Genesis 3 is the beginning of exercise of free will. Free Will is a gift from God to all living beings. Anyone living in a dictatorship is not under the Divine Will of God. Dictatorships always fall! However, the gift of Free Will if exercised wrongly will come under a curse.
Gen 3:1) The serpent begins his temptation: Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
The narrative of Genesis 3 seems so unlikely to logical humans that they scoff it as a fairytale, talking snakes? A tree brings the downfall of Earth? Rubbish! It is noted that Satan does control the vocal cords of people to speak through them. In some nations, people have physically witnesses changing of human to snake, vice versa, more common in Africa. Changing forms is done through black magic. In the seances of Satanists, they learned these ancient methods from Babylon, the seat of sorceries. The demons inhibit the human bodies, changing their forms. Satan cannot originally create anything, but he distorts creation and the image of God. The Doom of Babylon Revelation 18:22: And the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will never ring out in you again. Nor will any craftsmen of any trade be found in you again, nor the sound of a millstone be heard in you again. 23The light of a lamp will never shine in you again, and the voices of a bride and bridegroom will never call out in you again. For your merchants were the great ones of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.” 24And there was found in her the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who had been slain on the earth.…(This is symbolic of the seat of sorcery and rebellion against God, this does not mean God is cursing Iraq. All nations that do not heed to God come under judgement one day!)
The serpent: The text here does not, by itself alone, clearly identify the serpent as Satan, but the rest of the Bible makes it clear this is Satan appearing as a serpent. In Ezekiel 28:13-19 tells us that Satan was in Eden. Many other passages associate a serpent or a snake-like creature with Satan (such as Job 26:13 and Isaiah 51:9). Revelation 12:9 and 20:2 speak of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan.
The representation of Satan as a serpent makes the idea of Moses saving Israel by lifting up a bronze serpent strange, (Numbers 21:8-9), where Jesus is a type of that salvation in the desert (John 3:14). The preexistence of Christ shows up in the Bible at different times where He appears. John 14:9: Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. This is because in this picture, the serpent (a personification of sin and rebellion) is made of bronze (a metal associated with judgment, since it is made with fire). The lifting of a bronze serpent is the lifting up of sin judged, in the form of a cross.
Ezekiel 28 tells us Satan, before his fall, was an angel of the highest rank and prominence, even the “worship leader” and played the flute in heaven. Isaiah 14 tells us Satan’s fall had to do with his desire to be equal to or greater than God, to set his will against God’s will. The greed for power has its roots in the devil.
The serpent was more cunning than any beast: Satan’s effectiveness is often found in His cunning, crafty ways. This power was defeated on the Cross through Christ. It was the craftiness of Satan that made him successful against Eve: as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness (2 Corinthians 11:3).
And he said to the woman: Apparently, before the curse pronounced in Genesis 3:14-15, the serpent was different than what we know today as a serpent. The serpent could walk upright, was very beautiful and did not slither!
“The creature that tempted Eve became a serpent as a result of God’s judgment on it, and it went slithering ever since then, the result of the curse.” Demonic spirits evidently have the ability, under certain circumstances, to indwell human or animal bodies (Luke 8:33). On this occasion, Satan chose to indwell the body of a pre-curse serpent.
It is said that Eve wasn’t surprised at the serpent’s speaking because Adam and Eve had free conversation with angelic beings that often appeared in the form of men. If this is true, it wasn’t so strange to Eve that an angelic being might appear to her in the form of a beautiful pre-curse serpent.
Satan might have made the voice supernaturally come forth from the serpent, or perhaps Satan “said” this to Eve in her thoughts. What Satan said is more important than how he said it. To the woman: Satan brought his temptation against the woman because he perceived she was more vulnerable to attack. This is because she did not receive the command to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil directly from God but through Adam (Genesis 2:15-17). It is true that women are more intuitive and impressionable to their surroundings, and more sensitive, which is why she picked up the sound vibrations of the snake.
Adam may not have effectively told Eve what the LORD told him. This failure on Adam’s part made Eve more vulnerable to temptation and Satan caught that on. He catches on all the failings and weaknesses of relationships. Satan will often attack a chain at its weakest link, so he gets at Adam by tempting Eve.
