Living by Faith: A Look at the Fall and Faith of Our First Parents in Genesis 3-4

In 1793, Missionary William Carey made the trip to India with his wife, Dorothy, and their son Felix. And while the trip was safely made, the hardships that awaited them in India might be enough to keep any person from persevering on. It was there, in the wet and tiger infested jungles of India that Carey’s young son, Peter, would die and his wife, Dorothy, would begin to go mentally insane resulting in her death. But this is not all, during his first seven years in India, Carey would not see a single convert from his efforts and his traveling companions would all either leave, die, or spend up all of their missions money. Finally, Carey moved to a new location a few years before his wife’s death and it was here that he would witness his first, of what would be over 1,400 converts, Krishna Pal.

Carey would go on to supervise the creation of India’s first printing press. But on March 11, 1812, a fire started in the printing room and the fire burned all but five pieces of equipment.

Carey’s entire library, his completed Sanskrit dictionary, part of his Bengal dictionary, two grammar books, and ten translations of the Bible were lost. Gone also were the type sets for printing fourteen different languages. Vast quantities of English paper, priceless dictionaries, deeds, and account books were all gone. When Carey returned to Serampore and surveyed the scene, he wept and said,

“In one short evening the labours of years are consumed. How unsearchable are the ways of God. I had lately brought some things to the utmost perfection of which they seemed capable, and contemplated the missionary establishment with perhaps too much self-congratulation. The Lord has laid me low, that I may look more simply to him.”

Although he was heartbroken, he did not take much time to mourn. With great resiliency Carey wrote, “The loss is heavy, but as traveling a road the second time is usually done with greater ease than the first time, so I trust the work will lose nothing of real value. We are not discouraged; indeed the work is already begun again in every language. We are cast down but not in despair.” By 1832 Carey’s rebuilt and expanded printing operation had published complete Bibles or portions of the Bible in forty-four languages and dialects!

We have all experienced tragedy to some degree, some of us more serious, some of us not quite as serious. But the reality of life within this sin-cursed world leads me to say, with a fair amount of confidence, that all of us have experienced heartaches. Well, this evening I would like for you to look with me at Genesis 3 as it is here we find our first parents, Adam and Eve, placed within the garden of Eden; free from the struggles of infertility, free from heartbroken mothers and tear stained children, free from marital and familial conflict, free from spousal abandonment, free from the pains of old age or the forsaking of friends, free from sexual perversions, the abuse of weaker people, and manipulation. They are free, free from sin. This is where we find them and this is where we find the introduction of the Serpent.

It is within this context of a sin-free world that we find the Serpent slithering onto the scene. It is here that he presents a series of tempting questions to Eve in verses 1-5. It has often been said that the temptations seen here, and often faced in our own lives are: (1) To Question God’s Word. (2) To See God as Burdensome. And (3) To Think God Is Holding Out On Us. And we may certainly see that in verses 1-5. Of this, R.C. Sproul writes,

“The most vulnerable point of Adam and Eve was that their confidence in the trustworthiness of the Word of God wasn’t where it should be.” He continues, “The test we’re going through today is the test of if we are going to live in trust of the Word of God or whether we’re going to negotiate it with unbelief.”

Well, in case you haven’t read this passage before, I have a spoiler alert: They failed this test, horribly; which we see as they take a bite of the fruit in verse 6-7 which God directly forbade them to do in chapter 2. It is within this reality, that you may, at this moment, lift your eyes up to see, or think within your mind's eye of the painful shockwaves that ripple from this specific moment in human history. It is with this in mind, that I want us to take a look at three things today as we think to ourselves: How could our first parents bear to walk forward into this sin-cursed world after leaving behind all that the Garden entailed? The way we will explore this today is through three points which are: (1) Paradise Lost and Its Implications. (2) A Positive Curse. (3) A Promise Holding Faith. Now, If you are titling this sermon in your notes, you can title it:

Living By Faith: A Look at the Fall and Faith of Our First Parents.

Paradise Lost and Its Implications.

“In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Edmund Pevensie allows jealousy and anger to bring him to betray his siblings to the White Witch, even though he knew Aslan was coming and that the White Witch was evil. His betrayal almost tears his family apart, and if it were not for the sacrifice of Aslan upon the Stone Table, the Pevensie family would have been forced apart forever. We might not think our individual sins affect others, but our sins can have drastic consequences” (IllustrationIdeas).

