Genesis 8
Last week we went through the fateful events of the fall of mankind into sin. That dreadful day when the first man and the first woman rebelled against God and ate from the forbidden tree. We covered what they did, how they reacted, and how God reacted in the consequences He gave them. And that’s how we ended last week. But there’s so much more to the story!
[“Lord of the Rings” illustration.]
Last week we saw that:
- satan wanted to destroy what God had created
- satan brought disorder to the world that God had brought order to
- satan brought death upon the life of the earth
- satan lied to turn mankind away from the Truth of God
Because of the temptation and the fall:
- since satan brought death to humanity, he would now suffer death
- Eve influenced her husband into sin, she would now live in submission to him and would bring forth children in pain
- Adam ate from the forbidden tree, he now has to work hard all his life just to eat
Life was now very different from before, and we’re still living in its effects because
Adam’s sinful nature is passed down to us all.
No when you look at the state of humanity here in Genesis chapter three, as things were right after the fall, everything seems to be up in the air. I mean, man is now a sinner. Man will now die. Just when will he die? And will he continue to sin? Just where is humanity headed?
But praise the Lord the story doesn’t end like that. God makes a way to restore fellowship between Himself and man and even gives man hope in the future. A future that probably didn’t look so good to Adam at first. I mean life was now full of shame, pain, work, and death. What kind of life would that be? But Adam did do something right after the Lord handed down his consequences. Adam chose to believe God’s Word. So in the beginning of tonight’s passage:
I. Adam demonstrates his faith in God
[Read Genesis 3:20.]
Remember when Adam first saw his wife he named her woman because he understood that she was brought into existence from him instead of from the earth. But now he gives her the more formal and personal name of Eve which means living or life-producer. When they were first created, God told them to be fruitful and multiply, filling the earth. So Adam already knew she would bring forth children. And in verse sixteen God reinforces the fact that she will still have babies.
[Read Genesis 3:16.]
But now death has come upon them. How’s she going to bring forth children when now they would die since they ate of the forbidden tree?
I’m not really sure if Adam knew how it would all work out. But even though he had turned away from the Lord and sinned, he still knew who God was. He still understood the power and the person of God. So even though he probably didn’t understand just how it was all going to work out, he believed God when He said that the woman will continue to bring forth children. And his belief, his faith in God’s Word was demonstrated by the name he gave to his wife – Eve.
It’s like Adam was saying, I know death has come upon us, but somehow my wife will still bring forth children just like God has said. God has said we’ll die, but He also said we’ll have children. How that works, I don’t know, but He’s big enough to make it happen!
I tell you what, that’s faith. When you can’t see at all how God’s going to come through on His promise, but believe Him anyway – that’s faith!
There was once a little boy who was caught in a fire at home. He could not get out of the burning house. He climbed up out onto the roof of the burning home, and began to cry for his father’s help. The father looked up at his son from the ground, and told him to jump. “I can’t see you though daddy, how will you catch me?” said the son. The father said, “I can see you”. Without further hesitation the boy jumped into his father’s arms.
That’s the kind of faith Adam had. He couldn’t see how God was going to do it, but he trusted that God knew what He was talking about and what He was going to do. And what’s amazing is that Adam’s still standing there with a fig leaf tied around his waist! But that’s all about to change now because:
II. God demonstrates his love for man
[Read Genesis 3:21.]
This short verse, this seemingly small episode in the history of humanity, is actually a huge event in the course of the salvation of man. Because here we don’t just see Adam and Eve getting a new wardrobe. Here we see the first deaths on earth – animals sacrificed to provide for man. Look at the verse again.
[Read Genesis 3:21.]
The skins came from animals. The Lord sacrificed them to provide for the man.
Now remember, man was embarrassed before God because he was naked. So Adam and Eve fashioned some fig leaves to cover their shame. But obviously their coverings were inadequate. And after all, leaves would end up withering away and new botanical garments would have to be made. So the Lord made them some real garments that would adequately and completely cover their nakedness so they could come before the Lord without shame.
These very real clothes are incredibly symbolic of how the Lord forgives us of our sin so that we can come before Him without shame. When we try on our own to cover our shame or make up for our sin we fail every time. We in and of ourselves can’t be good enough to come before a holy and just God.
[Read Isaiah 64:6.]
