Sermon Tone Analysis

! Introduction:

Adam sinned, and when he sinned he immediately suffered terrible consequences.

The consequences of sin are covered in our last study (Genesis 3:7-13).

Now comes the judgment upon sin.

Sin is to be judged; perfect justice is to be executed.

It was true in the beginning with Adam; it will be true with us in the final judgment of all men.

This passage covers the first judgment ever pronounced upon earth.

It covers “The First Judgment Upon Sin (Part 1).

!! A.           He was cursed above all creatures (v.14a).

!!! 1.            “You are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field…”  (v.14a).

!!!! a)            Some things to be noted.

!!!!! (1)           The tempter is not asked why he deceived the woman:

!!!!!! (a)           He cannot roll the blame on to someone else; self-tempted he fell, and it is natural for him to deceive and destroy all he can.

!!!!!! (b)           His fault admits of no excuse, and therefore God begins to pronounce sentence on him first.

!!!!! (2)           Was the serpent a literal serpent or a reference to Satan himself?

!!!!!! (a)           Some scholars say he is /“literal”/

!!!!!! (b)           Some say he is /“literal but did not walk uprightly”/

!!!!!! (c)           Scripture says this when referring to Satan in (v.14-15):

*Paul, in Romans 16 says *"And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Amen." (Romans 16:20, NKJV)

*John writes in Revelation 12 that the *"Great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

(Revelation 12:9, NKJV)

*And the angel who had the key to the bottomless pit *"Laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;" (Revelation 20:2)

!!!!! (3)           The present passage of (Gen.3:14-15)

definitely refers to Satan.

Therefore, if the serpent is to be understood in a literal sense, then the passage must have a double reference.

!!!!!! (a)           It must refer to both the serpent as a creature and to Satan who is “that old serpent, called the Devil” (Rev.

12:9).

(i)             For example, in the third judgment, the serpent is condemned to “eat dust” (Genesis 3:14c).

Snakes do not eat dust.

This is symbolic language meaning that the tempter is to /eat the dust/ of defeat and humiliation.

(ii)            Another example is the reference to the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent (Genesis 3:15).

This curse of God is not talking about all the little snakes crawling all over the world.

It is referring to the followers of that “old serpent, called the Devil” (Rev.

12:9).

If a serpent creature is also involved, then the judgment has a double reference to both Satan and the serpent.

\\ !!!! b)            Judgment upon the tempter was the most sever.

!!!!! (1)           Man’s sin was most tragic, and the judgment he brought upon himself was terrible, but a way of salvation was to be offered to man.

!!!!! (2)           The earth also was to suffer a terrible corruption under the curse of God, but it, too, is to be delivered from the bondage of corruption and made incorruptible (Romans 8:19-21).

!!!!! (3)           But not the tempter.

He is doomed forever.

Scripture never says anywhere that the tempter will ever be saved and freed from the judgment pronounced upon him.

The opposite is said:

!!!!!! (a)           The tempter is to eat dust (be defeated) all the days of his life (Gen.3:14).

!!!!!! (b)           The tempter will eat dust in the future world, during the millennial reign of Christ:

*During the millennial reign *"The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, The lion shall eat straw like the ox, And dust shall be the serpent’s food.

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,” Says the Lord."

(Isaiah 65:25, NKJV)

!!!!!! (c)           The tempter, /“that old serpent, called the Devil,” /is doomed to an eternity in the lake of fire as said in the book of Revelation:

*John writes saying *"The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are.

And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever."

(Revelation 20:10, NKJV)

!!!!! (4)           *The point is this:* the tempter was cursed above all created creatures.

There is no hope for him.

He will never be freed from his judgment and condemnation.

!! B.           He was to crawl upon his belly (v.14b).

!!! 1.            “On your belly you shall go…”  (v.14b).

!!!! a)            Cursed to be detested, degraded, and miserable.

!!!!! (1)           A crawling creature (e.g., a serpent) is the picture of a being that is detested, degraded, repulsive, contemptible, and scorned—an abomination (Leviticus 11:42).

*Leviticus 11:42** says *"Whatever crawls on its belly, whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet among all creeping things that creep on the earth—these you shall not eat, for they are an abomination.”

(Leviticus 11:42, NKJV)

!!!!! (2)           A body that bows low and clings to the ground is a picture of misery (Psalm 44:25).

*In his prayer for deliverance, the Psalmist wrote that *"For our soul is bowed down to the dust; Our body clings to the ground.”

(Psalm 44:25, NKJV)

!!!!! (3)           Even if this judgment is directed at the snake as an earthly creature, its main thrust is aimed at the devil who is the prime tempter of man.

!!!!! (4)           It is the devil that God is primarily judging and condemning.

!!!!! (5)           One of the names given Satan is /Beelzebub/.

The name means the god of flies, the god of filth, or the god of dung.

Satan is known as the god of unclean spirits.

!! C.

He was to eat dust (v.14c).

!!! 1.            “You shall eat dust all the days of your life…”  (v.14c).

!!!! a)            To be defeated and humiliated—always.

!!!!! (1)           In the Scripture, /to eat or lick dust/ means to be defeated, to be humiliated & judgment.

*Speaking of enemies *"Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him, and His enemies will lick the dust.”

(Psalm 72:9, NKJV)

*Nations and leaders who oppressed Israel will humble themselves before the redeemed people of God’s covenant,* “Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers; They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth, and lick up the dust of your feet.

Then you will know that I am the Lord, For they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me.”" (Isaiah 49:23, NKJV)

*Again, the nations that taunted Israel *"Shall lick the dust like a serpent; they shall crawl from their holes like snakes of the earth.

They shall be afraid of the Lord our God, And shall fear because of You." (Micah 7:17, NKJV)

\\ !!!!! (2)           Satan has been defeated and always will be.

His final destiny is destruction in the lake of fire.

*When Jesus sent out His disciples for service *"Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."

(Luke 10:17, NKJV)

*The devils final destiny is destruction: *"The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are.

And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever."

(Revelation 20:10, NKJV)

 

!! D.           He was to be the object of enmity between him and the woman and her seed (v.15a).

!!! 1.            “I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed…”  (v.15a).

!!!! a)            There is always to be enmity between the tempter and the woman.

!!!!! (1)           The word /enmity/ (ebhah) means hatred, antagonism, hostility.

In the Bible it is always used to refer to the enmity between people, not animals.

This fact alone, as well as the rest of this part of the judgment, points to the tempter being the devil and not just a serpent.

!!!!! (2)           It is God who puts enmity between the serpent and man.

It is God who stirs man to oppose evil.

Enmity is usually sinful, but enmity against evil is a virtue (Eph.4:26-27).

!!!!! (3)           This enmity actually began when woman was first created.

James Montgomery Boice points out that Satan hated woman from the moment she was created.

But now woman was to hate Satan.

She might love her sin, but she would also hate it.

As Boice Montgomery says, “When we sin, we often find that we like the sin but want to escape sin’s consequences.