Gen. 3:1-24: “The Fall Of Mankind / The Seed Plot Of The Entire Bible

By

Jim Bomkamp

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1.                  INTRO:

 

1.1.         In our last study we looked at verses 1-25 of chapter 2.

 

1.1.1.  We took a look at more of the symbolism and importance of the 7th day of creation in which the Lord rested from His works, as well as the future importance of the Sabbath during the Millennial Reign of Christ.

 

1.1.2.  We studied the creation of Adam and Eve.

 

1.1.3.  We looked closely at several principles to apply to our marriages from that chapter for it holds many of the keys for a successful marriage. 

 

1.2.         In our study today, we are going to look at verses 1-24 of chapter 3.

 

1.2.1.  The first 11 chapters of the book of Genesis are what is called the “pre-historical” account of mankind, with chapter 12 beginning what is referred to as the beginning of the modern history of mankind.

 

1.2.2.  We are going to look at what has been called the “most important chapter in the Bible,” and “the seed plot for the entire Bible,” chapter 3 of the book of Genesis.

 

1.2.3.  When we finished our last story we saw that Adam and his wife were in a paradise created for them by God.  This lush garden had everything that they could ever want in order to have a happy and full life.  They were sinless and innocent and naked and unashamed before God because they had no consciousness of having sinned before a holy God.  Adam was tilling and cultivating the garden and the Lord had told them that they could eat as much as they wanted of any of the trees of the garden, including the Tree of Life.  However, there was just one tree that Adam and his wife were forbidden to eat, and they were warned that on the day that they ate of it they would die.  That was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. 

 

1.2.4.  Ah, but now we look at the history of mankind and we see that it resembles anything but peace and fulfillment.  Men and women have often been filled with greed, anger, bitterness, strife, hate, and a litany of other bad character traits.  There has been at least one war raging among tribes and nations in virtually every year of mankind’s written history.  When once the first man and the first woman had a wonderful relationship with the creator God whom the author called, “Yahweh Elohim,” today there too numerous false religions to name and the worst crimes in mankind’s history have been committed over religion.  What went wrong for mankind?  Chapter 3 of the book of Genesis provides us with that answer.

 

1.2.5.  One thing that I want to emphasize right from the start is that we should never fall into the error that many have believed in the past hundred years or more of considering that the story of the creation and fall into sin of mankind as recorded in the second and third chapters of the book of Genesis is just a myth or an allegory.  This story is no myth and there is not a Biblical character who ever considered this story to be a myth.  Jesus Christ Himself referred to Adam and Eve as being literal characters and their fall as a literal fact of history.

 

1.2.6.  This story in Genesis chapter 3 has even more important lessons to teach us than chapter 2 which created for us an understanding of God’s original intentions for mankind concerning marriage.

 

1.2.7.  This side of heaven and the resurrection glory that we Christians are promised in heaven, we tend to think of mankind in our present fallen state because that is all that we have known.  However, some have conjectured that prior to mankind’s fall into sin that instead of appearing naked that Adam and Eve may have been clothed with light.  This would make the shock of realizing their own nakedness after falling into sin even more understandable.   

 

1.2.8.  Likewise, we tend to think of our present earth and universe in the present state that we see that it is in, because that is all that we have known.  However, the scriptures tell us that there was a curse that was pronounced on the earth because of the fall into sin of mankind, a curse that will be reversed during the Millennial Reign of Christ that occurs after His Second Coming.  However, this curse appears to have also affected the entire universe, and many have speculated that mankind’s fall may have triggered the laws of entropy into effect.  There are a few scriptures that support these views, including :

 

1.2.8.1.Romans 8:19-22, “19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption to the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.”  The entire creation was subjected to futility.

 

1.2.8.2.Hebrews 1:10-12, “10 And, “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the works of Your hands; 11 They will perish, but You remain; And they all will become old like a garment, 12 And like a mantle You will roll them up; Like a garment they will also be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end.””  The earth and the heavens are growing old like a garment.

