Genesis 3

Genesis 3

Isn’t it interesting that Eve adds to God’s original command when she speaks to the serpent? Looking back at Genesis 2, God never told Adam not to touch the tree. But when put to the test, Eve forgets what the original command was, which ends up being her first real mistake. So when the serpent appeals to her desires, the lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, etc. she takes the fruit and eats. All it took from Satan was one little push, and Eve went the rest of the way. Just like Adam and Eve, we only need that little push as well. When we open up a small hole in our lives and allow Satan through, it only takes that one small crack for him to begin to work his ways of deception. If we are not careful, we will soon find that we too are caught up in sin, possibly in a place we would have never expected to find ourselves.

Furthermore, we must also be careful for we never know who else we might affect with our decision. In Eve’s case, she immediately affected Adam, who was also deceived. But she in turn allowed that sin nature to continue on to their children and eventually to the rest of mankind. In the same way, there are always people watching us, either through admiration or condemnation. There are those who want to mimic what we do, so we must be careful to offer a positive example for them. But there are also those who want to catch us in a sin in order that they might take a strike against us or Christ Himself. One reason sin is so deadly is because it never just affects us. It will begin to reach out to others as well.

Not only does sin reach out to others, but it also leads us further into sin. David found this when he lusted after Bathsheba. For David, the sin of adultery led to murder and so on and so on. For Adam and Eve, one act of disobedience led to lying and blame. They did not want to take responsibility for their actions, so they passed it off on to someone else. Sin’s consequences are far reaching, and we must always be aware of how one mistake can alter the rest of our lives.

God had created a perfect world for Adam and Eve. Their only responsibilities were to follow God’s commands and tend to the things that they had been given. But after the Fall, their entire lives changed. Their consequences included a much harder child birth for women and a much harder time working for the men. Since God cursed these two things it appears as if they had been intended to be enjoyable, peaceful, easy aspects of life. But again, all of that can change with one wrong decision.

But if that were not enough, God finally cast them out of the perfect garden into a land that was much harsher. It was there that Adam and Eve had to begin anew, start a new life, and decide whether they would follow God or continue to follow their own selfish desires. It is interesting that one reason God cast them out of the garden was to keep them from the tree of life. Twice in the closing verses, the text says that they were sent away so that no one would be able to access the tree. It says that the tree would cause them to live forever, but it intrigues me to know that that small detail was thrown in at the end of the chapter, and I am not entirely sure why.

Matt