is the first name she had been given).
The Temptation and Sin Committed
- The serpent's first statement, appearing to be a misunderstanding: "Did God say they should eat the fruit of NO trees?" The woman corrects the serpent's supposed misunderstanding: "God actually said they could eat from all but one."
- The woman is deceived by the serpent's second statement - a distortion of truth - and eats the fruit.
- The man has to choose between loyalty to his wife and loyalty to God. He chooses loyalty to his wife and eats the fruit, knowing full well that it is wrong (there is no deception here).
- The possibility for righteous and pure relationships between God and humans, as well as between humans and other humans, is destroyed.
God's Righteous Judgment, with a Glimmer of Hope
- They both cover themselves, in a futile attempt to repair their relationship with each other. They hide because they cannot repair their relationship with God.
- God confronts them. They cannot successfully shift the blame for their actions; and must acknowledge their guilt.
- God pronounces judgment - which he must do, if he is righteous - but the judgment includes a glimmer of hope.
- The two are driven from the garden, before they cause more trouble for themselves.
- God provides a covering for them, perhaps also symbolizing a future hope in the midst of the judgment.
Individual and Corporate Judgment
- These judgments affect both Adam and Eve as individuals, as well as affecting them as the representatives or heads of the human race.
- The "corporate" aspect still exists today, even in modern-day events - see: Corporate Judgment.
- The woman's judgment will affect all women.
- Adam's judgment will not only affect all men, but as the ultimate head of the human race, will affect both genders.
- (See also: Adam as "Mankind".)
- Note that a similar effect will occur when Jesus Christ is judged, thousands of years after this judgment. Being the head of a new race of people - "children of God" - his judgment (and resurrection) will affect all of them (i.e., all who are part of that new race).
Scripture
Genesis 3:1-24 - How sin entered the world; its consequences.
- See also: First World - Reasons for Judgment, First World Judgment, Second World Ecosystem, and Curses (and Their Nature). some of the comments made in this chapter provide information about what conditions were like in the First World Ecosystem.
- See also: The Effects of the Fall.
| Scripture Passage | Comments and Links |
| Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field which Yahweh God had made. ... | This did not have to happen immediately after creation, it could have been many years!
We may have a lot of questions about details that are not described here. Why was the woman not surprised when the serpent started talking? (Was it that she didn't know better? Or was there some form of normal communication between people and animals, which doesn't occur today?) Whatever the answer, we need to realize that God gives us what we need, not what we might want to know. |
| ... He said to the woman, "Has God really said, 'You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?' "
Gen 3:2 The woman said to the serpent, "Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat, Gen 3:3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.' " |
The first goal was to create confusion, by asking a question that implied he misunderstood what God had said. Eve's response was to clarify the issue, to correct the misunderstanding.
The concept of "death" is extremely significant. The world often communicates the lie that death means "ceasing to exist," or something similar. The Bible teaches us that death means "separation" - whether it's separation of body from soul, people from God, etc. The concept of "touching" (mentioned by the woman, but not part of God's statement in Genesis 2:17) is not a distortion or lie. The Hebrew concept of "touch" often has the meaning of "taking it for one's self" - and actually shows that the woman clearly understood the instructions. |
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Gen 3:4 The serpent said to the woman, "You won't surely die, Gen 3:5 for God knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." |
Here is the direct attack on the truth. Note that it wasn't a complete lie... it was a distortion of the truth, a "half-truth." |
| Gen 3:6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit, and ate; ... | Contrary to popular opinion, nothing in the passage says it was an apple!
All the fruit in the garden was good for food and delightful to the eyes. The only difference was that this fruit was associated with a moral command. It was not a difficult test, to choose between eating and not eating. We cannot accuse God of giving them a task that was too difficult to obey! Physical activities (such as eating something) can have moral implications! In the New Testament, we are even told to eat and drink in a way that honors God! (1 Corinthians 10:31) |
| ... and she gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. |
Where was the man? Right there observing what was happening! We don't know what his thoughts were - maybe he didn't expect her to choose the fruit. (Prior to this, their choices would have always been in agreement.) Maybe it happened too suddenly. Whatever may have happened, we do know that, once she ate it, he had to make a choice: Would he side with God (his creator, who he was dependent on for his very existence) or his wife (a created being, God's gift to him, who had become united with him as one). In his decision, he turned his values upside-down: His wife and God now gave contradicting instructions... and he chose to listen to (and obey) his wife, instead of God.
