At this point in Genesis, all is well.

God, out of His infinite love, has made the world. He has created man and woman in His image. They are in love and in relationship with each other. God with them. They with Him. And with each other.

In the garden God made for them, the man and woman existed. And everything was good.

In that state, God said:

“You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16–17, ESV).

You see, as good as everything was, man and woman still had freedom. They were free to obey. Or free to rebel.

The man and woman were not prisoners to God's desires. They had the ability to disobey Him. They were not automatons, humanlike machines that could only obey God. No, they could also disobey their Maker.

But the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was more than a test of obedience, but also a test of trust. If they ceased to believe God had given them everything that was good, if they ceased to trust God's nature, they would eat the forbidden fruit. If they doubted God's goodness, they would eat. If they thought God was holding out on them, they would partake of the outlawed tree.

This means that to eat the forbidden fruit was a statement that God, His provision, and His ways were not enough. They needed more.

We know the story. Eventually, at some point after their creation (we don't know how long after), they grew suspicious of God and ate the fruit He'd forbidden.

But, to get there, a nudge was required. The serpent would provide that nudge.

Let's read:

The Sin (3:1-6)

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

The Serpent

This section begins with a crafty serpent talking to the woman (1).

Remember, in all of creation, no one was higher than humanity. The creatures of the earth were to be in subjection to the man and woman, who were to have dominion and subdue the earth. They were, unlike the serpent or any other animal, made in God's image. Only God was superior to them.

This means the temptation came from beneath them. And to submit to a serpent would bring them down rather than up. It would demean them, rather than elevate them.

Every temptation works this way. They are all designed to demean you, to make you less human, to frustrate your divine purpose, and pull you down rather than exalt you. The dominion we can have through Christ is so often lost through temptation.

Now, the Scripture spends zero time explaining this talking serpent. Eve doesn't act shocked, so perhaps this was a perfectly natural event to her.

And, as tempting as it might be to declare this art or fairy tale or fable, the Bible doesn't treat it as such. Genesis 1-11 is treated as factual and historical. To treat this portion as fiction means you must treat the whole section the same way. No, we cannot give it such treatment. Though unusual, the Bible presents this event as factual.

But we aren't given much more information as to how this conversation worked. What the Bible does tell us is that the Devil somehow used this serpent. Satan is referred to as the "ancient serpent" (Revelation 12:9, 20:2). How closely the snake and Satan were related we do not know, but here, at least in this moment, they were connected in some way.

The Insidious Question

And the crafty cunningness of the serpent brought forth an insidious question. Let's observe it for a moment:

He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" (1).

Notice first how he addressed his question to the woman (1). God had created man first, and then the woman had come from man's side. She would complete him, and they would be perfect complements to one another. Adam would lead the relationship and Eve would be his perfect companion who would help him as he also helped her (2:18, 20).

So it comes as no surprise when Satan immediately attempted to disrupt the order of their marriage. He wanted to thwart God's plan. Later, God rebuked Adam for following his wife's lead (3:17). This was Satan's plan all along.

Notice also how he challenged God's word. He said, "Did God actually say, "You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" (1). His attempt was to plant a seed of doubt in Eve. God is good. God was good. The creation of God was good. But Satan wanted Adam and Eve to doubt God's goodness, including His good plan and provision for their lives.

You see, what God had said was, You may eat of every tree, but there is one you shall not eat from. The way God framed His command, and the reality of His command, was positive. Incredible freedom.

They should have responded: Every tree is ours! We can eat the fruit from all! God has taken care of us! We need nothing else!

But Satan wanted God's people to doubt God's goodness. He wanted them feeling God was restrictive, holding out on them. So the way he framed it was negative. You can't eat of any tree?

2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”

In these verses, in her reply, we witness Eve making four crucial mistakes.

Mistake 1: Entertaining The Serpent

So Eve responded to the serpent (2). This was her first mistake. You don't entertain the snake. You don't get into a debate with someone so crafty (1). You don't entertain thoughts that doubt God's goodness.

Instead, you run (1 Corinthians 6:18). You take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). You flee.

But Eve didn't. She responded. This was her first mistake.

And when the great tempter of your soul whispers into your ear, "Is God really all that good to you?" You must resist and run from him. He is a liar and a deceiver. Instead, look to Jesus, see the cross of Christ, and know the perpetual, immovable, unshakeable, everlasting goodness of God.

What He has given you, what He has prescribed for us, is good. Always. Don't entertain the thoughts within or without that tell you God is holding out on you. Don't listen to those voices.

