Contrary to the prevailing, popular opinion, the creation account is not mythology. It is not an allegory. It’s an actual, historical account which is spoken of as such numerous times in the New Testament, and by Jesus Christ Himself. I am not going to spend a lot of time trying to defend the historicity of the account in Genesis then, but rather try to expound on the historical facts to relate the relevancy and repercussions of the fall to our lives today.
Moses begins by introducing a new character, one he simply calls the serpent. And considering the importance of this figure in the saga of human existence, it’s amazing that he doesn’t elaborate more. But he simply says in vs 1, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made.”
I’m sure you have seen many paintings and depictions of the temptation of Adam and Eve, and the serpent is usually pictured as a kind of beguiling, almost cartoonish snake that is in a rather upright position. I think that is somewhat misleading. The Hebrew word for serpent is “nahas”, and one of the possible interpretations of that word is a dragon. Now I know that may sound even more improbable to you than a talking snake, but I believe there is ample evidence that there were dragons in the world before and after the flood, and possibly even until the middle ages. Practically every ancient culture has paintings of dragons dating back hundreds of years, and no matter how isolated they might have been from other cultures, the representations all look very similar.
Theologically it makes little difference if it’s a snake or a dragon, but I believe that the Bible speaks often, especially in Revelation, of the dragon as a symbol of Satan. Furthermore, the Bible describes dragons in various places with terms and descriptions that can really not be concluded to be anything else. So I believe that this serpent is a dragon. You can believe what you want.
Moses says the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field. I don’t necessarily think that this is speaking of the dragon, per se, but it’s a reference to Satan. Satan is a spirit, like all angels are spirits. And we know that demons or Satan can take possession of a human body. So in this event, it would seem that Satan himself had possessed the body of a dragon, and thus was more crafty than any beast of the field. Crafty can also be interpreted as cunning, or shrewd, but all are used in a bad sense.
But that’s about all that Moses has to say about the serpent. Although the ensuing dialogue between the serpent and Eve reveals more about the nature of Satan. But we are not told where he came from. He just appears on the scene. Moses says that he is more shrewd than all the animals that God created, which indicates that God made all creatures, even the dragon, and by extension, even the angels.
I don’t want to get sidetracked here on demonology but I will point out that nowhere in the creation account is there a mention of God creating angels. You could say that possibly in the creation of the stars there could be an allusion to angels. And so possibly the angels were created with the stars. However, I don’t think that is what is implied there, as it specifically says that the stars were lights in the heavens. That would seem to be a reference to actual stars, not angels. And furthermore, I find it hard to believe the Creator God did nothing for billions and billions of years until suddenly one week He created everything that exists, everything in the spiritual realm, and everything in the physical realm.
Furthermore, I think that the Biblical description of the fall of Satan from heaven in Isaiah 14 probably speaks of an event that predates Creation by a considerable amount of time. But that is supposition on my part, however I think there is some evidence for that theory. Moses however, doesn’t really introduce Satan, because I think Satan was already in existence. Satan had already fallen from heaven and taken 1/3 of the angels with him. And I think that Satan and his angels had been exiled to earth which prior to creation was a dark, formless and void, water covered lump of coal floating in space. And so upon creation Satan’s goal was to destroy God’s creation, especially the object of God’s love, which is man.
So Satan’s strategy then towards that end is revealed in the next couple of verses. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” Notice that Satan grossly exaggerates God’s prohibition. God had said you shall not eat of one tree in the garden. Satan says, “Has God said you cannot eat from any tree of the garden?” I also think that his starting with the word “Indeed!” Is a type of mockery. It’s like someone saying “Really?!! Are you kidding me?”
So Satan mocks the word of God. And he questions the word of God. Satan’s strategy has not changed today. He still questions the word of God. “Does it really mean that?? Are you seriously thinking that God meant that?”And by questioning God’s word, he gives Eve an opportunity to defend God. But for some reason, Eve ends up exaggerating as well. Vs 2 The woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 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.’" God never said you could not touch it. He said you shall not eat from it. Adding to the word of God or taking away from the word of God is just another way to rebel against God’s word. But we will give Eve the benefit of the doubt, and say that was an innocent mistake on her part.