Satan always puts the element of doubt within us. He fabricates the truth so it is half truth and half lie. Has God indeed said: Satan’s first attack is leveled against the Word of God. If he can get Eve confused about what God said, or to doubt what God said, then his battle is partially won.
From the beginning, Satan has tried to undermine God’s people by undermining God’s Word. He can undermine just as effectively by getting us to neglect God’s Word as by getting us to doubt it.
“Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” Satan took God’s positive command (Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat [Genesis 2:16-17]) and rephrased it in a negative way: “God won’t let you eat of every tree.”
(Gen 3:2-3) Eve’s reply to the serpent. And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ “
And the woman said to the serpent: Eve’s first mistake was in even carrying on a discussion with the serpent. We are never to have a discussion with him. We simply and strongly tell him, “The Lord rebuke you!” (Jude 9)
We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: Eve’s knowledge of what she should not do is partially correct, but what she doesn’t seem to know makes her all the more vulnerable to deception. Eve does not seem to know the name of this tree; she only calls it the tree in the midst of the garden, instead of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17).
Eve misquoted God’s command to Adam. Her words, “you shall not eat it” and “lest you die” are close enough, but she added to the command and put words in God’s mouth when she said, “nor shall you touch it.” Of course, it was a good idea to completely avoid the temptation; no good could come from massaging the fruit you’re not supposed to eat. But it is a dangerous thing to teach the doctrines of man as if they are the commandments of God (Matthew 15:9).
Why was the tree so important? The two trees were a test. The second tree, the tree of Life is symbolic of Christ. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good of Evil took away the Age of Innocence once they ate from that tree. A test of free will, which is a God given gift to humankind. To take away the freedom of will is from the kingdom of Satan. God wanted us to choose between obeying or not, or He would have made us robots. He did not want robotic humans or drones, but true living souls with the ability to discern. Our souls grow in purity the more we submit to Christ, who gives us Living Life through the Holy Spirit so we have His Light glowing within us to discern evil from good. Every single human being has the light of conscienceless given by God. Romans 2:15: God’s Righteous Judgment Indeed, when the world who do not have the law, do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law, 15 since they show that the work of the Law is written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts either accusing or defending them. 16 This will come to pass on that day when God will judge men’s secrets through Christ Jesus, as proclaimed by My gospel.… For the people who murder, steal, rape and then burn girls do not have a single light of conscience in their souls and their own sins judge them and bring them down.
(Gen 3:4-5) Satan’s direct challenge to God’s Word: Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” You will not surely die: Satan reasons with us giving us false promises. He drew Eve into a discussion with him and planted the seed of doubt about God’s Word, and he exposed Eve’s incomplete understanding of God’s mind. The perpetrator does this. Even political leaders fool their followers promising them good when they really want to control them. Satan wanted control over humanity and he wanted to destroy it out of revenge to God for throwing him out of Heaven. Satan was now roaming around the Second Heaven and also on Earth and other planets. He wanted to destroy Adam and Eve so he moves in for the kill putting doubt between humans and God and contradicting what God said.
Satan can only effectively work when he has established a foothold. No one falls like Adam and Eve will fall, “all of a sudden.” A foundation has been laid. This is why we are called to never give place to the devil (Ephesians 4:27). This shows how remarkable it is that Jesus could say, “Satan has nothing in Me.” (John 14:30).
You will not surely die: Satan first wanted Eve to forget all about what God said about the consequences of sin. When we know and remember the consequences of sin, we are more likely to give up the passing pleasures of sin (Hebrews 11:25).
In Satan’s direct challenge, he tries to get Eve to doubt the goodness of God. If God lies to her, how can He be good? In Satan’s direct challenge, he tries to get Eve to doubt evil, sin and disobedience. The world system tells us that God doesn’t want us to have fun, Christian living is boring. The opposite is true. We get kingdom life, LOVE, JOY PEACE, RIGHTEOUSNESS!!! That’s the Kingdom of God is us today. In the future, there is a literal beautiful Kingdom! However, we say, worldly living is more fun, we can drink do drugs, have sex, party all the time. That is the lie of Satan. Our choices ultimately take us to the place of outer darkness of frustrations, gnashing of teeth where desires are never fulfilled. If this fruit is something good for her, why doesn’t God want her to have it? If things are fun and do whatever we should, why is God stopping us? We see the consequences of lives lived in giddy tipsy pleasures that spiral out of control one day.
