In this chapter is given the answer to the existence of evil in the world, a problem that has exercised the minds and hearts of philosophers and theologians through the ages. It still however does not answer fully questions such as ‘Why did an omnipotent, omniscient and loving God permit evil to occur?’ Paul in his letter to the churches at Rome (5 v 12 & 8 v 20-22) makes reference to the fall and the future delivery of creation from its consequences. Since there was, as yet, nothing within man’s nature to lead him to sin he had to be persuaded to do so by an external agent, the Serpent, the craftiest of all the creatures, Satan himself. It is likely that the Serpent was, at this stage at least, an attractive beguiling creature able to stand upright and whose ability to converse with Eve did not alarm her. The Scriptures show us that animals can become possessed by spirits (Mark 5 v 9-13) and on one occasion God caused an animal, Balaam’s donkey, to speak (Numbers 22 v 28). The fall of Satan and his final judgement can be traced in the following passages:-

• Isaiah 14 v 12-17.
• Ezekiel 19 v 11-19.
• Matthew 25 v 41.
• Luke 10 v 18.
• Revelation 12 v 7-9; 20 v 1, 2 & 7-10.

1 – Verses 1-6a

Satan’s tactics with Eve were masterly, note the following:-

• He approached her when she was alone.
• He first raised the possibility that a creature could question the word of the creator and made her think she was naive for accepting that what God had said was good for her.
• He dwelt on the negative and distorted God’s words – ‘Did God really say you must not eat any of the fruit in the garden?’ (Ch2 v 16 & 17).
• He then openly made out God to be a liar – ‘You won’t die’ – and encouraged Eve to believe that God was withholding the best from her. Indeed a desire to ‘become like God’ was the very one that had caused his own fall. He was right in one area however (a ½-truth) they did come to know ‘good and evil’ through disobedience. Eve allowed herself to be tempted and persuaded and in the process appears to have added to God’s words ‘we must not …..even touch it’. The temptation took the form of virtually every temptation that we face today.

1. “Good for food” – physically appealing.
2. “Pleasant to the eyes” – aesthetically, emotionally appealing.
3. “Desired to make wise” – appealing to the mind and spirit, to ones pride (intellectually and spiritually).

2 – Verse 6

As the prototype of sinners Eve felt impelled to lead her partner Adam to participate in the same sin. She took some of the fruit (not an apple and not sexual intercourse) and gave it to Adam, who ate it. We are not told if Adam overheard Satan’s conversation with Eve, or if she used the same range of arguments and deceit that Satan did, but Adam ate it. We are not told why he disobeyed, but the New Testament confirms that Eve fell first (I Timothy 2 v 11-15).

3 – Verses 7-10

The consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin and disobedience were immediate, ‘they suddenly felt shame’ and covered themselves partly with leaves. Their shame centred especially on their procreative organs. A major purpose for which they had been created (Chapter 1 v 28) would now be contaminated and their children would inherit the repercussions of their actions. Their unsullied communion with God was now spoilt and they hid from him – how sad. God of course knew where they were but wished to have Adam confess his disobedience, which he did (v 11). At first Adam used the excuse that he was ‘afraid because he was naked’ but God confronted him directly with his sin and the real reason for his shame and fear. Today man still tries to cover up and excuse his sin in various ways, even with ‘rags of self righteousness’. Satan is ever and always a liar and deceiver. He promises much but delivers only sadness, division and destruction.

• Their eyes were indeed opened but only to sin, shame and guilt.
• Rather than being all knowing they were at a loss to know what to do.
• Rather than being like God’s, confident and bold, Adam and Eve cowered like animals or criminals.
• They were even foolish enough to think that they could hide from God, whose presence, sadly, they now feared.

4 – Verses 11-13

These verses typify the reaction of mankind when confronted with sin and wrongdoing. Adam blamed Eve (and indirectly God) and Eve blamed the serpent.

5 – Verses 14-19

There was as yet no clear sign of repentance on the part of Adam and Eve although they were sorry and afraid of the consequences. Godly sorrow leads to repentance (i.e. confession and turning away from sin. See 2 Corinthian 7 v 10). God, as a result, initiated punishment, which also had the aim of being both corrective and redemptive (curses and promises).

• Firstly on Satan (the serpent) v 15 Satan had persuaded mankind to sin and disobey God, and would continue to do so, and was therefore in a sense ‘the god of this world’ (2 Corinthians 4 v 4). However the woman who he had deceived would not be his willing ally and ‘her offspring’ (one not of man’s seed) would indeed crush Satan’s head, although he in turn would bruise her offspring’s heel (this is the first ‘good news’, promising the ultimate coming and victory of our Redeemer Christ). This promise of a ‘seed’ and a saviour is of course repeated throughout the Old Testament and particularly to Abraham and David (Gen 17 v 7 & 8, 2; Samuel 7 v 11-16 & 22 V 51).
• Secondly on Eve (& Adam) v 16-17 (& v 20) Eve will suffer in childbearing and be subject to her husband, most likely more than God initially intended (this has particularly been the case in non-Christian countries). Also mankind, tainted and influenced by Satan, will be divided, with Satan and his emissaries being at enmity with those who are brought into a right relationship with God through repentance and faith, and particularly with the line of the promised seed.
• The Earth and Creation v 17-19 Adam would no longer live a life of fruitful and enjoyable toil but will have to struggle and sweat to make a living from a cursed earth and, suffering the effects of the curse in his own body, would one day die, returning to the earth from which he was made!

6 – Verse 21

The first recorded killing was that of animals by God in order to provide clothing for Adam and Eve. Was it a type of animal sacrifice such as those made later by Moses and Abraham and required by God of the Israelites? These were required to provide a cover for their sin and pointed forward to the one perfect Sacrifice that would end all sacrifices, and which alone could remove sin (Hebrews 9 v 11 to 10 v 14).

7 – Verses 22-24

The final consequence of Adam and Eve’s disobedience was to be put out of, and barred from, the Garden of Eden and thus access to the tree of life lest man should live forever in his sin with no fear of death. The imposition of the curse by God with all its unpleasant consequences fortunately had some positive purposes, among them the following.

• It forced man to realise that God takes sin seriously.
• Without death and the fear of death sinful, evil man would grow worse and worse.
• Sin’s unpleasant consequences and the state of this fallen world are designed to cause godly sorrow, which leads to repentance (& eternal life).
• It makes man remember that the earth, as it now exists, is not his permanent abode and that there is a better place to be gained (and a worse place to be avoided).

Categories: Genesis