OT Study: Genesis Pt. 2

II. Generations of Heaven and Earth -

A. Context and Overview

In the last section we studied over the Creation story and there we saw God begin His World. We learned that God is supremely powerful, that He is masterful, that He is organized, that He is creative and that He is transcendent. He has created the whole earth and has made it very good. His creatures were made to live in a perfect existence, with a perfect environment thereby enjoying God by resting in Him and glorifying His name. Here in chapter 2 we will see how this perfect existence included a perfect relationship between God and man and between man and woman. Then in chapter 3 we will see how sin entered in and marred these perfect relationships.

An important discussion to be had when talking about the Bible is the distinction between the horizontal and the vertical. In we saw God work on the horizontal level where He deals corporately with all the different environments and creatures. In the next few chapters we will see how God works on a vertical level, intervening and relating to individuals in His creation. God is both the King over all the earth (horizontal), exercising His supremacy, and He is your King and my King (vertical) demonstrating His love. God’s glory is demonstrated in both ways and this aspect of His relationship to His creation emphasizes His level of preeminence as well as His intricate care. 

This change from the horizontal to the vertical is seen in the name that Moses uses for God. In chapter 1 God is referred to as Elohim - the supreme One. In Chapter 2 Moses uses the name Yahweh Elohim. Yahweh is the relational name of God. For example, prior to my dating relationship with my wife, I would refer to her father as Mr. Sloan. But when our relationship became closer as I began a serious relationship with his daughter I began to call him Shaan. We were on a first name basis because we had a close relationship. By referring to God with the name Yahweh, Moses is emphasizing God’s deep, relational love with man. 

B. Main Point and Structure

The Main Point of this passage is that God begins His agenda of with Creation as an unparalleled proclamation of His redemptive salvation and wrathful judgment. . This is seen in the following Structure: 

1. The Formation of Man (2:4-25)

2. The Fall of Man (3:1-24)

3. Beginning on the Road to Redemption (4:1-26)

C. Exposition

1. The Formation of Man ()

A. God Creates a Gardner(2:4-7)

“4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. 5 When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, 6 and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground—7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”

In we had broad overviews of each day of creation. Now, in , Moses zooms in on the 6th day of Creation to give us a detailed look at the creation of man. 

The phrase “these are the generations…” is a key phrase that helps divide the book into individual sections. Remember that the focus of Genesis is on the Generation of the Seed of ; a passage we will get to shortly. 

Notice the name that Moses uses for God here: Lord God - YHWH Elohim.

Remember how in chapter 1, God is referred to over and over again as Elohim. This name referred to God’s supremacy, His transcendence, and His exclusiveness as Creator God. But here, In Chapter 2 Moses uses a different name for God: Yahweh Elohim. Yahweh is the relational name of God. It is the name that Abraham will use when he talks to God. By referring to God with the name Yahweh, Moses is emphasizing God’s deep, relational love with man. 

This change from the horizontal to the vertical is seen in the name that Moses uses for God. In chapter 1 God is referred to as Elohim - the supreme One. In Chapter 2 Moses uses the name Yahweh Elohim. Yahweh is the relational name of God. For example, prior to my dating relationship with my wife, I would refer to her father as Mr. Sloan. But when our relationship became closer as I began a serious relationship with his daughter I began to call him Shaan. We were on a first name basis because we had a close relationship. By referring to God with the name Yahweh, Moses is emphasizing God’s deep, relational love with man. 

In the Garden that God created for man there was no vegetation because God had not yet made man to work the ground. The Garden was waiting for man which demonstrates and emphasizes that it serves man. Remember from that man was to have dominion over creation and here we see that the creation was waiting for man to work it.

B. God creates man ()

“then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”

Do you see the change in creative language from Chapter 1? Before God just said, “let there be sea creatures” and there was sea creatures. Things are different with man. God formed man. He breathed life into the man’s nostrils. This is language of a craftsman. God shaped and formed man with a special care, and intricate craftsmanship. In that time, surrounding religions believed that their gods saw humans as an afterthought, or a nuisance. In that culture, gods never loved people, they never treasured. But here in Genesis, we see the exact opposite. Man and woman are God’s treasure. He intricately made them and then established an intimate relationship where they knew Him by His name, YHWH.

