The Fall and Protoeuangelion (Gen. 3

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We’re continuing where we left off last week in the story of the generations of the heavens and the earth. Adam and Eve were placed in a garden of pleasure with everything they needed. And Yahweh dwelled with them there. This was an implied Garden temple that Adam was to work and keep as if a ministering priest who was to keep it holy and he was given a word to obey to even pass on to his bride, it would seem. In short, the word was “Look, I have given you all of this that is good to eat and enjoy, but just don’t eat of this one tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Then Yahweh himself graciously provided for Adam by from forming a wife from his rib while he slept. We ended with the realization that the marriage institution given by God to Adam and Eve was meant to be instructive for us all, therefore, man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, that they would become one new family. And now we peer into the story of this first family who was at first as we remember naked before one another, yet unashamed. They were gloriously fitting for one another without blemish.

The tempter, the object of temptation, the twisting of words of a forgotten provider, autonomy then desire to be like God.

Genesis 3:1–7 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So 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, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.”

When we are asked of the goodness and truth of God’s word… If we add to the word and make God to be a liar we will doubt his goodness… Then we will test God and make ourselves out to be a better god… We see differently and exchange the truth of God for a lie… we begin to think it is a knowledge of good and evil that leads to wisdom and not the fear of the Lord…

What did Adam do in all this? He was silent, he stood by, perhaps watched, but didn’t act, didn’t correct her when she misspoke, he did nothing to defend her from the serpent, he let God’s word be profaned and his goodness doubted, he let the serpent defile God’s holy garden temple and then participated in the evil.

In a clear allusion to this passage, the serpent of old, the devil tempts Jesus, only not in a paradise, but in a desert. Not after a marriage ceremony but after a rite of baptism, in which the union of the Father and Spirit with the Son Incarnate is witnessed.

And it is Jesus (unlike Adam) who actively goes out to be tempted, and when he’s questioned about food, he looks to the goodness of God, when he’s questioned about the mercy of God from the top of the temple, he knows he’s not to test God, and when he is finally told to give allegiance to the powerful serpent he sends him away and gives his loyalty to God alone.

Passivity and complicity of man, Fallen before judgement

Fatherly searching, asking the head, followed by blaming another and God

Gospel through judgement. a serpent brought low and crushed by a bruised seed

The merciful chastisement of the curse, bear the promised seed, have dominion over the earth

Mother of the living, a better covering, and a guarded holiness.

All right, so we are continuing where we left off last week in the story the generations of the heavens in the Earth, Adam, and Eve replaced in a garden of pleasure with everything they needed, and Yahweh dwelled with them. There was an implied garden temple that Adam was to work, and keep as a ministering priest to us to keep it holy and he was given a word to obey to even pass on to his bride. It would seem the word was I've given you all of this. That is good to eat and enjoy a command to eat, but just don't eat of this one tree of the knowledge of evil then Yahweh himself graciously provided for Adam by forming a wife from his rib while he slept, he ended with the realization we ended with the realization that the marriage institution given by God, had a man was meant to be instructive for all of us therefore, it says man shall leave his father and mother, and hold fast to his wife. They would become one new family, and now we appear into the story of this first family, who was first as we remember naked before one another yet unashamed, they were glorious gloriously fitting for one another, without blemish

A dragon, the serpent of old, the one called Satan and the Devil.

get into the story genesis 3, the serpent was schruder, was more crafty than any of the wild animals that the Lord God had made than any of the beast of the field. the serpent we we know from looking back through the rest of scripture is Satan and the devil as revelation points out but here he's just shown as a serpent. Later in the story were seen, is cursed and caused to says on your belly, you will crawl and dust. You will eat all the days of your life cursor you, because you've done this cursor you above all the cattle and all the creatures the field on your belly, you will crawl and dust you will eat all the days of your life. So we see this is some kind of animal of the field that was perhaps not crawling on its belly before the fall we don't know if it had legs that God suffered away. We don't know the nature of this animal before the fall, but we do know the lack of the serpent, but the reality is in this story, so much bigger idea than it just being an animal. This is a speaking and tempting animal. It is again, as I said, from revelation, we see is Satan himself

Would a good God really disallow and limit your pleasure?

