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Genesis 3 – The Choice

 

“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.”

 

Serpent, here, means literally, ‘shining one’ and is not the Hebrew word normally used for a snake but, in fact, can mean a dragon. This is consistent with other scripture which calls Satan “that old dragon”. Indeed he is cunning. His ploy is to get us to think that we’ll recognize him because of his black cape and hideously horrible appearance when in reality the scripture says he can appear as an angel of light.

 

You see, Satan, whose character is wholly evil, whose perverted sense of joy comes through bringing death, destruction, and torturous bondage to sin into any life he can, was once Lucifer, the light-bearer, an archangel.

 

“Thus says the Lord God:

You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: the sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created. You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you....you became filled with violence within and you sinned; therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God; and I destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor...”

Eze 28:12-17

 

Being perfect in beauty wasn’t enough for Lucifer. Leading the heavenly host in glorious worship of the One True God wasn’t enough. It would seem that he wanted to be like God in an evil and competitive way - to be an object of worship:

 

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer (Day Star), son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High’. Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol (hell), to the lowest depths of the Pit.”  Isa 14:12-15

 

And here in Genesis, he slithered into the paradise of Eden with one thing in mind. To bring man into a destructive subjection to himself. Kicked out of his heavenly residence (and by the way, taking one third of the angels with him who are now demons - Rev 12:4) he entered the next best thing – Eden - heaven on earth so to speak. There, were the ones who had been made in the image of God, who God commissioned to subdue the planet and rule it.

 

“And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

 

Cunning indeed. Who did he draw into a conversation? Eve. Why is this cunning? Remember, that in Gen 2:17 God commanded Adam not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve had not yet been created. Thus, as far as we can tell, she had to listen to her mate to get the warning. This is again foreshadowed Christ who said to the Father concerning his disciples: “I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them...”

John 17:8

 

Just as Adam passed the ‘words of eternal life’ to Eve so Jesus has passed to us the Words of eternal life. Now, it’s up to us -- do we believe Him?

 

Satan knew that Eve was vulnerable. She was in that position because she was evidently near the forbidden tree and because she had a desire to be more ‘spiritual’.

 

Now, regarding the former, I can’t overemphasize the importance of putting distance between yourself and that which is a point of weakness in your life. This deals with the whole issue of purity and holiness. As the church, the bride of Christ, we are to be spiritually chaste - virgins regarding evil and temptation. If you’re hanging around the wrong crowd, the seductive secretary, the handsome boss, whatever is a weakness for you, you’re going to get sucked into it and suffer.

 

I used to tell the children, you can regard sin as a chocolate ice cream sundae and here you are on a diet so to speak and know that you shouldn’t partake. But as long as you perceive sin in that manner, your heart is in close proximity to it and sooner or later, you’ll dig in. Reality, however, is that instead of an ice cream sundae, sin is like a hot, steaming, pile of manure - a real meadow muffin. Now, can you picture yourself just digging in to that dessert?! When you realize sin is like that, you begin to put more distance between your heart and sin’s allure.

 

As for Eve’s desire to be ‘more spiritual’, we’ll discuss that in just a moment.

 

“And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden;”

 

Whoa. Look-out. It’s one thing to hear the voice of temptation - that’s not sin. It’s the dialogue with temptation that leads to sin. Here, Eve is speaking with the devil - setting herself up for a fall. She should have immediately gone to her husband, just walked away, and the same is true for us.

 

“but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”

 

You see, she was out of her league. And she didn’t have the story right either (that is, she had a poor handle on God’s Word) - God said nothing about touching the tree. As a result, she was defensive and confused. The devil had her right where he wanted her. Church, we need to get this down - don’t be playing around the ‘cow paddies’ of sin, and when Satan puts temptation in your path, run to your husband, to Jesus. Let Him deal with it. And be sure you’ve ‘got the story straight’ - know the Word of God.

 

“Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.”

 

That was the bomb. The big lie. His tactic was to plant doubt in the woman’s heart as to the true nature and character of God. The same is true today. Satan is continually painting God as ruthless and hateful, the great ‘cosmic killjoy’ of mankind, someone untrustworthy - total lies. We even call tornadoes and earthquakes “acts of God” in insurance policies - when, as a rule, these are the acts of nature or Satan. This statement began thousands of years of twisting and perverting man’s impression of the Father. In addition, he’s done all he could to destroy the concept of fatherhood in general.

