Choosing Life, Part 3 - Victory Over The Curse!(Genesis 3:7-24)
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· 8 viewsThe Battle of the Sexes began after the Fall.
Notes
Transcript
Innocence Lost (vs. 7)
Innocence Lost (vs. 7)
Their eyes were opened.
they knew they were naked
they were ashamed
they tried to cover their nakedness
Before we get too high and mighty and get too hard on Adam and Eve. We would have done the same.
We are just as frail.
We are just as curious.
We are just as easily deceived.
Fellowship Lost (vs. 8)
Fellowship Lost (vs. 8)
The Return of “Lord God”.
God is Our covenantal - Relational God.
He is Also the Righteous and Just Judge.
They Heard the Sound of the Lord God Walking in the Garden
cool - wind, spirit
heard the rush of the Lord God moving like wind in the trees.
They Hid Themselves
in the midst of the Garden
from the presence of the Lord God
God Called to the Man...
5 Questions / 5 Deaths / 5 Curses / 5 Battles / 5 Victories
5 Questions / 5 Deaths / 5 Curses / 5 Battles / 5 Victories
Question 1: Where Are You? (vs 9)
Does God really not know where they are?
The idiom can mean more along the lines of what’s the status of our relationship with each other.
Death 1: Our Relationship with Our Creator and His Creation
I heard the sound of You in the Garden (vs 10)
I was afraid - Why would you be afraid? Eyes opened to their disobedience. Fear of punishment.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.
because I was naked.
so I hid myself - elaborate…Trying to hide from God
we stand naked before God.
And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
And for those who have rejected God by disobedience...
Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
Curse 1: Animals, but the Serpent: cursed MORE THAN…Also later the Ground. (vs 14, 17) Our relationship to God’s creation.
The serpent does not get a chance to answer.
In the giving out of the sentence: Because you have done this, that is deceive the woman.
On your belly you will go...
Dust you will eat...
All the days of your life
We see a similar wording with Adam and the Ground.
Because of you...
Our choices have consequences and those consequences don’t only affect ourselves.
All of creation is now cursed because of his choice. All of Adam’s offspring are now suffering from the ground being cursed.
Battle 1: Between the seed of Satan and the seed of the woman (vs. 15)
Literally - Cain and Abel.
First act outside the Garden.
Satan kills the righteous one.
Was Abel the Promised One to crush the head of Satan?
Satan might have thought so.
Pharoah kills all baby boys. Moses - The deliverer. The Prophet.
King Herod - kill all boys under 2. Jesus
Victory 1: The Seed of the Woman (vs. 15)
Victory 1: The Seed of the Woman (vs. 15)
Proto-eu-angelion - Ultimately Satan vs. Jesus - the Temptation of Christ...
Satan bit the heel of Jesus - the Cross of Christ.
Jesus crushed the head of Satan - the Blood of Christ...
Jesus breaks the curse on our souls - the Death of Christ…He dies in our place.
Jesus brings the possibility of life to our relationship with God and redeems us from Satan - the resurrection of Christ...
I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.
Someday…creation itself will be set free from the curse.
For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
Question 2: Who Told You You Were Naked? (vs 11)
Question Not Answered By Adam
Because the answer is “No one!” Their eyes were opened. They just “knew” the were naked. Exposed. Stripped. No longer innocent and blameless.
Sinners know they’re sinners. No one needs to tell them. People will deny, ignore, or suppress the truth, but deep down they know.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
Death 2: Our Proper Relationship to Sexuality, including the Womb.
Nakedness became a euphemism for genitalia and wrong forms of sexuality. Leviticus 18, 20
Curse 2: Greatly Multiplied Pain in Childbirth (vs. 16)
word phrase “greatly multiply” pain in childbirth - same root word for be fruitful and “multiply”
childbirth - conception and pregnancy
Pain and Toil
Battle 2: The Seed of the Woman: Sexuality and Society.
John 10:10 (NASB95)
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy...
Abortion - stealing the life of a fetus
Gender Issues - killing of identity
Homosexuality - death of offspring
Infertility and Miscarriage - destroying the potential of life
Victory 2: The Seed of the Woman: Jesus
Victory 2: The Seed of the Woman: Jesus
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
God brings life - children
Seth was born (4:25) - another offspring in place of Abel.
Jesus, the second Adam is supernaturally conceived and then birthed.
Where Eve failed, Mary succeeded.
Mary submitted to the will of the Father.
Mary birthed life in a profound way.
Question 3: Did you eat from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? (vs. 11)
Why did he not just say, “Yes, I did, I’m sorry”? He had to go on this “long” explanation…
After sin has opened their eyes, mankind’s outlook on life changes. They are now functioning under guilt and shame and acting accordingly. We get defensive and try to justify or rationalize our wrong choice.
As I said earlier, they are no longer blameless and innocent and they KNOW it.
And as a result, instead of standing together to own up to their sin, there appears to be some awkward tension.
Death 3: Our Relationship to our Spouse (vs. 13)
Adam subtly blames the woman AND God.
The woman (ishshah) - Adam had named her “woman”, but now instead of using her name, he uses the gender. In Hebrew, by rule, names never have the definite article used with them. But Adam attaches the definite article.
You gave me…to be with me.
She gave it to me. And I ate.
It’s not my fault. Deflection.
Since you listened to the voice of your wife…(vs. 17)
God reminds Adam that this is his wife. His domain. His responsibility. His Isshah. She is not just the woman...
that doesn’t mean we don’t listen to the advice of our wives.
that doesn’t mean they don’t have a voice in making decisions.
that doesn’t mean they can’t speak up when seeing injustice or our wrong direction.
But it is tied into women usurping authority and men not taking proper responsibility and being the leaders and teachers in the home and church.