Mistake 2: Minimizing God's Provision

Eve's second mistake was to minimize God's provision. God had told Adam they were to freely eat of all the trees but one (Genesis 2:16 NIV, HCSB, NKJV). They were free. And, except for one, every tree was theirs. Every tree. This was meant to signify radical and superabundant provision from God.

But Eve took all the life and promise and generosity out of God's provision when she said, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees" (2). I picture her delivering the line totally monotone — no life in her voice. Like, "You know, the trees are there. We can eat them if we want to. No big deal." Yawn.

There's a big difference between "we may eat" and "we've been told to freely eat." I think this was Eve's way of beginning to doubt the magnitude and blessing of God's provision. Rather than rejoice at what God had given, she downplayed it.

Girl should have said, "Are you kidding me, snake!? God is so so so so so good! He has built this amazing place for us. It's the Garden Of Eden. It's paradise. It's for us to roam and play and love and enjoy Him in. Our family will thrive here forever. You crazy, brah."

But, no. She doubted. She began believing God had given less than the best.

Mistake 3: Making The Prohibition More Stringent

Eve's third mistake was to make the command of God sound more stringent than it was. She said God told them not to touch the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (3).

But God had never said such a thing. He'd only told them not to eat the fruit. So this was her addition.

This is the introduction of legalism into our world. She took something God said and made it more severe.

This mistake drives me batty because I see it all the time. It holds people back from the gospel. Jesus comes along and offers His mercy and grace. Then legalists come along and add to the gospel, making good news bad news.

Yes, there is a disciple-life that follows true allegiance to Jesus. And that life is hard enough. It makes you different. It's the best life, but that doesn't mean it's easy. So when legalism comes along and adds to God's word, saying, "Don't drink. Don't listen to music. Don't enjoy the simple pleasures of life. Don't have fun," it is destructive.

There is ample place for personal convictions which go above and beyond Scripture. If you think God is leading you to deny liberties, go for it. Throw away your TV. Never drink a glass of wine. Only listen to worship music. Only shop at thrift stores. Eat vegan. But please don't take your personal convictions, things that go above and beyond the demands of Scripture, and tell others they must adopt them. They don't. They must obey the clear word of God, not your personal convictions.

Again, as a believer, there is plenty I cannot and will not do. Why add to the list? The disciple life following Jesus is a hard path. Why make it harder?

Mistake 4: Weakening The Penalty

Finally, Eve's fourth mistake was to weaken the penalty. God said, "In the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" (Genesis 2:17). The New Eve Version said, "Lest you die. Maybe. It might happen. Eat this, and you could die. It's a possibility" (3).

And all these mistakes stemmed from a lack of adherence to, allegiance to, or knowledge of God's word. She either didn't know it very well, had forgotten it, or purposefully allowed herself to twist it to her own destruction.

But weakness in the word led her into error.

This weakness I'm talking about isn't just an ignorance regarding Scripture. It was a mentality. She came to God's word with doubts about God. She didn't like what He'd said. She thought He might be holding back from them. With that mentality, she was sure to poke holes in His Word.

And as she messed with Scriptura, she took the L. She lost bigtime.

This helps us prepare for what's coming in Genesis and the rest of the Bible. If Eve's disaster was precipitated by her carelessness in the Word, we would expect the rest of the Bible to declare the importance of the Word. We should find people who clung to the Word and were granted victory. We should see the Scripture valued highly by God. And this is exactly what we will find.

The message to Israel, and to all God’s people, should now be clear: A thorough knowledge of the Word of God and an unwavering trust in the goodness of God are absolutely essential for spiritual victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Allen P. Ross, Creation and Blessing: A Guide to the Study and Exposition of Genesis, 137.

4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Lying About The Consequences

At this point, Satan had her teed up. She was ready for destruction, primed for manipulation. Her heart had told her God was not as good as He first appeared. She'd begun thinking of Him as a divine bully, demanding too much, and unable to discipline as He'd said.

So the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die" (4). Satan wasted no time. He mixed no words. And he lied straight to her face. You won't die. That's not guaranteed. The results God said would come from disobedience will not come. He doesn't have that power.

Satan is a liar, and this is his big lie (John 8:44). He says, You can sin and get away with it. There are no real consequences for sin. And, the crazy thing is, after thousands of years of seeing the chaos and pain life outside God's commands presents, we still fall for this stupid lie. But disobedience brings death -- and death, as we shall see, has many forms.