 

Now, Christ came to reveal to us the Father. Nevertheless, apart from the inward work of the Spirit of God, we have enormous difficulty overcoming our sinful nature which is to doubt the truth - we doubt His goodness, His love for us, His incredible grace, His long suffering, and so on. Even after having spent two to three years with Jesus, “Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father...” John 14:8,9

 

So here it began - the corruption of the love relationship with the seeds of lies and doubt.

 

“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.”

 

Now, it’s true that God knows good and evil, and it was true that the fruit of the tree gave that discernment. But Eve got sucked into the same trap many people do when they desire spirituality - that is, to be like God -- they esteem it to be a matter of power or position, something to be grasped, something that provides a spiritual ‘edge’ over others. Even the disciples of Christ, on the very night of His arrest were arguing over who would be the greatest in His kingdom.

 

But, true godliness is not a matter of these things. Rather it’s an attitude of the heart that is in submission to God’s will.

 

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God did not consider it something to be grasped to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Phi 2:5-8

 

Godliness is not getting an edge over someone and thus having a condescending perspective, but rather it’s the servant-heart, the humble heart: “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.” Phi 2:3

 

Godliness is far more than knowing good and evil, it’s loving good and hating evil, submitting to good and rejecting evil. In doubting and disobeying the Lord, Eve was putting herself a billion miles away from the target of her desire. And Satan knew it!

 

Eve was deceived. Like many today who are seeking “more of God”, lining up to experience His touch, listening to shiny, glamorous speakers who have slinked onto the scene. Many today would do well to take heed to the lessons herein. They would do well to run to their Husband Jesus and listen again to His Words.

 

“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.”

 

There is nothing new under the sun - so King Solomon wrote. From the beginning, this has been the trap of the world - as John recorded: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 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.”  1 John 2:15,16

 

Eve saw that the tree was good for food - the lust of the flesh; she saw that it was pleasant to the eyes - the lust of the eyes; and it was a tree desirable to make one wise - the pride of life. This tree represented all that the world had to offer while the Tree of Life was symbolic of all that God freely offered to man.

 

“She also gave to her husband and he ate.”

 

As we’ve noted, Eve was deceived. Adam, on the other hand ate for a different reason. He had not conversed with the serpent and he had heard directly from God about the consequences. Did he watch Eve eat and then think, ‘Hmm, why didn’t she die?’ Maybe, but I don’t think so. God had said “in the day” you eat of it you will die, and it’s evident that all this happened rather quickly. In any event, Adam was not deceived (1 Tim 2:14). He made a conscious choice to eat what he knew would mean his death.

 

And through this conscious choice, he brought sinful mankind into servitude to Satan. It was here that he relinquished man’s right to rule this world. Consequently, the devil took that scepter - Christ called him the “prince of this world” and Paul referred to him as the “god of this age”. In fact, when the devil was tempting Jesus in the wilderness, one of his temptations was to offer Him all the kingdoms of the world for he claimed that they all belonged to him. Jesus did not refute this claim.

 

So why did Adam do it? I’ll suggest something because it fits the picture or foreshadowing of Christ - love.

 

Personally, I think he may have loved Eve too much to let her die alone or to spend eternity without her. Now, if that is the case, his choice was a lack of confidence in God and an inordinate love for Eve in that it superseded his love for the Lord. That’s not the type of Christ, but this is - he chose to die rather than to live without her.

 

Adam chose to go to the grave with his bride; Christ chose to go to the grave for His bride. Adam was overcome by the world; Christ overcame the world (John 16:33). On the tree of death, Jesus had you in mind. Christ, Who“...for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross...” Heb 12:2 because sharing heaven with you was worth it.

 

“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.”

 

I don’t believe this is implying that beforehand they were ignorant of being naked physically. Rather, something happened to their perception. Nakedness was henceforth seen as evil and consequently they tried to hide it. But the nakedness wasn’t evil in and of itself - remember that when God saw all that He had created, He said it was very good. Rather, the doubt and disobedience altered their perception so that what was once good was now seen as evil. You see, that’s what sin does - it inverts man’s perception.