Satan wants us to see sin as something good that a bad God doesn’t want us to have. His main lie to us is “sin is not bad and God is not good and a wet blanket who just wants to keep us curbed.” The truth is in God, we receive more freedom to work in the design He created us to be. He pours out more and gives us more.
In the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened: Satan’s temptation was all the more powerful because there was truth in it. It was true your eyes will be opened, and this was fulfilled (Genesis 3:7). But their eyes were instantly opened to their own sin, nakedness and they were ashamed.
Satan told her: “You will be like God, knowing good and evil: Satan wanted to be God, humans want equality with God, but God alone is God, He is the only creator. Satan cannot create a flower; he can imitate it. God alone is God. Omnipresent, Omniscient and Omnipotent. The final enticement is the most powerful, because it was how Satan himself fell, wanting to be equal with God. Eve tried to become a god herself by her rebellion against God. Humans say, “You are a god.” That is in direct alignment to Satan’s whisper to Eve in Eden.
The goal of becoming God is the center of so many fake religions, including Mormonism. Many ‘god” movements made god men who hypnotized masses to do crazy things. But in our desire to be gods, we become like Satan (who said, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God … I will be like the Most High [Isaiah 14:13-14]) instead of being like Jesus, who came as a servant (Matthew 20:28). A man who calls himself god or a woman is brought down fast. We see this in history, Herod when he let people call him god fell down dead, eaten up by worms, we see god men falling down like ninepins.
The New Age movement and the desire to be “god” are just as strong as ever. According to a 1992 survey, as many as 12 million Americans can be considered active participants in the New Age movement, and another 30 million are avidly interested. If all these people were brought together in a church-like organization, it would be the third largest religious denomination in America. More than 90% of the subscribers to New Age Magazine are college graduates, compared to half the general population. In 1995, New Age influence made it all the way to the White House. New Age author Marianne Williamson (writer of A Course In Miracles), guru to many of Hollywood’s spiritual seekers, spent a night at the White House as the personal guest of Hillary Clinton. And Anthony Robbins, motivational guru and king of late-night infomercials, consulted with President Clinton at Camp David. Robbins is also recognized as a leader in the New Age movement.
The sin of Adam and Eve and the fall of the human race. (Gen 3:6) Adam and Eve both disobey God in their own way. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
So when the woman saw: Eve surrendered to this temptation in exactly the way John describes in 1 John 2:16. First, she gave in to the lust of the flesh (saw that it was good for food), then she gave in to the lust of the eyes (pleasant to the eyes), then she gave in to the pride of life (desirable to make one wise).. Jesus in His form as human was subject to temptations, but without sin. He never gave into it. He had to be tempted as a natural man in order to overcome the flesh, so He could be the pure sacrifice on the Cross. He was tempted in the same three-fold way: an appeal to the physical appetites, an appeal to covetous and emotional desires, and an appeal to pride (Matthew 4:1-11). He overcame with the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. The woman saw that the tree was good for food: Eve’s perceptions were partially true and partially false. The tree was not really good for food, though Eve was deceived into thinking it was so. The fruit probably was pleasant to the eyes, though that shouldn’t mean much. And it was only true in Eve’s mind that the tree was desirable to make one wise. She took of its fruit and ate: Satan could tempt Eve, but she didn’t have to take it. As with every temptation, God had made for Eve a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). She could have simply run from Satan and the tree, but Eve didn’t take God’s way of escape. She also gave to her husband with her: Not only did Eve sin, but she became the agent of temptation for Adam. But when Adam ate, he was not deceived as Eve was. Adam sinned with his eyes wide open, in open rebellion against God.