This is language of a craftsman. God shaped and formed man with a special care, and intricate craftsmanship. In that time, surrounding religions believed that their gods saw humans as an afterthought, or a nuisance. In that culture, gods never loved people, they never treasured. But here in Genesis, we see the exact opposite. Man and woman are God’s treasure. He intricately made them and then established an intimate relationship where they knew Him by His name, YHWH. Pneumas - Acts 2

B. God Creates a Garden ()

“8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers...”

Now that man is made God allows the bushes and trees to grow and sprout vegetation. The garden can exist now that there is a gardener. See how God loves and cares for man by blessing him with a garden that was pleasant and good. 

Moreover, this garden was located in a unique position between four rivers. When you look at all the great cities of the world they are built around water because water is the source of life. God placed Eden in the midst of four rivers to signify that this is where life dwells. This is where the man will exercise authority and dominion over creation. Eden was the capital of God’s creation and his image bearer was placed there to rule over creation as His earthly representative. This is extremely important to remember for later for there will be much more added to this idea of God’s capitol as we progress in our study of the Pentateuch.

As we will soon see, Adam and his wife were expelled from this capital because of their sin. However, God gives hope that one day this edenic capital will be restored. Later in Deuteronomy (12:5) we will see that Israel was to set up one central place of worship in the Promised Land that God would choose. It would be there that Tabernacle would be set up and where the Temple would eventually be built. It would also be the place from where Israel’s king would rule the nation. We see this accomplished by David when he conquers Jerusalem and then by his son Solomon when he builds the Temple in Jerusalem. If you read of the designs of the Tabernacle and then later of the Temple you will see symbols and images of trees and fruit which is meant to point back to…the Garden. The message here is that, through His nation Israel, God is redeeming and restoring the relationship that He had with man in the Garden. He is restoring His capitol. Sadly, because of Israel’s sin and idolatry, the Temple is destroyed, and the Capitol is turned to rubble.

C. God’s Charge and Command ()

D. God’s Charge and Command ()

“15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

The man was given the responsibility to work and keep the garden. God exercises His authority over man by placing him in the garden and charging him with a task to exercise authority over the creation. There is an organized structure of dominion that is being established here. God is over man and man is over the creation.

After receiving his working orders, the man was then given a command. The man was granted the freedom to enjoy the garden as much as his heart desired with just one exception: don’t eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The punishment for which would be certain death.

There is much debate as to what the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was. Did those who ate its fruit receive some special ability or was it a symbol of God’s authority? As we have seen in Chapter 1, God is the only Being who declares something to be good. As God, He alone has the right to establish what is good and what is evil. What we see here is that the tree represents God’s authority over man. He is the one who gives man commands. He is the Ultimate King. And this command wasn’t God being a cosmic killjoy. By obeying God’s command, man was able to freely experience all the bliss, rest, joy and peace that the garden could offer. Furthermore by obeying this command Adam would be demonstrating worship in the form of submissive obedience. This was the act of a loving Father who had man’s ultimate joy in mind. 

E. A Helper Fit for man ()

“18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.”

For the first time in all of creation God declares something as not good. Man was without a companion and that was a problem that God set out to fix. But first He wanted to teach Adam that being alone was not good. To do this God paraded all the animals of creation before Adam so that he could name them. Remember that to name something was to exercise authority over that thing. Adam is acting as a king over the creatures of the world. However, as Adam was naming Mr. Lion and Mrs. Lion, Mr. Whale and Mrs. Whale, Mr. Giraffe and Mrs. Giraffe he began to see a problem. There was not a helper fit for him. There was no Mrs. Adam. He could not find her. After realizing this God puts Adam tot sleep and performs the first surgery.

