The Fall - Genesis 3
This is known as, “The Fall” chapter because it talks about the Fall of man. Where we see Adam and Eve sin against God. We might not know the number of sins that have been committed. The final tally of sin, but we see here the start of sin. There had to be the first sin. Normally, when one reads this passage, there is sadness for the sin and the imperfection of the world coming to an end. However, with this passage, we are given hope.
In Genesis 2:15-17, we see that there was one rule for humans. In verse 16, we also see for the first time in Scripture the word “Command” which is ”to order” or “to direct.” God gave a command to. This command from God is that they had one rule. Do not eat from one tree. Eat from any tree except this one. With all of God’s commands, there is always a great blessing and negative exclusions. In verse 17 it talks about how if they had permission to eat from any tree except one, and that if they eat from that one forbidden tree, they will surely die. Now, people have asked, why didn’t God do that? Why couldn’t God have made the rule to eat from any tree? That way, there would be no issues with Adam and Eve sinning. Well, God wanted Adam and Eve to love him freely. God did make the world perfect. But He still gave Adam and Eve the ability to choose to follow Him or to sin against Him. This is what we talked about last week. God didn’t want to force love. He wanted Adam and Eve to love Him on their own.
The serpent comes into the picture, who is Satan, and talks to Eve. The serpent did not go for the legs or the hands. He did not have a sword or spear. You see, Satan knew that he had to go for a weak point. Just like in a military strategy, you would want to go for the weakest point in the armor to inflict to most damage. What did Satan us to cause the most pain? He used words. Satan went for Eve’s mind. In fact, Saten only spoke twice. He didn’t have any special 30-minute speech or force Eve to eat from the tree. All he did was speak. We see, Satan just started to confuse Eve’s mind. In Genesis 3:1 it says, “Did God really say, “You must not eat from any tree in the garden?” Then in verses 4 and 5, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Do you see it? Satan was trying to take God’s words and twist them. We have seen this in today’s culture. People have taken Scripture and twist it for their own gain.
After both Adam and Eve eat from the fruit, sin entered into the world. Adam and Eve were not allowed to stay in the Garden of Eden. However, there is hope in the section. God had a chance to get rid of these humans once and for all. He saw that they had sinned against Him. He could have just snapped His fingers and Adam and Eve could have disappeared. All of the worries would have vanished. However, God chose to forgive Adam and Eve for what they did. God forgives sin, but that does not mean He will forget sin. Even though God forgave Adam and Eve. He showed grace. A price had to be paid. Jesus came to die for our sins. A price for sin still had to be paid. The wages for sin is death. That is the only payment for sin that God allows.