Therefore, it is Adam, not Eve, who bears the responsibility for the fall of the human race and for the introduction of death into the created order (Romans 5:12, 1 Corinthians 15:22). Eve was tricked into sinning; Adam knew exactly what he was doing (1 Timothy 2:14).
“Take and eat” will one day become verbs of salvation, but only after Jesus had lived in the world of Adam’s curse and surrendered to death.
(Gen 3:7) The nakedness of Adam and Eve. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened: Seemingly, it was only after the sin of Adam that they knew of their sinful state. They knew they were naked, in the sense of having their shame exposed to all creation. Psalm 104:2 and Matthew 17:2 suggest that light can be a garment for the righteous. It may be that Adam and Eve were previously clothed in God’s glorious light, and the immediate loss of this covering of light left them feeling exposed and naked.
The eyes of both of them were opened: The way they saw themselves changed, but also the way they saw the entire world was now different. After the fall, everything looked worse. As said earlier, today if we walk around naked, it is offensive to the human eyes and surely people would mob them. People as a mark of disgrace are paraded naked in some countries! Yet in Eden, before the Fall, covered in God’s glory, being naked was natural and innocent.
We cannot make a golden utopia or do things as Eden today. We cannot make a golden age on Earth until the old is done away supernaturally by God and not by humans. Today, humans forcing people to become something to turn it into a golden age will not happen, but only cause death, bloodshed, hatred and violence.
Now, Adam and Eve felt guilty and sewed fig leaves together: Their own attempt to cover themselves was an inferior covering. Fig leaves are prickly and very uncomfortable!
Every attempt to cover our own nakedness before God is foolish. We need to let Jesus cover us (Revelation 3:5, 18), and put on Jesus Himself as our covering garment (Galatians 3:27). The exhortation from Jesus is for us: Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame. (Revelation 16:15)(Gen 3:8-9) Adam and Eve hide from God; God calls out to them.
And they heard the sound 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 among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” God knew where they were but wanted them to answer Him and respond to Him.
They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: Adam and Eve knew that when they heard the LORD coming, He would want to be with them. This was how the LORD had fellowship with Adam and Eve, in a very natural, close, intimate way.
As said earlier, God, in the Person of Jesus Christ, appearing to Adam and Eve before His incarnation and birth at Bethlehem, because of God the Father it is said, “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (John 1:18), and no man has ever seen God in the Person of the Father. (1 Timothy 6:16).
Cool of the day” is literally “the breeze of the day.” This could mean morning or early evening.
Adam and Eve wife hid themselves: This shows that Adam and Eve knew that their attempt to cover themselves failed, and they were embarrassed before God. Many times, we want to stay away from God because we feel we have failed Him. However, God reached out to them as He reaches out to us.
When He said “Where are you?” It was felt as the Father heart of God and not anger. God obviously knew where they were but He also knew a gulf had been made between Himself and man, a gulf that He Himself would have to bridge.
God confronts Adam and Eve with their sin.
(Gen 3:10-12) Adam tries to explain his sin.
So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”
I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid: Sin made Adam afraid of God’s presence and afraid of God’s voice. Ever since Adam, men run from God’s presence and don’t want to listen to His Word.
Who told you that you were naked? God knew the answer to this question. He asked it because He allowed Adam to make the best of a bad situation by repenting right then and there, but Adam didn’t come clean and repent before God.
Joshua 7:19-20: We all sin, but when we sin, we can still give glory to God by openly confessing without shifting the blame onto others. Adam and Eve played the blame game. The blame game is right from the pits of Satan. He causes people to keep blaming each other and never trying to improve past mistakes. They did not seek solution but blame game. We see this played out in marriages, our politicians, governments, leaders. God is not fooled by the blame gamers.
Again, we cannot do about yesterday’s sin (though in some cases you may be able to make restitution). Yet you can do what is right before God right now by confessing and repenting.
Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat? God confronted Adam’s problem. He asked Adam because He had given Adam the onus of the Garden. It was his responsibility. God has not addressed Eve at all. Today, if you have onus on something, you cannot blame someone else. A cop cannot blame someone else if he did not do his job. If people confess and own up and repent (change of mind) then the world would be a far easier place to live; however, we have Satanic syndromic seeds of blame growing in us, sadly.