 

2.                 VS 3:1-6a  - 1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5 “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.  6 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 desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; -  We are told that the woman, the wife of Adam, was tempted by a talking serpent concerning eating of the fruit of the one forbidden tree in the garden

 

2.1.         Here we are introduced to a creation that in the Hebrew is called the “nehash” or “shinning one.”  This is word that also means ‘serpent’ or ‘snake.’  However, this creature is unlike any creature that we have in our present world: 

 

2.1.1.  First of all, this creature is “able to carry on conversation.”  Some have speculated that all of the animals prior to mankind’s fall may have had the ability to speak. 

 

2.1.1.1.This may have been the reason that to Eve it seemed perfectly normal to be carrying on a conversation with this creation. 

 

2.1.1.2.Notice also, that again we see evidence that God created Adam and Eve with a built in language and ability to speak, and perhaps write.   

 

2.1.2.  Secondly, this creature “apparently walked uprightly” since one of the curses placed upon it after God judges it later in this chapter is that it will now crawl upon its belly. 

 

2.1.3.  Third, it was ‘more crafty’ than any other beast of the field.

 

2.1.4.  Fourth, this creature was evidently “possessed by the Devil himself.”

 

2.2.         We are told later in the Bible the identity of this creature:

 

2.2.1.  Paul believed a literal serpent was discussed in Genesis chapter 3:   2 Corinthians 11:3, “3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” 

 

2.2.2.  This “serpent of old” is none other the Devil or Satan:   Revelation 12:9, “9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”  Revelation 20:2, “2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.”

 

2.3.         Being the first temptation mentioned in the scripture (and noting the principle of “first mention”) we can learn what the essence of temptation consists of from this temptation and the commentary concerning it found in 1 John 2:15-17 (“15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”) :

 

2.3.1.  Doubting God.

 

2.3.1.1.All temptation begins by doubting God’s word, just as the serpent gets Eve to doubt what God has said when he states, ‘Indeed, has God said…’ 

 

2.3.2.  Entertaining a contradiction.

 

2.3.2.1.The temptation progresses as the serpent directly contradicts what the Lord had told Adam and Eve saying, ‘You surely will not die!

 

2.3.3.  Fulfills a lust of the flesh.

 

2.3.3.1.Eve was tempted to think that this fruit was the best food that you could ever want to eat.

 

2.3.3.2.The lusts of the flesh are powerful and provide a huge source of temptation for all people.

 

2.3.3.3.Paul wrote that some people’s god is their belly and the lusts of their flesh (Phil. 3:19).

 

2.3.4.  The lust of the eyes.

 

2.3.4.1.Virtually every temptation that a person has comes through what they see, through their eyes.  Flashy things get our attention, as do things that go fast or are pretty.  We are tempted by what we see.  Sales sign boards, television commercials, newspaper advertisements, etc. all play upon simply catching the attention of our eyes.

 

2.3.4.2.I mentioned in a previous study that this one tree’s fruit that Adam and Eve were not allowed to have must have occupied all of their attention.  It must have seemed like it must be the best tasting prettiest fruit in all of the garden.

 

2.3.5.  The boastful pride of life.

 

2.3.5.1.Pride is such a powerful motivator.  It has been said that power, money, and sex are the greatest motivators of people and all of these things puff up a person’s pride.

 

2.3.5.2.The serpent tempted Eve to consider that the fruit of this tree would ‘open her eyes’ and make her wise just like God.  He tells Eve that the Lord does not want her to eat of this fruit because He is anxious that she would be like Him if she ate it.

 

2.3.5.3.There are a couple of passages in the Old Testament that speak about how it came about that Lucifer fell, and note that he desired to be like God even to the extent of becoming an object of worship: 

 

2.3.5.3.1.In Ezekiel 28, Ezekiel first begins telling us about an earthly king called the king of Tyre, but then we soon begin to realize that he is really beginning to equate him to being Satan, saying, “12 Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “You had the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 “You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The ruby, the topaz and the diamond; The beryl, the onyx and the jasper; The lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald; And the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, Was in you. On the day that you were created They were prepared. 14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers, And I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire. 15 “You were blameless in your ways From the day you were created Until unrighteousness was found in you. 16 “By the abundance of your trade You were internally filled with violence, And you sinned; Therefore I have cast you as profane From the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the stones of fire. 17 Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, That they may see you.””

