GOD CONFRONTS THE SINFUL MAN AND WOMAN

It wasn’t long before the LORD went in search of some fellowship with Adam and Eve.

Genesis 3:8 “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.”

God called out in search of Adam. This was unusual; God didn’t usually have to look for him. He, of course, knew that Adam had sinned and was hiding. Still the LORD provides the opportunity for man to confess to his disobedience. At first Adam only responds that he is hiding because he is naked. God then confronts him with how he knows he is naked; this knowledge could only have been gained by eating of the forbidden fruit. So, instead of repenting and asking God to forgive him, Adam blames “the woman You gave me.” This was in effect also blaming God.

Sin always separates and erects a wall between us and those we love. It’s obvious that God had expected to fellowship with man as He called out His question. I think it is significant to note that He didn’t force a response; He gave man the choice to respond to Him and waited for his response. Because of established relationship, the love of God won out over the fear of man—as it always will when we choose to accept His love.

God then turns to the woman and asks her what she has done. She admits that she disobeyed; but following Adam’s example, she tries to shift responsibility for her actions to the serpent. Our example always impacts others, especially those closest to us, either for good or bad. At least she doesn’t imply that God is somehow responsible since He created the serpent. She does, however, plead the case that she was tricked; and as stated in the previous post, scripture affirms the truth of her statement.

1 Timothy 2:13–14 “For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.”

At this point God turns His attention to the serpent, and we encounter the first revelation and promise of God’s plan of redemption in scripture.

Genesis 3:14–15 “And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: (v15) And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

Immediately, we see evidence of God’s power and authority. First, He passes judgment on the serpent. Satan had used the serpent just like he tries to use each one of us; and just like the serpent, we will be cursed if we choose to ignore God’s provision for us.

By verse 15, God is speaking directly to Satan. He is promising a lifelong hatred and conflict between Satan and the woman and between his seed and “her seed.” All other men that have lived since Adam were from the seed of man. I think this is a statement of the struggle of man in choosing between their innate knowledge of right and wrong. This choice is ultimately a choice of accepting or rejecting God as LORD; in rejecting God you have by default given the position of LORD in your life to Satan. The Apostle Paul addresses this knowledge and choice process in his letter to the Romans.

Romans 1:18–21 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”

The ultimate showdown will involve Satan and the “seed” of the woman, the only human since Adam to be born without a sin nature—Jesus Christ, God’s precious Son. Though Satan will cause Jesus to suffer greatly in His humanity, the wound is compared to a bruised heel; the suffering will be temporary. Jesus, however, will eventually strike Satan with a fatal head wound.

This is also a prophecy, a statement regarding God’s omniscience. None of this was a surprise to God; His plan/provision was already in place waiting to be revealed.

1 Peter 1:18–21 “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.”

2 Timothy 1:7–10 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:”

It seems that sin has a purpose in God’s plan and we will discuss that in the next post.

Eve was punished with multiplied sorrow in childbirth and Adam was punished by having the ground cursed. He would have to labor with sweat to make things grow and would have to deal with thorns and thistles in the process.

We are then told that God clothed Adam and Eve with coats and skins. The freedom that accompanied innocence was forever lost. The coverings of skin were obtained by the sacrifice or shedding of blood of an innocent creature to provide a covering for their sinful condition. This is already providing a picture of Jesus having to die and shed His blood for our sins.

Chapter three closes with man being sent out of the Garden of Eden. The LORD established angels and a flaming sword to ensure that man could not eat from the tree of life and remain in a sinful state for eternity.

Genesis 3:22 “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:”

One other note—God affirmed Satan’s statement that the knowledge of good and evil made them “as gods.” We know that God is sovereign and that this too was a part of His eternal plan, so it must be for our good. It would seem that we cannot understand love apart from hate or good apart from evil. So we had to come to this understanding to be able to make a meaningful personal choice to love and obey God.