Genesis
Lesson 12 w/AnswersGenesis 3:7-24
In this lesson, we will look at what is most-commonly referred to as "the fall", the point in time when Adam and Eve sin in the Garden of Eden. What a world this would have been if only they had not disobeyed God. As a book of beginnings and firsts, the book of Genesis lays the foundation for all that will come after it. We will be examining the beginning of man’s sin; the first sin, like all those that followed, resulted from disobeying God.
Today, as we reflect on our lives, we can only imagine what they would be like if we had no sin and if we lived in a world that had not been cursed as a result of sin. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Romans 3:23 tells us "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God", and 1 John 1:8 says "if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us". These days, sin and its effects are everywhere we look. How hopeless we would be without a redeemer!
Just as Adam and Eve needed God to save them, so too do we. Let’s see how much we can learn from their experience in the Garden after their sin, and God’s reaction to it.
Read Genesis 3:7-24 and consider the following:
- Following Adam and Eve’s sin against God, what does verse 7 indicate that they did right away?
- ANSWER: They sewed fig leaves together in order to cover their nakedness.
- Do you suppose that God knew that they had sinned because now they had these fig leaves wrapped around them? Wouldn’t Adam and Eve have been smarter to stay naked, the way God had created them, and not give away the fact they had sinned? What do the following passages have to say about these subjects?
- Hebrews 4:12
- ANSWER: God sees the thoughts and attitudes of our heart. He is not fooled by outward appearance.
- Isaiah 64:6
- ANSWER: "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away." [NIV]
- Isaiah 61:10
- ANSWER: "I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." [NIV]
- Hebrews 4:12
- As you consider Adam and Eve’s actions in verses 7 and 8, have you ever experienced or behaved in a similar way yourself? As we examine their behavior, what are some common observations that we can make about sin, and our actions following sinning, which apply today even though we are all wearing clothes and not living and working in a garden? (see Genesis 3:7-8)
- ANSWER 1: They did not even consider the consequences of their actions, i.e., their sin, prior to disobeying God.
- ANSWER 2: They thought that they could cover up something internal with something external. Today, we might try to put on a happy face, act religious, etc., hoping that no one can tell that we’ve sinned.
- ANSWER 3: We are more concerned about our physical appearance and physical needs than we are about our spiritual ones — that is, until we have sinned and realize that we need God to forgive us and restore the relationship.
- ANSWER 4: We think that no matter what trouble we get into, we can get out of it ourselves.
- ANSWER 5: When we have sinned, we think that we can either hide from God, or hide the sin from Him. However, Job 28:24 tells us that God sees everything under the heavens; nothing is hid from Him.
- ANSWER 6: Even when we sin, God loves us enough to come searching for us, just as He called out to Adam who was hiding.
- ANSWER 7: We can always find someone or something to blame for our weakness that led to a specific sin.
- Now let’s take a moment to examine Adam’s response to God’s question regarding whether Adam had eaten of the forbidden fruit. What does Adam’s reply demonstrate to us regarding our inclination to lie about our sin and to deny it? Did Adam give a simple yes or no answer to God? What exactly did Adam do in response to God’s question?
- ANSWER 1: First, Adam began making excuses for his actions, even before admitting that he had indeed eaten it. He blamed the whole event on Eve; and then, if that wasn’t bad enough, a closer look at his answer will reveal that he actually blamed it on God: "The woman you gave me", or "the woman you put here", depending on your Bible version.
- ANSWER 2: Similarly today, we do not want to take responsibility for our actions, and especially for our sins. We would like to say that we did something because that’s how God made us, or because someone else was to blame and so on; but God is not fooled.
- Continuing our review of the confrontation between God and Adam and Eve, what was Eve’s response, and how was it similar to Adam’s?
- ANSWER: Eve’s response was similar to Adam’s in that she blamed her sin on someone else, i.e., the serpent, and not herself, just as Adam had done.
- What was wrong with the Garden of Eden that caused Adam and Eve to sin once God placed them in it?
- ANSWER: Absolutely nothing was wrong with it. This reinforces the point that we cannot blame our sin on our environment. Adam and Eve were living in the perfect environment and were walking with God daily. The decision to sin, to disobey God, was theirs and theirs alone; their perfect environment could hardly be to blame.
- Because Adam and Eve sinned, and through their actions sin entered the world, then is it logically their fault that we are prone to sin today, i.e., because we have inherited this sinful nature from them? (see 1 Corinthians 10:12 and James 1:13-15)
- ANSWER: This is hardly the case. Sin enters in when we are tempted and when we choose to give into that temptation. The curse on God’s creation came about because of Adam and Eve’s sin, but the fact is that we sin of our own volition — it’s not hereditary.
- Genesis 3:14-19 records the pronouncement from God which is commonly referred to as "the curse". There are actually several curses cited in this passage. Can you list each?
- ANSWER 1: The curse on the animal kingdom.
- ANSWER 2: The curse on the serpent.
- ANSWER 3: The curse on the woman.
- ANSWER 4: The curse on Adam and his descendants.
- ANSWER 5: The curse on the ground itself.
- What is the fundamental difference between the curse on Satan and the curse on Adam and Eve?
- ANSWER: There is no hope of redemption for Satan, but God provided that hope to Adam and Eve and to all of their descendants.
- How many children did Adam and Eve have before they sinned? (see Genesis 3:20)
- ANSWER: None; the verse indicates that Eve "would become the mother of all living" (emphasis added).
So, it is evident from our study that we have nothing and no one to blame for our sin but ourselves; and likewise we have the only hope for redemption, Christ the Messiah. Reflecting further, we see that the environment in which Adam and Eve lived was perfect, and that they also enjoyed daily visits from God. Yet, in spite of these two seemingly-perfect things, they chose to disobey God and to sin — bringing a curse on all of God’s creation.
Today we live on an earth that is severely impacted by that curse: strange weather, civil unrest, illness, poverty, injustice, and so on are all around us, making it easy to use any of them as an excuse for our sin. But God is not fooled nor mocked, as the Bible tells us. He knows our inner thoughts and desires, and He knows we need salvation and redemption that only He can bring through His son Jesus.
What a world without hope that we would have today, if it were not for Christ. Let’s take some time this week to thank God for His infinite mercy and grace and for sending His son into this lost and dying world to rescue us from it. Let’s also pray that the many around us who are looking for hope will see Jesus in us, and that they come to know Him as their personal savior as well.
Thanks for studying with us.
In Christ,
Wes
[2010]