The Crux Of The Temptation

And, after lying about the consequences, Satan questioned God's motives. He reasoned, "God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (5).

This is the crux of Satan's argument. God is keeping the knowledge of good and evil from you, and that knowledge is amazing. You should want it. He doesn't love you; if He did, He'd let you have that knowledge.

His basic reasoning is this: God has kept good back from His people.

This is still the temptation today. Has God given us everything we need? Has He given us all that is good? Is His definition of "good" accurate?

You see, before this moment, Adam and Eve didn't try to decide what was good and wasn't good. Instead, they asked God. Is this good? Is that good? And God defined it all for them.

He showed them what good looks like.

But the tempter of our souls wants to make us question God's goodness, but also His ability to decide what is good. He wants to make us think we know better than God.

6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

Threefold Temptation

The conversation concluded and the woman saw the tree in a whole new light (6). She'd made a decision: the tree was good for food (6). She was in charge now. God's declarations were no good to her any longer. She knew what was good for her.

The serpent had helped awaken something within her. John said:

"For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.” (1 John 2:16, ESV).

And Eve seems to have fallen prey to all three. She fell to the desires of the flesh when she saw that the tree was good for food. She fell to the desires of the eyes when she considered the tree a delight to the eyes. And she fell to the pride of life when she thought the tree was to be desired to make one wise (6).

Adam's Acquiescence

Having given herself to the temptation, everything happened in rapid succession. The time for debate passed, and one action spilled over to the next. She took the fruit. She ate. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her. Then he ate (6). The first domino had been pushed, and, quickly, all the others fell. In a flash, sin.

And one detail comes as a shock to the reader. Her husband was with her (6). All the while, Adam was there. All the verbs in the previous conversation are plural. He listened in. But he was far from an innocent bystander.

Paul's commentary on this event:

"Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived...” (1 Timothy 2:14, ESV).

Adam wasn't deceived. He knew exactly what he was doing, and he went right along with the temptation. He gave in.

Adam acted with his eyes wide open. Rather than stand up and defend his bride, He acquiesced to rebellion against God. Adam did not lead his wife but instead followed her into error, and God's order was overturned.

Jesus, of course, is the better husband, greater than Adam. Adam's sin led to unrighteousness for all of humanity, his bride, and beyond. But Jesus' act of righteousness on the cross leads to perfection for all who believe in Him. He is better than Adam.

"Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.” (Romans 5:18, ESV).

And when Jesus was brought into the wilderness for forty days of fasting and testing, He passed the test when Adam could not. Starving, rather than satiated. In the wild, rather than the garden. Bombarded with the full force of Satan's temptations, rather than a silly snake. And Jesus succeeded where man could not.

He leads his bride into victory.

The Immediate Results (3:7-13)

7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

Self-Liberation Result 1: Conflict With Each Other

Right away, man and woman were given the independence they craved. It wasn't as good as they thought. The eyes of both were opened, and they realized they were naked (7). Their immediate response was to cover themselves, so they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths (7). Innocence was gone.

Notice how their desire to be like God made them realize they weren't even like each other. This caused shame and embarrassment, so they covered themselves. They made makeshift clothing for themselves, and that clothing created a visible barrier for their naked flesh from their spouse's eyes.

That visible barrier was emblematic of the spiritual and emotional barrier they put up that day. And men and women have been putting up walls and barriers ever since.

You see, they wanted independence, but without God. Once they liberated themselves from Him, they came into conflict with each other.

This is part of the reason our sin hurts those closest to us. A barrier goes up. Separation occurs.

We must remember this first result of their sin: conflict with each other.

8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself.”

Self-Liberation Result 2: Broken Fellowship With God

Another result of their self-liberation, their craving for independence, was broken fellowship with God.

God came walking in the garden in the cool of the day (8). The implication is that this was a regular event, a time for fellowship between God and his children.

But, instead of appearing for fellowship, the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God (8). God called out, "Where are you?" (9).

It is one of the saddest lines in Scripture.

And, because they were made in God's image, this separation from Him has catastrophic results. We cannot be all we were intended when we disassociate from Him. To go our own way, to become the definers of good and evil, breaks us off from the God who made us.

And he is our only path to true joy and satisfaction because he made us for the relentless enjoyment of himself.

We must remember this because Adam and Eve's actions in Genesis 2 are celebrated by the society in which we live. They liberated themselves from God's harsh commands and laws. They entered into true paradise when they ditched the shackles of the divine. No more restrictions! No more laws! They found freedom!

