And Suddenly, It Was Bad
Notes
Transcript
Last week we started this series, The Beginning, by studying through Genesis chapters 1-2. We covered quite a bit in these two chapters that will lay what is hopefully a good foundation not just for the next 9 chapters or even the rest of the book, but for the rest of the Bible.
If on a couple of these ideas that we discussed on Sunday you left still scratching your head, rest assured, we will continue to reference back to them as we study the rest of the book of Genesis.
Last week we saw that creation reveals the nature of God.
- He is absolutely powerful and in control of everything.
- He exists in community within Himself through Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Father.
- He is the creator of everything.
- God created people after His own image and likeness.
- God is trustworthy
We also learned that God's creation of man tells us about our nature and the nature of our relationship with God.
- Every person is an image-bearer of God.
- Because we are made in the image of God, we are higher than the animals.
- The image of God in man is what gives each person value and dignity.
As we left chapter one and entered into chapter two we noticed that God gave Adam responsibilities and commands. Adam is entrusted with a special garden and told to keep and dress it. In keeping with his responsibility, man is also provided with food. He is allowed to eat from every tree in the Garden of Eden except for one: the tree of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.
So with this we understand that work is a good thing; work is not the consequence of sin.
But we see as Adam begins to take care of the garden of Eden that God says that it is not good for him to be alone. Adam is then brought every creature that God created, and Adam names them. At the end of this exercise, Adam realizes that he is alone, without a suitable mate that would be able to help him in his life. So God knocks Adam out (or puts him to sleep), and like we saw that Adam was formed out of the dirt, God forms a woman out of man.
Adam wakes up and since he's been naming everything else, he goes ahead and names this creature, calling her woman, because she was taken out of man.
God puts together this man and this woman in the first example we have of a marriage, dictating to Adam that their children will one day leave them and be united with their respective spouses as they form marriages themselves.
We ended chapter two with the understanding that this is how creation was intended to be, for God saw that it was good.
So let's go right into chapter three.
Genesis 3:1-5 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
First things first...
THE SERPENT
Who Is The Serpent?
Genesis does not tell us. If you grew up in church, you have heard, truthfully, that the serpent is either the devil himself or that this particular serpent was being controlled by the devil. (The serpent is Satan.) In English, we use the word "Satan" as a proper name, but in Hebrew it is not a proper name, but a term that means adversary, enemy, or one who opposes. And that is exactly what Satan does.
But how do we know that this is Satan or the Devil if Genesis does not tell us? Well we know because of these reasons:
- The serpent behaves the way that Satan behaves. John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. Satan has been opposed to God since his own downfall. According to the book of Isaiah (14:13-14), Satan was cast out of heaven and condemned by God when He tried to lead a revolt with a third of the angels as he attempted to take God's throne. In keeping with his opposition to God, Satan now attempts to deceive God's prized creation.
- Scripture reveals to us that the serpent in Genesis is in fact the devil. Revelation 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.
What Does The Serpent Do?
The devil starts his temptation by doing something here that he has continued to do until now, and will continue to always do. He questions God's trustworthiness.
"Did God really say...?" Did God really restrict you? Isn't that what we hear so much even today? "If God is good, then he want me to feel good. A good God that loves me wouldn't restrict me so much."
So in essence, Satan asks Eve, "Did God really put you in this garden and is only letting you eat from some of the trees?"
Notice, this is a cunning, crafty way of saying things. Perspective changes everything! Think of all the fruit bearing trees and bushes. Adam and eve had their pick from every single one of them. They could eat any fruit that grew except for one. They are not missing anything, especially when you compare the hundreds of things they can eat versus the one thing they cannot.
Satan, however, words his question so that it sounds as if God is being unfair and with it brings a little exaggeration. "Did God really say that you're not allowed to eat from every tree that is in here?"
The biggest lie that Satan still tells even today is, "God is holding out on you."