A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.
The quietness in 1 Timothy 2:11 means a spirit of tranquility and stillness, which ties into submissiveness, which means to place under in an orderly fashion. In the other main texts about wives submitting to their husbands the verb is in the middle form which brings more of the nuance of willingly and voluntarily placing oneself under someone in an orderly fashion.
Curse 3: Your Desire will be for you Husband and he will Rule over you. (vs. 16)
Eve did not do what 1 Timothy 2:11 says. When it came to the teaching she heard from the Serpent...
Instead of submitting that teaching to the authority of her husband, she ran with it and even got him to fall for it.
Genesis 4:7 (NASB95)
“If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
Desire and master - same words in both passages. The emphasis of this word is in something wanting to overtake the other and rule over them.
Your husband will be master over you, but you will want to be master over him.
Battle 3: Marriage and Family
Battle of the sexes.
Battle in our relationships in marriage.
Well I know who wears the pants in that house!
I just wish he’d be the leader in our home.
I wish she’d quit nagging me. I tried to lead once. I asked her where she’d like to eat. She said you choose. I did.
The Crazy Cycle.
Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.
Victory 3: The Seed of the Woman: Jesus
Victory 3: The Seed of the Woman: Jesus
Ephesians 5:21–25 (NASB95)
and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church...Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her...
As Christ loved the church, so husbands love your wives.
As Christ was submissive to the Father, so wives be submissive to your husbands.
It’s possible or it wouldn’t be said to do.
Question 4: What Is This You Have Done? (vs. 13)
The woman gets no chastisement, just a sentence. It would appear because she was truly deceived.
And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.
The word for desirable “to make one wise” can mean to lust and covet.
But used in the passive stem - it indicates something that is worthy of being desired. That was the rub. Satan got Eve to think that eating the fruit was a worthy endeavor.
In Eve’s mind, this is not a question of outright rebellion, but rather a noble quest for wisdom.
It is being able to know “what else is good, that I don’t know about.”
And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after wind. Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.
Instead of, “Yes, I did, I’m sorry.” It’s “The serpent deceived me and I ate.” Subtle shifting of blame to the serpent. Again, acting out of shame and guilt, we try to rationalize our actions.
Her eyes were opened to the fact that she had been deceived...
The devil made me do it.
It’s always someone else’s fault.
We have a hard time taking responsibility for our actions. Let alone trying to make them right.
What is this you have “Done” (asah) - to make. One of the words used in God’s creation of the world and all in it. A part of His “work”.
They question could have been translated, “What is this you have created?” Or “What is this situation you have made?”
Death 4: Our Relationship to our Work
Work was supposed to be in worship…Cultivate
Eve’s work of worship was the family, home, and helper of Adam’s work.
Adam’s work of worship was exercising dominion over His responsibilities - wife and family, stewarding God’s creation animals and plants.
Curse 4: Eve - Family and home will be difficult / Adam - The Ground will be difficult
Each person’s domain is affected.
Battle 4: Man, Woman, and their Work (vs. 17-19)
Toil is the same word as pain and toil of childbirth. by the sweat of our face...
The word toil is used for both curse on labor and delivery and of Adam’s labor of the ground.
Both tied to fruit bearing, both tied to be fruitful and multiply - original command.
Fruit of the womb, fruit of the land.
from the ground (feminine noun) you were birthed.
cultivate and keep that which birthed you. the Ground and God.
The same struggle the woman will have at conception, pregnancy and delivery, and then managing family and home will fall upon the man in his working of the field.
Work after the fall became drudgery, difficult, and discouraging. the ground is now cursed.
Thorns (undesirable, inedible shrub) and thistles (weedy, prickly plants) will grow.
But in order to survive, he must work - to eat of it. eat bread.
All the days of your life…Till you return to the ground. All of your work will turn to dust.
What advantage does man have in all his work Which he does under the sun?
I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind. What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted.
Victory 4: The seed of the woman: Jesus
Victory 4: The seed of the woman: Jesus
Jesus’ sacrifice and the power of the Holy Spirit enables us to once again offer our work as worship.
“Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”
God redeems our work through Jesus Christ. Where you fail, I will enable.
you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
You will eat bread…(vs. 19)
Temptation of Jesus. Turn these stones into bread.
Jesus is our lehem - the bread of life. “Beth-lehem”
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
Jesus will restore us to Paradise. The New Heaven and New Earth.
Jesus will break the curse over the ground.
Question 5: What About You?
Death 5: You Will Return to the Ground (vs. 19)
Physical Death - To Dust you shall return.
Curse 5: Expulsion (vs. 23)
Spiritual / Relational Death to God.
God sent them out from the Garden in Eden - expulsion
Battle 5: Separation (vs 24)
Cheribum guarding / flaming sword - separation
Worship was now going to be hard.
To cultivate the ground from which he was taken - God brought him into the Garden in the beginning and now is taking him out of it
He drove the man out.
Victory 5: Faith in the Seed of the Woman.
Victory 5: Faith in the Seed of the Woman.
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
We see Adam’s faith in the God of Life and Redemption by Re-Naming His wife Eve - mother of all the Living.
Focusing on Life and not death.
Adam is choosing life.
How many times does God rename people…and why?
You will overcome the curse by the blood of Jesus.
Blood shed by innocent animal.
Made animal skin coverings. His work vs. our work which was covering up our nakedness by our own work. Fig leaves. will not last.
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”—
Tree of Life
Cherubim guarding was an act of mercy
Not getting what you deserve - to live life in this state of death, cursing, and battles forever.
In the end Jesus is the one who brings life. Jesus hung on a tree of death so that we could eat from the tree of life once again.
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him;
Closing Song: My Jesus