... and he said to the woman “is it really true that God said or did God actually say you must not eat from any true tree of the orchard? And when we look at this, you can already hear it is it true that God would love you would disallow such beautiful trees to be imagine yourself, standing in front of the tree of the knowledge of evil, which must've looked good to eat as she judges later did God really say you must not eat any tree of the orchard is actually good is he here when the woman is tempted by Satan, what he first does is, makes her call into question the law of God remember from chapter 2 the command that God gave to Adam was to eat of any tree meaning he provided a luscious paradise of pleasure for him to enjoy just don't eat this one tree, but now, Satan. Is twisting it to say, could not really be good if he disallow something that has appear the appearance of goodness so perhaps she starts to imagine God isn't good maybe he's not all loving and caring for what kind of God would keep me from something what kind of a goddess they would limit limit my opportunity, so instead of seeing the command of God, as some gracious and good, she started to look at the command of God, is something oppressive and unnecessarily limiting,

Legalisms distortion, changing God’s command for man

so perhaps, with those the woman says to the serpent verse two, we may eat of the fruit from the trees of the orchard, but concerning the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard, God said you must not eat it and now here's a key phrase, and you must not touch it or else you will die and you must not touch it.

When did God say that here we have the questioning of God's authority we have the woman questioning God's word or worse We have the woman changing gods word he never said do not touch yet it's added here no we don't know where this idea came from. We don't have a record of Adam telling Eve that she was not to eat of the tree or else she would die, so we don't know if this idea do not touch, originated from Adam, or if it was from Eve, but we do know it was a distortion of the word of God. It put words in gods mouth that he did not speak.

Serpent’s aggressive lie and accusation against God

Then the serpent said to the woman, surely you will not die, for God knows that when you eat from it, your eyes will open, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil surely the one who created you will not let you die see this what started with one twisting you must not touch Satan picks up to twist even a little bit more since I have something better for you. You will not die. God is merciful look I can eat from this tree. I'm not dead here. I am telling you to eat this and I'm not dead. Surely God is merciful he will let you have what you want. No, in fact, you will not die. In fact, God knows that when you eat from it, your eyes will open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil

Giving authority and allegiance to Satan

...this tree that God forbid Adam and Eve from eating from resembles, we could say a throne of judgment. What else would it mean that one would no good and evil, except that they would have discernment over right and wrong it was as if taking that tree was to say, let me be the judge of what is good and evil it was to say, let me be like God, and what the serpent here is exactly what we've reference before when he's tempting Eve to take of this tree and eat he's tempting her to make God her adversary, of course tempting even saying this is what's right you can trust my word you can trust. Me this this fruit is good for you to eat, and

all that he's doing is asking for her to bow down to him to no longer be the vice regents that profit priest king of God but now I'll be the servants of Satan and it was tempting because now all she can see with this tree right in front of her and it's fruit looking so delicious she doesn't see all the goodness of God behind her, every single delight from every other tree in the garden that she was commanded to eat from all she sees this tree that has a promise of knowledge knowledge of good and evil we have to know what's right we no longer have to wait on our word from God I'm beginning to doubt has selfish commands for me. He just doesn't want me to be like him,

and then it says so when the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food, perhaps hear the serpent of the fruit to show her it good who is attractive to the eye looked really nice same as ugly and was desirable for making one wise could I eat it for food please me here it would give me knowledge. What is wrong with knowledge so she took some of its fruit and ate it act of eating as simple as consuming a bite of fruit led to the fall of the entire human race just gave some of it to her husband who is with her and he ate it who is complicit with her and his sin and her sin Adams fall disobedience here plunged his entire posterity, all of his sons and daughters with him to a spiritual death.

Adam, the failed priest and prophet

Adams failure, just as Eve’s started long before she actually ate the fruit Adams failure started when he apparently failed to keep a defiler the serpent out of the presence of. Danik temple he failed as a priest, and he failed to tell his bride the word properly, so that when she is questioned on the goodness of God, when she is questioned on the word of God, she is actually the first to produce a lie about God he failed as a profit to the good command perhaps because he thought you know what the better thing is thing to do is that not even let her touch the tree I'll make my own for her so that she doesn't even come close to breaking God's command, and lastly, Adam failed that head of his wife. He failed to stand between her and evil he failed to protect her.

