This weeks lesson is on the Fall of Man. 

Genesis 3 Part 2-The Fall of Man

Last week we learned that in Gen.3:1 the serpent that has come on the scene is the Devil our enemy. He is a created being, an angel created by God. He decided that he didn't like worshiping God or doing what he was created for so he set himself against God desiring to be higher than God. He takes angels with him and they are now all fallen angels, enemies of God, trying to rise above God and working hard to hurt God by causing God's children to be deceived and fall with him.

The Devil chose a serpent because he was more crafty than all the other created animals to inhabit and sly his way to Eve. He starts right off the bat with a subtle lie, “did God really say?”. This is the first seed planted, a seed of doubt. Notice here in vs. 1 that Satan does not refer to the LORD God but to God which shows that he knows God is a creator God but to him God is not a personal God. We can see that the Devils deception is working and that Eve is starting to doubt because her response is not combating Satan with Gods truth and what His word actually was. She responds with truth mixed with an add on. What did God really say and to whom did He say it to? Gen. 2:16-17 _____________________________________________

God told Adam not to eat from the tree, Eve was not yet created. But, does this give Eve an excuse for her sin? No! But it does mean that the enemy knew it and found a hole to crawl into do his evil deception. We can see here that Eve also does not refer to God as the LORD God just like the enemy. The enemy has slyly moved her from a personal creator God to just a creator God. If God isn't personal to us then we will have a harder time seeing evil for what it is. We discussed last week about the enemies steps he takes and what seeds he plants.

Let's see what we remember.

• Seed of doubt-doubt God's Word
• Seed of desire-lust to the eyes
• Seed of pride- to be like God

After Eve makes her mind up and succumbs to the temptation she hands the fruit to Adam who takes it and eats it. Whoa! Wait a minute, Adam was there? What is he doing there watching this whole thing play out? Why didn't he step in with the truth and correct Eve with her subtle lie? Didn't God directly tell him that he should not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil? Then shouldn't he have stood his ground and said no? Doesn't he have authority or dominion over Eve? Gen. 2:23

There are 6 consequences of their sin of disobedience according to vs. 7-24.

1. Shame-

Before they disobeyed they were naked and felt no shame (Gen. 2:25) but now that they have disobeyed they see their nakedness and having shame. The Hebrew word in Gen. 2:25 is bosh which is a verb, an action word. It means to be ashamed, feel ashamed, feeling worthless which is the opposite of what they felt there but in Gen. 3:7 now they are feeling shame and worthless. Shame does not come from the Lord it comes as a consequence of sin. They try to cover their shame with clothes of fig leaves which is inadequate.

2. Hiding from God-

The word hid in Hebrew is Khava- a verb. It means to withdraw-to hide oneself. They hear God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. The word cool here means-wind, breath, mind, spirit- the Spirit of God. What they hear is God walking in His Spirit in the garden. They try to hide from His Spirit but no man can hide from God (Ps. 139:7-12) as hard as we try we cannot hid from God. We try because of our shame and fear but God knows our sin. When god asked “where are you?”, do you think the creator of the universe did not know where they were? He was asking a rhetorical question so that they would have to confess. God knows our sin but wants us to confess to Him. (1John 1:10, Ps. 32:5) He wants us to confess and not hide.

3. Fear-
   To fear, revere, be afraid, to stand in awe of, be awed, to honor, respect

Before they took the first bite they had no fear. There was nothing to fear but now they stand in awe of God. They hear the Lord God walking in the garden and they suddenly have a sense of awe of Him. They are afraid to face their personal creator. The fear they are feeling is a godly fear- a reverence for, an awe of God, not a spirit of fear which doesn't come from the Lord. (2Ti. 1:7, Rom. 8:15). Over 365 times in the Bible God tells us “do not be afraid” but what we are to have is a fear, an awe of the Lord (Is. 11:2, 59:19)

4. Blame

Refusing to accept responsibility for their own actions,. Adam has the nerve to blame God and Eve. He is trying to conceal his own sin. (1Ti.2:14) Adam just flat out sinned. Eve however was deceived (2Cor.11:3), but she still refused to accept responsibility for her actions and blames the serpent. The lesson learned here for us is that when we sin we must accept responsibility for what we have done and confess it before the Lord and then we will find mercy but if we play the blame game we will not prosper (Pr. 28:13).

