FAMILY DYNAMICS
Genesis 3
Genesis 3:1-8
3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'"
4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
INTRODUCTION
God created the universe for man. He put him in charge of every living
Creature on earth including giving animals names. God gave the man a day of worship, a place of worship, and rules of worship. The earth was blessed for man.
God brought all the animals to Adam to name. Animals were not given the ability to think, reason or make conversion with man, God did not introduce Adam to a talking serpent. The Hebrew word for serpent means hiss which it’s natural sound. This particular beast was Satan appearing in the form of a snake was placed in the Garden of Eden for a reason
Satan’s original name was Lucifer, an Arch angel created with a host
Of angels before the foundation of the earth (Job 38:7).
Lucifer called the Morning Star was the first angel to fall into sin (Isa 14:12-15. Eze 28:11-15). The serpent was originally created to move in
An upright position. I believe God allowed him in the Garden of Eden with the ability to speak to test the loyalty of the first couple to God.
I believe the Tree of Knowlege of Good and Evil was placed in the
Garden to test Adam and Eve’s willingness to resist the temptation
To be disobedient.
LISTENING TO THE WRONG PERSON
I question why the Serpent targeted Eve for conversation rather than
Adam. While we don’t know, because God didn't tell us, I suspect it was a test to see if Adam loved Eve more than God.
The first thing we see is that the serpent was no ordinary beast because he knew the WORD OF GOD. Not only did this serpent
Know the Word, but also how to twist it to deceive Eve. According
To John 8:44, Satan is the father of lies. Satan knew how to worship
Before his fall he was the Gaurdian Cherub. He is bent on destroying worship.
Before Satan showed up, Adam and Eve were a happy couple living
A happy life. They were satisfied with their relationship with God. But
Satan showed up to steal, kill, and destroy. Eve knew the Word because she repeated it to Satan. Adam had done his job of teaching.
Eve’s first mistake was to discuss the Word of God with a stranger
Without Adam’s input. Jesus sent His disciples out two by two to
Proclaim the Word.
Mark 6:7
Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits.
Satan’s first tactic was to question Eve about the command of God to
Cast doubt in her mind. It is obvious that Satan was present when God gave the command not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge and
Of Good and Evil. It is also obvious that he knew the difference between spiritual death and physical death and the consequences of
Disobedience.
Eve’s second mistake was repeating the Word without consulting
The Word with Adam or God.
Eve’s response; Genesis 3:2-3
, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'"
NIV
The Word given; Genesis 2:17
but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
Notice Eve added to the command “ you must not touch it”. Eve was not completely sure of God’s command. We leave the door open for
Satan to step in and deceive us when we lack confidence in the Word,
And a commitment to be obedient.
The importance of a witness with two is what one misses the other can step in. The weakness of one can be strengthened by the other. The man and his wife are to become one flesh because two are stronger than one.
The third mistake Eve made was to accept the word of a stranger and
Act without consulting God. Satan questioned Eve first, to start the journey into doubt. If you don’t know the answer, stop and go in prayer with God. It’s ok to admit you don’t have an answer, and respond let me study and get back to you,
Satan called God a liar to deepen Eve’s doubt. He used His three steps to deceive Eve.
From these three sources, all natural and moral evil sprang: they are exactly what the apostle Paul calls the desire of the flesh, the tree was good for food: the desire of the eye, it was pleasant to the sight: and the pride of life; it was a tree to be desired to make one wise.
(from Adam Clarke's Commentary)
Eve accepted the word of a stranger and ate the forbidden fruit. You should never make any decision or take any action without an answer
From God. God is the author of time and will give you as much as you need to be right. The guidance to any decision you and I make is found in scripture. There is nothing new under the sun.
GOD BEFORE MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
When did Adam show up? Was He there beside Eve or did he come after Eve ate the fruit? Eve was deceived, but Adam knew better.
He willingly disobeyed God’s command.
Why did he do it? Had Eve become his idol? Had God become second
In his life?
Romans 5:19
For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
Notice, that God did not condemn man for the sin of Eve. He held Adam accountable. Adam’s Sin immediately opened the door for our need for a Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN
Genesis 3:6-7
She took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
The first consequence of sin is a guilty conscience. Sin destroys the Peace in your mind.
The second consequence of sin is to cover it up.
Sin sends the mind into a different mode. They were created naked and were all right with it. Sin causes shame in their lives.
Sin causes you to condemn yourself.
Sin causes fear in your mind.
As a result, you got more work to do. How much time did it take
For Adam and Eve to gather enough fig leaves to cover themselves?
Where did they get the thread and needles to sew the fig leaves together? They couldn’t go to Walmart and pick up thread and
Needles.
God gave us a creative mind. They had to figure this out and do it
Fast before God showed up.
Let’s review the consequences of disobedience
Sin awakens the mind to your disobedience
Sin destroys the peace in your mind
Sin creates fear in the mind
Sin causes you to lie to yourself and others
Sin creates a desire to cover it up
Sin creates the desire to deceive others
Sin requires you to work to keep a secret
Sin destroys your fellowship with God.
DEVELOP A HEALTHY FEAR OF THE LORD
Genesis 3:8-12
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, "Where are you?"
10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
11 And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"
Just because you messed up does not mean God has forgotten about you. You are valuable to God. He will come and check on you. Youp
Have nothing to fear. It is better to fear God than to fear man.
How do you hear God walking into your life? God is still in the Garden
With you. Don’t do stupid and think you can hide from God. You may be hot under the collar, but God is still cool. God will ask where are you, not that He doesn’t know but to make you aware that He knows
Everyone has to answer to God. I heard you, I was afraid so I hid because I was naked. Your answer validates your sin.
God is not going to let you off the hook without a confession.
Who told you you were naked? Did you eat from the Tree
I told you not to do?
DON’T BLAME OTHERS FOR WHAT YOU DID
Genesis 3:12-14
12 The man said, "The woman you put here with me — she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
Own up to your sin. Don’t blame others for what you did. You cannot
Get better if you don’t recognize sin and make amends. Adam blamed
God for giving him a wife. Eve blamed the serpent for sin. Blame is an
excuse to lie and cover up what you willfully did.
It is bad enough to sin. To lie makes it worse. You sinned, you are guilty. Lying doesn’t make you less guilty.
If Adam and Eve after recognizing their sin, had gone to God and confessed, would the punishment been less severe? What do you
think?
SUMMARY
GOD ALLOWED SIN IN HIS PERFECT CREATION
HE PUT THE TREE IN THE GARDEN
GAVE MAN THE ABILITY TO MAKE DECISIONS
GAVE THE COMMAND NOT TO EAT FROM THE TREE
ALLOWED SATAN TO SHOW UP AND TEMP EVE
GOD USED SIN TO MAKE MAN RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS ACTIONS
GOD USED SIN TO FORCE MAN TO DEVELOP A DEPENDENT RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM
GOD USED SIN TO SHOW MAN THAT HE IS COVERED WITH LOVE