The woman ate, having been deceived; the man ate knowing full well what he was doing. He made a willful choice to rebel against God. Not that this action influenced not only their future choices, but it also influenced their natures. There is what we might call a genetic aspect to sin - something we call the "sin nature." Several of the judgments in the history of the world have had effects on genetics. This is the first of them. |
| Gen 3:7 The eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Gen 3:8 They heard the voice of Yahweh God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God among the trees of the garden. |
Either way, their eyes would have been opened. But instead of being opened to the blessings and joys of obedience (the results of the choice they did not take), their eyes became open to the horrors of disobedience - sin and all its consequences. Now they could not even look at each other the way they originally did (with only righteous and pure desires for the good of the other). Now the idea of being focused on the interests of self had been born. Covering themselves could not undo the effects of sin - though it could restrain some of its practices. Prior to the entrance of sin into the world, spending time with their Creator was probably a daily event. Prior to this moment, it would have been a joyful, eagerly anticipated event. God being visible? Who was this? Based on what we know from elsewhere in Scripture, it was probably Jesus Christ, in human form prior to his birth in Bethlehem. |
| Gen 3:9 Yahweh God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?"
Gen 3:10 The man said, "I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." Gen 3:11 God said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?" Gen 3:12 The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." Gen 3:13 Yahweh God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." |
God already knew what they had done; the questioning was so the people would understand.
Excuses, cover-up, half-truth (no blatant lie), even blaming God... they quickly learned from Satan how to respond! But eventually the clear truth must come out.
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| Gen 3:14 Yahweh God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock, and above every animal of the field. On your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. | Here we come to the judgment, and the transition to a "second world" that had a radically different ecology. Note that, though each aspect of the judgment is focused on a specific participant in the event, there will indirect effects on all others involved. There is an interrelationship between different entities of creation - something that is readily observed even today!
The judgment, described in the next few verses, comes in the form of a curse placed on each of the participants, and ultimately on all of creation. Indirectly, this means there is hope; for the rest of Scripture deals with the "journey" from this point in time, to the end of the age, when the curse will be removed! The serpent, empowered by Satan, felt no need to run and hide. Until the words of verse 15, Satan probably thought he had the victory in destroying the goodness of all that God had created. Judgment on the serpent (two parts): First, physical changes to the serpent (the animal). |
| Gen 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel." | Second, judgment on Satan. This verse is not saying that women will be afraid of snakes! The focus has changed to Satan, the "ancient serpent" (Revelation 20:2), who empowered the animal.
The initial focus of this judgment is on a general hostility between two groups of "offspring" or "seed" (the woman's and the serpent's). This would be the ongoing conflict between those who are righteous and those who are wicked. (See also verse 20.) Then there is a shift in focus to one specific "offspring" of the woman and to the serpent (Satan) himself. Why? Judgment is necessary, but embedded in the judgment is the first expression of a future hope. This statement is the first expression of what would eventually be called the "Good News" about Jesus. Ultimate victory belongs not to the Serpent (Satan), but to Christ. |
| Gen 3:16 To the woman he said, "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. In pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." |
Judgment on the woman (two parts): First, physical changes that would result in pain during childbirth. The pain of childbirth is to be a reminder of the grim realities that now exist. Childbirth, which originally would have been only a joy, now brings forth children into a cursed world of pain and death - and this begins with spiritual death. Second, a change in the way husband and wife relate to each other. There would be unmet desires, perhaps an insecurity or a vulnerability that had not been present before then. There would also be a change in the nature of their relationship. Originally, there would always have been a 100% agreement between them; but now with conflicting interests being possible, one would have to take the lead. (There's no way to escape this reality, without additional problems being created.) |
| Gen 3:17 To Adam he said, "Because you have listened to your wife's voice, and have eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground for your sake. In toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.