As is the case here in Genesis 3. As we’ve just seen a moment ago, Adam and Eve have fallen to the Serpent’s temptation and rebelled against God. It is upon the eating of this fruit that verse 7 reveals that they are aware of their nakedness, a way to explain the loss of their purity, and so they do their best to reclaim some dignity. It is within this act that they hear God coming in verse 8 and they run to hide. James Hamilton writes, and I tend to agree, “...God warned in 2:17 that eating from the tree would result in death. That warning produces the fear of death that prompts the man and woman to hide after their transgression in 3:8 and refuse to confess in 3:9-13” (Hamilton 8)

Well, God calls them out and it is within this scene that we discover the consequences of their sin. First, they endure spiritual and physical death. In verse 19, God clearly delivers their future physical death sentences to them, but the reality of their spiritual deaths has already come. Notice how they hide from God in verse 8 and how they blame-shift and are unwilling to confess their sin in verses 11-13. But not only do we find death, but we find, second of all, relational conflict. Not only do we see it as each one blames someone else in an attempt to take the blame off of themselves, but it is seen in the second half of verse 16. Now, most of our translations cause this passage to be difficult to understand. But the word, “desire” there is not stating that Eve is going to think Adam is the hunkiest man alive. Instead, it’s depicting the opposite, she is going to want to dominate him and this is only properly understood when we look at how Moses uses the exact same word in chapter 4:7 concerning Cain’s temptation where God says, “Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you…” This is where relational dysfunction comes into the world. Eve will strive to control and manipulate Adam and, the NET captures this well, Adam will “dominate you.” We see this all the time, don’t we? Sexual manipulation, spousal abuse, domestic violence, emasculation, and more. Some of you have unfortunately experienced this, this is the heinous consequences of rebellion against God.

Third, man is sentenced to remaining hardships upon this Earth. Eve will face unbelievable agony in childbirth and Adam will be made to suffer wearying and backbreaking labor just to eat. Of this Calvin writes, “Truly God pronounces, as from his judgment-seat, that the life of man shall be henceforth miserable, because Adam had proved himself unworthy of that tranquil, happy, and joyful state for which he had been created” (Genesis 175). Notice something interesting here, snakes always slither, women always are the ones to give birth, men are to work. This is what we do. What the fall does is make all the goodness that we were created for unbearably burdensome and tainted.

Fourth, we find in verse 22 their last sentence which is judgment by exile and the rescinding of God’s direct presence with them upon this Earth and God declares the finality of this arrangement by placing a Cherubim at guard with a sword, a instrument of death, now pay attention to that because we will look at it again shortly. But for now, we need to understand that sin has cost them everything that they have ever known all the way up to their highest prize which is sweet, direct, personal, and intimate fellowship with God. Let this text remove all doubt from us that sin always brings about hardship. This brings about unbelievable burdens. But notice, there’s a glimmer of hope in the darkness here and it’s in Genesis 3:15 or what I like to call, “A curse pregnant with promise.” Which leads us to our second point of this evening:

A Positive Curse

James Hamilton said, “Once Yahweh has called them out and exposed their sin, the man and woman have no reason to think they will live - until God speaks to the serpent.” Here, He continues, “God promises to put enmity between the serpent and the woman…enmity entails ongoing conflict. Ongoing conflict requires ongoing life.”

It is in the presence of unfathomable heartache that God’s mercy and justice shine forth with radiant light as He reveals what we call, “The Protoevangelium” or “The first gospel.” Yes, Adam and Eve, you will die, but not without hope. In Genesis 1, God speaks life into darkness and here in Genesis 3, God speaks life into deadness. Why is this so exciting? Why does this grant peace and hope? Because God has just promised that a deliverer, who is Jesus Christ, will come to deliver them from this pain and He will crush the head of this great deceiver.

Now, I’m aware that I just made a huge assumption, but let me prove it. First, what is the seed of the serpent? Well, in verse 14, God curses the Serpent but He doesn’t say “cursed are you” to Adam and Eve. And in Genesis 4:11 after Cain murders Abel God says, “You are cursed from the ground...” So, what we find first of all is that the seed of the serpent are those who do not love God and neighbor. In Romans 16:20 we read, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” It is in that context that Paul is stating that God will work through His people, the body of believers there in Rome, to eliminate false teachers which are sowing discord. So from that we can understand that the seed of the serpent are those who teach false doctrines and sow division. And finally in Revelation 12:9 we read “9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” From this, we leave knowing that the seed of the Serpent is Satan and all of those who follow him and his ways.

But who is the seed of the woman? The Targums, an Aramaic translation of the OT written before the Christian Era, translates Numbers 24:17 “17 I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a King is to arise from the house of Jacob, and a Redeemer and Ruler from the house of Israel who will slay the strong ones of the Moabites.” In consulting a few early sources, we could understand that text as saying, “A king is to arise from the house of Jacob, and a Messiah from the house of Israel, who will crush the forehead of Moab.” Notice that allusion to Genesis 3:15. Here we find that Israel will produce a Messiah who will, in power, crush the enemies of God’s people.

In Psalm 68:21, the NASB reads, “Surely God will shatter the heads of His enemies.”

In Psalm 110:1 we read, “The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”

This passage is referring to Christ, whom the Father promises that His feet will rest upon His enemies.

Looking back at the Seed imagery, Paul writes in Galatians 3:16, 16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.