We just can’t do it on our own. We just can’t pay the price. We can’t earn God’s favor or impress Him enough to cover our shame. Only He can make a way, and that way merits death.
Remember, the deal was that if they ate of the fruit of the forbidden tree they would die. But if someone would take their place, if someone would take their punishment, they could then live. Death for death. And we see that here, throughout the Old Testament sacrificial system, and all the way up to the final sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
[Read Leviticus 17:11, Hebrews 9:22.]
Life is identified with the blood that’s coursing through our veins. For Adam and Eve to be covered from their shame a sacrifice had to be made. Some unsuspecting, innocent animal had to pay the price so they could stand before the Lord without shame. Now notice, God didn’t tell Adam to go kill an animal and make himself some clothes from it. God did it Himself.
[“Old Yeller” illustration.]
God was and still is the only One who can make someone righteous. His sacrifice in the garden was also a precursor of His ultimate sacrifice – when He sent His Son to the cross to die once and for all for the sins of mankind.
[Read Romans 5:8-9.]
Just like God demonstrated His love for us when Jesus went to the cross, God demonstrated His love for Adam and Eve when He killed that animal to clothe them. But not only does God demonstrate His love for man:
III. God demonstrates his mercy for man
[Read Genesis 3:22-24.]
Now at first glance this might seem like more of a curse on Adam and Eve instead of a blessing. Harshness instead of mercy. I mean, God just evicted them out of their home! This perfect place where all their hopes and dreams of the future lay would now be forbidden to them. God even posted some angels with heavy artillery at the entrance so they couldn’t sneak back in. What a slap in the face. But obviously the Lord knew mankind would continue to no follow His commands. He couldn’t trust them to stay out of Eden on their own.
Now again, we don’t know how long Adam and Eve were together before the fall, but if I’m sure it was incredibly hard for them to leave their home and start over.
[Uhaul ‘women moving’ illustration.]
It’s hard starting over. And I’m sure it was for them as well. Especially since working the land would be incredibly hard for Adam and having kids would be incredibly painful for Eve. But this strict act of relocating the man and woman was really an act of mercy.
You see, the tree of life was still in existence. And obviously eating from that tree gave eternal life. The Lord probably intended that tree to be the source of humanity’s eternal, physical existence.
So what would happen if man, in his fallen state of spiritual death, ate from the tree of life and physically lived forever? What would it be like if Adam and Eve, and you and I could live forever on the earth in our fallen state?
Well first of all can you imagine just how sinful and sick people would be? Remember, people in Noah’s day were so bad that the Lord wiped them all out except for Noah and his family. I believe one reason they were so bad was because they lived so long. I mean, living 6, 7, 800 years with a sin nature? Can you imagine?
You know, our world isn’t getting any better spiritually. Sure, God is working mightily in many people’s lives and in many areas of the world. But the world in general is becoming more sinful, more sickening, more secular, more evil by the minute. What if we physically lived forever in this manner? There would be no limit to had bad it would become.
Secondly, who would want to live forever with a sin nature? No me! I mean, I’m looking forward to Heaven and getting a new body and a new spirit. I get tired of fighting sin, don’t you? I get tired of being sinned against, don’t you? I get tired of being tired, don’t you?
If this existence was all there was would I be depressed. (And many millions of people are depressed just because of that!) People have no hope that life will ever get any better than it is right now. So they just give up on life and self-medicate one way or the other.
But when God prohibited Adam and Eve from eating from the tree that would give them a physical, eternal life, He was showing them mercy. For He knew what we would be facing. He could see into our future. And He had big plans for how some day we would join Him in His home with a new life; with a new existence; with a perfect, eternal future with Him.
It’s like the Lord was saying to them, “Trust me. You’ll thank me later.” Has someone ever told you that? And when you heard it you didn’t believe them because what they were saying to you just didn’t make sense. “Trust me. You’ll thank me later.”
But can you imagine when Adam and Eve one day entered the gates of Heaven what they must have thought. “Thank you Lord that we’ll spend eternity here with you in perfection instead of down there on the earth apart from you in sin.”
Isn’t it great that we have that hope as well? When we put our faith in God’s Word, His Word that says Jesus paid it all by His blood, then we one day we’ll live with Him forever! Just like Adam and Eve! God’s got it all under control – we just need to trust Him!