 

2.3.5.3.2.In Isaiah 14 we see that what was really at the root of Satan’s fall was a desire to be like God, or to be a ‘god’, “12 How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! 13 “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. 14 ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ 15 “Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit.” 

 

2.3.5.4.A number of the cults have had as their mantra to “become little gods.”

 

2.3.5.5.At the recent prophecy conference I attended Warren Smith, a man who had come out of the cults to become a Christian and now has written a couple of books showing how the New Age beliefs are coming into the church, spoke about how that the mantra of new-agers is “you are god,” with its counterpart “we are all one.” 

 

2.3.5.6.A number of years ago the book “The Deception of Christianity” revealed how that the mantra of many in the “word-faith movement” and their “name it and claim it” and “positive confession” form of praying was to being from an obscure and misinterpreted passage in the Old Testament that “you are little gods.”  These ones have put themselves in the place of God and made God their errand boy.

 

2.3.5.7.Pride is at the heart of so many of the temptations that we as people are hit with.

 

2.4.         I do want to point out something and that is that the woman adds to the word of God when she answers the serpent.  She tells him that God said that they could not even ‘touch’ the fruit of this tree.  However, God had never said that.  There are several passages in the scriptures that present a stern warning to people to never add or take away from the word of God, including one right at the very end of the book of Revelation.  Those who add to or take away from God’s word will suffer all of the curses in the book the author to the book of Revelation writes.  It is no wonder Eve sinned since she was adding to the word of God.

 

2.5.         We have to wonder where Adam was at this point in time.  However, he was probably somewhere in the garden till and cultivating the soil. 

 

2.6.         Some have conjectured that Adam was wrong by leaving Eve alone at this point in time.  However, we see no injunction from the Lord for Adam and Eve having some independence in their life.

 

2.7.         There is a headship issue here relative to Eve however.  Created to be a helpmeet to Adam, Eve should have consulted her husband before she decided to take such an impulsive action as directly disobey the Lord and eat of the fruit of the forbidden tree, especially since the Lord had warned them that death would result from the eating of this tree’s fruit.

 

3.                 VS 3:6b-7  - and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 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 loin coverings. -  The woman gave some of the fruit of the forbidden fruit to her husband and he ate of it and then both of them had their eyes opened and they knew that they were naked and they sowed fig leaves together for coverings for themselves

 

3.1.         When we get to verse 6 here there is nothing mentioned in regard to the conversation that Adam and Eve had, any temptations in which Adam endured at this time, etc.  It just states that Eve gave Adam some of the fruit and he ate of it.

 

3.2.         In 1 Tim. 2:14 we learn something very interesting about Adam on this day, and that is that he was not deceived on the day when he ate of this forbidden fruit :  14 And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.”  Eve was deceived by the serpent, however Adam ate of this fruit willingly and under no deception about what would happen to him.  It appears that later that day when Adam saw Eve and realized what she had done that he loved her so much that he couldn’t bear leaving her to suffer eternal death by herself.  Then, he decided that he would join her in her predicament.  He must have recognized that the only hope for Eve would be if he joined her.  This is not to minimize what Adam did or to say that he didn’t sin.  However, he was willing to suffer eternal punishment in hell with Eve rather than see her suffer that punishment alone. 

 

3.2.1.  This interpretation then speaks to the love that the second (or last) Adam, Jesus Christ, had for the church, such a love that he was willing to even be made sin in order that we might become redeemed children of God.

 

3.2.2.  It is interesting to note that prior to the fall that Adam and Eve had never had children and that it was through the children that they had that the Lord would bring the one who would be a kinsman redeemer for mankind, Jesus Christ.  You learn about what a kinsman redeemer is when you get to the book of Ruth and discover that Boaz is the kinsman redeemer for Ruth.  It will take a kinsman redeemer in order for mankind to be saved out of their sin.

