Columbiana County Jail 02/20/2026
Notes
Transcript
Genesis 3:20-24
Genesis 3:20-24
20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
Now we are coming to the end of chapter 3 in the book of Genesis. I hope you guys have enjoyed this so far. Soon we will get to go past creation in chapter 4, but for now let us finish exploring chapter 3.
Most people know the first woman as “Eve”. However in the book of Genesis, it is not until this moment that the woman who was created from Adam’s rib actually receives her name. The first question we should ask is “Why does Scripture choose this particular moment to mention her name?” What do you personally believe the possible reason could be? Honestly, if I am honest about this, the reason is not entirely clear. It is possible that this is meant to be part of a transition from doom and gloom of the prior passage to a more positive tone. Honestly despite all that has happened so far, this is a truly hopeful verse. Especially following the devastating curses God put on humanity, this can easily be seen as a hopeful verse. The future remains. God would continue to provide in some specific ways.
The name Eve is literally the word “living” in Hebrew , haw’wah, and is used only twice in the Old Testament. It is used here and in this verse...
1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.
In giving her this name, Adam is looking forward to the generations to come.
We will discover the proof of God’s merciful love for mankind in the following verses. Rather than destroying them, God provides clothing, and allows them the ability to live on, though in much less than ideal circumstances.
21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
As with the previous verse, this passage contains some hope for Adam, Eve, and humanity. God’s curses for their sin were severe and painful to hear. However, Eve’s name points to the future generations to come. And this verse reveals that God will still provide. This starts with clothing for Adam and Eve. Their hurriedly constructed fig leaves would not be adequate to continue to cover their nakedness. In clothing them, God demonstrates that it is right for them to be clothed.
In order to make this clothing of skin, though, an animal had to die. Why is this significant? The reason this is significant is this is the first recorded physical death in Scripture, even of an animal. No death is explicitly recorded until after human sin. God Himself is the one who takes the animal’s life to provide warmth and covering for the humans. Later in Genesis, God will require the sacrifice of animals to provide a blood covering for human sin. Eventually, Jesus Himself would bleed and die to provide a final covering for the sins of all who would trust in Him for salvation.
22 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:
This verse gives us an excellent opportunity for an interesting question. Who is God speaking to in this verse when He says that the man has become like “one of us”? What do you think?
There are two possibilities. The first is this is a reference to the Trinity, God the Father speaking to the Holy Spirit and to Christ. Now logic suggests , and Scripture confirms, that all three aspects of the Trinity were present from before the foundation of the world. The other possibility is maybe God is talking to nearby angels, one of whom is mentioned in the following verses.
In any case, God confirms the serpent’s half-truth that eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil has made Adam and Eve like God. However, this is certainly not the way the snake led them to believe.
According to God’s curses, Adam and Eve’s knowledge of good and evil would lead to great frustration, pain, and heartache. They would experience happiness and receive good gifts from god along the way, to be sure, but their days would be punctuated by conflict. In addition, their disobedience, knowing evil, meant that they and their offspring would be capable of continuing to commit great evil.
Although part of the curse, God’s oracle that Adam would eventually die was also an act of mercy. Adam’s hard life, ability to rebel against God, and do harm to others would be limited: unless he ate from the Tree of Life. This would lead to an unending, hopeless existence separated from God.
Apparently, the fruit of the Tree of Life would provide physical immortality to Adam and Eve. For their own good and the good of all, God would not allow this. Why do you think God would not allow this? To be spiritually dead while remaining physically alive forever could only bring endless suffering. It is interesting to note that, depending how a person translated the original Hebrew, God does not appear to even finish His sentence before removing Adam and Eve from the garden in the next verse.
23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
Now we arrive at the moment of humanity’s greatest loss, the true and lasting consequence of sin. What do you think humanity’s greatest loss was? What do you think?
God banished Adam and Eve from His physical presence to a life that would be characterized by pain, frustration, difficult work, and eventual death. Adam’s destiny is poetic and heartbreaking. Formed from the ground, he would live out his days working to pull his livelihood from the ground until he died and returned to the ground.
God had already begun His plan to redeem His people, to purchase back at the price of His own Son’s life all those who would trust in Christ. For them, this separation from God will one day end. We will be united with our Father in the Eden-like home of an eternity with Him.
Read this.
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. 24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
We are not home yet. As Paul describes the groaning of Christians longing to be with our Father as we wait for that day in those verses.
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.
Genesis 3 ends with our last glimpse of the Garden of Eden, of the paradise God had built for the first humans. Sinful man could not be allowed to become immortal by eating from the Tree of Life. while this might seem cruel, it is actually an act of mercy. Existing forever in a fallen, earthly state, separated from God, would have been a fate worse than death. Humans die, but we have the opportunity at an eternal, restored relationship afterwards. Preventing access to the Tree of Life is so essential to God that He sets a guard at the entrance to the garden.
The Bible describes different varieties of angels. Angels are not former or future humans. They are specially created race of supernatural beings that serve God and carry out His plans in heaven and on earth. God’s Word tells us many things about them, but there is clearly much we do not know.
This is the first mention of a Cherubim in Scripture. Cherubim angels are mentioned over 90 times in the Old Testament. Ezekiel 1 and 10 describe them as powerful winged creatures. They almost always serve in the capacity of guarding or protecting what belongs to God or even His own presence . Here a cherubim is assigned to guard the Tree of Life.
Next week we will start Chapter 4 in Genesis verses 1 - 10.
