# 28 2022 Dev. Genesis 3:9. The Fall! Read chapter three first. We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think on and interact with. This is God’s story. How will it affect your story? All passages are taken from the NIV.
Genesis 3:9 “But the Lord God called to the man, ‘where are you?’”
Back ground: We began at the beginning. A lot can be unpacked from the first sentence of Scripture, perhaps a whole book. But we will give only a short introduction: whatever people perceive the Scriptures to be it is first and foremost an account of God’s love perceived in His relationship with people in Christ Jesus. The first three chapters of Genesis corresponds with the last three chapters of Revelation.
Intro. Ge. 3 It is hard to imagine things went bad in a day or two, non the less, Satan entered into their life in the garden. This a place where God walked and talked with His creation. Adam’s disobedience changed that relationship, and changed their way of life, from peace and harmony, to one of conflict. Not only human relationships but it includes all of creation (Ro.8:18-25).
Vs.1-5 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made.” How is it possible for a snake to talk, as far as the garden is concerned we cannot understand these happenings this side of heaven. There is a lot of speculation, but that is what it is, speculation and imagination. But in a place where God walks and talks with his creation, it is plausible for Satan to talk to Eve. Why Eve? It could be that Adam perhaps did not inform her, “and you must not touch it”, God did not say that. However, Adam was there as well.
Satan’s temptation causes Eve and Adam to doubt, “Did God really say, you will not certainly die… For God knows… your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God…”That is a strong argument.
Vs.6-9 The temptation has what we could call the universal appeal: she saw the fruit was good to eat, it was pleasing to the eye, and desirable to gain knowledge, she picked and ate and gave to her husband. Adam choose his wife over obedience to God. It appears that once they ate they felt shame and tried to cover their nakedness. Right away they hid themselves from what they had experienced many times, the sound of God walking in the garden. “But God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’” God of course knew the situation but God being a God of grace, mercy and forgiveness makes the first move and calls out to them. This is a call still going out from God to His people, a call to every person lost, every person overwhelmed with life, every person not able to find their way back to Him. Praise the Lord!
Vs.10-20 Now they have to fess up, right upfront things go bad. God asked the man first, his answer “the woman you put here with me…”. Adam blames God. God addresses the woman, her answer, ‘the serpent deceived me…’”. God addresses the serpent, he has no one to blame.
God curses the serpent, but also Satan. The serpent is cursed above all wild animals, obviously, in spite of their benefit in keeping down the rodent population, almost everyone hates snakes, especially women. But Satan is also cursed, v. 15 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring[a] and hers; he will crush[b] your head ,and you will strike his heel.” This is what we call the Mother Promise, a direct reference to the work of Jesus Christ. That means that Christ will be and is victorious. Satan does not have free reign, he is bound and if we stay away from him by our faith and by God’s rules, we are protected.
Eve also is punished in that childbearing will be very painful. ‘Your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you.’” In hebrew, Rule and desire basically are the same word.
Adam, ‘cursed is the ground because of you;’” by ‘painful toil… by the sweat of your brow you will eat your food.’” And you will die, ‘for dust you are and to dust you will return.’” Not a pretty picture for either one of them.
Vs.21-24 “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” They would not be allowed to eat from the Tree of Life that was in the middle of the garden, God “banished them from the Garden of Eden,” God placed a guard to block the way to the Tree of Life, we see the Tree of Life again in Rev. 22:1-5. So where is Eden now? Obviously, Eden was and is in a spiritual dimension, real but not assessable to humans today.
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Heavenhigh 