GENESIS CHAPTER 3 ----------------- Verse 1-6 - The temptation and the fall of man. We see the subtilty of the Serpent in verse 1. "Yea, hath God said," This could be said of many who question the Bible as our final authority. Men who would add or take away from the Bible are in essence saying "Yea, hath God said." Satan wasted no time in planting doubt in Eve's mind, by questioning God's command. First, He plants doubt verse 1 Second, He mixes truth with error for the purpose of leading away. Verses 4 and 5. Satan said that their eyes shall be opened and they were opened, just as he had said. 2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. The serpent in Eden was not what we see today, that is the result of the curse. It might be thought that the serpent here is merely referring to Satan, except for the fact that God places a curse on the serpent in verse 14 and the serpent then must go upon its belly. Gen 3:14 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: The serpent must have been a beautiful and subtle creature which Satan entered into. We see it speaking, which must have been Satan speaking through the serpent. Gill points out that this was no surprise to Eve, and that she may have been accustomed to angels speaking to her in similar manner. The serpent here is not a mere creature alone but Satan in it for the scripture speaks of the devil as that old serpent. Re 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. The tree of "the knowledge of good and evil" was not an apple tree but a tree that gave knowledge. But it was a real tree for Eve also saw that it was good for food, which shows that their death was not the result of bad "karma" but rather from sin. Verse 7, Their eyes are opened and they knew they were naked. The fruit of this tree opened their eyes. Not that they were blind but that they saw things in a different light. Gill says, concerning their eyes being opened, "Not of their bodies, but of their minds...Their eyes were opened to see that they had been deceived by the serpent, that they had broke the commandment of God, and incurred the displeasure of their Creator and kind benefactor, and had brought ruin and destruction on themselves; they saw what blessings and privileges they had lost, communion with God, the dominion of the creatures, the purity and holiness of their nature, and what miseries they had involved themselves and their posterity in; how exposed they were to the wrath of God, the curse of the law, and to eternal death:" and they knew that they were naked; "they must know before that they were naked in their bodies, but they did not perceive that their nakedness was at all uncomely, or any disadvantage to them; but now they were sensible of both,..." We see here man's vain attempt to cover his nakedness. So, too, man in the spiritual sense makes vain attempts to cover his sin, which are no better than fig leaves. Verses 8 - 13, God questions our first parents God came WALKING, which must have been the pre-incarnate Christ, which He probably did regularly. Now this time, however, Adam and his wife are hiding from the LORD because they know that they have disobeyed their creator. This is what man can only do in the presence of God Almighty when He comes, HIDE. Either we are hidden in Christ or we will do as those in the book of Revelation, call for the rocks to fall on them to hide them from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the lamb. When the LORD said, "Where [art] thou?" it was not that He was ignorant of where Adam was or of what he had done. It is more like, "Boy what have you done?" He is requiring a response from a sinner. What have you done? Adam is in God's court and is being questioned by the supreme judge. Each tries to pass the blame to another. Excuses! Verse 14 - 15, The curse on the serpent and the promise of a Messiah. Messiah - Gen 3:15 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. There is enmity between the children of God and Satan and his children. It is his children that crucified Christ, but in doing so sealed their doom. Satan did bruise Christ's heel, but Christ will bruise Satan's head. The "son of perdition" did betray the Lord, but the future "son of perdition" will be cast into a lake of fire. Verse 16 - 19, Curse from their sin. Pain and toil all the days of their life until death, which is the result of their sin. Death both carnally and spiritually. The result of Adam's sin has been passed down to all his posterity. Ro 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: {for that: or, in whom} Ro 5:15 But not as the offence, so also [is] the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, [which is] by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. Jesus Christ is called the second Adam. Just as Adam stood and fell and his seed fell in him, so Christ's seed stand in Him. The woman was deceived, and Adam listened to the voice of his wife and he was the Federal head. Federal headship: "Wherefore, as by ONE MAN sin entered into the world." (Ro 5:12) "For as in Adam all die," (1Co 15:22). Eve was deceived: 1Ti 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. This is why in the church, she is to be silent and under subjection. 1Ti 2:11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. 12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. 13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Verse 20 - 21, God's provision for them Sacrifice is performed because they are clothed with skins. Probably sheep's skin. They had clothed themselves with fig leaves (religion) but God clothed them through the shedding of blood. Adam calls his wife Eve. Before he called her "woman." Eve = Heb. Chavah: that is Living Verse 22 - 24, Man is put out of Eden. Verse 22, we see the plurality of the Godhead. Gill says that this is a sarcasm by God at the deception rendered by Satan, or else in some way the man had become like God, knowing good and evil. The way to the tree of life is guarded and man will surely die as God had told him.