But now the serpent moves from mocking God’s word, to questioning God’s word, to exaggerating God’s word, and then to flat out lying. Vs 4 The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die!” Satan says that God isn’t telling the truth when He said that you will surely die. God is just trying to be a kill joy. Satan is saying that there will not be any consequences to sin. This is still the strategy that Satan employs today. Questions God’s word. Twists God’s word. And flat out lies and denies God’s word.
Jesus said to the Pharisees in John 8:44 that Satan was a liar and the father of lies. "You are of [your] father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own [nature,] for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
So basically Satan promises that they will not die, and furthermore that God isn’t telling the truth. He is promising that there will not be any repercussions from disobedience. You know, you could argue that Adam and Eve did not know death, and so they did not really understand the full ramifications of death. But even if that were true, that does not excuse them.
This also eliminates another common excuse for man’s sin today, which is that man is a product of their environment. That a person is not really responsible for their sin because they are just a product of a bad environment. Adam and Eve lived in a perfect environment. They needed nothing. Everything God created was good. And yet they still sinned against God. The truth is, that man will do whatever he thinks he can get away with. If there is no punishment, then there is nothing to stop man from choosing to sin.
Then to Satan’s denial of God’s word with an outright lie, he adds another layer of deception, which was to demean the character of God. He says in vs5 "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So not only are there no repercussions from doing evil, but Satan says that there is a blessing in it that God doesn’t want you to enjoy.
And this is really a multifaceted deception. First he says your eyes will be opened and you will be like God. Isn’t that a good thing? Aren’t we told in scripture that we are to be conformed to the image of Christ? So it would seem that it would be a good thing to be like God. As far as knowing good and evil, the devil seems to be saying that God knows good and evil, and it’s not a bad thing. God is trying to withhold something from you that is good, that is pleasurable. God is actually then not good, because He is trying to control you and keep you from having fun, or having some good thing.
In all of this temptation and dialogue, Eve is beginning to question God’s goodness. The very nature of God is what is being decided here by Eve. She begins to think that she knows better than God what is good or right. It looks good to eat to her. It is desirable in that it makes you like God. It seems right in her eyes. It will make her smarter, wiser. And the devil’s suggestions and lies reinforce to her the rightness of her thinking.
Then comes the most fateful, tragic statement in the entirety of human history. Vs. 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 from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.”
Sin is rebellion against God’s word. 1John 2:16 defines that rebellion; “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.” Eve’s sin covered all three characteristics of sin. The lust of the flesh; she saw that the tree was good for food. The lust of the eyes; she saw that it was a delight to the eyes. And the pride of life; she saw that it was desirable to make one wise.
And so it met her criteria. So she took of the fruit and ate. We don’t know what the fruit looked like. It may have been an apple, it may have been something else. But it looked good, and I’m sure it tasted good. The Bible says that sin is pleasurable for a season. But the end thereof is death. Getting drunk is fun for a little while. Having immoral sex is fun for a few minutes. Eating of the forbidden fruit tasted good for as long as it lasted.
You know, when I was taught this story growing up, I was always under the impression that Adam was off working somewhere in the garden and Eve was on her own. But if you notice vs 6, “she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” The indication in scripture is that Adam was with Eve when she was being lied to and tempted by the serpent. Now what that means I’m not sure. But if it is true, it is much more damning to Adam than I originally thought. Because if he was there, then he abrogated his responsibility of headship in the marriage to Eve, and let the devil take advantage of her. He heard everything, and yet did not defend her or God.
There was obviously some reason that Satan picked Eve and not Adam to go after. I’m not sure what that reason is, but in some way, Satan must have believed that she would be more vulnerable to his strategy. And Adam, poor guy, he couldn’t see anything but his love for Eve. Eve may have been seduced by the serpent, but Adam was seduced by Eve. Adam was willing to sacrifice anything for her, including his life. Paul says in 1Ti 2:14 “And [it was] not Adam [who] was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.”