Instead of making woman out of the dust as he did with Adam, God made her out of Adam. Good took a piece of his flesh and made the woman. When Adam awoke to see God’s new creature He sings the world’s first love song. Before he fell asleep there was no creature like him to be his companion. When he woke up he cries out with excitement and joy, “at last!” (emphasis added). At last he had found his companion, his helper, his other half. She was flesh of his flesh, literally made from a part of himself. Their union was a mirror of the Trinitarian God-head, they were distinct persons and yet they were one.

The detailed look at Day 6 of creation ends with an epilogue that establishes the nature of this relationship between man and woman for all time. In marriage the man and the woman leave the authority of their parents and they join together as one. Just as the first woman was part of the first man making them uniquely and beautifully unified, so too should all husbands and wives be bound together as two distinct persons who together are one whole. This verse is quoted by Paul in . After he gives commands to Christian wives and Christian husbands, he describes the nature and ultimate purpose of each and every marriage.

“ 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”

As John Piper explains “God did not create the union of Christ and the church after the pattern of human marriage—just the reverse! He created human marriage on the pattern of Christ’s relation to the church. The mystery of is that the marriage it describes is a parable or symbol of Christ’s relation to His people. There was more going on in the creation of woman than meets the eye. God doesn’t do things willy-nilly. Everything has a purpose and meaning. When God engaged to create man and woman and to ordain the union of marriage He patterned marriage very purposefully after the relationship between His Son and the church, which He had planned from all eternity.” (quoted from Desiring God)

See the love, the beauty, the care and the sovereignty of God at work in the creation of man and woman and the establishment of marriage. This is why after completing Day 6, God declared everything to be “very good.” Creation was serving man and woman, the woman was helping the man and man was obeying God. 

2. The Fall of Man ()

A. The Temptation ()

“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’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 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.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Just as everything was going perfect, in comes the serpent possessed by Satan.  Notice the Devil’s design. He chooses to possess a beast of the field.  As we saw in Chapter 2, the beasts of the field were under Adam’s authority. Furthermore, as Moses states, God had made the beasts of the field. Satan planned to turn God’s created order on its head. The Devil’s goal from the beginning was to rule over God. 

He begins his temptation with the most audacious tactic: questioning God’s word. In Chapters 1-2 we see that God’s word is powerful. It is the ultimate expression of his authority. But here in the Garden with the serpent we see the for the very first time God’s Word is called into question. “Did God actually say…”

The woman responds by quoting God’s command. The question is, did she quote God correctly? She actually makes multiple mistakes. First, she subtracts from God’s command by removing the part  where God said “you may eat freely.” By making this change she makes God out to be someone who wants to limit man’s enjoyment of the garden. Secondly, she added that you can not touch the fruit. God didn’t say that. They could have played catch with the fruit, they could have smelt the fruit, hey could have cut the fruit up and make it into a bouquet, just as long as they did not eat it. Lastly, she left off the word surely, in reference to the consequence of death. In doing so she changed the certainty of God’s word.

Satan preys upon the woman’s lack of knowledge by further distorting God’s word. Note how he puts back the word “surely”. He knows God’s command better than Eve does, which gives him the ability to twist it. He then adds a word, “you will not surely die.” He calls into question God’s consequence for eating the fruit, and makes God out to be a liar. 

The question has to be asked: where is Adam in all of this? He is right there with Eve. When he says you, and your he is using the 2nd person plural pronoun. This is the pronoun used when referring to multiple persons. Literally you all, or as Texans would say, Y’all. See how Satan is unraveling the authority structure that God established. The beast of the field is instructing the woman about God’s word instead of Adam. 

Next we see Satan tell Eve that if she eats the fruit she will be like God. I would argue that he is not lying here. Remember that man and woman were created in the image of God. Here is the deception, he makes this sound like a promotion, but instead it will be a tragic demotion. What is more meaningful? “You look like your Dad” or “you are the spitting image of your Father.” Instead of being in the image of God, Satan is offering Eve an existence where that image is tarnished. 