 

3.3.         If you knew how itchy fig leaves are, there is a bit of humor in the fact that Adam and Eve sowed fig leaves together in order to cover their nakedness. 

 

3.3.1.  The fig leaves also speak of those many ways in which mankind tries to cover up their sin and make themselves righteous enough in God’s sight so as to be accepted by Him.  All sorts of attempts at legalism have been performed by God’s people through the ages in order to also make themselves accepted by God, all to no avail for the only righteousness that a man or woman shall ever have is the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ on our own behalf which we have through saving faith in Jesus Christ.

 

4.                 VS 3:8-13  - 8 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. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from 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 from the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” -  Adam and Eve hide from the Lord in the garden, and then the Lord searches them out and confronts them for committing sin by eating of the fruit of the forbidden tree

 

4.1.         Here we get an interesting glimpse of life in the garden of Eden.  Evidently, the Lord God (“Yahweh Elohim”) used to appear to Adam and Eve in the form of a man, what is known in theological terms as an anthropomorphism (in the Old Testament God appeared to His people several times as a man), and walk in the garden in the garden with them. 

 

4.2.         Here we see another “first mention” in the scriptures.  This is the first time after the fall into sin by mankind that we see their attitude towards and reaction to the Lord, and this is significant.  What we see is that sin causes a man or a woman to hide from the Lord. 

 

4.3.         What we also see that it is impossible for anyone to hide from the Lord.  You cannot hide from the one who is all knowing and who is continually present in every point in space and time.

 

4.4.         It is also the case that God seeks out those who are lost.  He is a seeking God and finds those who are lost and hopeless in their sin and seeks to draw them to Himself.

 

4.5.         Men and women tend not to take responsibility for their actions.  Notice how that when confronted by his sin that Adam blames the Lord Himself for it saying that it was the woman whom He had given him who gave him to eat.  The woman then blames the serpent who beguiled her.

 

4.6.         Adam tells the Lord that he was afraid of the Lord for he was aware that he was naked.  This testimony may indicate that in their pre-fallen condition that Adam and his wife were covered with light.

 

4.7.         The thing I would have you to realize here is that this confrontation of Adam and Eve by the Lord is an expression of the Lord’s broken-heartedness for Adam and Eve, these two of His creations who were the apple of His eye.  It is true that He is a holy and righteous God and sin must be punished, but the Lord is grieving and in sorrowful anguish for what Adam and Eve have brought upon themselves on this day.

 

4.8.         It is also important to keep in mind that none of this caught the Lord off guard for He is never surprised at any outcome since He always knows the end from the beginning.

 

5.                 VS 3:14-15  - 14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel. -  The Lord curses the serpent and then draws up battle plans between the two seeds, that of the woman and of the serpent

 

5.1.         The serpent is cursed here ‘more than all cattle and more than every beast of the field’ (what ever that means), but notice that the Lord God tells the serpent that he will now go away on his ‘belly,’ so evidently prior to this the serpent walked uprightly or at least had legs upon which to walk.

 

5.2.         The Lord God tells the serpent further, ‘dust you will eat all of the days of your life,’ which probably means simply that being a beast that crawls from this point forward that everything that he eats will be something that he catches and eats upon the ground, for he will be a ground dweller.

 

5.3.         Here now we get to these two different seeds.  Many Bible commentators have forgotten that there are really two seeds that are mentioned here, as they have concentrated only upon the seed of the woman.  The rest of history after this point in time can be considered the battle of these two seeds.

 

5.4.         In the judgment given to the serpent and Eve the Lord describes the perennial battle that shall be waged between the two seeds  The seed of the woman will be the lineage that leads to Jesus Christ.  The seed of the serpent the lineage of this non-believing world which eventual leads to the birth and career of the man referred to in scripture as the anti-Christ.  The final result the Lord tells the serpent and Eve will be that though the serpent and his seed bites the heal of the woman’s seed (a metaphor for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ), the woman’s seed will in the end crush the head of the serpent (Satan was defeated by Jesus Christ upon Calvary’s cross).  Since the very day of this pronouncement, the Devil has continually tried to destroy the seed of the woman.  Yet, he has failed in every attempt and eventually he will be overthrown by Jesus Christ on the cross. 