But make no mistake, both sinned. Hers was a sin of initiative. His was a sin of acquiescence. Eve was deceived, but Adam sinned with his eyes wide open. But when they ate of the fruit, then their eyes were opened to carnal knowledge. They knew good and evil. But not as God knew good and evil. Someone explained it this way. God knew evil the way a surgeon knows cancer. He knows it intellectually. The patient though knows cancer experientially. And that is an important distinction. Knowing good and evil did not make them like God. It made them evil. Sin is a cancer that metastasizes quickly, spreading from one little act into a way of thinking and decisions that are in opposition to God.
And with sin comes shame. Vs.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 loin coverings.” The knowledge of their sinfulness made them aware of their nakedness. That wasn’t a problem before their sin, but sin opened their eyes to their sinfulness and brought shame.
The solution to their shame though wasn’t to turn to God and seek forgiveness. But it was to try to cover up their sinfulness. I’m reminded of David’s sin with Bathsheba, and how he tried to cover up his sin, by having her husband killed. Sin begets sin. And even when we try to hide our sin, then we err even more.
Adam and Eve looked for the largest leaves they could find, which happened to be fig leaves, and sewed them together to make loin cloths for themselves. We can just imagine that wasn’t sufficient. Our efforts to cover our sin, to make amends for our sins are never enough. God sees the heart. Fig leaves don’t make any difference to God. What you do behind closed doors is not hidden from God. What you whisper in the ear is heard by God. What a man thinks in his heart is known by God.
Heb 4:13 “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” And yet how many times do we think we have gotten away with our sin because no one saw it. And how often we think because there is no immediate punishment then God doesn’t really care.
But God does care. He cared for Adam and Eve. And He came to them to hold them accountable. Vs 8, “They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.”
The indication from the original language is that the Lord was in the habit of walking in the evening to fellowship with Adam and Eve. Another interesting thing is that they heard the sound of the Lord walking. So this would be a physical manifestation of the Lord. That’s what is known as a theophany, a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ.
But rather than running to meet the Lord, Adam and Eve run from the Lord and try to hide. Imagine, running from the only One who can help them. Vs 9 Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?” This is the cry of an anguished Father. Of course God knew where they were already. But He wanted them to recognize where they were. They weren’t in fellowship with God. They were hiding from God. They were running from the Lord.
God was giving them an opportunity to see where they were, to see that they had sinned, to repent, to come to Him in repentance. God was initiating their restoration, as He does in our salvation. He comes to seek and to save those that are lost. And thank God for it. Because in our foolishness and sinfulness and blindness, we tend to run from the only One who can help us.
So Adam answers God’s question. Vs 10 He said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself." And [God] said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" The man said, "The woman whom You gave [to be] with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate." Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Sin made Adam afraid of God’s presence and afraid of God’s voice. Ever since Adam, men run from God’s presence and don’t want to listen to His Word. God knew the answer to this question of who told you that you were naked? He asked it because He wanted Adam to make the best of a tragic situation by repenting right then and there, but Adam didn’t come clean and repent before God.
Instead, good old chivalrous Adam blamed his sin on his wife. And notice actually he blames God for giving him Eve for his wife. A few minutes earlier, Adam was willing to rebel against God and even die for the sake of being with his wife. Now that his eyes are opened to evil, he turns against his wife and blames her for his sin, and also by extension blames God for giving her to him. You talk about falling from grace. Part of Adam’s punishment is going to be that he has to live for 900 or so years with this woman that he has just maligned. I’m sure he never heard the end of that.
Of course I’m kidding, but it does reveal how drastically Adam’s nature changed immediately after the fall. And that is what we inherit from Adam. We don’t inherit from Adam that particular sin, but the sin nature that comes from rebellion against God. And then notice that Eve blames the serpent. Like Flip Wilson used to say, “the devil made me do it.” She didn’t want to accept the blame either. But she does admit that she ate of the tree.
