Genesis 3 – Adam and Eve – Part 2

Last week we began our series on the children of God. This series will focus on people that God used throughout his story to establish his kingdom on earth. Last week, we got a glimpse of God’s intended purpose for creation. We learned about how God created us for his glory, to dwell with him and to fill the earth. We learned how he created us with a need for him alone. This is important for us to understand before we dive into stories of others that God uses throughout scripture. 

This week we are talking about the next chapter in God’s story of Adam and Eve. We left these two in the Garden last week, in perfect harmony with God. Most of us have heard the next part of the story a thousand times, but I challenge you to hear it with fresh ears. 

Read Genesis 3:1-7

The serpent asks a strange question, “Did God actually say you shall not eat of any tree in the Garden?” Eve knows she is allowed to eat from any but one tree. She knows what God has taught her but the serpent introduces us to temptation. This is extremely important, because last week, we discussed how God has provided for each of our needs, right? What does the serpent claim will come if she eats the fruit? He promises that she will become like God, knowing good and evil. The deception is that Adam and Eve are already like God, they were made in his image and his likeness. Eve gave into a desire for something that she already had simply because it sounded good. 

We know this feeling, don’t we? We give into temptations that draw us away from God when the very thing we need can be found in Him alone. How many of you have been tempted to go along with a crowd that may be involved in things you know aren’t good for you, but you desired friendship, or you didn’t want to spend the weekend alone. God tells us that we are never alone (Hebrews 13:5). How many of us try really hard in school or sports or try to dress really nice or wear a lot of makeup, so we will be noticed, and gain others attention. God delights in you as his children (Psalm 147:11, Proverbs 3:12) and pays no attention to outward appearance (1 Samuel 16:7). Continuing with the story, Eve then gives the fruit to Adam who neglects to care for his wife and to reign over the beasts of the Earth, so they die right? Not exactly, let’s keep reading.

Genesis 3:8-13

First, we notice they are ashamed of themselves and afraid of the Lord, so they hide. Have you ever done something wrong at your house and tried to hide it from your parents because you were afraid of the consequences? Or have you ever tried to get someone else to do something wrong with you so you wouldn’t go down alone? This is what is happening here. Adam and Eve knew they were not to eat of the tree and now they are in trouble, so what should you do in this situation? “Man up,” and accept the consequences, right?  Adam blames Eve (and God for giving him Eve), and Eve blames the serpent. We like to point the finger at someone else for something we have done, a sibling or friend; “They made me do it,” we say, but our sin is our responsibility; we can’t blame others or hide them from God (James1:13-15).

The last verses reveal to us the consequences. Adam and Eve will live a life separated from God and the beauty of his Garden. There will be pain, and hard work and death will come to man and his descendants. This could be the end of the story, but we know differently. God’s plan to redeem the world is present in these very moments. This is why God sends his son, to restore the relationship that was lost at the fall (1 Cor. 15:20-22, Romans 5:12-21).

Genesis 2 - Adam and Eve - Part 1

We are all God’s children. We learn in the creation narrative that he formed each of us with his own hands. We were made in his likeness, his image (Genesis 1:27). God speaks to the prophet Jeremiah saying he knew us before we were even in the womb (Jeremiah 1:5). Psalm 139:13 says “for you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Since the beginning we have been God’s treasured possession, created for the work of his hands. We are his children and as we read the scriptures we read about how God called his children to establish his kingdom through the ages. Over the next few weeks we will be studying how God works through us by studying how he worked through the lives of his children. We will start with Adam and Eve.

We are first introduced to Adam (which literally means “man”). We are told Adam’s body was created from the dust of the earth, but it was God’s breath that gave him life (v.7). The word for breath in the Hebrew is “ruach,”  which can also be translated as "spirit" or "wind." This is significant because, it’s that same breath that gives us life when we accept Christ into our hearts. His Spirit is what gives life to our spirit (John 3:6, Romans 8:1-16). When we accept Christ and the Spirit enters our lives, we are given new life, made into new creation. 

The next aspect of God’s character that we see in the account of creation is His provision for man. In Creation, God made the world with light and dark, created animals and plants for food, water to drink, and he gives us the opportunity to share in his creation, to dwell in it and take care of it, and be blessed by its fruit. The word “provide” literally means “to see before.” When God formed the earth, he created us with needs. We were never meant to be independent of God. He created us with needs for food, water, and rest. He created us with spiritual and emotional needs. All of these needs can only be fulfilled by his hand because he "sees before" what our needs are and will be. God created us to depend on Him alone, because it is only through him that we are provided for. We see how God provides in another way through His creation of Eve.

God creates Eve, saying that man was not meant to be alone (v.18). He creates her from Adam’s own flesh and bone, symbolizing our unity with each other. God gives us the ability to join with him as co-creators of human life. We learn from Eve, God’s intention for us to be united to each other, not just in marriage, but also as the body of Christ. God intends for us to be in fellowship with one another. Through this fellowship with one another, God’s kingdom will be established on earth.

It’s a beautiful picture that we see in the first chapters of scripture. We get a glimpse of what oneness with God could be like. We learn about God’s passion for his people. Even before the fall which we will study next week, we see a glimpse of eternity. The picture isn’t all that different from what we see in Revelation 22:1-5. This is significant because we know that God has created us to depend on him but we wonder why people are without clothes and food, or why so many people don’t know him, or why people die, or why life can be hard sometimes. There is no simple answer but we know that God has an eternal picture in mind. The things of this earth were never meant to last (2 Corinthians 4:16-18, 1 John 2:15-17). Again, we were created to need God, and he wants to be our only desire, so we live in this world only temporarily to achieve his purposes which lead us, and others through us, into His eternal glory. This is the the hope that God established for us in the Garden. Stay tuned!