B. The Sin ()

“6 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. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.” 

The tragic thing is that the Woman is convinced. No longer did she see the tree as God had commanded. She looked upon it with lust. She saw it’s appealing appearance and bought into it’s alluring promise. She sins and then her husband, WHO WAS WITH HER, sins too.  

Satan reversed the entire created order. The creature tempted Eve. She listened to the creature and sinned. Eve tempted Adam and instead of instructing her and protecting her in the first place, he sinned with her. After Adam eats they then begin to experience the consequences of their sin. This happens after Adam sins because he is ultimately the one responsible. He is the corporate head over the human race and throughout the rest of the Bible, he will be blamed for sinning. 

As they lost their innocence they became ashamed that there was nothing to hide their naked, sinful bodies from the holiness of God. The image of God was tarnished into an imperfect likeness. Now they became just like God. As Satan said, they did not die immediately but contrary to Satan’s lie they, and all creation with them entered into a state of dying. 

C. The Divine Confrontation (3:8-13)

“8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

(Vs 8) See here the bittersweet detail that Moses adds. The verb form for walking reveals that God had a specific time in each day where he would walk in the garden with Adam and his wife. This is how God created the world to be but instead of enjoying this time with God, Adam and Eve hid themselves. The relationship was marred by their sin. Instead of happiness in God’s presence, they were filled with the fear of impending judgement. 

(vs 9) Thankfully, God did not let them hide for long. He called His creatures to Himself to receive His judgement... as well as His mercy. God had every right to just execute His justice right then and there by striking Adam and his wife dead. Instead, as a loving Father, He called out to Adam, “where are you?” God is all knowing - He knew where Adam was. What He desired was for his creatures to come to Him and repent.

(Vs 10) Sadly, Adam does not confess his sin or his guilt. He just confesses his nakedness. This lackluster confession prompts God’s first interrogation. (vs 11) Instead of asking the person who ate first, God asked Adam because Adam was the one who was in charge and most responsible. (vs 12) Adam continues to fail at repenting by instead shifting the blame onto the woman, who God gave to be his wife. Not only does he blame Eve for his failure, he ultimately blames God! What happened to the poetic Adam of chapter 2 who was so filled with joy at the bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. Now she’s just this woman you forced me to be with. See here how their sin twisted and distorted everything that was perfect and good.

After Adam fails miserably during his interrogation, God shifts his focus to the Woman who follows in the footsteps of her husband. She blames the serpent who deceived her. Satan’s plan has worked to perfection. Adam blamed his wife, and his wife blamed the creature. Ultimately they are both saying that they followed the Devil’s word instead of God’s command. 

D. The Serpent’s Curse ()

“14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,  cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall crush your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

God begins by cursing the serpent. Why? The Serpent is like the mascot - it functions in connection with Satan. God curses the mascot for symbolic purposes that will become clear in verse 15.

In verse 15, God begins by declaring “I will” thereby unilaterally asserting His power over Satan. God decrees that there will be enmity or hostility between the snake and the woman. This is in direct response to the action Satan took by using a serpent. The Woman never had any fear of the serpent before she was tempted. God destroys that connection between the woman and the serpent to demonstrate to Satan that he will never again achieve the type of temptation he performed on the woman. 

God goes beyond the present situation and declares to Satan that there will always be an offspring of the woman’s that he will never be able to fully deceive or conquer. God is here promising that there will always be a righteous remnant who will serve Him and hate and resist the devil. 

God ends this cursing of Satan by declaring that he will experience an ultimate defeat. “he shall crush your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” The first question we have to ask is who is this He? Notice how the parallelism changes in this verse  Part 1: you vs. woman (woman is feminine - obviously- and singular), Part 2 her offspring vs. your offspring (again feminine but then noun is plural in nature) but now in Part 3 of the curse  we have a He and a you - definitely singular again, but who is this He? Who is the only masculine figure in this scene? Adam. This He of will be a New Adam. This New Adam will represent the entire seed of the woman and this New Adam will engage in the ultimate battle with Satan. Furthermore, this New Adam will be so powerful that He will crush Satan. The only damage Satan will be able to do is bruise the New Adam’s heel...with his head…as it’s being stomped into the ground. 