So sin brings the curse. First the curse is given to the serpent. vs14 The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; And I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
It would seem that God actually curses the serpent or the dragon. In some way, the dragon must have been complicit in it’s part in the temptation by Satan. He would no longer be upright, but be on his belly. And the serpent would be hated by men. I believe that tends to be generally true of snakes, but I suppose it was also true of dragons, to the point that they were hunted until they became extinct.
The second part of the curse is directed against Satan himself. God placed a natural animosity between Satan and mankind. Enmity has the idea of ill will, hatred, and a mutual antagonism. Satan’s hatred of man was already in effect — but now man will, generally speaking, have antagonism towards Satan. But especially, the second Adam, who is Jesus Christ, would be against Satan, and defeat Satan, and will one day destroy him by throwing him into the lake of fire.
God says to Satan concerning the seed of the woman, “He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” In this, God prophesies the doom of Satan, showing that the real battle is between Satan and the Seed of the Woman. There is no doubt this is a prophecy of Jesus’ ultimate defeat of Satan. God announced that Satan would wound the Messiah (you shall bruise His heel), but the Messiah would crush Satan with a mortal wound (He shall bruise your head). In this statement, God was announcing His plan of salvation for man, to bring deliverance through the one called the Seed of the woman.
This prophecy also gives the first hint of the virgin birth, declaring the Messiah — the Deliverer — would be of the Seed of the Woman, but not the seed of the man. Because through Adam, the first man, the sin nature was passed on. Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.” So by Adam the sin nature is inherited, thus by the virgin birth Christ did not possess the sin nature. He was the spotless, sinless, Lamb of God who was slain for our sins, and by His death He took the sting of death away. Heb 2:14-15 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.
God prophesying Satan’s defeat when the devil had seemingly won the victory shows God that knew what He was doing all along. God’s plan wasn’t defeated when Adam and Eve sinned because God’s plan was to bring forth something greater than man in the innocence of Eden. God wanted more than innocent man; His plan was to bring forth redeemed man.
Then God cursed the man and the woman. vs16-19 To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you." Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. "Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return."
These curses show that God did not ever intend that immediately upon eating the fruit that they would die. But as I said last week, what died immediately was their spirit, that essence of their being that would have fellowship with God, that could worship God. Physically, they would eventually die, but in Adam’s case it was 930 years later. That seems like forever to us, but in actuality it was but a day in light of eternity. But in the process of living until that death, God multiplied hardships upon the man and the woman and in fact, cursed the earth. All of creation became under the curse of sin.
Romans 8:20-22 “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.” So in effect, both Adam and Eve’s curse was applied to the earth itself in some measure.
Vs20 Now the man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all [the] living. The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.” Adam named her Eve, even though she was not a mother at all at the time. She was not even pregnant yet. Adam named her in faith, trusting God would bring forth a deliverer from the woman because God said He would defeat Satan through the Seed of the woman.
And in order for Adam and Eve to be clothed, a sacrifice had to be made. An animal had to die. Without shedding of blood there is no remission (Hebrews 9:22). Guilty Adam and Eve were clothed with a garment that was purchased with the innocent life of another. They were saved through substitutionary atonement. And in the same way, we are clothed with a garment of righteousness that was purchased with the life of another, Jesus Christ.
This grace of God, together with their faith in God’s promise, indicates that Adam and Eve were rescued from their sinful condition. Adam had faith in God’s promise of a Savior, and God provided a covering for them through a sacrifice. I believe that every indication is that they were justified by faith, and therefore were saved from death, because they believed that One would come from the seed of the woman who would take their place by dying for their sin, and provide His righteousness for their covering. We are saved in the same way, by faith in Christ, given the grace of God unto salvation. The innocent taking the place in death for the guilty, that we might be covered in the garment of righteousness through Jesus Christ and be given eternal life.
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