To many in our culture, it was Adam and Eve's act of rebellion that made them human.

But we see the truth. They became less human when they walked away from God.

Adam explained his actions: "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself" (10). He was afraid. He knew he was naked. So he hid from God.

11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

God Questions Man

God asks the man a series of questions. Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree? (11). Neither these questions or the previous description of God looking for Adam in the garden suggest God didn't know. He knew exactly what happened. He knows all things.

But He gave the man a chance. Like a good father, the Heavenly Father offered His child a chance to come clean, to confess his crime.

By the way, this opportunity might come your way every now and then. If you get caught up in secret sin, the day will come, a moment, when you are caught in your trespass.

Then, before God and others, you will have the chance to own up to what you've done.

Too many, at that moment, excuse their sin, blame it on others, or fail to come clean. But every single thing you leave in the dark will be exposed. At least one day. All too often, I have watched someone confess part of their sin, only to break everyone's heart when the whole story is fully revealed later. They've compounded their sin with lies, more sin. When the time comes, confess everything!

Blame Shifting

The episode shifts to a massive blame-shifting party. Adam blamed it on the woman: "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate" (12). And notice how he blamed his wife, but also his God, when he called Eve "the woman you gave to be with me" (12).

Eve then blamed it on the serpent. She said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate" (13).

The excuses ended there because the serpent had no problem serving as the instigator of the entire fiasco.

Please notice something, however. They blamed whoever they could. For Adam, there was no one else. He blamed the only two persons he knew, the woman and God. In his mind, it was literally everyone else's fault. Rather than take ownership of his sin, he pinned the blame for his failures squarely on others.

This is such a disastrous byproduct of the fall of man. We love to blame others for the way we are. So parents, teachers, and other authority figures draw our ire. Whole methodologies of counseling are built on this premise. Someone else must be the reason you are who you are, so let's dig into the past to find out who did what to you. Let's find out who is to blame!

But, in Christ, we can run toward the blame. We can say, Yes, I am a great sinner, but I have a great Savior. There are a thousand things wrong with me. And maybe people or circumstances in my life HELPED DRAW THEM OUT, but they are my flaws.

And, beautifully, by His grace and mercy, we can embark on the path to healing in Jesus. But it is crucial for us to accept responsibility for ourselves.

The Curse (3:14-19)

14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

A Memorial

God started in on the serpent (14). He would then address the woman, and finally, the man. But in speaking to the snake, He declared, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life" (14).

Now, in a moment, God will address the devil himself. First, though, God spoke to the creature. To the snake. Forever, the serpent would crawl on his belly and lick up the dust of the earth.

This does not necessarily mean the serpent was a legged creature before. It could mean that, but the text does not demand it. In fact, I think many of us, if we could detach from how creeped out we are by snakes, would admit they employ a marvelous and incredible method of transportation. Only God could create something so incredible. So I have my suspicions that something changed in the serpent's body at this point.

Instead, it seems the fact serpents crawl on their bellies is forever meant to stand for something new. Like rainbows after the flood began signifying God's covenant with the earth, so a serpent on its belly began to signify and remind of the curse God declared on the earth. I even wonder if the widespread fear of snakes many humans have has been caused by this curse from God.

See a snake. Get creeped out. Remember the fall.

A New War

But God went on to declare: "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring (15). This reads as much more than an everlasting war between snakes and humans. It reads as a new and perpetual war between our species and the devil's forces. Forever, we war against his insidious ways.

And, before Christ, it is a war we lose.

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience...” (Ephesians 2:1–2, ESV).

So, congratulations Adam and Eve, you've just introduced a new world order. You had the garden, but now you'll have a warzone. Enmity will exist. Your offspring (us) will be drafted into the conflict. There is no exit strategy.

Embedded Hope

Or is there? God gives us some of the first hints at the promise of the gospel: "He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel" (15). The idea is that though the serpent will hurt the offspring of Eve, he will win the victory because he will bruise Satan's head.

The head injury defeats the heel injury.

And notice the promise ditches the idea of war between Satan's team and humanity. The language shifts. A singular descendant of Eve -- he, not us -- shall defeat the Serpent.

This is widely considered the first implicit mention of the gospel after the fall of humanity. Man sinned. And now God says, "A day is coming when one of Eve's sons will bruise the head of the serpent." Though Satan has greatly hurt humanity, and though he insidiously moved the perpetrators of Jesus' crucifixion, Jesus wins the final victory. He delivers the fatal blow.

"He disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by His victory over them on the cross.” (Colossians 2:15, NLT).