 

5.5.         There has been a lot of attempts at genocide throughout mankind’s history (all are wrong), however the attempts to wipe out of the Jews has been unlike that of any other people or race, and that there is a demonic impetus behind this should be obvious to all.  I want to detail many of the persecutions of the godly seed of Eve through Jesus Christ, as well as Satan’s plans to destroy Israel in general (if the Devil can keep Israel from turning and accepting Christ as her Savior then he can keep God from fulfilling His promises and Jesus Christ from deposing him and reigning for eternity).  Here is my chronicle of the demonic persecution of the seed of Eve (and the nation of Israel in general) throughout history :

 

5.5.1.  Cain kills Abel (in our next chapter) and Satan thinks he has won, but then along comes Seth who is the one who from whom the lineage of Jesus Christ shall procede.

5.5.2.  Abraham’s persecutions.

5.5.3.  Isaac’s persecutions.

5.5.4.  While Israel is enslaved in Egypt the Devil is raising up many people groups to destroy the tribes of Israel when they go in to take possession of their land.

5.5.5.  Pharaoh tries to kill all of the Jewish baby boys but Moses’s parents save him and preserve the godly seed.

5.5.6.  When Athaliah the queen mother seized the throne after her son’s death she had her grandsons murdered since they were the proper descendants for the throne.  The entire line from Eve to Messiah through the line of David came down to one grandson, a little boy named Joash who was hidden and saved by Jehosheba-  Ref: 2 Kings 11 & 2 Chron. 22.

5.5.7.  Haman tries to destroy entire Jewish race in the book of Esther.

5.5.8.  After Jesus is born king Herod tries to kill all of the baby boys in the environs of Bethlehem.

5.5.9.  The storms that came up on the sea when Jesus went with His disciples in a boat seem to be of demonic origin.

5.5.10.The Pharisees tried a few times to seize Jesus and have Him killed.

5.5.11.Satan thinks that by Jesus dying on the cross the seed will be stopped.

5.5.12.Persecutions of Jews in czarist Russia.

5.5.13.The Holocaust of the Jews under Hitler.

5.5.14.Persecutions of Jews in the Soviet Union.

5.5.15.The Arab nations uniting to attack Israel the day Israel declared her independence as a nation in 1948, as well as the many times they were attacked afterwards, including the Six-Day War—1967, the Yom Kippur War—1973, etc.

5.5.16.Persecution through the United Nations with all of their resolutions—{Wikipedia-- From 1967 to 1989 the UN Security Council passed 131 resolutions directly dealing with the Arab-Israeli conflict. Of the 131 resolutions passed, 43 could be considered neutral while the remaining 88 either criticized and opposed the actions of Israel or judged against its interests. Nearly half of the 88 resolutions against Israel "condemned," "censured," or "deplored" the member state or its actions. During this time, in the UN General Assembly, 429 resolutions against Israel were passed, and Israel was condemned 321 times. 

5.5.17.There are no U.N. resolutions against Islamic terrorism, in spite of the incredible number of terrorist attacks that have occurred in the world, and primarily against the Jews.  { Number of terrorist attacks worldwide from August 1998 to August 2003 according to the Associated Press: 15.  Number of terrorist attacks outside of Israel included in that list: 0.  Number of terrorist attacks in Israel during that period: over 800.  According to one web site, the number of terrorist attacks in Israel since September 2000, when the Arab Intifada (uprising) began totals 22,406. The number of Israelis killed in those attacks adds up to 1,073. The number injured totals 7,371.}

5.5.18.The combined land size of Arab countries is 650 times the size of Israel. Arab dictators control 13,486,861 Square Kilometers in the Middle East, and Israel controls 20,770 (Palestinefacts.org) The Population of Israel is roughly 6 Million, compared to the Population of 300 Million living in the surrounding Arab countries The Arab nations are represented by 21 separate countries. There is only one Jewish nation with a tiny country the size of the state of New Jersey.}

5.5.19.1964—The Palestinian Liberation Organization (P.L.O.) was founded, calling for the destruction of the State of Israel and Zionism, headed by Akhmed Shukeiry.