Eve's Response
V.2-3 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
Eve is not surprised that a snake is talking to her (which is kind of surprising in and of itself), but responds to the snake. "We are allowed to eat from every tree except the one."
Now before we go further, there is something that we must understand. As far as we know from the Bible itself, The only person who was told by God directly about the command not to eat of the tree is Adam (2:17). At the time Adam receives this command, Eve does not yet exist. So it would be Adam's responsibility to convey that message to her. It seems as if he did, because Eve relays the command back to the serpent with only a slight change. She adds the words "neither shall ye touch it." There could be a number of reasons why Eve did this, each theory is as valid as the next. It could be that when Adam relayed the command to Eve, he instructed her to not even touch it. It could be that later God had repeated the command and said it is best not to go near it or touch it. The simple fat is, we do not know, and the Bible does not speak against Eve for adding these words, so neither will I.
At the very least, we know that Eve understands the gravity of the command.
What Does The Serpent Do (pt. 2)?
Satan proceeds to deny God's word (He denies God's Word). This is why Jesus says in John 8:44 that he has been a liar and a murderer from the beginning. The lie is obvious, but the murder maybe not so much. This lie, followed to its fullest intent (for man to disobey God), does indeed lead to Adam and Eve's spiritual death. Let's look at what Satan says to Eve.
Genesis 3:4-5 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Here is the outright lie: You shall not surely die. But this is what God told Adam, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (2:17)
So Satan follows up the lie of "God is holding out on you" with the lie that "Sin is not as serious as God says it is," but he follows up with some something else: He begins the first ever game of "two truths and a lie." How many are familiar with this game? You sit in a group of people and each person makes 3 statements about themself. Two of those statements are true, and one is a lie. The object of the game is to guess which statements are true and which are lies. Normally, the game starts by someone announcing, "Let's play two truths and a lie." However, Satan cheated by never anouncing that this is what he was doing. He proceeds to tell two truths (ish) and an outright lie. This is what he does: he mixes truth with lies.
I trust that all of you read chapter three last week, so tel me if these statements are true or false:
- Your eyes will be opened... True or False
- You'll be like God... True or False (This was Satan's first sinful desire, to be equal with God, and ever since his fall, he has tried to convince mankind that they can be equal to God in some form or another.)
- You'll know good and evil... True or False (True-ish. We'll get to this in a little bit.)
And that is all that the serpent says, but the effect is immediate. Eve begins to wonder about things.
THE FALL
Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Eve begins to look this tree in a new light. Remember how I said "perspective determines everything?" This is the case here. Eve's previous perspective of that tree and its fruit was that it was dangerous. She was determined not to even touch it. But now, the serpent has brought about a new perspective based on lies and Eve begins to see things differently. She sees that it is a good looking fruit. Not only does it look like it tastes good, but the promised results were good. She would gain hidden knowledge that only God had.
That is then followed by action; she eats the fruit.
Notice that the sin starts in the mind and heart and is then carried out. Proverbs confirms this: Proverbs 23:7 As [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he. This is why when Paul admonishes Christians to be conformed to Christ, he says in Romans 12:2 that it is done by renewing your mind.
So Eve is now convinced in her mind that God is holding out and that the tree, instead of being dangerous, will actually be pleasant and good for her. She eats and gives some to Adam to eat as well.
THE CONSEQUENCE OF SIN
Genesis 3:7-10 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
- Opened eyes. The serpent told the truth! Kind of...
- Knowledge of good and evil. Once again, truth from the serpent, kind of... They certainly knew good and evil, but it did not make them like God. They knew good and evil, not from a position of perfect and uncorrupted knowledge like God, but they knew evil by experience. Can you imagine the flood of evil thoughts that now overcame them? Since their creation, they had looked upon one another with purity and love, and now as they looked upon themselves, they were filled with shame.
- Shame. This is one of the first consequences of sin. We feel it now. This is why we are tempted to deny sin even when we are caught red-handed. Because it brings shame. They were ashamed of their sin, but now they were ashamed of their own bodies because of sin. They hid from God.
