Another week, another study- I probably should have said this earlier, but if there's anything you don't quite understand or just flat out disagree with in these things, let me know. I promise I won't bite your head off (immediately).
Genesis 3
3:1-24
Discussion: think about times you have been caught doing things you knew you should not have been doing. What is your first reaction when caught?
Read Genesis 3:1-24
1. Who is the serpent? What do the following passages tell us about this serpent?
Romans 16:20
God’s superiority over Satan, the fulfilment of the curse in Genesis Gen 3:16
Revelations 12:9
Satan explicitly named the ‘ancient snake’, his role as the one who leads the whole world astray
John 8:44
A murderer and father of lies- notice the connection how those who refuse to believe in Jesus are called Satan’s children.
2. How does the serpent convince the woman to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?
Firstly, Satan assumedly approaches Eve when she is apart from Adam. We are so much more suspect to falling into sin where we believe we are by ourselves- remaining in the body of Christ that is the Church is a powerful insurance against falling in sin.
Secondly, Eve is made to doubt the truth of God’s commands (Gen 3:1-5). While Satan does not begin with a bold invitation in disobey God, he ends by directly contradicting what God has previously told Adam and Eve that if they ate from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil that they would surely die (Gen 2:17). This is part of the reason why it is so important have a biblical foundation for our beliefs. As to whether doubt is bad, all the time- I can only speak on my own opinion, not having found a reliable source (bad time management…). I think doubt is an inevitability in this life, and in of itself is not a sin. How we respond to that doubt defines whether or not we have made the right or wrong choice- in my opinion!
Finally, Eve was swayed by the apparently attractive nature of the forbidden fruit (Gen3:6). It is always easier to resist temptation when we turn away from it at the instance of it appearing, rather than to turn back at the last possible moment. For many of us (at least, me), the question is not ‘what is sinf?’, but rather ‘how far can I go without sinning?’- this is the wrong perspective to take, we should be wary of the situations we put ourselves in if there is even a slight possibility that we might end up doing the wrong thing.
3. How does the woman respond to the serpent’s prompting?
Again, Eve allows herself to fall into a dialogue with Satan. As I wrote previously, it is often better to disregard the sort of discussion that leads to sin sooner, rather than later. In the last study we did on Titus, Paul in no uncertain terms instructs Titus to as soon as possible take out the individuals who are spreading false teaching (Tit 1:10-16). Contrary to what we are taught today, not everything has an equal value, and not everything is of the same moral worth- we should refuse to recognise perspectives that dispute biblical truth from the get go.
4. Where is the man in all this?
In Gen 3:6, Adam appears to be next to Eve as she eats of the fruit. In this verse, we can see Adam abdicating the responsibility he has for his wife- even though she was eating the fruit which God had told them not to touch, Adam did nothing to stop or admonish Eve. The sort of headship that a man is supposed to show towards his wife, mirroring Christ’s headship of the Church (Eph 5:22-24) is nowhere to be seen in Adam’s example.
A bit more relevant to us unmarried types (read; the dota guys)- how do you act in your life? Will you be made complicit in something you know is wrong, or will you speak out? Sometimes, by following Adam’s example and not protesting against something we know to be wrong can lead to heavy consequences.
5. How did the man and woman answer to God?
When Adam and Eve heard God coming, they hid. Eventually when they were called out to by God, they both cast the blame to someone else (Gen 3:8-13). When we look at this passage, we see the typical human response when confronted with their sin. Either we try to conceal our actions, or we attempt to blame someone else for our own actions.
6. What’s wrong with this picture/chain of events?
From Satan, Adam and Eve the common thread in each of their respective downfalls is their disobedience against God. Adam and Eve both presumed to know better than God, in principle seeking to become their own individual ‘god’s’ in their own right. We see that from the original perfection that God intended His Creation to exist in the consequence of Adam and Eve’s actions by listening to Satan was to corrupt that setting.
7. How did God respond to this chain of events…
…in relation to the serpent?
God condemns the serpent to crawl on his belly and to be in enmity against Eve and her descendants. While we are destined to remain in struggle with Satan in this life, we are reassured that in spite of Satan’s efforts to bring us down, Jesus’ death and resurrection has struck Satan on his head, dealing a fatal blow that puts us beyond Satan’s offence beyond our ‘heel’ (Rom16:20)
…in relation to the woman?
To Eve, God punished her with pain during child-birth and submission to her husband (Gen 3:16). While Eve was created to be a helper to Adam (Gen 2:18), in their fallen state no longer would that service be under perfect leadership from Adam, nor in complete contentment with Eve. By mistakenly believing that we could decide our lives better than God could, everything that was supposed to be nice and pleasant became hard and arduous. In other words, God’s punishment is not the sort that rains down like fire from heaven so to speak, but in discovering Man’s belief that he can govern his own life, abandons us to our ‘sinful nature’ which corrupts God’s intended image (Rom1:25).
However, God’s punishment of Eve is merciful and measured- the pain of child-birth gives way to a newborn, and the submission/companionship of a husband pulls her into situation where she might not be so easily led into sin again.
…in relation to the man?
Again, although Man is consigned to the fields in order to live and through toil and tears to make his living (Gen3:17-19), God metes out his punishment in measure. While, the wages of sin are death, Man was not instantly sentenced as such, but only to a temporary separation from God. What was meant to be a joy in stewarding over creation become a painful chore, and our lives ultimately end with our bodies returning to the dust whence they came. It is not the additional sentence that makes all these things so, but the disobedience and arrogance coming from the belief that we can manage our lives without God.
…in relation to both the man and woman?
8. Why do you think God responded the way he did?
As we can see in the previous question, God tempered his punishment in relation to Adam and Even with mercy. But we must still be subject to punishment- God and sin are incompatible concepts, and it is an indispensable part of God to punish sin.
God also barred the way to the Tree of life in Genesis 3:22. This verse initially gave me some trouble- instead of a loving and just God, v 22 seemed to paint and image of a God acting out of jealousy of humanity’s potential rather than genuine care. But a careful examination of this verse reveals God acting in his eternal mercy. It was through eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that Man committed his original sin. Through that sin we were separated from God- so to have eaten from the Tree of Life would have consigned us to an eternity away from God. More commonly, this is known as Hell. God’s actions in Gen 3:22 was not an attempt to bar us from eternal life, but to save us for the eternal life that God originally and always intended for us.
Reflection/Application
9. What does Genesis 3 teach us about sin?
10. How do the people around you consider sin? (Your family, schoolmates, workmates, friends, etc)
11. How do you view sin in your own life? Are there excuses you make? Or have you been deceived by the serpent?
Spend some time in prayer.
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