What God is promising here is that one day Christ would come and He would face an experience where He would face an injury to His heel, we might say this is a temporary set back. But in return, He would utterly crush Satan and all who stand against the truth. He will do what Adam failed to do. Adam may have failed in the temptations of the Garden, but Christ succeeded in the wilderness temptations. He is the greater Adam who will come and suffer, yet ultimately succeed! And where do we see this? At Calvary. Let us look to Calvary, where Christ’s hands and feet were pierced and where his cross pierced that place which is called, “The place of the skull,” It is there that this mortal wound is delivered to Satan and though he has not yet been utterly destroyed, his time is coming. In the mean time, Christ is moving through His body, the Church as we saw in Romans 16 and in Luke 10:18-20 we read,

Luke 10:18–20 ESV

18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Notice, that the eternal Son of God, who watched Satan fall from Heaven, who is the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15 and is the one who is the Serpent Crusher gives power to His people over serpents. This leads me to my last point for this evening which is

A Promise Holding Faith

Yes, the effects of sin are vast and horrifying, yet in the gloomy fog of judgment sparkles the jewel of God’s grace. We ask, “How in the world could Adam and Eve bear to go on from paradise to life in a sin-sick world? They lived by faith. Notice in Genesis 3:20 how Adam, after the fall, after judgment, after the promise, looks at his wife and names her Eve, mother of all living. Just a few moments ago they were hopeless, they just knew that God’s wrath would utterly consume them, yet here He promises a deliverer and the hand of Adam’s faith reaches out and is evidenced as he looks at his wife and names her Eve as though to say, God is bringing deliverance for us and will be faithful to keep that promise.

But what about Eve? Look in chapter 4:1. Eve is pregnant and she birth’s Cain and cries out, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord!” Now, what is fascinating there is that Cain’s name is “Acquire” and there is some debate concerning this sentence structure here, but it would seem that this verse could read, “I have gotten a man, the Lord.” It would seem to me that Eve’s faith in the promise of God’s deliverer was so strong and expectant that she presumed Cain, her first born to be him. And though she was wrong, we may find ourselves encouraged by her faith.

That Cherubim I told you to remember earlier? Remember, it stood with authority seeming to state a finality, a separation between the entrance of men into the holy presence of God. Well, later on in the Bible, God institutes the Temple and within the Temple is a veil serving to guard the Holy of Holies and 2 Chronicles 3:14 tells us a little more about how it looked:

2 Chronicles 3:14 ESV

And he made the veil of blue and purple and crimson fabrics and fine linen, and he worked cherubim on it.

Well, what happened with this beautiful veil working to remind us of that Cherubim in Genesis 4? In Matthew 27:51, at the death of the Lord upon the cross, we read,

Matthew 27:51 ESV

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.

That cherubim, who’s sword stood to declare that there was no entrance into the holy of holies, fell upon Christ for us and as it fell upon our serpent slaying Lord, the veil torn in two and to all those who are Christ’s it declares, “Come!” We come, beloved, not by our own efforts, but by the finished work of Christ!

That word, “desire” that I told you about earlier referring to relational dysfunction? It is used only one more time in the Bible and that’s in Song of Solomon 7:10 where it seems that the writer is speaking of the one who turns things back into the way it was meant to be. It says, “I am my beloved’s and his desire is for me.”

That Serpent who’s seed we see wreaking havoc all around us? Christ has dealt a mortal wound to his head, but one day, Revelation 20:7-10 will come to pass. It says, Revelation 20:3 and 7-10

Revelation 20:2 ESV

2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,

Revelation 20:7–10 ESV

7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, 10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Yes, the consequences of sin are heavy, yes this battle is hard, but Christ gives us the victory. It is by Him that we are more than conquerors and due to this we can lift our wearied heads and rejoice knowing that indeed, we are on the winning side!

Conclusion

So, what do we learn about walking in this sin-cursed world from this information today?

We learn that we are in need of a deliverer. The efforts of Adam and Eve’s hands to cover up their shortcomings never sufficed and neither do yours. Your good old boy salvation is worth nothing more than filthy rags. Friend, if you are trusting in anything aside from the work of Jesus Christ on behalf of sinners, you’re hopelessly lost. You must be delivered. If you learn anything from this today, I pray that it is that God is just and merciful. Throw yourself at the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ. Death, a result of the fall, is quickly coming for us all, run to Him who has conquered that too.

We learn of the realities of sin’s effects. Growing up it was often said, “You can choose your actions, but you don’t get to choose the consequences.” Sin is a rock thrown into a calm lake that sends ripples to everything around it. As we experience death, heartaches, relational dysfunction, and pains; may they work to intensify our hatred for our sins against God.

We learn gratitude. Beloved, the only reason that we can raise our wearied voices and cry out, “How long, O Lord!” Is not that we deserve deliverance from this sin-cursed world. No, the only reason we can raise our tired voices and cry out, “How long, O Lord!” is because He has promised us deliverance.

We learn to trust the promises of God. Has God promised us a serpent crusher? Yes! Has Christ come and delivered such a blow on Calvary? Yes! Well, if He’s faithful to bring forth the passing of this promise, I’d say there’s no reason why we shouldn’t, like our first parents, walk forward with our hands clenched to the promises of God. We see things a lot clearer than the OT Saints ever did, let us pray that we might live with the faith displayed here.

When Adam and Eve looked up after their banishment from Eden, the hand’s that grabbed the fruit of disobedience were now empty of all they once held dear, but the hand of faith were fully clinched around the promises of God. May this be said of us as we pilgrim through this life.