Genesis 1-2 begins with the orderly creation which forms the content of the scriptural vision for the future. Genesis 2 is a more detailed account of the creation narrative where we see Adam and Eve in paradise, in the midst of an incredible garden prepared for them by God Himself.
At the end of chapter 2 the Bible makes it clear that marriage is between a man and woman, is divinely ordained by God as an institution where a husband and wife are to be united, committed exclusively to each other, and a relationship to be prioritized over any other human relationship. They were one flesh, equals, and bearers of God's image. They accepted their design and there was no shame in their nakedness - neither physically before each other nor spiritually before God. God created man and woman and blessed them with everything that was very good, everything was the way it was meant to be. They were created innocent and they had nothing to hide nor to protect. Up to this point we can see they had only spoken with each other and with God. But the time of innocence was not to last.
Genesis 3:1-7
1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! 5 For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves waist coverings.
We aren’t sure how long Adam and Eve were in the garden before the serpent suddenly appeared and started a conversation with Eve. Some scholars speculate that since the serpent was already among the animals that the Lord had made, it was in their midst but didn’t stand out in the story until it spoke. Who was this serpent?
In the ancient Near East, serpents could symbolize different things: they could be a symbol of protection, of evil, or of continuing life (shedding of its skin). The serpent’s name in the Hebrew is Nachash, translated = Diviner: someone who foretold the oracles of God on His behalf. Nachash, in this case, would have been a false diviner associated with darkness. Although the serpent is never directly identified as Satan in Genesis 3, it is treated as a personal being who will be at war with the woman and her seed. He is the adversary of God and humankind. His actions are consistent with Job’s adversary in chapter 1 & 2.
The Hebrew brings out that though it was among the other animals, it was not like the other animals. The serpent was described as more cunning, in a sinister sense, than any of the other beasts. The serpent knows divine matters and is wiser than humans using speech to introduce confusion in order to bring humanity under his rule.
The serpent opens a conversation with the woman with Adam standing next to her. He asks her, “Did God really say you (plural) can’t eat from any of the trees in the garden? If God were good why would He give you such a prohibitive command?” The serpent makes God’s words out to be harsh and restrictive. And we see that Eve’s response to the serpent’s accusation wasn’t accurate either. She said, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat but she left out the words “any” and “freely.” The serpent knew how to draw her away from the truth by simply removing a word or phrase and without realizing it her heart was being influenced by his viewpoint. He influenced her into diminishing God’s goodness, to adding to God’s command - making it more stringent, then to downplaying the seriousness of the consequences by leaving out “you will surely die.”
The serpent questioned God’s integrity, goodness, and justice, and portrayed God as somewhat deceptive. God wasn't being completely upfront with them, didn’t really want the best for them, and was keeping the man and woman from reaching their full potential. God was holding something back from them and His plans and ways couldn’t be trusted.
Genesis 2:16-17 says:
And the LORD God commanded him, “You may eat freely from every tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”
But the serpent declares that God’s word is wrong and assures Eve that there wouldn’t be a penalty, that she wouldn’t die. But we know that when God gave this one restriction to Adam and Eve the penalty emphasized the certainty of death, not necessarily when it would take place.
The serpent subtly assassinated God’s character and diminished all the good things He had given them and done just for them, and the sad part is that Eve believed him. She was being lured into a lie and took the bait - hook, line, and sinker.
As she looked at the Tree, she saw it was:
? Good for food – for meeting her physical need for sustenance.
? A delight to the eyes – for meeting her sensual desires for fulfillment.
? Desirable – for meeting her spiritual aspirations. You will be wise, your own god. You will determine your identity, your morality, and your destiny.
Eve saw, she took, she ate, gave the fruit to her husband, and he ate it and the consequences were devastating. Eve followed the serpent, Adam followed Eve, but no one followed the Lord. It says that immediately their eyes were opened, and they realized they were naked. This word naked here is different from the word used in chapter 2 while still in their state of innocence. This word naked = ?êrom, is distinguished by its use in Deuteronomy 28:48 where it depicts the state of exiles who are being punished for their failure to trust and obey God’s Word.
The effect of the Fall is not simply that the man and the woman became aware of their “nakedness” (?arôm). Rather, their sin was exposed, (?êrom), they were guilty and now they were “under God’s judgment” (cf. Dt 28:48; Eze 16:39; 23:29). This is hardly the knowledge they bargained for. Adam and Eve moved from innocent nakedness to shameful nakedness, from purity and integrity to guilt and judgment. They were absolutely conscious of the wrong they committed against their holy God.
What did they do next? They covered themselves with fig leaves and hid so that the shame of their sin would not be exposed. The knowledge of their own guilt and judgment was overwhelming. Even though they were able to hide their nakedness from each other they couldn’t hide it from God. This is not the life they expected. They had fallen and knew it and there was nothing they could do to reverse it.
The New Testament tells us to be aware of the devil's schemes and the way he strategizes against us in order to outwit us. We learn from Adam and Eve’s example that sin takes hold when we begin to distort and doubt God’s word and His goodness. We also can easily distort anyone’s words and doubt their intentions when we look at people and situations through a negative lens or influence. Let’s take the example of a boss calling an employee in who’s been late several times and says, “It’s important to be on time. I think this is something you need to give attention to.” That employee says to his or her friends, “do you know what my boss told me? If you're late again, you’ll be fired.” It’s easy to create our own truth or reality without realizing it. The serpent was able to get Eve to diminish God’s goodness, distort His Word, and downplay His warning. Her revisionist approach to the holy word of God put her in harm’s way and emboldened the serpent even more.