 

It’s interesting that they took fig leaves to cover themselves. It probably wasn’t a bad choice since fig leaves would likely have been quite large in this environment. But it was obviously ineffective - leaves just don’t wear well! And that’s the case with all the things we hide behind - a macho persona, a prideful arrogance, insincerity or criticism of others - whatever we hide behind, it’s flimsy and really doesn’t cover our ‘nakedness’ very well. They must have looked pretty silly sewing leaves together but this is another impact of sin - it retards or impedes clear reasoning. And I’m sure that I’ve looked equally or even more ridiculous creating my own facades.

 

And all those ‘fig leaves’ we hide behind – fundamentally, they’re fruitless, aren’t they? Remember, God’s first command to man -- “Be fruitful and multiply.”

 

Of all the recorded miracles of Jesus, there was only one that was destructive. In Mat 21 the story is found - Jesus was looking for fruit on this fig tree and coming to it, He found only leaves. As a result, He cursed it saying, ““Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?” So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done, and whatever things you ask in prayer, believing , you will receive.”

(Mat 21:19-22)

 

His teaching was on faith, but it wasn’t faith to obtain something. Look closely. It was on faith to remove something - fruitlessness, mountains of obstacles. The fig leaves just withered. In the same way, today, Christ would have us speak to the fruitless coverings we hide behind, the things which seem to loom large before us as hindrances to intimacy with Him, “Be removed!”

 

‘Naked’ honest truth is what leads to the fruit He wants to produce in our lives. “...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control...”            Gal 5:22,23

 

“And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.”

 

First they hid from each other and then they hid from God. You know, people do the same thing today; they don’t hide in the trees but they hide behind anger, or hatred, or selfishness, or some other attitude, especially when they sense God has entered their ‘garden’. How many times have I been talking to someone about the Lord and everything’s going fine until I ask, “So how about you? What’s your relationship with God like?” Suddenly, they are back peddling, making excuses for ‘leaving’ or ‘barking’ at me for being too personal - hiding in the trees.

 

“Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?””

 

Now, God knew exactly where Adam was so why did He ask? As you read the gospels, you find Jesus doing the same thing - asking a question for which He already knew the answer. You see, God didn’t need to know where Adam was, Adam needed to know where Adam was! God was giving him an opportunity to confess his wrong doing and repent.

 

Also, it’s evident that the Lord had an appointment, a time of regular fellowship with Adam in the garden. He belonged to God as a child belongs to his father. Now you can almost hear the sorrow in His call. To which Adam responded,

 

“So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.””

 

Here we see the second consequence to sin. The first was death; both Adam and Eve died immediately spiritually. The second is fear. Personally, I think this is Satan’s number one weapon of bondage in people’s lives. Fear of man, fear of pain, fear of death - but the Bible says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment.” 1 John 4:18

 

Now, the scripture exhorts us repeatedly to “fear the Lord” but this is not the same thing at all.

Sin has given us such a poor impression of this. Like the young mother who was having a difficult time with her seven year old Billy. The youngster just seemed bent on being a rascal and wouldn’t listen to her admonitions. After much frustration, she went to the priest and said, “Father O’Donnel, could you please help me? My boy, Billy, is incorrigible. He is always getting into trouble. Could you talk to him? He just needs the fear of God!”

 

Well the priest was willing to help, and the next Sunday after the services were over, he sternly took Billy into his office and sat him in a chair. He looked him straight in the eyes and said, “Billy, do you know where God is?” The little boy became very sober. The priest said again, “Billy, do you know where God is?” This time the boy stiffened. For a third time and with emphasis he said, “Billy! Do you know where God is?”

 

At this, Billy’s eyes got as big as saucers. He leaped out of the chair, ran out of the church, jumped into his mother’s car, and with absolute silence made the trip home. On the way, his mother thought, ‘My, but didn’t Father O’Donnel’s words to the job! Billy’s a changed boy.’

 

As soon as they reached their home, however, Billy ripped open the car door, dashed into the house and up the stairs to his big brother’s room. He slammed the door behind him and ran to his brother’s bed. On bended knee, he cried out, “Joey, Joey, you gotta help me!! The church...down at the church...” he gasped. “They’ve lost God and they’re trying to pin it on me!!”

 

This kind of fear is not what God wants us to have. To fear the Lord properly is to have a reverent respect and awesome love such that you simply don’t want to do anything to disappoint Him. This “fear” or awe is fueled by love.

 

“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?””

