Adam and Eve’s sin brought death. God clearly stated that the consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin would be death.
But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die (Gen. 2:17).
A man will return to the ground at death (Gen. 3:19). Adam and Eve would not live forever. Instead, they would die and be buried in the ground.
After Adam and Eve had gone against God’s perfect plan for their lives, the consequences of their sin followed immediately. The serpent, woman, and man all were judged. Only the serpent and ground was cursed (Gen. 3:14). A woman would experience pain in childbirth (Gen. 3:16). A woman would be a helper suitable for her husband. Man would be a worker of the soil (Gen.3: 17-19). The earth will bring forth thorns, thistles, and weeds, instead of fruits. Work will become strenuous task, which would lead to frustration. The consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin were devastating.
Before the fall, Adam and Eve lived harmoniously together as husband and wife. They lived in a beautiful garden God had created for their pleasure. They lived in luxury. Sin did not dominate the world. They had a perfect relationship with God and with each other.
After the fall, Adam and Eve fall into sin and misery. They became aware of their nakedness, and set out to cover themselves (Gen. 3:7). They hid themselves from God (Gen. 3:8). They also isolated themselves from God (Gen. 3:10). They had become fearful of God. Their relationship with each other weakened. Accusations were made, blame shifted, neither wanted to be held accountable, and they refused to admit they were wrong. Sin separated them from God and each other. Their relationship with each other and God was damaged.
After Adam and Eve sinned, their eyes were opened and they knew that they were naked (Gen. 3:7). They became aware of themselves and each other. This act of disobedience brought embarrassment and shame. The shame and guilt created an invisible barrier between them and God. The garden became a place of fear (Gen. 3:8). Adam and Eve felt guilt. They blamed each other (Gen. 3:12-13). Adam blamed Eve. Adam blamed God. Adam reminded God that He was the one who gave him Eve.
The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with
me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate (Gen. 3:12).
Eve blamed the serpent. As we learned from our first parents – embarrassment, guilt, and shame separate us from the love of God.
Adam and Eve wanted their eyes to be opened, to be like God, and know both good and evil (Gen. 3:15). Adam and Eve gave into temptation.
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food,
and that it was a delight to their eyes, and that the tree
was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit
and ate; she gave also to her husband with her, and she
ate (Gen. 3:6).
They desired knowledge. Knowledge was there folly. Satan uses our weakness to accomplish his plans.
Satan appeals to Eve’s physical needs, personal gain, and uses an appeal to persuade Eve to eat forbidden fruit. First, the serpent appeals to her taste. The serpent offers something attractive that God had forbidden. Eve listened to satan. Secondly, the serpent placed doubt into Eve’s mind causing her to be confused about God’s commands.
And the serpent said to the woman,” You surely shall not
die! (Gen. 3:4).
Thirdly, satan uses an appeal to Eve’s personal power. Satan gives God’s words a different interpretation (Gen. 3:5). According to The Methodology of Satan, “He wants to be like God and he uses the deceptions of self-will, self-sovereignty, and self-rule to replace God’s word with his lies. In those lies is an appeal to the person to be like God, to be independent of God.” Satan tempts us by his evil schemes.
Satan created evil; by deceiving Eve.
Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the
field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the
woman, “ Indeed, has God said, You shall not eat from
any tree in the garden.” (Gen. 3:1)
According to Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary, “The tempter was the devil, in the shape and likeness of a serpent. Satan’s plan was to draw our first parents to sin, and so to separate between them and their God.” From the beginning, satan was a liar. Satan is the father of all deceit and craftiness, which leads to evil.
The subject of this theological study is sin found in Genesis 3:1-24. Genesis 3 tells about the beginning of sin. It records the first time people rejected God’s will. It reveals the first of shame and disobedience. The beginnings of separation from God, each other, and the world are found in the third chapter of Genesis.
This discussion will focus on how and where sin originated. Interpretation will be made based on the principles found in the book of Genesis to determine (1) if God created evil; (2) the rational the serpent made to persuade Eve to eat the forbidden fruit; (3) what Adam and Eve expected to gain from eating the forbidden fruit; (4) how the knowledge they gained affected them; (5) their relationship with God before and after they ate the fruit; (6) the nature of God’s judgment as a consequence of their eating; (7) what “death” meant for Adam and Eve; (8) Paul’s interpretation and application of the fall in Romans 5:12-21.
King Hezekiah became deathly ill (Isa. 38:1-8). The prophet Isaiah gave King Hezekiah a message from God that his life was over. King Hezekiah prayed to God and God spared his life. He saw that his illness allowed him to find God’s deliverance (38:10-22). He praised God by writing a poem about his experience. King Hezekiah’s suffering was for good because it made him realize he needed God.
No situation is so hopeless that it is beyond God’s help. God is merciful. When we admit our weaknesses, God responds.
Job gives us an example of how faith needs to work in our lives. Job had to persevere without seeing invisible results. Believers today, rely on their faith in God to give them patience to persevere through suffering without knowing the unknown. While working through the pain, Job was satisfied with trusting God. Trusting in God gives believers assurance, though they may not understand everything. In spite of all he lost, Job placed his hope in God. In the mist of tragedy, faith gives believers hope that God will redirect their lives. Job never stoppped trusting God, even though he questioned God in the mist of his suffering. Like Job, humble submission brings trust to a believer that God is on their side.
The book of Job gives us a “how” to deal with suffering. We must understand what suffering is. Suffering can be a pathway to maturity (Job 42:1-5; Rom. 5:3-5; James 1:2-4). Suffering is a time of testing our faith. We can ask God to teach us and ask Him to show us our faults. God is in control of every situation, whether we are given answers to our troubles or not. God is there to help us through our trials. God’s desire for us is to grow in our faith and glorify His name. Often there is much more to God’s plans than we can know from our finite perspective. In the mist of our pain, we can be positive God is working for our good. All that God does is ultimately for our good.
Suffering reduces our dependency on others and our old ways and makes us lean more on God for hope and help. Job did not believe the advice his friends gave him, instead he faithfully turned to God for answers. Suffering prompts us to be more attentive to God’s voice. Throughout his suffering, Job expressed his feelings openly and honestly to God. He was so busy talking that he missed hearing what God was saying to him. Job began to feel uncertain that God was not listening to him (30:20). He had not given God a chance to anwer. God taught Job to sit still and wait for Him to speak to his heart. Job’s testing taught him to learn to live by faith, rather than his own strength. Job’s testing of faith drew him closer to God and allowed him to see God more clearly. He came to a point of desperation to know why, but God never answered him. He realized his attitude was arrogant and he demands God to answer him. God bought Job to a point of humble acknowledgement that He is righteous and just. Job begins to listen to what God says to him and begins to see the sovereign God at work in his life. God allows suffering in our lives to help us develop our faith and strengthen our understanding of Him (4:7-11). Just as gold must be melted to get the impurities out, so we must go through trials to purify our faith.