Adam said “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate: Adam’s attempt to blame Eve is completely consistent with human nature.
David one of the greatest kings of many said, “I have sinned against the LORD (2 Samuel 12:13).” This was the secret of his success and blessing.
Adam unjustly accuses Eve and refused to accept proper responsibility for his part in her sin.
By saying “the woman whom You gave to be with me,” Adam essentially blames God for the sin saying, “You gave me the woman, and she is the problem.” Adam wasn’t content to blame Eve; he had to blame God also. This is the chain of blame, when we blame one, we start to blame many and ultimately God.
(Gen 3:13) Eve’s reply to God. And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” The serpent deceived me, and I ate: When confronted by God, Eve doesn’t necessarily shift the blame when she admits the serpent deceived her and then she ate. This much was true, she had been deceived, and she did eat.
Deceived me: The only problem comes when we fail to see that being deceived is sin in itself. It is sin to exchange the truth of God for the lie (Romans 1:25).
The curse and its aftermath.
(Gen 3:14-15) God’s curse upon the serpent.
So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
And the LORD God said to the serpent: When God spoke to Adam and to Eve, He asked them each questions. God didn’t ask Satan (the being animating the serpent) any questions, because there was nothing to teach him.
You are cursed more than all cattle: The first part of the curse is directed at the animal that Satan used to bring the temptation. God commanded the serpent to slither on the ground instead of walking on legs like any other animal.
Adam and Eve must have been terrified as this once-beautiful creature called a serpent was transformed into the creeping, slithering, hissing snake we know today. They must have thought, “It’s our turn next!”
I will put enmity between you and the woman: In addition, there is a natural aversion between mankind and serpents, especially on the part of women.
You shall eat dust all the days of your life: This was true of the serpent as an animal, but it is also true of Satan. To eat dust has the idea of total defeat (Isaiah 65:25, Micah 7:17). God’s judgment on Satan is for him to always know defeat. He will always reach for victory, but always fall short of it.
Satan was, in his own thinking, majestic and triumphant over Jesus on the cross, but he failed. In attacking Jesus, Satan made his own doom certain.
In Jesus, we share in the victory over Satan: And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. (Romans 16:20)
Enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed: The second part of the curse is directed against Satan himself. God placed a natural animosity between Satan and mankind. Enmity has the idea of ill will, hatred, and a mutual antagonism. Satan’s hatred of Eve was nothing new; it was already present – but now man will, generally speaking, have antagonism towards Satan.
The “friendship” Eve and the serpent seemed to enjoy earlier in the chapter is finished. There is now a natural fear of Satan in the heart of man.
If we are born naturally rebellious against God, we are also born cautious and afraid of Satan. One must be hardened to willingly and knowingly serve Satan. Instinctively, we don’t serve God or Satan; we serve ourselves (which is fine with Satan).
He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel: In this, God prophesies the doom of Satan, showing that the real battle is between Satan and the Seed of the Woman.There is no doubt this is a prophecy of Jesus’ ultimate defeat of Satan. God announced that Satan would wound the Messiah (you shall bruise His heel), but the Messiah would crush Satan with a mortal wound (He shall bruise your head).
The heel is the part within the serpent’s reach. Jesus, in taking on humanity, brought Himself near to Satan’s domain so Satan could strike Him. This prophecy also gives the first hint of the virgin birth, declaring the Messiah – the Deliverer – would be the Seed of the Woman, but not of the man. He shall bruise your head: For God to see the defeat of Satan at Satan’s first flush of victory shows God knew what He was doing all along. God’s plan wasn’t “set back” when Adam and Eve sinned, because God’s plan was to bring forth something greater than man in the innocence of Eden. God wanted more than innocent man; His plan is to bring forth redeemed man.
Redeemed man – this being who is greater than innocent man – is only possible because man had something to be redeemed from.
(Gen 3:16) God’s curse upon the woman.
To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”
I will greatly multiply your sorrow: God first cursed the woman with multiplied sorrow. Men and women have each known sorrow throughout history, yet the unique sorrow of women is well known.