And this brief verse now becomes the central theme and story of the Bible. Satan wars against humanity. A struggle between good and evil. We will see it in the very next chapter when Cain kills his brother. Satan will win.

But, throughout the Old Testament Scriptures, Christ prepares to come. And, on the cross, Jesus delivers the blow which crushes Satan. Now, we await His return and the full experience of His victory. Ultimately, Jesus wins.

16 To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”

Pain and Hope

But the passage moves on to describe the curse pronounced upon the woman. Besides the Satanic war against her offspring, the woman would have multiplied pain in childbearing (16). God said, "In pain you shall bring forth children" (16).

Perhaps this signifies the way birth would have originally worked had sin not cast its spell on our world. Maybe pregnancy and birth would have been painless experiences. But, of course, this isn't the case in our current world. Any woman who's endured labor pains, and anyone else who's witnessed it, knows it is a grueling experience.

But it seems the pain of the curse might extend beyond the physical pain of pregnancy and labor, but also the emotional pain. Whether through post-partum depression or the inner angst mothers endure for their children or the physical pains of pregnancy and labor, women all over the world have endured the adverse effects of the fall.

But, as with the curse against the Serpent, there is hope. In labor, the pain of birth is one thing, but there is the hope of a child. And perhaps the pain of childbirth is meant to remind humanity that the pains of this life are working something wonderful.

"For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” (Romans 8:22–23, ESV).

Or:

"For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison...” (2 Corinthians 4:17, ESV).

Additionally, for the believer, we know the ill effects of the fall can produce God's holiness in us. As we endure through the trials life throws at us, we hope in what they can produce in us. Like labor pains producing the child whom parents love so dearly, so our trials can produce the sanctification we know we need.

Harsh Leadership

But God also said, "Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you" (16).

This is not a reference to the natural relationship the man and woman were supposed to have. Rule means much more than leadership. This is not a reference to:

“But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.” (1 Corinthians 11:3, ESV)

Instead, because sin entered the world, and death spread to everyone, women would find the world a difficult place. Adam and Eve were supposed to live in a harmonious partnership with God-defined roles and mutual respect, but the fall introduced a battle between the genders. And the battle is one no one wins, but women especially, throughout human history, have felt its weight.

And even in our Western world where feminism has combatted inequality between the genders, the results are suspect. The carnage of abortion is directly tied to the more recent iterations of feminism. The sexual revolution has likely merely given many men what they always wanted -- commitment free sex under the guise of the virtue of liberating women.

But legitimate and true Christianity, the gospel, destroys the marginalization of women traditional cultures ascribe. It was radical for Christians to introduce and practice a way of life where women had equal status before God. And Christians played an important role in first wave feminism, helping win the right to vote and inherit land.

The reality is that you cannot get the philosophical or moral framework for the equal treatment of all people from an atheistic framework. You just can't. Many have tried to argue for it, but many others have given up saying atheism and the equal treatment of humans can logically coexist together. They can't. The survival of the fittest will devalue the lives of some to promote others.

No, the very underpinnings of any movement which honors all human life go back to Jesus. You see, the idea that men and women are equal isn't a feminist idea, but a Christian one. We know men and women are equal. We have both been designed by God. We are both one in Christ Jesus.

In an article at desiringgod.org (desiringgod.org/articles/throw-like-a-girl), author Rebekah Merkle critiqued modern forms of feminism well:

So, what’s wrong with feminism? Honestly, much of it comes down to a fight over definitions. What does “equal” really mean? Does it mean “the same”? A Christian believes that women are different than men — with different strengths, different abilities, and different tasks. We don’t believe that this difference implies inequality. A feminist, on the other hand, believes that true equality cannot be achieved without sameness.

We believe that women are different than men, and therefore have to be held up to the standards of what makes an excellent woman, judged on our own terms. A high-achieving, admirable woman looks different than a high-achieving, admirable man, and she is going to accomplish different things.

We Christians, particularly Christian women, need to fight harder to recapture the idea of feminine excellence. Too often, in the name of conservatism, we have bought into the stereotype and embraced the “helpless, soft, little woman” persona, thinking that’s what it looks like to be feminine. But we need to study our Bibles and learn to embody virtue like women, obedience like women, ambition like women, wisdom like women, courage like women, faithfulness like women, strength like women.

I share all this because our response to this portion of the curse should be the gospel, not new wave feminism. We must turn back to the Scripture for its definitions of male and female and our oneness in Christ.

