Where Did it All Go Wrong?
Beginnings • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 4 viewsNotes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Over the last several weeks we have been looking at the creation narrative of the first two chapters of Genesis.
We have noted how God is eternal
We have noted God’s careful ordering of all things
We have noted His purpose and care that He put into His creation
We have noted God’s provision for all that He created
And we have noted the special creation of humanity
The difficulty of walking through the perfection of God’s original creation is that we all know that we no longer exist in the reality of that perfection.
We have read Genesis 1-2 with the looming reality that the perfect, in which God made all things, has been tainted by sin and corruption.
We have aches and pains that remind us of this fact.
We experience death and sickness
We see evil in the world and more importantly in ourselves.
We experience the struggles of maintaining all of the responsibility and relationships of this life.
And each of us, whether we know the cause or not, recognize that there is something desperately wrong; evil exists and we feel the consequence of it continually.
So where did God’s perfect creation lose its perfection?
Why do we experience these struggles?
What went so wrong after the perfection of Genesis 1-2 that has led to bring about the pain and suffering that we now experience?
Is there any hope to be found in the chaos of living in a world that is so dark and unforgiving?
Is there any hope for the evil that I see in my own heart that causes me to feel shame and regret?
Genesis 3 is a painful yet helpful answer to these questions. We can see the story play out as the first humans fail to live up to the responsibility that God gave them. We see a humbling reminder of how temptation creeps into the hearts of Adam and Eve, and we see how evil is introduced to God’s perfect order.
The Fall
The Fall
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
The serpent began his temptation by questioning the legitimacy of God’s command.
And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
Eve misunderstood the command of God
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
Satan undermines God’s warning.
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Satan calls God’s real intentions into question.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Eve recognized that the tree would feed her physical needs
Eve recognized that the fruit was pleasant to the eyes.
Eve noticed that the fruit offered greater understanding.
Eve partakes of the fruit
Eve included her husband in her sin.
Adam participates in the act.
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
The initial outcome of the sin was enlightening, and maybe even pleasant.
It did not take long for the reality of the consequence to kick in.
Adam and Eve felt shame for the first time.
Rather than taking their disobedience to God in repentance, Adam and Eve’s first response was to try to cover up the new problem that they had.
And they heard the voice 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 amongst the trees of the garden.
Adam and Eve heard God’s voice; they knew it well as they had talked with Him many times before.
When faced with the presence of God, Adam and Eve failed to run TO God and chose to attempt to flee God.
And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
Make no mistake about it, God did not lose Adam and Eve in the garden.
He would have been fully aware of the situation at hand.
He gave Adam the opportunity to own his failure to keep God’s command.
Notice God’s patience with Adam
He did not strike Adam down immediately
Nor did He simply cast Adam out of the garden immediately
He sought Adam out after the sinful act
And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
I do not get the feeling that Adam made a habit of hiding from the presence of God prior to this exchange.
Before he sinned, Adam enjoyed the presence of God, but after He sinned, Adam feared the presence of God.
Holiness in the face of holiness is a pleasing experience; however, holiness in the face of wickedness is a terrifying experience.
And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
God’s testing of Adam shows that He gave Adam the opportunity to own his own sin.
And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
Rather than owning the sin, Adam cast the blame to his wife Eve.
But remember, to whom did God initially give the command?
Who was responsible for the protection of God’s creation?
Who did God intrust with the wellbeing of the first family?
And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
God directs His attention to the woman.
Following her husbands lead, Eve cast the blame from herself to the serpent.
And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Now the Lord was not confused at who was at fault here.
He recognized the serpent’s place in this act of transgression, and it was to the serpent that God gave the first punishment.
The serpents punishment would be a lasting one that would play out through the rest of the biblical narrative.
God’s people would always be against the people of the serpent; this would culminate finally in the seed of the woman who would crush the head of the serpent ending the fight once and for all.
Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
Eve’s punishment was for the pain of child birth to be multiplied.
Every time a woman gives birth we are reminded of both the beauty of new life, but also face the reality of God’s punishment for sin.
There was also the introduction of marital strain. Eve would be in constant reminder that every aspect of life was impacted by the fall.
And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Notice whose voice Adam aloud to be his guidance;
It was not his Creator’s voice telling him not to eat of the tree
Nor was it his own conscience that warned him of the dangers of disobeying God
It was his wife’ s voice who had been deceived by the serpent.
The first direct consequence that Adam received was a reflection of his inability to maintain his responsibility.
Adam was cursed to toil in his keeping of the ground.
Notice that God did not relieve Adam of his responsibility to keep the ground.
Adam was also faced with his own mortality at this point.
He new that one day he would breath his last breath and he would live each day with the reminder that his body was giving out under the pressure of his mortality.
And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
Adam and Eve lost the right to eternal life in the garden that they once possessed.
God removed them from the garden and they were sent to a place that would not be as generous in its provisions to the first people.
In Genesis 3 we also see the first instance of hope in the face of sin. We can see how God responded to the sinfulness of man, and that He was already working out the way to forgiveness.
Hope Provided
Hope Provided
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Genesis 3:15 is recognized by many Bible scholars as the first expression of the gospel.
God has announced His plan for the eventual victory over evil.
From this point forward, humanity looked for the coming of this seed that would defeat the serpent.
Throughout the OT narrative, we can see glimpses of the seed, but no one is able to accomplish what God promises here
The true fulfillment of this verse would come in the person of Jesus
Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
Here we see a beautiful reminder of God’s provision to cover sin.
God took the initiative to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve.
Their own attempt at covering their nakedness was inadequate, BUT GOD gave them lasting clothing for their nakedness.
Here we may see the first example of sacrifice for the covering of sin, Adam and Eve sacrificed nothing to cover their shame but God sacrificed a living beings to cover the sins of man.
We have here a small picture of the eventual sacrifice of Jesus that would be the permanent sacrifice of sin.