Eyes opened not to become like God but to expose a creature, fallen short of God’s glory

The story goes on in the eyes of both of them. Opened, and they knew they were naked, so they sewed leaves together and made coverings for themselves two and away the serpent was right it would open their eyes to see, but when they first saw was actually that they were once who fell short of the glory of God before this, we don't know, and what way Yahweh God dwelled with Adam and Eve in the garden, but it seem to be in such a way that he only built them up as his vice regents, where he was constantly giving glory to them, and showing how much better that they were than the rest of the creation that they were to rule over so much so that apparently they didn't realize how less than they were to God, but now that they eat of the tree, all of a sudden they realize they fall short And they are ashamed of what they are, like they see their and feel that it is entirely unlike God and not glorious compared to him. Now that they see they have this comparison to dwell on and they they are ashamed of what they've done or what they've become but even in this, it seems it nothing actually changed in their bodies, except that they had eyes to see their bodies that eyes to see how unlike God they were.

This is much like conviction of sin that we experience today often when we send it immediately followed by in reality. Nothing nothing changes in us chemically or our circumstances don't often immediately change through what we've done except the word suddenly aware. Our nature and our potential for evil,

A gentle fatherly reckoning but evil exposed all the more

v. 8 says then the man, his wife heard the sound of the Lord God, moving about in the orchard at the breezy time of the day in the cool of the day and what else can they do hide from the Lord God on the trees of the Orchard they knew they were hear the glorious one comes the one who's word disobeyed, but the Lord God called to the man and said to him where are you and here they all know who already knows what they've done. It doesn't need them to say that seems to come to them like a gentle father seeks out his child's done wrong and is ashamed. The man replied I heard you about an orchard, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I had. Notice the man doesn't even mention that they ate of the tree. This isn't so much of a confession becoming clean before God as much as it is, I'm embarrassed of what I am I'm afraid to even be in your presence because I would be put to shame I wanna cover up and hide from you. I never wanna see you again because I feel like nothing

said who told you that you were naked did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from? What did she even get that idea that you could be ashamed of how you were created of course, God knows he ate from the tree. God knows that he put himself on the judgment seat instead of walking away with power to judge God, he immediately felt judged himself for even comparing himself to God,

the man said verse 12 the woman who you gave me she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it to the man who is to protect his wife. He was to be the one who gave her the word of God the one who is supposed to mediate for her the presence and guard the temple of God is now blaming the woman, but he's not just blaming the woman he's saying the woman that you gave me God you you're the one who did this you gave it to me distorted the gift of God have to say she's a curse you gave me broken woman who led me to sin

always said to woman what is this you've done, and the woman replied, the serpent tricked me, and I ate it. God knew his adversary all along. He knew the enemy the the devil.

A merciful chastisement

But what we see in God's judgment, as he begins to speak to the serpent, and the woman in the man in that order is actually just as now we speak to the man and the woman he sticks them out like children. He continues, even in his condemnation of them, even in his curse of them, it continues like a father would talk to his children what we see is actually more of a chastisement than it is a curse and so is they first start to hear

verse 15 I will put in between you and the woman between your offspring and her offspring. The man and the one must at first we will live. We didn't deserve this. We were supposed to die, and when we ate the fruit, we realized it was a lie we didn't become like God we were just more aware of the fact that we were creatures and not the creator and yet we will continue to generate offspring. He will let us live. So when the woman hears that her labor pains will be greatly increased, she must be receiving it with some kind of relief that I deserve so much worse you gonna give me difficult labor pains, OK that's fine and how I want to control my husband, but he will dominate me. It should be much worse I did after all give him the fruit and has the serpent tempted me so I tempted him.

Maybe Adam is thinking since he is talk to last maybe he will yet put an end to me he could start over give me a new man given to this woman I deserve death, and yet God graciously allows him to live curses the Earth, and makes it difficult to labor, and even sustain it completely reverses what he had in the garden, which was bountiful, fruit ready to eat, and now he will labor and labor will be even vain as it produces, thorns and thistles but at least he will eat he will eat the grain of the field. He will eat bread by the sweat of his brow. He will eat food until it's time for him to die, and he will return to dust.