Under Jesus, some of the effects of the curse are relieved, and it has been the Christianizing of society that brought rights and dignity to women. ii. “It is difficult for women in Christian lands to realize the miseries of their hundreds of millions of sisters in other lands, where the lot of women is little above that of cattle. Where the gospel has gone, the load has been lifted, and woman in Christ has become the reflection of the redeemed Church, the bride of Christ.” (Barnhouse)
Your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children: The first curse upon women is a broad one. It has the idea that women would experience pain in regard to their children in general, not just in the act of giving birth. God ordained that the pain with which women bring children into this world be an example of the pain they experience more generally in life.
It has been observed that women bring forth children with more pain than just about any other creature.
Your desire shall be for your husband: This is true of women in a way that it is not true for men. “This verse will be understood better when it is realized that the desire of man toward his wife alone is solely by God’s grace and not by nature.” (Barnhouse)
Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you: The idea is to contrast the woman’s desire and the husband’s rule over her. This speaks of an inherent challenge in embracing the husband’s role as leader of the home and family.
This same word for desire is used in Genesis 4:7 of the desire of sin to master over Cain. Because of the curse, Eve would have to fight a desire to master her husband, a desire that works against God’s ordained order for the home.
The principle of Adam’s headship as a husband was established before the fall (see Genesis 2:18 and 2:22). Now the curse on Eve makes it much harder for her to submit and flow with God’s institution of male headship in the home.
As a result of the fall, man no longer rules easily; he must fight from his headship. Sin has corrupted both the willing submission of the wife and the loving headship of the husband. The woman’s desire is to control her husband (to usurp his divinely appointed headship), and he must master her, if he can.The balance and harmony and love was broken which is why marriages under the curse of the fall due to uneven yolks is cursed. Only Christ breaks that through His defeat of Satan on the Cross.
(Gen 3:17-19) God’s curse upon the man.
Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”
Because you have heeded the voice of your wife: It wasn’t just as if Adam took Eve’s advice. He chose to be with Eve instead of obeying God. There is a sense in which idolatry of Eve was an aspect of Adam’s disobedience against God.
Cursed is the ground: Because of Adam, there is a curse upon all creation. Before the curse on man, the ground only produced good. After the curse, it will still produce good, but thorns and thistles will come faster and easier than good fruit.
In toil you shall eat of it: Adam worked before the curse, but it was all joy. Now work has a cursed element to it, with pain and weariness a part of work. Is there not a time of hard service for man on earth? Are not his days also like the days of a hired man? Like a servant who earnestly desires the shade, and like a hired man who eagerly looks for his wages (Job 7:1-2).
Dust you are, and to dust you shall return: The final curse upon man promised there would be an end of his toil and labor on the earth – but it was an end of death, not not an end of deliverance.
The curse of death shows that the result of Adam’s sin extended to the entire human race. Because of Adam, sin entered the world (Romans 5:12), death came to all mankind (Romans 5:15, 1 Corinthians 15:22), death reigned over man and creation (Romans 5:17), all men were condemned (Romans 5:18), and all men were made sinners (Romans 5:19).
The principle of Galatians 3:13 is established as we consider that Jesus bore each aspect of the curse upon Adam and Eve in its totality: Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us.
– Sin brought pain to childbirth, and no one knew more pain than Jesus did when He, through His suffering, brought many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10)
– Sin brought conflict, and Jesus endured great conflict to bring our salvation (Hebrews 12:3)
– Thorns came with sin and the fall, and Jesus endured a crown of thorns to bring our salvation (John 19:2)
– Sin brought sweat, and Jesus sweat, as it were, great drops of blood to win our salvation (Luke 22:44)
– Sin brought sorrow, and Jesus became a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, to save us (Isaiah 53:3)
– Sin brought death, and Jesus tasted death for everyone that we might be saved (Hebrews 2:9)
(Gen 3:20) The naming of Eve. And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
Adam called his wife’s name Eve: Up to Genesis 3:20, the woman has never been called Eve. We are so used to saying “Adam and Eve” that we assume she already had her name. But to this point, she was called a female (Genesis 1:27), a helper comparable (Genesis 2:18), a woman (Genesis 2:22, 23), and a wife (Genesis 2:24, 25; 3:8). This does not mean God did not have a name for Eve, but we are told what the name is in Genesis 5:2: He called them Mankind.
