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The Temptation From the Serpent in Genesis 3 The Genesis story of man in the garden is both practical and literal. We do not know how long they were there before that day. It was a day like any other until…the Serpent saw his opportunity as Adam was not right beside Eve (though he was near), so the devil came to to Eve in disguise of a creature they saw in the garden and began to have a cordial conversation. He had her doubt God about eating from the one tree both Adam and her were not to eat from. Eve responded how they were to keep from the tree for if they ate the fruit they would die. At this point they had not seen death but understood in its most simplistic fashion that it was not good for them. Gen 3:4-5 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.”“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.” He then made his appeal directly to Eve. He made it seem as if they were prevented from being like the one who made them and gave them life. The very one thing The Lord told them not to eat, the only prohibition he gave them the devil had them focus on. to disobey God. They would be as gods, knowing good and evil. So goes the Serpent’s temptation of Eve, however if they were created in gods class as word faith teachers claim this statement this temptation would be redundant and powerless in its persuasion. Gen 3:6 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. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate .” Adam and Eve fell, they were not exalted. It was all a lie, there was no shortcut to be as God. Man as a creature could not have the authority as his maker. He could never be a god, for there is only one God. She looked and desired to taste it and had bought the Devils line, she thought it would give her wisdom; Heb. sakal - a primitive root; to be (causatively, make or act) circumspect, intelligent (Strong’s concordance). This wisdom would have her make decisions by her own volition and will, separate from God. Without any hesitation she gave it to her husband who nearby and he willingly ate. Not knowing what the devil told her what it would do. But something happened, something did change immediately. Gen 3:7 “ 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.” Their eyes were opened, they understood what they did, they learned wrong and evil by experience. Adam is called by the Lord and hesitates, he is hiding. He comes out telling the Lord, “ I was afraid because I was naked.” The Lord asks him how he knew this Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat? ” (v.11) Adam’s response “ The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” Heis distancing himself from taking responsibility for what he did. The LORD questions the woman, “ What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate. ” The LORD curses the serpent then prophecies of a redeemer to them and to all ingrained in the Word of God. V.15 “ 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 heel.” Then tells the woman her conception will have sorrow and pain when she has children; This again telling her the future that will affect her family (Cain and Abel).
Also, “ her desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you”
So this changed in their relationship.
Adam is taken to task, “ 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. ” (V.18 -21) And so this is what we have today, a fallen world, not the way it was originally made, but damaged. Death was now introduced to all who are born Before he ate
Gen 3:5
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."
After being confronted by the Lord, he killed an animal and they saw what death is, also illustrating their future. He clothed them in the animal's skin. They are told that their bodies will return to the ground from where it was made; that their lifestyle of ease will no longer be the norm. Gen. 3:22-24 Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, and clothed. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever ” therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 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.” Man was to be like his maker in a moral quality, in image and likeness. He was not confirmed to be eternal like God is, for he had to eat of the tree of life- which he was prevented by God. God knows what is good and evil because He is all knowing, that is why he warned Adam what would happen if he ate from the tree. He did not want him to learn evil by experiencing it. God does not have to experience evil to know the difference of what is good. God knows all before it was made by Him. Man learned what was evil by disobeying God. In fact he did not know what evil was until he ate. Here is what the Bible is telling us what happened. That man now learned in the wrong manner what is evil- by his experience from the temptation of the Devil instead of being trained by knowledge from God as he matured. So not only was the ground cursed, the whole arena of what man was to rule over was ruined. Now he could not eat from the one other tree, the tree of life that assure him eternal life. So Adam and Eve were both banished from this perfect environment and prevented from going back into the garden that was paradise. God made sure of this by having two angels guard it (and they did until the flood came and they were no longer needed for this task). The gaining of the knowledge of good and evil enacted the law. Sin came to life. Now we all inherit Adam’s sin, it became his nature and this corruption was passed on; it’s what we call original sin. Rom 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world , and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” We inherited his sin, his nature; his flesh and death from being his offspring. spread in Greek: dierchomai- to go through, pass through. (Vincent's Word Studies of the New Testament) Passed upon dieelthen (NT:1317) ef' (NT:1884). Literally, "came throughout upon." The preposition dia (NT:1211) denotes "spreading, propagation," as eis (NT:1500) "into" denoted "entrance." Romans 5:12 For that all sinned ef' (NT:1884) hoo (NT:3691) pantes (NT:3909) heemarton (NT:261). Constative (summary) aorist active indicative of hamartanoo (NT:261), gathering up in this one tense the history of the race (committed sin). The transmission from Adam became facts of experience. In the old Greek ef' (NT:1884) hoo (NT:3691) usually meant "on condition that," but "because" in the New Testament. (from Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament) Man that was to be like his maker in a moral quality, in image and likeness was now in ruins and the only way back to what God intended was to send his Son from heaven to become man and live a perfect life without sin as a man like Adam. Jesus then present himself for our sins by being willingly and openly crucified and returned to life on the third day after his death. This was promised in Gen. 3:15 to Adam and Eve, So we see God never forgets nor neglects His promises, even if they are thousands of years in between. He wants to give us mercy not judgment.
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