17 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Leadership Forfeited

God rebuked Adam because he'd listened to the voice of (his) wife, sinning by eating of the tree, which God told Him to avoid (17). God held Adam responsible for his own decisions; it didn't matter that Eve had handed him the fruit. Adam was responsible for himself. He knew better.

Dominion Lost

Resultantly, the ground was cursed (17). Adam was always intended to work and garden, but the curse introduced pain in order to eat, all the days of his life (17). Thorns and thistles, apparently not part of the original design, began to develop (18). Man would sweat to eat bread, and his sweat would last all life long until he returned to the ground (19).

In the perfection of Eden, the creation would work in harmony with man. Dominion would be easy for humanity to live out, but after the curse, the very soil rebelled against man. He cannot even get the soil to easily or quickly subjugate itself to him. He has to sweat to get a crop.

Even today, despite all our scientific advancements, we cannot control nature. Droughts and pestilence plague us. We work hard for the little control we do have but are mostly at the mercy of the natural world.

And almost everyone who has walked the earth has discovered the pain of this part of the curse. We labor and toil to stay afloat, to make ends meet. It is seemingly never enough.

Death Inevitable

And, on top of all this, death became an inevitable reality. God said: you are dust, and to dust you shall return (19). This is the worst part of the curse, but also, in a sense, its greatest blessing because it releases this world's grip on us. In Christ, we then escape to the new paradise Jesus has for His people.

Declaration: How Life Must Now Be

All these curses are statements concerning how life now is. They aren't commands to obey.

For instance, it is not wrong for a woman to avoid pain in childbearing, for a couple to figure out ways to mutually love and respect one another, or for workers to industriously plan ways to make their work less burdensome.

The point is not that we must obey the curse, but that we will continually buck against it. It's just there, plaguing us to the very end.

We know this to be true. No matter how much society advances, our world cannot seem to rid itself of male dominion, harsh labor conditions, pain in birth, famine, and death. Though we work hard to mitigate them and their effects, they are always there.

But it is through Jesus the curse is abolished. He became cursed for us. He sweat great drops of blood. He wore a crown of thorns. He suffered the agony of the cross to birth a people for Himself. He made a way for God and man, and man and woman, to live as one. And in His forever Kingdom, the curse will be forgotten, and all our tears will be wiped away.

Some After Effects (3:20-24)

20 The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

Hopeful Glance

In the midst of all this pain, there are some emblems and words of hope. And one of them is found in the way the man called his wife's name Eve, which literally means "living" (20). He felt she would become the mother of all living (20).

It seems Adam had faith. Though they would die, God would let them live.

And life was required if God was going to fulfill His promise that her seed would crush the serpent's head. It's as if Adam accepts the chaotic and broken world, realizing his part in it all, and decides to move forward in trust that God had a plan. Life will go on. God will move.

21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

God Covers

The garments of fig leaves were not sufficient, so the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them (21). As many have pointed out, the sin of Adam cost these animals their lives. It was important for God's people to be covered, so God took care of the responsibility.

"Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins." (Hebrews 9:22)

Anticipatory Of Jesus

There seems to be some anticipation of the animal sacrificial system Israel engaged in, but more completely, the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Only through His blood can our sin be covered. We need Jesus to be the sacrifice whom all the lesser sacrifices of Scripture, including this one, point to.

22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

The Tree Of Life

The interesting element of this passage is the tree of life (22). God suggests man would live forever if he ate of it (22). This tree appears again in Revelation 22:

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” (Revelation 22:1–2, ESV)

But, though these references exist, the tree of life is never fully explained in Scripture.

An Act Of Grace

The idea to banish us from contact with the tree of life, though, seems to be one of grace. God said: lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever (22). As I said in our last study, this might mean the tree of life would provide continual life through continually eating of its fruit. Some have seen it as able to grant miraculous length of life, like Indiana Jones' holy grail.

Either way, God did not want us to live in the forever death of the curse. Chaos will not win. God wants to bring us to the tree of life in His new creation He's reserved for all who trust in Him.

To that end, God placed cherubim with a flaming sword to guard the way to the tree of life (24). Israel learned about cherubim (plural for cherub, a type of angel), in the construction of their tabernacle. Here, though, the cherubim aren't mere images on the ark of the covenant but sent from God's presence to keep man from the tree of life.

The Stage Is Set

And now the stage is set for the rest of the Bible. God will work hard to make a way for humankind to experience a new existence with Him. He will turn the course of history to make a way for a new and unbroken, sinless creation. Let the story begin!