Genesis 3, Summary

Genesis 3

Summary

The chapter opens with the cunning serpent planting a seed of doubt in the mind of the woman. “Did God really say ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” v. 1) The woman replies that they can, except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; if they eat of it, she relays, they will die. The serpent tells her that they would not die, but would rather “be like God, knowing good and evil.” (v. 5)
The woman takes the fruit and eats it, and also gives some to her husband. The text says that “the eyes of both of them were opened,” (v. 7) and they realized that they were naked, and hid their nakedness by sewing together fig leaves.

After this, the man and woman realize that God is coming near to them, so they hide themselves from the presence of God. God calls out to ask Adam, “Where are you?” (v. 9) The man admits that he hid from God because of his nakedness. God asks him how he knows he is naked, and wants to know if he has eaten the ‘forbidden fruit.’
Adam tells him, “the woman You gave to be with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate.” (v. 12). The LORD then directs his questioning to the woman, asking her what she has done. She, in turn, blames the serpent for the deception.
God curses the serpent with many things, and in turn the woman and the man as well. The woman is told that the pain of childbirth will be increased. The man will have to work much harder to reap from the earth, with increased labor and sweat.
Adam names his wife Eve.

God makes clothing out of animal skins for Adam and Eve. To keep him from taking also of the tree of life, the man and woman are driven out of Eden and guardians are stationed to keep them from returning.



Observations and Comments

The first thing that jumps out as me now, as has been mentioned before by others, is that the woman appears to have added to the commandment of God. When the serpent tempts her, she says that God has told them not to eat or to touch the fruit of that fateful tree. How many times have those who know God been lead into sin because of some twisting of God’s words or an erroneous memory of scripture?

After the serpent has done his best to persuade the woman to disobey God, we see a very telling verse: “Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom.” The woman was done for at this point. Her flesh had risen up and had seen its desire in this thing; she took delight in the thought of her disobedience, and coveted a wisdom that she believed would parallel God’s. It reminds me of James 1:14-15: “But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desires. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.” The tempting glance at the fruit was the conception of the sinful act, and indeed, death was the result.

When both of them, man and woman, had done this disobedient act, their eyes were opened, spiritually. They were ashamed of their nakedness. Recently in my prayer time, a thought occurred to me that relates back to this passage. I was thinking of the idea of being clothed in righteousness, which is to say clothed in Christ (Rom 13:14: “…put on the Lord Jesus Christ…”). On the day of judgment, only those who are in Christ, and have His blood as their propitiation will be seen by God as righteous, for they will be clothed in Christ, that is, the perfect righteousness of Christ. Those who have to stand in their own righteousness will realize the full meaning of Isaiah 64:6, where it states: “and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” In the fire of God’s wrath, all self-righteousness will be burned away, and those who stand on their own will be naked and ashamed, realizing the grievous ugliness of their sin as they stand before a perfectly holy God. May many see their own fallibility, and instead put their faith in Christ, that they may not have to experience the unendurable shame of their sin when they stand before Him.

In verse 21, God makes Adam and his wife clothes out of the skins of animals. This calls to remembrance Hebrews 9:22: “According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” To atone for this first sin, physical death entered the world, in that some animal(s) had to die for the clothes to be made to cover their nakedness. After God instituted the Mosaic law, we see animal sacrifice being made continuously to grant the people forgiveness of sin. But no amount of lambs, bulls, etc, etc, etc could ever make a perfect sacrifice for the people. It would take a bloody sacrifice, yes, but one that would fully, completely, once-and-for-all appease the wrath of God against sin. That sacrifice came in the form of God’s own Son, Jesus. His blood covers all those who turn from sin and place their complete faith in Him for their deliverance.