5. Punishment or discipline

There are 4 creations that are cursed or disciplined.

• The Serpent-

The serpent is now cursed to be on his belly and eat dirt for the rest of his life (Is. 65:25). There will now be enmity, which means hatred, between the serpent and the woman. Between the serpents seed, which is all who do the devils work and live for him(John 8:44, Acts:13:10) and her seed which is Jesus Christ (Is. 7:14 , Luke 1:31-35). Satan's head will be bruised or crushed by Jesus (Rom 16:20 and Rev. 12:7-9). Satan will crush, strike, bruise Jesus' heal (Is. 53:5). But, the end of the story is Jesus wins! There is a war going on ladies as we discussed last week. It's a battle for our souls. Those of us who confess Jesus to be our Lord and Savior are his army fighting for the souls that are lost and deceived. Whether we like a person or not we must see them through the eyes of Christ and if nothing else pray for their souls. God gave His Son for all to be saved, not just the elect few. Yes, they must choose but we have a role to play in it. Be alert for the schemes of the enemy. Look in our own lives for the holes that the enemy can get a foothold in to deceive us. He prowls around like a roaring lion looking for whom he can devour. Don't be fooled ladies into thinking that just because we are saved he can not devour us. He can not snatch us from the hand of God but he can certainly cause us to be useless to the Kingdom.

• The Woman-

God does not curse her as much as he disciplines her. A consequence to her actions. She/we now will experience pain in child bearing. Sorrow ← multiplied → Childbearing. The word sorrow used here in Hebrew is the same word used for Adam and his sorrow to till the soil. Think of it as labor, that must be where we get that term-labor pains. Her desire or longing will be for her husband,but it will not bring joy. He will rule over her (1Cor. 11:3, Eph. 5:22).

• Adam-

Because he listened and obeyed his wife and disobeyed God and His commands, now instead of just taking care of the garden he will now labor in pain to eat from the ground the herbs of the field. Adam acted in rebellion to God and now all men pay the price. 1Sam. 15:23 says that rebellion is like divination. That is not a good thing ladies. 2Thes. Says that if a man does not work he shall not eat. Man must work for his food and when he dies he returns to the dust from which he came.

• The ground-

It is cursed because of Adam. Now thorns and thistles grow in it. So no we know why we have thorns and thistles. They make the caring of the ground much harder.

6. Banned from paradise-

God removes Adam and Eve from the garden because now they know Good and Evil and they are no longer allowed to eat from the Tree of Life or they will live forever. God does make a way for eternal life through His Son Jesus Christ. Adam must leave God's garden and till the ground and work hard for his food. He is driven out and placed at the East of the Garden. Cherubim and a flaming sword moving every which way are guarding the Tree of Life. What are the Cherubim? They are angelic beings and the flaming sword belongs to them (Ps. 104:4, Heb. 1:7) The sword of God's judgment stand between fallen man and God's garden.

God in His sovereignty, brings judgment and consequences but He also brings grace.

Aspects of Grace

1. The continuation of the human race.

Adam renames his wife Eve which in Hebrew is Chavah meaning, living or life giver. Eve is the mother of the living, 1Tim. 2:15 says that women will be saved through childbearing if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety. Meaning she must remain in Christ and His love (1 Tim. 1:14). A Godly woman finds fulfillment in her role as a wife and mother.

2. Life Sustained

Although man works hard for it because of his judgment he is able to provide food that sustains life.

3. Clothed by God

God provides effective clothing where man can not, to cover their shame. He shows his love, grace and mercy by sacrificing an innocent animal in order to cover them. Which is symbolic of Christ's future sacrifice on the cross where a sinner separated and shamed from God can be clothed and covered by Christ's righteousness (Eph. 5:21). So here we have the first set of clothes ever made that are functional and they are hand made by God. God put His Son on the Cross so that we could be clothed in His righteousness. By His grace we are healed. No longer shamed because of our sin. No longer hiding from God, no longer filled with fear that is not from God, but awed by Him, no longer having to play the blame game but able to confess and own our responsibility for our actions, no longer punished, no longer banned, forbidden to enter into paradise. Now that is Amazing Grace!

        Next week we will move on to Chapter 4