Take Two: Genesis 3, Proverbs 24

Chapter 3 of Genesis is the etiology (explains why things are as they are) of the origin of sin, the elements of difficulty in life (the curse), and contains the protoevangelium (the first gospel), the prophesy of the Messiah and Salvation.

Notice in Gen 3:1, the serpent approached the woman and challenged her with her first temptation. She did not seek out sin, but was tempted with it. I have found that, in the same way, I don't have to seek out sin...it finds me. My only protection in the battle against sin is to guard my self against it, and to flee from it.

The challenge of this verse was in relation to "has God (really) said?" The point is to get the woman to question what she has taken at face value to this point in her life. To this point, she and her husband had just accepted that they were to avoid the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Satan asks the question: "Why?"

In Gen 3:2-3 the woman give explanation of what God had commanded. Her statement includes more than what God had said. She rehearsed that not only by eating from the tree, but also by touching it...death will surely come. This has made for some good preaching through the years. Some say it was a "pharisee" type tactic her husband employed. (To keep her from sinning, he told her to not even touch it.) Others say that she added it and that her addition to the command provided an open door for Satan to prove the prohibition was in err. Whatever the case, God said "don't eat from it" and that is the bottom line. Satan replies to her in a half-truth in Gen 3:4-5: "You will not die (physically), but will know what God knows (and you don't)...the difference between good (your current state) and evil (that which will come).

Notice also that the "evil" she will know occurs after the sin, not in the temptation. Life on this planet includes abundant temptation. Temptation is not sin. Yielding to temptation is sin. Discipleship (being a fully devoted follower of Christ) is (in part) about exercising the discipline to resist temptation and avoiding sin.

The woman considered the half-truth of Satan in Gen 3:6. The fruit looked good for food, was pleasing to the eye, and held the potential to give her wisdom (which she presumed, based on Satan's implication, she was being deprived of by God). So, she ate it. The man was with her. When she did not die (physically), he too took the fruit and ate it. Then the results.

Gen 3:7 shows the immediate consequence of disobedience. Guilt had already set in. With it, fear (Gen 3:8). Communion with God was broken since there was a barrier between them (sin-guilt).

Gen 3:9-13 records an exchange between God and the couple. God calls to the man (as if he doesn't know exactly where the man is). He asks the man about what has happened (as if He doesn't already know.) He quizzes the woman (as though this is the first He had heard or seen of the incident). God has a way of making us face our actions in light of His holiness. In light of all that God had provided for them, these two chose to listen to the contrary voice (the serpent) in order to gain more for themselves (supposedly) than what God had provided.

Their response is crucial to understanding the next verses. Rather than show remorse and ask for God's forgiveness, they pointed fingers at God ("the woman you gave me" and "the serpent deceived me"...implying that God had not properly equipped Eve to know she was being deceived), and the serpent (the devil MADE me do it).

This is the first claim of "victimization" ever recorded. It is not your fault that you are who you are. You had a hard childhood. You weren't hugged enough. Society is against you. You were born with the wrong color of skin or wrong sex to get ahead. You can't catch a break. You are basically good but the world has dealt you a bad hand. These are all LIES that handcuff you and prevent you from being who you were born to be: A fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ. You are not the victim of circumstance. You have freely and voluntarily chosen to cut your own path and to deny God. As such...from the first sin...you are a willing rebel against God...doomed for the curse and will continue to be there without God's grace through Salvation in Christ in your life.

God's judgment against Satan and the sins of the first couple are seen in Gen 3:14-19. The serpent was cursed to crawl on the ground. The significance of that (in my mind) is that he was limited greatly by the power of God from that point forward. He was not eradicated (any more than the tree was removed,) but he was LIMITED by God's power in what he was permitted to do. The woman was cursed to experience pain in childbearing and to be submissive before her husband who would rule over her. The submission was not the curse but the unquenchable desire to not be ruled over. She would always resist God's designed authority in her life. This is the second statement of biblical roles of authority. We see the picture of this played out in Gen 3:20 when Adam gave her the name "Eve." The man was relegated to be a provider for his family through hard labor or working the "cursed" ground all of his life. To this point, God had freely given all that was needed. Now God would provide...but through the sweat of the man's brow (Gen 3:17-19).

We also see the first gospel proclamation on Gen 3:15...Satan will bruise the heel of the Messiah, but the Messiah (the seed of woman) will crush his head.

Notice that God, following the pronouncement of judgment...showed grace. He made fitting coverings for them...garments of animal skin to cover their nakedness (a clear reference to shame to the Jewish audience). The shame was covered only by the grace of God who shed the blood of a sacrifice to accomplish it.

The final act of judgment was the first step of carrying it out...by "driving" (not leading) the couple from the garden (Gen 2:23-24). God set a guard at the entrance to the garden so that the man would never again be able to experience the provision of the Garden until after his death, until the provision of heaven. This is the final point I want to make today. There is a theological "underpinning" for some that we are called to bring about a "pre-fall" eutopia type world in this life. Friends, we will never again experience an "Eden" type of existence on this earth...brought about by our power. Yes, we should seek to be good stewards of the resources entrusted to us...but we are not called to live in a "co-op community," as vegetarians, where all people are equal on this earth. The "hippie" movement tried to bring it about and it failed...not because it is a bad idea...but because the sinfulness of man will not permit it. The next "perfect garden" you can or will experience will take place in the new heaven and new earth.

Proverbs 24:11-12 is the takeaway today. As I read it, I see the task of the Great Commission. We are to deliver those who are being taken to death. We are to deliver them and hold them back. We (the church) were entrusted with the only hope that there is...the hope that is found in Christ. It will not be good enough to say we did not know in the Day of the Lord. He weighs the heart. He will treat us justly...those of us who have stood by and watched billions fall off into a Christless eternity...when we had a means to help them.

Grace,