Truth Seeker: His Story

The Temptation and Fall (3:1-13)
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees of the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
1. The devil or Satan is the serpent in the garden of Eden. He was formerly cast down to the earth after rebelling against God. (Rev12: 7-9) Satan was likely confined to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The serpent was able to communicate with Adam and Eve. This may have been verbal or telepathic. Evidence for talking animals is found in Numbers 22, 2 Corinthians 11:3 and 2 Peter 2:16. Do you sometimes get evil thoughts and temptations? Where do these come from?
2. The devil tempted Eve by questioning the meaning of God’s words. Undermining and twisting the meaning of the words of God in the Bible is still a method used by Satan. Can you think of some examples?
3. Not only did the devil challenge the meaning of what God said, he also made it seem like God was keeping something good from Eve. The devil made it seem like God was putting some unjust limitation on them. The temptation for new experiences, pleasures and knowledge that go beyond the commands of God continue to entice humans to sin.
4. The devil said that Eve would “be like God” is she ate the forbidden fruit. How is this desire the same as the one that caused the devil to fall from heaven?
5. Shame, fear and then blame were the immediate results of sin for Adam and Eve. These are indicators that we have sinned.

Adamic Covenant (3:14-19)
So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, ‘Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.’” To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” To Adam he said, “Because you have listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it.’ Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. But the sweat of your brow you will your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
1. God’s wrath and curses are his response to sinful behavior. The devil was humbled and told that he would be defeated by a future human (Jesus). There would be war between those who follow the devil and those chosen by God for salvation. What are some examples of how those who do evil to persecute and otherwise war against those who are born-again? How have you been persecuted by those who follow the ways of this world rather than Jesus?
2. Eve was put under the authority of Adam and her pain in bearing children is increased. Adam and Eve would struggle in their relationship. Eve was not inferior to Adam, yet she had to submit to his leadership. As a leader, Adam needed to be respected but he must not treat Eve as a subordinate. How has this tension affected your parents and your relationship with your spouse if you are married?
3. Adam failed to keep Eve from sinning and then he joined her, so God cursed him by making his work life hard. He also promised that aging and physical death would be his fate. How does this show God’s love and mercy as well as his judgment of sin?

Adam and Eve are Cast from Eden (3:20-24)
Adam named his wife Eve because she would become the mother of all the living. The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat and live forever.” So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
1. Adam named Eve after they sinned. He named her Eve because she would “become the mother of all the living.” This seems an obvious fact, but it may also be related to God’s promise of a future descendant (Jesus). If this is the view, then it represents an expression of hope. Those born-again through faith in Jesus are a new creation, a holy people who are sanctified by God. The curse of sin is removed, and God restores some of Eve’s offspring to a holy relationship. (2 Cor 5:15-21; 1 Pet 2:9-10)
2. Adam and Eve were ashamed of their nakedness and covered themselves with leaves. God made clothes of animal skins for them. This may be a picture of the blood sacrifice of Jesus required to cover and atone for human sins. It does show the great love of God in that, in the midst of punishing them, he provides for them.
3. Once the innocence of Adam and Eve was lost, they had to be removed from the Garden of Eden. Otherwise, they might eat of the tree of life and live forever in a sinful state. Why would this be a bad outcome? How would it conflict with the judgment pronounced by God?
Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden of Eden. This was necessary because this was a wonderful place to live. God used angels to make sure that they could not go back into the Garden. Angels are assigned by God to help humans. (Heb 1:14)