Satan believed that he could exercise rule over God by going through a creature, to deceive the woman who leads the man to disobey God. Basically in this curse God is saying, “I am going to use mankind, the very creation you thought you would use to rule over me, to be the instrument of your death” Do you now see the object lesson of having snakes slither on their bellies. From that moment forward they became easy to crush with your foot. Every time you see a snake slither on the ground you are supposed to be reminded that there will be a final day in which Satan will be destroyed. Every time Satan sees a snake he is reminded of his ultimate and impending defeat. This is what is known as the Proto Euangelion - the First Gospel. Who is this New Adam? Who is this ultimate champion of man, who will represent all of the offspring of the woman? This is the question that the rest of the Bible answers. It is Jesus!

 The Apostle John makes this beautiful connection between the First Gardner and the New Gardner 

“11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

It was through the first Gardner that sin and death entered the world. It was through the Second Gardner that sin was forgiven and death was defeated. The first Gardner marred the original creation with his sin. The Second Gardner is redeeming a new creation and at the end of time He will through the devil into the lake of fire to be tormented forever. After this the Second Gardner, the Second Adam, the Son of Man, the Son of God, the Word by whom all things were created in the beginning will create a new heavens and a new earth and a new Jerusalem where God will dwell with man and woman once more. It will be in this New Jerusalem that a river will run through the city and it will be there that the Tree of Life will be once more. It will be there that we will experience eternal life with our Savior, where we will experience an even greater intimacy and have an even more glorious relationship with our God than Adam and Eve had in the garden.

E. The Just Consequences ()

“16 To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” 17 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

After this, God then continued down the line of responsibility, turning his attention to the Woman (vs 16).  With the Serpent and with Satan it was all judgement. But God changes this pattern when He deals with Adam and his wife. He provides a just consequence for sin, but weaves in elements of grace. The woman’s consequence is this, that her pain in pregnancy would be multiplied. However, her childbearing would be multiplied as well. If you look in the notes in your Bible it will say that the more literal translation is, “I will greatly multiply your pain and your conception.” By increasing the Woman’s fertility, God is increasing the women’s pain but is also ensuring that the promise of will go on. The Woman was used by Satan to bring sin into the world, but she will be used by God to destroy Satan and remove sin from the world through her offspring!

Lastly God turns to the one who is ultimately responsible, Adam and his punishment fits the crime. (vs 17) He had everything he needed, his job as gardener was easy, but he broke the one command he was given so now his job as gardener will be difficult and painful. The grace in this consequence is this: Adam will return to the ground, to the dust that he was made from. The question immediately arises: how is death a good thing? It is most definitely the most bitter of all things in this world. However the grace in death is this: because men and women die, than the Seed, Jesus, would is be able to die, be buried and then resurrected to fulfill the promise of , leading to the salvation and eternal life of all His chosen people.

F. The Road of Redemption ()

“20 The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. 22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

Here we see Adam’s response of faith. The woman isn’t called Eve until here, where Adam changes her name in response to what God has said. He called her Eve which means mother of all living. This is an act of faith because she hasn’t had any children yet. Adam believes that God will give them offspring and that her seed will fulfill . 

God then performs the first sacrificial act of atonement for sins. Instead of dying on the spot for their sins, animals were killed in their place and their deaths literally covered Adam and Eve’s sinful bodies. This act establishes the theology of atonement - the cost of covering sin is death. 

In order that their consequences be carried out, Adam is exiled from his capital so that he would not live forever by continuing to eat of the Tree of Life which would hinder the accomplishment of God’s purpose in Redemptive History.

