In The Begining, God (Message 3)

Key Thoughts for This Series:

God is the SUBJECT of Genesis 1-11 even though He is often forgotten as we talk about the FOUR incredible events of this section of Scripture.

These four events are given as NARRATIVE, and according to other portions of the Bible, they happened just as they are TOLD. We need to determine HOW to respond.
The Story of Day 6

An Overview of Chapter 3

We see the beauty and UNIFORMITY of Scripture.

We begin to see the HEARTBREAK of sin (822 times).

We see the FIRST instance of what will become the plan through Scriptures of providing FORGIVENESS from sin.
Gen.3:21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.

1. The Serpent’s Plan

Gen. 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ”4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

a. Genesis 3:1 is connected with the PREVIOUS verse (2:25) through the word, CRAFTY. (עָרוּם aruwm).
Gen. 2:25 Adam and his wife were both naked (עָרוֹם `arowm), and they felt no shame.

b. Serpents were often worshiped and HONORED in other ancient cultures, but here we see that God MADE it and that Satan USED it. This is the first QUESTION MARK in the Bible. After this, God will speak to man in QUESTIONS.

c. Satan’s purpose is to SUBVERT God and make Him look RESTRICTIVE. Satan never says, “The LORD God.”

d. Next, the serpent (Satan) CONTRADICTS God (vs. 4) and explains how Adam and Eve can “KNOW” (יָדַע yada`) like God.

2. The Couple’s Plunge

Gen. 3:6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

a. The couple fell into the trap of DESIRE that comes to all mankind, and they even viewed EVIL as GOOD. (The man obeyed his WIFE instead of His GOD.)
1John 2:16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.

b. Eating the fruit “OPENED their eyes” to EVIL and immediately there was SEPARATION from one another and from God.

3. The Lord’s Pursuit

Gen. 3: 9 But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

a. God knew WHERE they were and why, but questioned them to allow them to CONFESS their sin (Where, Who, What).

b. Adam is suddenly OBSESSED with himself (I) and both of them passed BLAME, even blaming GOD.

4. The Convicted’s Punishment

Gen. 3:14   So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” 16   To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” 17   To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

a. God does not question SATAN (or the serpent). The curse will be HUMILIATION for the serpent. For Satan, God will cause the woman (and her seed) to stand AGAINST Satan and “his offspring.”
— Striking the heel and crushing the head

b. The woman will have increased PAIN in childbearing, a POWER struggle with her husband, and, of course, DEATH.

c. The man will have increased painful TOIL because of thorns and thistles, and will need to WORK constantly for food. He also will eventually DIE.

5. The Lord’s Payment and Prohibition

Gen. 3:20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. 21. The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

a. God makes the first SACRIFICE as blood and death are needed to COVER over sin. He restores the RELATIONSHIPS!
Heb. 9:22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

b. Since mankind will die because of SIN, God cannot allow them to EAT of the tree of life or to have ACCESS to the garden. All men will die, but eternity with God in a NEW garden will continue for those that follow Him.

For Discussion:

What new thing did you learn from an old story?

What did you learn about God, man or Satan that can be helpful to you?

Why is the chapter so critical to the Bible and how should we apply the lessons?