The idea that the woman takes her name from the husband, and the idea that both genders are encompassed in terms like mankind, humanity, and chairman. Our use of these terms is not merely cultural, it is Biblical.
A woman gains more of her identity from her husband than the man does from the wife. For this reason, women should take special care in which man they marry. Because she was the mother of all living: Adam named her Eve, even though she was not a mother at all at the time. She was not even pregnant yet. Adam named her in faith, trusting God would bring forth a deliverer from the woman, because God said He would defeat Satan through the Seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15).
(Gen 3:21) God clothes Adam and Eve in the skins of animals.
Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
The LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them: God wanted Adam and Eve clothed, not naked.
The world’s oldest profession is the clothing business (Genesis 3:7).!
Tunics of skin: In order for Adam and Eve to be clothed, a sacrifice had to be made. An animal had to die. Without shedding of blood there is no remission. (Hebrews 9:22)
There are only two religions; there is the religion of fig leaves with false coverings in humanistic efforts of good works that can never match the Holy Standard of God. Sometimes, people do good works to cover up for their evil hidden sins too. There is the act of God’s perfect provision through Jesus.
Covering ourselves with our good works is like Adam and Eve trying to cover themselves with fig leaves. Our good works are like monopoly money – great for monopoly, but not legal tender. Your good works are essential to what it takes to live out your life, but they are not legal tender before God.
iii. Adam and Eve were clothed in a garment that was purchased with the life of another. We are clothed with a garment of righteousness that was purchased with the life of another, Jesus Christ. This first killing of an animal happened in the Fall, while it seems very cruel, without the shedding of Blood life, there is no washing away of sin. In the New Heaven and Earth, there will be no killing or eating of animals, but as long as this present Earth is there, we cannot erase it.
Many religions do have a blood sacrifice for it is God’s spiritual covenant with humans
And clothed them: This indicates that Adam and Eve were saved. Adam had faith in God’s promise of a Savior, and God provided a covering for them through a sacrifice. We will see Adam and Eve in heaven.
Taken from What the Hindu Scriptures reveal about Jesus Christ? Ram and Valmike’s Ramayana.
” In the Purusha Sukta, we read that the God Brahma is sacrificed. What is evident from the above teachings is that the true and great redeeming sacrifice would be the one performed by the Sovereign Lord of this world, who putting on both mortality and immortality and becoming incarnate as God-man, would Himself be the sacrificial animal and offer Himself as a sacrifice to redeem mankind from their sins.
This is what the Rig Veda says about the sacrificial animal:
I. It must be a goat without blemish
II. The “balusu” bush must be placed round its head;
III. It must be bound to a sacrificial post.
IV. Nails must be driven into its four legs till they bleed.
V. The cloth covering the goat should be divided among the four priests.
VI. None of its bones must be broken.
VII. The goat should be given a drink of Soma juice.
VIII. After it has been slain, it must be restored to life again.
IX. Its flesh should be eaten.
Now these details lead us to conclude that the sacrificial death of the incarnate God-head must have answered this description in full.
Thus, it is said that God Himself must become man, and then become a sacrifice to save sinners. But we do not read any such thing written about the incarnations of our country nor in the Sastras. There is no God-incarnate man, who died a sacrificial death to save sinners. But there is a country called Palestine in the west of Asia, on the Mediterranean coast, in the center of the great land mass of the world. In this country was born of a holy virgin’s womb, the incarnate God, in Whom were fulfilled all the details of the description given about the God-man. He was absolutely without blemish. He lived a perfectly holy life. He was both mortal and immortal. That is to say, He was both human and divine. From the beginning, He foretold His sacrificial death to save the mankind and then of His living again as death’s conqueror. He voluntarily surrendered Himself into the hands of wicked men, who loved sin, hated His teachings and wanted to kill Him. If we examine the way in which he was killed, we find that like the sacrifice of God Brahma as described in Purusha Sukta, everything said about the sacrificial animal in the Rig Veda, was clearly fulfilled in this incarnation in the following manner.