Enmity toward the serpent as a means of grace, and a promised conqueror

But what was most gracious of all in the judgment of God it was his declaration to the serpent Genesis 3:15 Genesis 3:15 is the first time we hear of the hope of the good news of the Messiah

Of course, we don't see it in full here in this instance, but from the rest of scripture from the unfolded plan of God, we look back and see here God sets a trajectory toward the climax of this world, the generations of heaven and earth that would come together from a seed of the women who would crush the serpents head they would not be gracious for God just let Adam and Eve go on in there send go on in there, good relationship with the serpent in a way God gives them over to their sin, allowing them for a time to live under the authority of Satan, but in his mercy, he put hostility between man and Satan. He helps them not to enjoy Satan's rain on the Earth. And so the curses that God puts forth to mankind our ultimately a means of grace to point us to a greater hope

Adam names her Eve, mother of all living

And we see that in some Small Way,, Adam and Eve recognized that hope right away I converse 20 right after Adam is cursed what does he do he names his wife now commentators point out that even just the naming of things was in a way to show the word over that thing just is Adam named the animals he had at authority over them, and while we've already talked about the woman before her here and her creation But she did not until this point has a name it as if Adam, at this point understands what he needs to do and so he takes his first step and leading his wife and gives her name and what is her name mean? It's Eve life because she was the mother of all the living, and so her name points to hope. The one who brought death by eating of the fruit is now the one who carries in her already. The seat is already in her in away, as we understand the mother to contain the egg of all her offspring is in her she is the mother of all the living greater name. Could she receive that one filled with hope and

Fast-forward to the better covering and skull crushing seed

God didn't just leave them in their shame and in their curse what does it say verse 21 made garments from skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. Now many of us have learned to unpack this verse to include a hint of the sacrificial system of the Jews, which would reach its climax in the sacrifice of the spotless lamb, Christ himself it would be the sacrifice once of all until it was. God doesn't just send them out of the garden. Listen them out with the hope of a school, crushing seat of the woman, and he sends them out with a covering a new way to live fast-forward two the time of Christ and he is

The Lamb of God, pleasure of the Father sent out by the Spirit to be tested

at his baptism John cries out, behold the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. And then, after his baptism, Jesus is sent out by the spirit I was in order to be tested so that he would be tested in the wilderness fast for 40 days and nights, and the serpent of Satan the devil comes to him, and then a clear illusion to our passage in genesis three says you are the son of God command these stones to become bread. If you were the son of God, you take us the goodness of God you will be provided for you can provide for yourself if the heat of the stone he answered, a certain man does not live by alone, but every word that comes from the mouth of God,

Satan’s Twisting

and the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the highest point of the temple, and said to him if you were the son of God, throw yourself down for his written he will command his angels concerning you, and with their hands you will he will they will lift you up, so you will not strike your foot against the stone Jesus said once again, it is written you are not to put the Lord your God to the test you won't surely die will you I won't put him to the test.

Dominion from Satan if you’ll just take it.

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their Granger. I said to him, I will give you all these things if you throw yourself to the ground and worship me all these things that God essentially let me have whenever of the fruit, my dominion that I stole from them you can have it back just worship me, and Jesus said you should've said what perhaps Adam should've stood in her place, and said it has written you are to worship the Lord, your God, and serve him alone. The devil left him an angels came and began ministering to his needs.

Here Christ is the one who has power over Satan, who has power to resist temptation. Perhaps Satan knew, from this moment, in Jesus ministry, that this was indeed the Messiah, but he didn't know how exactly this seed of Eve, with crushes said would try to crush his head. In fact, first Corinthians seems to make it clear that the plan was hidden from every ruler and authority or else why would Satan have done what he did, and entered Judas to betray Jesus, actually same as it. Satan was as deceived as many of the leaders of the Jews, at the time who awaited a Messiah, who would only come in to overthrow Roman authorities I would free them from the oppression of this. These worldly powers, and so Satan works.

This serpent works with its brute of vipers these leaders of Israel to kill and destroy any threat to their power, any kind of conquering one who seem to have an opportunity to take over their throne. I would seek to arrest and kill. So when it seems that Satan cannot tempt this profit potential Messiah to send in the desert, I can't disqualify him by his sin. He can't seem to get him to acknowledge dominion, and then it seems that this potential Messiah is gaining ground in his ministry is gaining a following that looks like potential figure who could take over and lead God's chosen people.

Satan has no other plan, but to try and destroy Jesus. And perhaps the Satan delight, Messiah doesn't even put up a fight. He seems to let himself be arrested and go to the cross. Satan puts him to open shame. He didn't bow to me in the desert when I could've given you all of this land you think you are so good and here you are oh wanna be king of the Jews humiliated and ashamed on a cross hanging there cursed dying a sinners death, but of course we know that it wasn't Satan's power, but it was actually God's plan that he had that long ago.