GET READY
You were speeding and got stopped. While the police officer is approaching, what is going through your mind? Are you worried about the cost of the fine? About how the police officer is going to deal with you? About the points on your record? About the increase in your auto insurance premium?
THE WORD
3Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2The 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 middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.'”
4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not 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.” 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. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves 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?” 10He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.” 13Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.”
14The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this, cursed are you among all animals
and among all wild creatures; upon your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
15I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between
your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike
his heel.”
16To the woman he said,
“I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing; in pain you
shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your
husband, and he shall rule over you.”
17And to the man he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife,
and have eaten of the tree about which I commanded you,
‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you;
in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18thorns and
thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the
plants of the field.
19By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return
to the ground,
20The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21And the Lord God made garments of skins for the man and for his wife, and clothed them.
22Then the Lord God said, “See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” — 23therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. 24He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life. NRSV
GET INTO THE WORD
1. Who is the new character in the garden? How is he described? What does he ask the woman? How does she answer? What does he say in response to her answer?
2. How did the woman respond to the serpent’s statement? What did she do? What happened as a result? How did the man and woman deal with the new situation?
3. How did the man and woman react to God’s presence? How did the man answer God’s questions? How does the woman respond when God questions her?
4. What does God say to the serpent? What is the punishment? What does God say about the woman and the serpent [see Notes]?
5. What does God say to the woman about her consequences? What does God say about the woman’s relationship with the man?
6. What is the man’s fate in all this? How do you think he responded to God’s punishment? How do you respond?
7. What does the man do next? What does God do for them? What does God do to them next? Why does he take this action?
GET PERSONAL
What kinds of Obey or Trust choices have you experienced recently? How did God help you realize the potential consequences of your choices? How did he help you trust or obey him?
NOTES . . .
3:1. Crafty— also translated “shrewd,” which is also a positive characteristic: To teach shrewdness to the simple, know-ledge and prudence to the young,[Proverbs 1:4].
3:3. Tree in the middle of the garden— the tree provides the opportunity to chose and to trust: the choice according to the serpent is to eat or to not eat; but the actual choice is to trust God and obey or to not trust God and disobey.
3:4. You will not die— Satan (in his guise as serpent) lies the first time he opens his mouth, [check John 8:44-45 where Jesus calls him “a liar and the father of lies”].
3:5. Be like God— Satan often focuses on the supposed “good” result of our choices, suggesting that the ends justify the bad choice.
3:8. Hid themselves— the sinners banished themselves before God even acted.
3:15. Enmity . . . strike— even as God pronounces judgment on the serpent and the humans, he promises a savior and
ultimate victory: Satan will cause Jesus to die on the cross, but Jesus will overcome death itself.
3:16. Pangs in childbearing— many think these are the worst pains possible, including Isaiah: People are terrified. Pangs of anguish grip them like those of a woman in labor, [13:8].
Desire . . . rule over— sin corrupts all relationships, including between spouses.
3:20. Named— earlier Adam named the animals as a sign of his rule over them; naming Eve is consistent with v. 16.
Living— “Eve” is very similar to the Hebrew word for “living.”
3:21. God made garments— even as humans sin God continues to give us things we need – and does it much better than we could: skins are better protection than fragile leaves.
3:24. Cherubim— creatures that appear quite a bit in the Old Testament, usually guarding God’s presence (the most notable is with the ark of the covenant: check Exodus 37:6-9).
Memory Verse
Just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s
act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all,
[Romans 5:18].
Lesson 6:
Genesis 6-9: The Great Flood (but also check out the first murder in chapter 4).
