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Genesis 3

Lesson 4

The Serpent

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?"

The serpent was the instrument or tool of a higher agent, Satan or the devil

The Serpent Re 20:2 He laid hold of the dragon, that

serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;

Joh 8:44 "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

The Serpent 2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest somehow, as

the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

1Jo 3:8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

The Serpent "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of

every tree of the garden'?" Is it true that He has restricted you in using

the fruits of this delightful place? This is not like one so good and kind. Surely there is some mistake. He insinuated a doubt as to her sense of the divine will and appeared as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14), offering to lead her to the true interpretation.

Eve Knew

God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.‘

Ge 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."

The Lie Then the serpent said to the woman, "You

will not surely die. Joh 8:44 "You are of your father the devil,

and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

More Lies Ye shall not--die; this is the first lie recorded

in the Bible. Satan was its author, and he is justly called the father of lies.

Satan tries to make men disbelieve God's declarations, in order to lead them to break his commands. Liars resemble Satan, do his work, and will partake of his torment.

Re 21:8 "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

The Deception

Ge 3:5 "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.“

Satan Lies Reasons Justifies Persuades

Eve Sins Ge 3:6 So when the woman saw that

the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.

She took of the fruit; showing that she believed Satan rather than God.

Eve Sins Jas 1:14 But each one is tempted when

he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

1Jo 2:16 For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world.

Adam Sins

Ge 3:6 … She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

Sin ‘loves’ company I enjoyed it, why wouldn’t he?

Innocence Lost Ge 3:7 Then the eyes of both of them were

opened, and they knew that they were naked

They now had a sufficient discovery of their sin and folly in disobeying the command of God; they could discern between good and evil; and what was the consequence? Confusion and shame were engendered, because innocence was lost and guilt contracted.

‘Hiding’ From God

They hid themselves amongst the trees of the garden--Shame, remorse, fear--a sense of guilt--feelings to which they had hitherto been strangers disordered their minds and led them to shun Him whose approach they used to welcome. How foolish to think of eluding His notice (Ps 139:1-12).

God Knows

Ge 3:11 And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?“

Heb 4:13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

Blame

Ge 3:12 Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate."

Blame God Blame his wife Who ate?

“and I ate”

More Blame Ge 3:13 And the LORD God said to the

woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate.“

beguiled--cajoled by flattering lies. This sin of the first pair was heinous and aggravated--it was not simply eating the fruit, but a love of self, dishonor to God, ingratitude to a benefactor, disobedience to the best of Masters--a preference of the creature to the Creator

Who Sinned?

Impenitent men try to cast the blame of their sins on others; while those who are penitent, take it to themselves.

Lu 15:21 "And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.'

Consequences

First for the serpent Ge 3:14 So the LORD God said to the

serpent: "Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life.

Consequences

For Satan Ge 3:15 And I will put enmity between

you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel."

Promise of Christ thou shalt bruise his heel--The serpent

wounds the heel that crushes him; and so Satan would be permitted to afflict the humanity of Christ and bring suffering and persecution on His people.

it shall bruise thy head--The serpent's poison is lodged in its head; and a bruise on that part is fatal. Thus, fatal shall be the stroke which Satan shall receive from Christ, though it is probable he did not at first understand the nature and extent of his doom.

Promise of Christ Heb 2:14 Inasmuch then as the

children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil

Consequences

For Eve Ge 3:16 To the woman He said: "I will

greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you."

Consequences

She was doomed as a wife and mother to suffer pain of body and distress of mind. From being the help meet of man and the partner of his affections [Ge 2:18,23], her condition would henceforth be that of humble subjection.

Consequences For Adam Ge 3:17 Then to Adam He said, "Because you have

heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': "Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.

18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field.

19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return."

The Evil of Sin

The evil of sin surpasses all finite conception. Every instance of death is an evidence of its power, and of the truth of God. When the word has gone out of His mouth, it stands for ever. All who disbelieve His known declarations, demonstrated in the universal mortality of men, are without excuse.

Naked

Ge 3:7 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 coverings.

Ge 3:21 Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.

Physically Banished Ge 3:22 Then the LORD God said,

"Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever" - therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Physically Banished and now, lest he put forth his hand, and

take also of the tree of life--This tree being a pledge of that immortal life with which obedience should be rewarded, man lost, on his fall, all claim to this tree; and therefore, that he might not eat of it or delude himself with the idea that eating of it would restore what he had forfeited, the Lord sent him forth from the garden.

Summary How vain are all attempts to attain

immortality here! For some thousands of years men have been laboring to find out means to prevent death; and some have even boasted that they had found out a medicine capable of preserving life forever, by resisting all the attacks of disease, and incessantly repairing all the wastes of the human machine.

Summary That is, the alchymistic philosophers would

have the world to believe that they had found out a private passage to the tree of immortality; but their own deaths, in the common order of nature, as well as the deaths of the millions which make no such pretensions, are not only a sufficient confutation of their baseless systems, but also a continual proof that the cherubim, with their flaming swords, are turning every way to keep the passage of the tree of life.

Summary Life and immortality are, however,

brought to light by the Gospel; and he only who keeps the sayings of the Son of God shall live for ever. Though the body is dead-consigned to death, because of sin, yet the spirit is life because of righteousness; and on those who are influenced by this Spirit of righteousness, the second death shall have no power!

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