I. He was the sinless God-man (I Pet.2:22)
II. A crown of thorns (balusu) was placed on His head (Mark 15:17).
III. He was crucified on the cross (sacrificial post) (Mark 15:24-25)
IV. He was nailed hands and feet to the cross (John 19:18).
V. Those who nailed Him to the cross divided His garments among themselves (Matt.27:35).
VI. Not one of His bones was broken (John 19:36).
VII. He was given vinegar (Soma juice)to drink (Matt.27:34)
VIII. He rose again as death’s conqueror (Matt.28:5-6).
Before His death, He told His disciples that they should eat His flesh and drink His blood which were sacrificed for the redemption of the world, and that they should, while often remembering His death, symbolically partake of bread and wine; and for this purpose, He instituted a Sacrament. This sacrament continues to be observed to this day (Matt.26:26-29). This is NOT LITERAL BLOOD OR FLESH. This is bread, and wine, (many churches today use grape juice).
Since in the incarnation that took place in Palestine was fulfilled the atoning sacrifice for the salvation of sinners, it is evident that this was the true Incarnation of God Whom sinners should take hold of for their salvation. This incarnation is the Lord Jesus Christ. The Name “JESUS” means the One Who saves His people from sins (Matt.1:21). “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name (except Jesus Christ) under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Above we see that in the Puranas, in Hinduism, there is a prophecy in their books about Christ and the blood! Yet, they are never taught this and if some know it, they declare it as fake.
The Blood of Jesus has the power to break all covenants with hell, thus people under generation curses can say “I apply the Blood of Jesus on whatever situation.” The application of the blood was given in the Old Testament for protection as well, as we see during the Passover in Egypt. Today, we apply the Blood of Jesus by faith over our lives and for protection and it is perfectly Biblical and not wrong. During times of trouble, travel or terrorism, or while traveling in today’s world, on applying the Blood by faith in our situations, we are protected by supernatural fortress walls. It is only because of the Blood of Jesus that we can have a relationship with Father God who created the Heavens and the Universe. It is because of the Blood that we can call Him Abba Father.
(Gen 3:22-24) God sets cherubim to guard the Tree of Life.
Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”; therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
Behold, the man has become like one of us, to know good and evil: The idea behind this phrase is difficult to understand. Perhaps there is a note of sarcasm by God here (as Elijah used in 1 Kings 18:27), regarding Satan’s empty promise to become like gods. Or, perhaps the idea focuses on man’s greater knowledge (though in a bad sense) now that he has the experiential knowledge of evil.
And take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever: In mercy, God protected Adam and Eve from the horrible fate of having to live forever as sinners by preventing them from eating from the tree of life.
The LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden: We don’t know if Adam and Eve wanted to stay in the garden of Eden. Perhaps they felt if they left the garden, they might never see God again because it was the only place where they met Him.
He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden: Cherubim are always associated with the presence and glory of God (Ezekiel 10, Isaiah 6, Revelation 4). When cherubim are represented on earth (such as in the tabernacle, Exodus 25:10-22), they mark a meeting place with God. Though Adam and Eve and their descendants were prevented from eating the fruit of the tree of life (by God’s mercy), they could still come there to meet God. This was their “holy of holies.” Therefore it was important to send a cherubim with a flaming sword to guard the way to the tree of life. “Any angel of the lowest rank could have dealt with Adam. The flaming sword was pointed against Satan to keep him from destroying the way of access to the altar, which God had set up.” (Barnhouse) This is the last historical mention of the garden of Eden in the Bible. Only in the New Heaven and New Earth will Eden also be restored and extended into the New Earth, and all the nations in the world will dwell there. The Bible says, Philippians 2:10: Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, 10th at at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.… One may say this is exclusivity. No, this reveals how much God loves the world and how much He loves all the people!
Study from the Bible, Vines, Strong dictionary, Matthew Henry’s commentary and Blue Letter Bible commentary. Wikipedia
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