Doubt lies at the root of all sin.
Altering the Word, v. 1;
adding to the Word, v.3;
or taking from the Word, v. 5;
are dangerous acts.
Genesis 3
1 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?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 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.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 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.
6 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.
7 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.
8 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.
9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
11 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?
12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
13 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.
14 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:
15 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.
16 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.
17 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;
18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
19 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.
20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
22 ¶ 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:
23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
Genesis 3 Intro – J. Vernon McGee
Genesis 3:1-8 – Temptation
The order of temptation is always the same. The Tempter without, and within the strong desire for sensual gratification, with the secret hope that somehow the consequences may be avoided. The eye inflames passion; passion masters the resistance of the will; the body obeys its impulse; the act of gratification is followed immediately by remorse and guilt. Then we need the second Adam! —Through the Bible Day by Day
Genesis 3:1-5 – J. Vernon McGee
Genesis 3:6-7 – J. Vernon McGee
Genesis 3:8-9 – J. Vernon McGee
Genesis 3:8 – We also, when like to be obtruded on by the presence of God to our conscience or our thoughts, do, by a movement almost instinctive, flee to hide ourselves. We too have our gardens of vain security, our places of sweet and soothing forgetfulness, which serve, to ourselves at least, the temporary purpose of a hiding-place from God. If they do not hinder Him from seeing us, they at least hinder us from seeing Him; and this does in the meantime, for a respite from all those troublesome awakenings, which might else have haunted our spirits, and rifled away from them the rest and the enjoyments which we are so fain to prolong. (Chalmers)
Genesis 3:9-21 – God’s Condemnation of Adam and Eve
God does not wait for Adam to find his own way back, but hastens in search of him. “Where art thou?” Jesus met the Tempter not in a garden, but in the wilderness. He suffered being tempted, but has become to all who obey Him a Life-giving Spirit, and the Author of Eternal Salvation. Read I Corinthians 15:45, and Hebrews 5:9. The penalty is gone, borne by Him in His own body on the Cross. So Paul affirms in Romans 5:14, etc. Our bias toward evil is counteracted by His indwelling through the Holy Spirit; so we are taught in Romans 8:1-4. He bruises Satan beneath the feet of those who trust Him. Such is His own assurance in Luke 10:19, and Mark 16:17. He transforms the other results of sin. Through pain the mother’s love is drawn out to her child. Hard work is educative and ennobling. Death is the gate of life. Where sin abounded, grace abounds much more. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Genesis 3:9 – Where art thou?
The cool of the day, when the breeze steals over the fevered landscape, is an appropriate time for man to hold fellowship with God. We need to have his hand laid on our throbbing temples, stilling, tranquillizing, shedding his serenity throughout our being. What the breath of evening is in summer, fellowship with God will be for thee, my soul; see that thou art not so absorbed with thy sins, thy love, or thy business, as to miss the tryst, when the sun is weltering.
God misses his child.—That hour of fellowship was much to Adam, and it was more to God. Love, God’s love, craves for fellowship. As the musician for his lute, as the hart for the brook, as the mother for the twining arms and babbling talk of her child—so does God long for the free outpourings of his child’s heart in prayer; misses them when withheld; is jealous when they are fitful and intermittent.
God seeks his child.—He did not wait till Adam found his way back to his side. But He hastened in search of him. So through the glades He comes to seek thee, O truant one! Where art thou, that for these many days thou hast withheld thyself from the hour of prayer? Wilt thou not say with the psalmist (Psalm 27:8), “When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek”?
God mourns over his child. Alas, for thee: as though the heart of God were wrung with sorrow for our loss, as well as his. But He does not content Himself with regret. By the pang of travail, by the prick of thorns, by the necessity of labor, by sacrifice and gifts of covering for our nakedness, He brings us back to Himself. —Our Daily Homily
Genesis 3:10 Intro – J. Vernon McGee
Genesis 3:10-13 – J. Vernon McGee
Genesis 3:14-19 – J. Vernon McGee
Genesis 3:20-24 – J. Vernon McGee
Genesis 3:22-24
It was good that man should be driven from Eden. Soft comfort enervates. The natives of the South Sea Islands are moral pulp. Man goes forth from the Eden of innocence, of home, of the land of his birth, to create gardens out of deserts, and to become a pilgrim to the abiding City of God. Angels of Love forbid our return. Heaven lies before us, the City gleams with light on the far horizon. For the Tree of Life see Revelation 2:7. —Through the Bible Day by Day