- Guilt. They hid because they knew they were guilty. Sin had destroyed their innocence. Guilt brings with it a knowledge of a coming consequence. So they hid.
- The hiding revealed that they were afraid of the coming consequences.
Shame, guilt, and fear are always the close companions of sin.
GOD'S QUESTION
"Where are you?" We see God enter the scene, not with fury and vengeance, but with a question. God knew where Adam was, just like in chapter two God knew that Adam was alone. However, like in chapter two when God needed Adam to realize his alone-ness, God asks this question so that Adam can see where he is.
And where is Adam? Hiding because of sin and shame and guilt and fear.
BLAME SHIFTING
Genesis 3:11-13 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
Adam blames Eve and takes a shot at God while he's at it.
Eve blames the serpent.
And ever since then, we have sought to blame somebody else for our faults.
THE PUNISHMENT
Genesis 3:14-19 tells us of how God pronounces punishments and consequences of sin.
- To the serpent - God tells the serpent he is cursed above all other animals (as we see in other portions of scripture that sin has affected all of creation: Jeremiah 12:4, Romans 8:20). He is to crawl on his belly in the dirt from now on.
- To Satan - (v.15) God puts enmity between the woman and Satan. But God pronounces the beginning prophecy of mankind's redemption here as he says "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." The woman has no seed, she carries the egg. But this is in reference to the birth of Jesus Christ which was miraculously produced by a virgin as we read in the books of Matthew and Luke. The serpents seed is about Satan's seed. The Bible tells us that those that are not born again into God's family are of the devil's family. Unbelievers have always had a problem with the teachings of Jesus, the "seed of the woman." But Jesus would be bruised in the heel (as he suffered death and took upon Himself the sins of the world), but he dealt a fatal blow to Satan when he rose from the dead. This sealed Satan's defeat.
- To the woman [v.16] - 1) pain in childbirth. The joy of being fruitful and multiplying was now and forever to be tempered with pain. 2) The harmonious relationship between a man and a woman is now strained by a battle of wills. Here comes an unpopular opinion in these days: The man is the head of the household. The rest of the family is to be submissive to the man. This is not misogynistic in any way, this is simply acknowledging that God has family roles for the man and the woman. Men, before you start getting power trippy, understand that your role as the leader in the house is to be loving to your wife in the same way that Jesus loves the church. Jesus never put His needs before anyone else, Jesus served the church that He established, He demonstrated His love in such a way that it led Him to a shameful death. So before you get the idea that you can come home from work, sit in your recliner, snap your fingers and demand that you be brought an iced tea and a foot massage, you better make sure that you have washed your wife's feet, gone out of the way to server her at your own expense, and are willing to die in the most gruesome and shameful way for her benefit. Now I shall get off my soapbox and continue with the sermon...
- To the earth - The ground is cursed. Remember, the earth is where Adam was formed from. It is now cursed.
- To the man - Just like in sorrow the woman was to bring forth children, in sorrow the man will eat of the earth. Gardening and farming are difficult because of sin. The pleasure of a successful crop is now tempered with the necessity of, not labor, but HARD labor to clear the thorns and thistles. Fruit is not enough for man now, now he is to eat the herbs of the field as well. This means that the reason we need vegetables in our diet is because of sin!!!
- To mankind - death. From the dust you were taken and to dust you will return.
WHERE DID IT ALL GO WRONG? When did it all go wrong?
This is a tragic event. But we need to take some time to analyze where it all went wrong.
• Was it when the woman listened to the serpent?
• When she hints at an extra command onto God’s command (“… neither shall you touch it lest you die.” Gen 3:3)?
• When she lusted for the wisdom of the fruit?
• When she took it?
• When she ate it?
• When the man, ate the fruit?
Genesis 3:17 Gives us the only place where God articulates blame. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it...
What went wrong is that Adam listened to the wrong voice. Everything went wrong when Adam listened to the wrong voice.