 

Keep in mind here that God did not need information, Adam needed to confess his error. You see, temptation draws us to the precipice, sin pushes us over the side, and pride keeps us from grasping the lifeline of repentance that God throws to us. If the man had just admitted his error - what a different story we all might be living now.

 

What a difference sincere confession makes! King David wrote, “When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer...I acknowledged my sin to You and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.” Psa 32:3-5

 

And in Proverbs, it says, “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” Pro 28:13

 

There’s another old testament story that pertains here. King David was in his palace while his men were out fighting. One day he was on his roof and happened to see his neighbor’s wife bathing “and the woman was very beautiful to behold.” His neighbor, Uriah, was one of David’s most loyal soldiers. Nevertheless, David sent messengers and took the woman into his house and had relations with her. Then, when he found out she was pregnant as a consequence, he schemed to try and make her husband think it was his own child. David called him back from the war and encouraged him to spend some time with his wife. Uriah, however, would not even go to his home while his comrades were on the battle field.

 

His plan foiled, David desperately maneuvered and manipulated the situation to ensure his brave soldier would be killed in battle. In effect, he murdered him. Some time later, the prophet Nathan approached the King and told him a sad story: “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”

 

This story incensed the king and he exclaimed, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die!” To which Nathan replied, “You are the man...” and David, reeling from the shock of exposure and the light of truth had a huge choice in front of him - to reject the truth and hide in the darkness, in the crowd, among the ‘trees’ so to speak, or to come into the light and admit his failure, admit his need for forgiveness - to repent.

 

Here’s what he did. He said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” He did the right thing from his heart, in sincerity. And immediately the prophet responded, “The Lord also has put away your sin; and you shall not die.” Oh, if Adam had only done the same thing. Now, there were consequences that befell David as a result of his sin and certainly that is universally true, but honest confession and repentance makes the difference between life and death. That’s what salvation is all about.  “...if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus (your need for His atoning blood which was shed for your sins) and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Rom 10:9,10

 

“Then the man said, “The woman who You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”

 

Alas, no confession in the sense of repentance. Instead, we have the first case of the proverbial ‘pass the buck’. Adam took no accountability for his action but rather he pointed the finger at the woman “YOU gave me”. In other words, it wasn’t just Eve’s fault, it was God’s fault for ‘blessing’ him with this lady - a “thanks for the help!” attitude (sarcasm implied). Obviously, this was rooted in pride. It reminds me of a story --

 

                A Texas farmer was touring England. He happened to meet an English farmer and asked him, "What size farm do you have?"

                The Englishman proudly announced, "Thirty-five acres!"

                "Thirty-five acres?" the Texan scoffed. "Why, I can get in my truck at 8:00 AM and start driving and at noon, I am still on my farm. I can eat lunch and start driving again and at 5:00 PM I am still on my farm.

                "Ah, yes," the Englishman nodded in understanding. "I had a truck like that once."

 

“And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.””

 

Taking her cue from Adam, she passed the blame to the serpent, who by this time was probably trying for a hasty get-away...

 

“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, 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 feet.””

 

So the serpent was ‘nailed’. Satan took reign of the planet but in the process, he incurred damnation. This passage is regarded by many scholars as the first prophecy in the Bible in which the woman pictures the nation Israel. Now, many rabbinical scholars claim that the man referred to in Isaiah 53 is Israel as well, but that is not so; throughout the scripture, Israel, when allegorically portrayed as a person is always portrayed as a woman. Never as a man.

 

Here, Israel the woman, is said to be in enmity with Satan and if you

take a look at history, you see that indeed, Satanic anti-Semitism has plagued the people Israel from Pharaoh to Hitler. And not only is this enmity with the woman but with her Seed. This is interesting because the “seed” of procreation is always attributed to the man. Because of this, many see this as a reference to the virgin birth of Christ - “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and shall call His name Immanuel.” Isa 7:14

 

And we can see that this prophecy came to pass for although Satan did “bruise” Christ’s heel on the cross of Calvary, Jesus bruised his head big-time in rising from the dead, taking captivity captive, destroying his works, and redeeming all who believe!

 

“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.””

