Reach Out His Hand - Genesis 3:22-24

Genesis 3:22-24 ESV 

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—” therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 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.

Choosing and taking the fruit of the tree of life was equally within reach. If Adam and Eve's attention had not been drawn to forbidden tree, the garden story might have ended differently. But God knows what lies in the heart of man. God knew that another tree of life would be necessary. The Son of Man was already anointed as the tree of life that has appeared in our wilderness. The timeless fruit is now available for the picking. The kingdom of heaven has drawn near. 

Just reach out...

And Clothed Them - Genesis 3:20-21

Genesis 3:20-21 ESV 

The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

Eve means life giver. It is through her body that the living would come. It is through Christ's body that the living would finally arrive. 

Adam and Eve were clothed in garments of skin. This points to the sacrifices to come that would help to cover their sins. The skins did cover their nakedness in addition to speaking to what God was doing. 

Later, He would clothe them in garments of righteousness, the righteousness that comes only from God. 

You Have Listened - Genesis 3:17-19

Genesis 3:17-19 ESV 

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;

thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;

and you shall eat the plants of the field.

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.”

Adam listened to his wife rather than God. He did what she said instead of what God said. The ground he was to work is cursed, which is the work of disobedience. Pain and sweat will now be added to his effort, just as childbirth became painful for Eve. Disobedience brings a compromised life, where obeying God leads to life in it's fullness and best. 

Instead of blessings of obedient cultivation, the ground will sprout thorns and thistles. Adam will eat what he grows, rather than the fruit of the garden. The fruit of the Spirit is withdrawn. 

Adam, and all of us, will now experience the pain of living that comes with his choice of disobedience. No longer will the bread of heaven feed and comfort man. His bread is now confined to his own efforts. 

Their choice was really between heaven and earth. They did not see that until it was too late, when their eyes were opened. Trusting God rather than self has always been the issue and question posed to man. 

He Shall Rule - Genesis 3:16

Genesis 3:16 ESV 

To the woman he said, 

“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;

in pain you shall bring forth children.

Your desire shall be for your husband,

and he shall rule over you.”

The woman's punishment involves a more painful existence in bearing children and in the subjugation to her husband. She will be the mother of all living, yet the child bearing pains will be played out on a personal level and in the birth pains of the new creation to come. 

She loses something in her relationship with Adam. God seems to redirect her access to Himself to Adam instead. Adam becomes her lord. She has lost her status of co-ruler with Adam and is now ruled by him. 

Dust You Shall Eat - Genesis 3:14

Genesis 3:14 ESV 

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.

Genesis 3:19

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.”

The serpent is cursed to eat dust all the days of its life. Adam is cursed to return to dust, which is food for the serpent. 

Both fall to the ground for their transgression. Adam to work the ground instead of the garden and the serpent to slither on its belly on that ground as an enemy of man. 

Later Jesus would provide the way for man to rise from that dust to the the kingdom of heaven as a new creature. The dust is left behind, but there is plenty left for the serpent. 

They Knew - Genesis 3:2-7

Genesis 3:2-7 ESV 

And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 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.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 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. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

The prospect of being like God is too much for Eve and she succumbs to the temptation. Not only is the tree pleasing to the eye and good for food, but provides a wisdom apart from God. It sounds too good to be true and it is. She and Adam trade the wisdom of God for wisdom of their own. Their eyes are opened, but they see something different than expected. 

She ate for the wisdom it would bring, but only their knowledge was increased and they knew they were naked, having lost the garment of right standing with God. 

Did He Actually Say - Genesis 3:1

Genesis 3:1 ESV 

​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 is near the forbidden tree and is filled with the darkness of Satan. Satan was in heaven until he was cast out. To be present in the garden along with the tree of temptation explains why he, the embodiment of temptation and rebellion, would be found in this sacred place. He is there to allow the man to choose God.

The snake is part of God's plan just as the forbidden tree. We are placed on this earth that we might choose God, that we would enter that light which would separate from the darkness. Satan seeks to undermine the very word of God which brought forth creation. That strategy has proved very successful through the ages. 

"Did God actually say..."