This is Satan’s strategy - to get us to diminish, distort, and downplay who God is and what He has told us through the Scriptures. “Who would be expected to obey God in every area of life?” “How can God be good and not give me the person, the thing, the position, or the experience that I deem essential for my fulfillment and happiness? God is keeping me from being all I can be by placing these restrictions on me.” Does God really define marriage as an institution only between a man and a woman? This seems very archaic, appropriate for the culture back then, but we live in a different day and age. Does God determine who I am, or shouldn’t I be able to discover who I am?
It’s been the same throughout the ages since Eve was deceived by the serpent and they turned their back on God. There is a constant temptation to fulfill the lust of the eyes (our sensual needs), the lust of the flesh (our physical needs), and the pride of life (our spiritual/other aspirations) (1 John 2:16).
When we don’t see ourselves through God’s lens - as men and women made in His image, we will do things to feel better about ourselves. That’s where comparison and competition comes in. “I have more than them,” “I look better than them,” “I know more than them.” We make a choice whose lens we are going to view reality – depending on whose influence we are under.
When we doubt God’s character and the veracity of His Word we miss out on all the good He has for us and often ignore His warnings. This opens us up for the devil’s half-truths and we begin to see things through his lens and the lens of society around us. “You won’t die if you do this thing.” It’s true - you might die right away but if we choose to live a life disconnected from God’s life we will suffer a gradual death both physically and spiritually. For those who don’t know the Lord, it will be a death and separation from God for all of eternity. But does the devil inform anyone of the fine print? One young man who told me he was addicted to pornography but when he brought it before God, he came to realize that porn was destroying his life and ability to have normal, healthy relationships and also destroying the lives of those who have been trafficked for this industry. God set him free with the truth and put measures in place to keep himself accountable.
Adam and Eve didn’t immediately experience physical death but their spiritual death was immediate. Their eyes were indeed opened, but not to the life they expected nor desired. They obtained knowledge they really didn’t want to know – all that they would suffer apart from God’s life. The serpent only spoke about what they would gain, not all that they would lose.
You may ask, “Why did God put that tree and serpent in the garden in the first place?” This is a very good question! Ronald Youngblood asserts that the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was there as a means of testing Adam, to strengthen his faith in God and confirm his obedience to Him. The serpent, on the other hand, used the tree as a means to tempt the woman into sin. The objective of God’s testing is to strengthen our faith, to produce endurance and spiritual maturity in us so that we’ll lack nothing (James 1:3-4).
When Satan brings calamity into our lives it’s with the goal of destroying us, when God allows calamity it’s with the goal of purifying, refining, and maturing us. Deuteronomy 8:16 tells us that God humbled His people and tested them in the wilderness so that He could accomplish good things for them and through them in the end. God’s testing is to prove that our faith and love for God are genuine. If the human will had never been allowed to be tested and proved, then people would be nothing more than robots. God tests us so that in the end it might go well with us. He tests us so we will learn to depend on Him, grow in grace and knowledge, so our faith and trust in Him will be strengthened.
Adam and Eve could have been victorious in the test and overcome the serpent's temptation by speaking the truth about God and His Word. The children of Israel, God’s people, could have been victorious by speaking the truth about God and His Word while being tested in the desert for 40 years. Moses wanted to pass on this lesson to God’s people so they would learn from it, live by it, and thrive. At the end of Moses’ journey on this earth, he told God’s people, if you want to make it through those time of testing, if you want to thrive as a nation then:
Take to your heart all the words with which I am warning you today, which you will command your sons to follow carefully, all the words of this Law. For it is not a trivial matter for you; indeed it is your life. And by this word you will prolong your days in the land, which you are about to cross the Jordan to possess. (Deut 32:46-47).
Like Adam and Eve, like the children of Israel, Jesus was also tempted by the devil while fasting in the desert for 40 days. Unlike the first Adam and unlike the children of Israel, Jesus spoke the Word of God during the temptation, passed the test, and defeated Satan. As believers we will face temptations. Temptation is not sin; it only becomes sin when we yield to it. We will be tempted to dimmish the importance of knowing God’s Word, to distort it to say what I want it to say, and downplay its teachings, exhortations and warnings. This is what Adam and Eve did and it had devastating consequences on them and on the whole human race to this day. As Moses said, this is no trivial matter. If I’m not filled with the Word and the Holy spirit, I will easily be overcome by temptation. In times of sorrow, sadness, defeat, anger, disappointment, or hurt, it’s easy to give in and to give up.
Paul, in 1 Cor 10:8-13, used Israel as a historical example of what happens when you fall into the sin of idolatry, fornication, and complaining so the Corinthians would avoid the sins which brought such judgments upon them. He goes onto to warn them that if anyone of us think we are above temptation we are setting ourselves up for a fall.
No temptation has overtaken you except something common to mankind; and God is faithful, so He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it (1 Cor 10:13).
The Apostle was telling this church that up until this time they had only faced moderate temptation but in the last days greater temptations would come. He was telling us as God’s people that the only way out or through the temptation is to know the truth and to speak it to the temptation. God will faithfully show us the way out and give us the wisdom and ability to endure and stand against it.
Let the Lord show you the things that are fulfilling your physical or sensual needs, and your spiritual aspirations apart from Him. Let Him show you the things that have taken a higher place than Him in your life, areas you’re not trusting Him for. Bring them to Him because He wants to release you from the things that bring you down to the dust and create life in these desolate places. I know it’s tempting to hide from God and others, to blame people or our circumstances for our failures and play the victim. But we don’t have to hide in shame because Jesus has taken God’s wrath and penalty for our shame and guilt. He lived the perfect life for us and offers us His righteousness. Let’s not diminish all the good things God has given us, nor distort what He says in His Word, nor downplay what it cost Him to reconcile us to Himself.