 

Now this is really beautiful and wonderfully reveals the heart of our God. At first glance, you might hastily think God was just being a disciplinarian but nothing could be further from the truth. The word for “sorrow” here is worrisomeness and the word for pain, refers to a carving, fashioning or forming. Recall what was evidently the bait that Satan used to deceive her -- a promise of spirituality, to be like God. Eve desired more spirituality but grasped for it deeming it something that would give her an edge, it was like the ‘brass ring’. Her desire wasn’t wrong but obviously, her method was.

 

Here, God said that she was going to be fashioned in child-bearing and she was going to be in a position of submission to her husband. What was God doing? Let’s look at another portion of scripture for the clue.

 

Paul wrote to Timothy, “Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. Nevertheless, she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.” 1 Tim 2:14,15

 

You see, what God was doing was giving her her heart’s desire. She wanted spirituality, so God schooled her in what true spirituality is all about -- serving, giving out, long-suffering, self-sacrificing love... She would be fashioned into a godly person as she raised her children, teaching them to walk in faith, love and holiness, with self-control; and as she submitted to her husband in sincere humility. In effect, God gave her an incredible gift. This wasn’t just discipline, this was grace. And how often do we think, when we have some trial come into our life, “Oh, God, I’m sorry. I’m re-e-ealy sorry. Please help me out of this jam. Please, please, please.” Ha!

 

You see, we’ve got to understand this. Our God is love. His motives toward us are always for our good. He’s not sitting on the throne, with belt-strap in hand, just waiting for us to mess up so He can whack us hard. When He allows difficulties, regardless of our understanding, the end is good. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Rom 8:28 We belong to Him as His kids and His desire is bring us into a oneness with Him.

 

When Alan Redpath’s two daughters were younger, he heard his wife say, “Girls, go get your father for breakfast.” The oldest bounded up the steps, and by the time the youngest (who was considerably younger) made it to the room puffing from the race, her older sister said, “I have already told Daddy breakfast is ready, and besides I have all of Daddy.” The little one took that pronouncement hard, and a tear began to run down her cheek, so her father sat her on his knee. She put her head on his shoulder, then smiled big and said to her sister, “You might have all of Daddy, but Daddy has all of me.”

 

Ladies and gentlement, this is important. Many of you likewise desire more of the Lord’s presence, His Spirit, in your life. Of course that is wonderful, but you will not find it by ‘grasping’ for it from someone promising you that you can have it all now -- instant gratification.

 

And it’s never for giving you the spiritual edge over anyone. Just look at Jesus. Look at His life for the example. It was a life of raising His kids, submitting to the higher authority, a life of serving, giving, ministering, loving, healing, helping and dying. There’s the spirituality you desire - it happens supernaturally-naturally as you walk in Christ’s footsteps.

 

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

 

There are several things in this passage we need to notice. When you talk to some people and you mention the curse, they automatically think that God cursed man because of his rebellion. That’s not true at all. God never cursed Adam; on the contrary, His curse was upon the ground “for” man’s sake. That is, just like He began to work into Eve’s life the thing she desired, so He did with Adam.

 

What Adam chose was essentially a special relationship. He viewed Eve as his completer. God had said, “It is not good that man is alone.” to which Adam could say, “Amen!” and he evidently didn’t want to be ‘alone’ again.

 

But he chose to pursue this relationship with someone ‘made of dust’ just as he was, and it was that choice that was/is doomed to fail. In other words, he thought he could be fulfilled in Eve rather than in his Creator.

 

God knew that the fulfillment Adam needed and desired could only be realized in relating to Himself. Seeking to fill the emptiness of the heart through intimacy with another person can only go so far because flesh can only relate to flesh; the spiritual part of man can only be nurtured and completed by God Who is Spirit.

 

So the Lord gave man what he opted for - the flesh, the dust of the earth. But the dust was cursed FOR man, so that man would learn the most important lesson - that the dust just doesn’t satisfy. It can’t fulfill his heart’s desire. And in ultimately realizing this, he would be led back to the One who truly loved him and Who alone could bring purpose to his life. The relationship Adam needed and longed for (though he didn’t yet realize it) was with the Lord.

 

The scripture says, “You turn man to destruction, and say, “Return, O children of men.” Psa 90:3 That word, destruction means a breaking and humbling.

 

We should also note that God’s ‘medicine’ for Adam’s heart was hard work. Sometimes, working hard is the most spiritual thing you can do. And it’s one way God uses to keep sin in check. As a matter of fact, the people that tend to struggle the most with sin are usually those who have the most time on their hands.   Now, work as a medicine only treats the symptoms of sin - the cure, of course, is the blood of Christ.  

