Lessons from Genesis 3

Articles

Derek Long
03/03/19 - Understanding The Bible

Lessons from Genesis 3
By Derek Long
At the beginning of Genesis 3 Adam and Eve are in the
garden free from sin and in perfect fellowship with God. By the end of chapter 3, we find Adam and Eve being driven out of the garden of Eden. How does this occur and what are some lessons we can take from this chapter?
• Genesis 2:16-17 records God giving Adam and Eve one
prohibition to live by. It says, “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘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, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’” Genesis 3:1-4 records for us how the serpent gets Eve to question God’s command and deceives her by saying, “You will not surely die.” The New Testament points out Eve was deceived and believed the devil’s lie (2 Corinthians 11:3; 1 Timothy 2:14). As a result, she ends up being led to sin against God. We can learn an important lesson from this passage. Just because a person may sin as a result of being deceived does not absolve them of guilt. Many people today have been deceived into thinking they are right with God while doing things God has not authorized and yet they are still lost.

• The devil tempts Eve by trying to convince her God is holding her back from true enjoyment. Genesis 3:5 records the serpent saying, “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.” Today, the devil also attempts to convince people God’s laws keep them from enjoying things in life. However, God’s laws actually exist for our good and keep us from the problems brought into life by sin.
• The devil’s temptation appeals to Eve’s lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life (1 John 2:15-17). Genesis 3:6 speaks about the tree being good for food (lust of the flesh), being pleasant to the eyes (lust of the eyes), and desirable to make one wise (pride of life). Today the devil continues to tempt us through each of these three different avenues.
• After Adam and Eve eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they realize they are naked and make for themselves coverings (Genesis 3:7). Despite the fact they had some sort of covering on, they were still ashamed to be in the presence of God and felt naked (Genesis 3:8-11). At the end of the chapter, God makes for them tunics of skin and clothed them (Genesis 3:21). We need to remember that it is possible for an individual to have some amount of clothing on and not be sufficiently clothed.
• God pronounces curses upon the serpent, the woman, and the man as a result of sin entering the world. The serpent would go about on his belly. A promise is made in Genesis 3:15 which says, “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.” The promise on the surface may seem to indicate there will be a hatred between snakes and mankind. However, the promise is of
something much greater. One would come from the seed of the woman (Galatians 4:4) who would bruise the head of the serpent. A wound to the head would be a fatal bruise. The serpent though would be able to bruise the seed of woman on the heel. A bruise to the heel is a bruise one would heal from. Jesus was killed but was able to be victorious over death and as a result would be victorious over the devil. Woman was given pain in childbearing as a consequence of sin and would occupy a position of submission to man. Man would be given hardship in work. Mankind would also face physical death now.