OceanSide church of Christ

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THE ENEMY INVADES THE GARDEN

Genesis 3

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.   Genesis 3 is one of the saddest and darkest chapters of the Bible.

 

B.    The events of this chapter will be the cause of another very dark day centuries to come.

 

I.    Title of Genesis 3

 

A.   The Enemy Invades the Garden (Gen. 3:1)

 

B.    “Hast thou eaten of the tree?” (Gen. 3:11)

 

C.   Sin Enters the World (Gen. 3:6)

 

II.         Key Verse:  Genesis 3:6

 

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that is was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

 

          Why this verse:

 

          As we read about the actions of Adam and Eve in this verse, many things are at play.  Man is yielding to Satan’s temptation.  Man is disobeying God.  Man is bringing sin into the world.  Man is radically altering his relationship with God.  Man is affecting all of his posterity for the rest of time.  This verse divides two worlds:  a perfect world and a sinful world.

 

III.       Outline of Genesis 3

 

i.               THE SERPENT (Gen. 3:1-5)

ii.              THE SIN (Gen. 3:6)

iii.            THE SHAME (Gen. 3:7-13)

iv.            THE SUFFERING (Gen. 3:14-21)

v.              THE SEPARATION (Gen. 3:22-24)

 

NOTE:  We have alliterated each one of the sections of this outline.  By this, we mean that all of the sections begin with the same letter.  In this case, the letter is “S.”  The purpose of this device is to aid one in memorizing the main sections of the chapter.

 

IV.          Lessons from Genesis 3

 

A.   The subtlety of the serpent represents the subtlety of Satan (Gen. 3:1).

 

Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.

 

1.     Subtle (6175)

a.     Strong:  cunning (usually in a bad sense)

b.    BDB:  shrewd, crafty, sly

2.     II Corinthians 11:3

 

But I fear, lest by any means as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

 

B.    Satan has numerous tactics to us to get man to sin.

1.     Three tactics:

a.     He pointed Eve to the sin (Gen. 3:1b).

 

…And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

 

b.    He lied and contradicted God’s Word (Gen. 3:4).

 

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.

 

c.    He made false promises to the woman (Gen. 3:5).

 

For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

 

2.     Two verses:

a.     II Corinthians 11:3

 

Lest Satan should get an advantage of us:  for we are not ignorant of his devices (mind, method, purposes, and thoughts).

 

 

b.    Ephesians 6:11

 

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

 

1)     The Greek word for “wiles” is “methodeia.”

2)     Definition:  trickery, cunning, arts, deceit, craft

 

C.   The three avenues of temptation that lured Eve are still used by Satan today (Gen. 3:6).

1.     What tempted Eve?

a.     The tree was good for good (lust of the flesh).

b.    It was pleasant to the eyes (lust of the eyes).

c.    It was a tree to be desired to make one wise (pride of life).

2.     I John 2:15-17

 

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.  If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof:  but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.

 

D.   One of the horrible consequences of sin is the shame associated with it.

1.     Two actions and one statement manifest the shame of Adam and Eve.

a.     …and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons (Gen. 3:7).

b.    …and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden (Gen. 3:8).

c.    And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself (Gen. 3:10).

2.     Shame involves:

a.     Disgrace

b.    Disappointment to others

c.    Blushing, embarrassment

d.    A bowing of the head in humiliation

e.     Loss of reputation and position

f.     A blemish on one’s name

g.     Loss of favor, confidence, and trust

 

E.    Instead of taking responsibility for one’s actions, man often likes to blame others for their sin (Gen. 3:12-13).

 

And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.  And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this thou hast done?  And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

 

F.     God holds all men accountable for their sins (Gen. 3:14-19).

1.     And the Lord God said unto the serpent… (Gen. 3:14).

And unto the woman he said… (Gen. 3:16).

And unto Adam he said… (Gen. 3:17).

2.     God will hold us accountable also (Rom. 14:12; II Cor. 5:10).

 

So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

 

G.   When we sow the wind, we reap the whirlwind.

1.     The sin of man is summed up in two words, “did eat.”  The consequences, however, are a lengthy list of things (Gen. 3:14-19).

2.     Hosea 8:7

 

For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind…

 

H.   God’s mercy shines brightly in the midst of the darkness of sin (Gen. 3:15).

 

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

 

1.     This is the first Messianic prophecy in Scripture.

2.     Satan is prophesied to bruise the heel of the seed of the woman.  This happened at the crucifixion.

3.     The seed of the women (Jesus Christ) would bruise the head of Satan.  He would strike a crushing blow to his head.  He would do this in His resurrec-tion.

 

I.     Question:  What happened to the tree of life? (Gen. 3:22-24)