 

“And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.”  

 

This is wonderful. What a declaration of faith. At first, she was named Woman, but now there’s a change. You see, Adam didn’t name her Eve until after their fall. You see, Eve means “life” or “living” - but they had just died. They and their offspring were all doomed to death and Adam knew this...unless God intervened.

 

Personally, I think Adam may very well have heard what God said in verse fifteen of this chapter and believed it. As a result, he was looking for the Seed - for the Life-giver, the Messiah. He looked to God to restore life, true life, back to His creation.

 

Now Eve was probably encouraged by this. And again, since she was, as the bride of Adam, a picture of the church the message is that though she had died, there was hope in God and she was called Life.

 

It reminds me of these scriptures - “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed -- always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” 2 Cor 4:8-11

 

So Adam expressed faith in God’s plan of redemption. But sin had entered the world, and its effect was to distort, really invert our perspectives of good and evil. It radically changed the relationships God intended.

 

Let me explain. Before the fall, Eve wanted simply to change herself - to become more spiritual, more godly. Adam, before the fall, loved Eve so much, he identified with her so much, that he chose her over his obedience to God. Then entered sin and things have been different ever since. Now, the tendencies of men and women in relationship are quite the opposite.

 

Now, women tend to want to change their mates - wishing they were more spiritual or more tender-hearted or more romantic, etc. They often don’t respect who their husbands are as much as what they want them to be.

 

Now, men tend to love other things or are stuck on themselves, they tend to be independent and really don’t identify well with the feelings and needs of their spouses. That’s why the scripture says, “...let each one of you (each man) in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” Eph 5:33

 

“And for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.”

 

Man made a mess of things when he tried to cover himself. Surely, fig leaves were not be the most comfortable ‘dining ensemble’. But God, in His mercy and grace, gave them a covering; but note what kind of covering -- a skin. In order for man’s now-sinful nakedness to be covered, there had to be a death, an animal had to die. Personally, I think it was likely either a lamb or a goat though of course I can’t be dogmatic. Nevertheless, the spiritual principle is here illustrated for us - the plan of God from the very beginning.

 

The Bible amplifies this point - “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement (covering) for the soul.” Lev 17:11  “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” Psa 32:1

 

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”    Jn 3:16

 

God knew from before the beginning that man would fall and He planned all along to pay the price for that fall Himself. He gave His own life in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, to cover us and to remove the fruitlessness from our lives. He is the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the earth. Rev 13:8

 

“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 live forever --”

 

Whew! I’m sure glad God intervened. Can you imagine living forever getting more and more hateful and self-absorbed, while physically, mentally, and morally decaying! Praise God for His mercy! And again, we witness the compound unity of the Godhead in the word “Us”. But watch what happened here:

 

“therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.”

 

Though God said, “Man has become like one of Us” it was also true that unlike God, evil had entered the heart of man. As a result, access to the Tree of Life was forbidden.

 

The perfect poetic contrast to that situation is when mankind, beholding Jesus Christ, could say, “God has become like one of us”. For it was then that the Light of Life began to enter our evil hearts and access to the Tree of Life was restored to all who believe. The Word of God declares,

 

“For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”  1Jn 3:8

 

“And this is the testimony; that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1Jn 5:11,12

 

“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Jn 10:10

 

“Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life...”      Rev 22:14

 

Recall that Adam typifies/pictures Christ and notice that just as he was sent out of paradise to till the ground from which he was taken so Jesus was sent out of heaven to work the ‘soil’ of mankind’s heart.

In fact, Jesus said, “I must work the works of Him Who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.” Jn 9:4 and… “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.” Jn 17:4

 

Also, we should note, the first Adam, full of sin, sowed seeds in the ground while the last Adam (Christ) sows His seeds in the heart. And we, in a sense, have the option to follow either example. “For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” Gal 6:8

 

“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.”

 

So the east gate was closed by a flaming sword, but one day soon, the antitype of Adam, Jesus Christ, will enter the east gate - the east gate of Jerusalem which has been closed as well. But, when Christ comes, He will enter having paid the price for sin and having the right to rule. As a result, healing waters will flow from that entrance (see Ez 47).