Man was made to be the untarnished image bearer of God. But now, just as Satan promised, man and woman became just like God. The image of God became tarnished by sin. And this was true for Adam and Eve and every single man and woman who descended from Adam, including you and me. So how do we get from being exiled from this garden to entering into the New Garden, the New Jerusalem? Paul answers this exact question in . As we just saw in , it was because of Adam’s sin that sin and death entered the world. Adam went from being a living creature to being spiritual dead and moving toward the process of becoming physically dead as well. But, as Paul says in , “8 God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.” Through the first Adam’s sin and death reigned and spread to all men and woman after him. Through the first Adam’s obedient life and death justification and righteousness will be spread to men and woman from every single tribe and nation and tongue. You see, it is through Christ that the image that Adam tarnished can be restored. Why? , “15 He is the image of the invisible God” and it is in this new life in Him that we are called to “9 put off the old self with its practices...” and “10 put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” ().

17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. 18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. 18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

Major Connections: 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Application Questions 

Pneumas -

Application Questions 

A. Satan’s Plan: Murder the Seed ()

“1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” 2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. 3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” 8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?” 10 And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. 11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” 13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. 16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Now as life begins outside of the Garden we see Satan attempt to defeat God’s plan for redemption. Adam knew Eve in the most intimate way of knowing someone in marriage and this produced a son. What is interesting is that Eve names him Cain. The literal translation of her declaration reads that she has “gotten a man, the Lord” (literal translation - see note on verse 1 in NASB). Eve declares that her first born son will be the one who fulfill . He even follows in Adam’s footsteps and becomes a worker of the ground. 

However, instead of crushing Satan, Cain is overcome with sin and crushes his brother, committing the first murder. It seems as if Satan has won. Adam and Eve only had two sons. The one who was destined to be the hero of God’s plan ended up being a cold blooded murderer. God confronts him and just like Adam, Cain does not confess. Then, when God punishes him, he attempts to rebel against God.

B. The Wicked Seed of Cain (4:17-24)

17 Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. 19 And Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. 20 Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. 21 His brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. 22 Zillah also bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah. 23 Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say: I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. 24 If Cain's revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech's is seventy-sevenfold.”

Cain has children that go on to rebel against God’s order. The genealogy of Cain ends with the terrible Lamech who rebels against God’s plan for a one-flesh union in marriage. Instead of knowing his wife, Lamech forcefully took two wives. Instead of writing songs celebrating marital love like Adam, Lamech wrote songs celebrating a time when he killed a child out of retaliation for hitting him. This is how far down the path of depravity man has fallen. 

However, instead of crushing Satan, Cain is overcome with sin and crushes his brother, committing the first murder. It seems as if Satan has won. Adam and Eve only had two sons. The one who was destined to be the hero of God’s plan ended up being a cold blooded murderer. God confronts him and Cain does not confess. When God punishes him, he attempts to rebel against God. Cain has children that go on to rebel against God’s order. The genealogy of Cain ends with the terrible Lamech who rebels against God’s plan for a one-flesh union in marriage. Instead of knowing his wife, Lamech forcefully took two wives. Instead of writing songs celebrating marital love like Adam, Lamech wrote songs celebrating a time when he killed a child out of retaliation for hitting him. This is how far down the path of depravity man has fallen. 

C. God's plan Continues ()

“25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.” 26 To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord.”

In the midst of this great darkness God provides hope that His plan will continue. Adam knew his wife again. Satan thought he could eliminate one line of the seed and corrupt the other thus ending God’s plan. But God just gave Eve another seed. His name was Seth which means Appointed One. God’s plan cannot be defeated. 

Application Questions 

Chapter 2: 

What is the significance of the one-flesh union of marriage? How should that shape the way you treat your wife/future wife? 

Chapter 3:

What can we learn from Eve’s failure in fighting temptation? 

What can we learn about God’s character and nature through His actions with Adam, Eve and Satan after sin entered the world? 

According to how will the image of God be restored? 

How must we respond to proto eungelion - the first Gospel of Gen 3:15

How will the image of God be restored? 

How does God’s constant victory over Satan’s schemes give you hope? 

How does God’s constant victory over Satan’s schemes give you hope?