 

6.                 VS 3:16  - 16 To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you.” -  The Lord God pronounces a curse upon Eve

 

6.1.         She will have pain in childbirth.

 

6.2.         She will be ruled over by her husband.  This speaks to more than just the husband being head over his wife.  The oppression of women has been almost universal throughout history.  Women have mostly been considered as mere possessions by men and up until somewhat recently in many countries a man could kill his wife for any cause and suffer no repercutions.

 

7.                 VS 3:17-19  - 17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. 18 “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; 19 By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.” -  The Lord pronounces a curse upon Adam

 

7.1.         The ground will be cursed because of him.  He will have to toil to eat of it all of the days of his life.  In other words his life shall be one of sweat and hard work.

 

7.2.         The ground will have both 'thorns and thistles’ grown upon it.

 

7.3.         Physical death will result to Adam and all of his descendants for they shall all return to the dust.  Adam now becomes the federal head of his descendants and all inherit a sinful nature and are born in separation from the Lord and cursed to die physically.  Only salvation through Christ reverses this.

 

8.                 VS 3:20  - 20 Now the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. -  Adam called his wife Eve

 

8.1.         We are finally told the name of Adam’s wife.

 

8.2.         The name of ‘Eve’ refers to the fact that she is the mother of all mankind of subsequent generations.

 

9.                 VS 3:21-24  - 21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. 22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” — 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life. -  The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and Eve and clothed them, and then He drove them out of the garden and stationed cherubim to guard the way to the tree of life

 

9.1.         There had been no death of any animal to this point in time, and the first death that occurs happens at the hands of the Lord Himself, for He slays an animal in order to clothe Adam and Eve.  Now, if it was only a covering for nakedness that the Lord was concerned about, couldn’t He have woven lamb’s wool robes for them or made clothing from hemp or some other plant or tree.  Why did the Lord slay an animal.  The reason I believe is that even now the Lord has implemented a principal that we find later in scripture, “without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness” (Lev. 17:11, Heb. 9:22).  Being clothed with righteousness requires the shedding of blood.  There must be a sacrifice of blood.  This concept will become essential when we get to chapter 4 and see why Abel’s sacrifice is accepted by the Lord and Cain’s was rejected.

 

9.2.         In these verses we see more dialog between the persons of the godhead as they discuss the fact that now that mankind had fallen that they could learn more and more knowledge and then if they continued to eat of the Tree of Life in the garden that they would never die.

 

9.3.         It is interesting that cherubim (which is a plural word) were stationed at the garden of Eden after Adam and Eve are driven out.  Why would the mightiest of all of the angels, and multiples of them, be needed to keep mankind out of the garden?  Wouldn’t one angel do, after all one angel was all that was needed to slay 180,000 Assyrians once?  The reason appears to be that they were not interested in keeping mankind out of the garden but rather other cherubim, the fallen angels.  They were sent to guard the ‘way to the Tree of Life’ so that when Christ sets up His millennial kingdom men and women will be able to eat of that tree and life forever.

 

10.            CONCLUSIONS:

 

10.1.    Have you had your sin covered as was Adam’s and Eve’s on this day?  Have you accepted by faith that sacrifice of blood which Jesus Christ made for you upon Calvary’s cross?  If not, I encourage you to do so today.  You can find out more of what is involved in doing this here:  http://www3.calvarychapel.com/greenbay/gospeltract.htm

 

10.2.    Beware of those things that are flashy and go fast, fulfill the desires of the flesh, puff up your pride, cause you to doubt God’s word and entertain a contradiction to it...

 

 

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