Gen 3:18 Thorns also and thistles will it bring forth to you; and you will eat the herb of the field. Gen 3:19 By the sweat of your face will you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For you are dust, and to dust you shall return." |
Judgment on the man (two parts): In choosing against God, he chose against the blessings that are associated with obedience to God. This resulted in physical changes that affected all of creation - all the "very good" blessings (Genesis 1:31) that came from God. Because of the expression of hope (given in verse 15), these blessings (everything in the environment that surrounded him) were not totally removed and utterly destroyed. Instead, they became subjected to a condition that is described elsewhere in the Bible as an ongoing state of "frustration." (Though not stated here, we discover that even heaven is affected by sin and judgment.) The phrase "for your sake" (or "because of you") is significant. The fate of creation is inseparably linked to the fate of the humans. But just as it suffers because of the humans, it will also be wonderfully restored (and more) when the "new" race of humans - the people of God - are revealed - Romans 8:19-22.
Regarding plants...
Second, he chose to eat the fruit that supposedly would make him be like God - and in one respect, it did (verse 22). But now he would be faced with the reality of how unlike God he is, in that he would eventually return to the dust from which he was made. We call this "death" - though to be accurate, it is only one aspect of death. |
| Gen 3:20 The man called his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
Gen 3:21 Yahweh God made coats of skins for Adam and for his wife, and clothed them. |
Naming the woman "Eve" was an expression of faith - a trust in the promise of hope that was embedded in the judgment. Biologically, she would still be the mother of those who would be destined for death; but spiritually, she would become the mother of those who would repent and become followers of the living God - those who could be characterized by the word "living" in a sense that went far beyond mere biological existence. The provision of physical clothing by God may symbolize the spiritual provisions that God would one day provide. Later, the Bible will often use the concept of "clothing" to refer to spiritual needs. If God's use of the animal "skins" involved the death of the animals (rather than being made from just the fur or hair of the animal, it may symbolize the need for a substitute - the death of something (someone) else - in order that Adam and Eve would not need to be themselves put to death. |
| Gen 3:22 Yahweh God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, lest he put forth his hand, and also take of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever..."
Gen 3:23 Therefore Yahweh God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. Gen 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed Cherubs at the east of the garden of Eden, and the flame of a sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life. |
An affirmation that part of what the Serpent said was true - this is the true part of the "half truth."
Driven like cattle, chased out of the garden. This was an act of kindness; it was for their good. If they had eaten from this tree, they (and their offspring) would have lived forever in the condition of death - and incapable of changing - and this has many horrible implications (especially considering that "death" involves much more than just what happens to the body). Even "salvation unto life" would have been impossible, since Jesus would have been unable to die for our sins! |
Scripture Passages
(Only books that have relevance to this study have active links. The others are in italics.)
Genesis • Exodus • Leviticus • Numbers • Deuteronomy • Joshua • Judges • Ruth • 1 Samuel • 2 Samuel • 1 Kings • 2 Kings • 1 Chronicles • 2 Chronicles • Ezra • Nehemiah • Esther • Job • Psalms • Proverbs • Ecclesiastes • Song of Solomon • Isaiah • Jeremiah • Lamentations • Ezekiel • Daniel • Hosea • Joel • Amos • Obadiah • Jonah • Micah • Nahum • Habakkuk • Zephaniah • Haggai • Zechariah • Malachi Matthew • Mark • Luke • John • Acts • Romans • 1 Corinthians • 2 Corinthians • Galatians • Ephesians • Philippians • Colossians • 1 Thessalonians • 2 Thessalonians • 1 Timothy • 2 Timothy • Titus • Philemon • Hebrews • James • 1 Peter • 2 Peter • 1 John • 2 John • 3 John • Jude • Revelation |
—— To avoid any copyright issues, all Scripture is either from a public domain translation (such as the World English Bible), my own translation, or a combination of these. ——
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The name "Yahweh," when present in an Old Testament passage, represents the Hebrew name for the God of the Bible.
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Unless otherwise noted, all notes and comments are © by Dennis Hinks.
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