Remember that as we studied Psalm 23, we saw that there are voices that try to lead us astray? What is the goal of those voices? To steal, kill, and destroy.
Instead of listening and following God's words, Adam listened and followed Eve's word.
The first sin was not so much the ACT of eating the forbidden fruit, but the DISPOSITION to eat it. "Because you hearkened to the voice of your wife..."
Sin is a heart issue. It cannot be covered by our works. Just like the guilt and shame couldn't be covered by fig leaves. Remember that even with their fig leaf coverings, they still were ashamed. So God kills some animals, and with their skins, makes them proper clothes. They can now walk around and not be ashamed. This is symbolic of what Jesus would one day do: He would be sacrificed, die on a cross, and His blood would wash away all sin and along with it, guilt and shame.
SEPARATION (The main consequence)
We often think of these as the only consequences of sin as it deals with the fall of man, but let us finish the chapter and see that these are not the only curses pronounced.
Genesis 3:22-24 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
The Garden of Eden was a place where man was able to enjoy God's presence. Now, they were banished from it. The most dire consequence of sin was that the close fellowship that mankind once enjoyed with God naturally, was lost forever.
The main consequence of sin is that sin separates us from God. Because of Adam, sin is in our nature. We are born with it, so we are born with a disposition that separates us from God. Just like Adam and Eve could not cover their sin, we cannot cover or erase ours. It has to be paid by blood. As we progress through the Bible, we will see that the blood of a sacrifice for sin had to come from a spotless and perfect lamb. My blood is tainted with sin, just like everyone else's. I can't die for your sins or even my own.
Only Jesus can restore that relationship.
So God sent his only begotten Son, Jesus, to die on a cross and shed His blood. Jesus is God; He never sinned. So when He died for our sins, it was an acceptable sacrifice to not just cover our sins, but to remove them completely. When we believe in him and accept that payment that he made, our relationship with God is restored, and we can have fellowship with God once again!
Invitation:
If today you do not know Jesus as your savior, you are separated from God. But it does not have to be that way. Today, if you would like to know how to be saved, you can. There are three very simple ways you can make sure you know how to have your sins forgiven.
In a moment I will ask everyone to bow their heads and close their eyes. I will be the only one looking.
- When I ask if you want to know how to be saved, raise your hand and put it down (I won't call you out or embarrass you, but I will know who to talk to after the service).
- Scan this decision card that is in the backs of some of the seats. It emails me directly, and I will set up an appointment to talk with you about salvation (or any other decision or question).
- Talk to me or someone else after this service is over.
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Life Group
The voices we hear.
Read Psalm 1
The foresight of Psalm 1 again challenges us. It’s not the moral or upright person that is blessed (or happy), but the one who meditates on God’s instruction—God’s law—day and night in order to discern the wicked voices from the life-giving mentors.
V. 1 - The ungodly, the sinners, and the scornful are to not be hearkened. These voices will lead us in a path of sin.
V. 2 - We must delight to be in God's word regularly
The Consequences of Loving God's Word (V. 3)
- Well nourished, filled, satisfied, and strong like a tree that has a constant, fresh flow of water and nutrients.
- Fruitful - They will be full of the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22; Ephesians 5:9), but they will be fruitful in winning souls (Proverbs 11:30)
- They won't be susceptible to temptations that would wither their walk with God like malnutrition withers a tree's leaves.
- Our endeavors will be prosperous because we will be following God's direction.
The Consequences for the Ungodly
V.4-6 - They are the opposite (The ungodly are not so...)
- no substance or nutritional value to them (chaff)
- no strength, because they are not rooted in anything that gives them life and strength (they are driven by the wind)
- they will be ashamed (one that cannot stand before his judgement)
- they will have no good fellowship (they are relegated to the congregation of the ungodly, the sinners, and the scornful. These are those who posses no true love for anyone.)
- Their way will perish (they will be lost, unsatisfied, constantly wandering)