The Lamb of God has made for us a garment which covers our nakedness so that we are not afraid to stand even before the bar of God.” (Spurgeon). She knows the law pretty well, and quotes it more or less verbatim, but she does add that they're not allowed even to touch the tree (3:3). unto the woman--the object of attack, from his knowledge of her frailty, of her having been but a short time in the world, her limited experience of the animal tribes, and, above all, her being alone, unfortified by the presence and counsels of her husband. Your good works are essential to what it takes to live out your life, but they are not legal tender before God. That it was a real serpent is evident from the plain and artless style of the history and from the many allusions made to it in the New Testament. The tempter, the devil in the shape of a serpent. Ye shall not surely die--He proceeded, not only to assure her of perfect impunity, but to promise great benefits from partaking of it. i. 3. Our good works are like monopoly money – great for monopoly, but not legal tender. And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. The words should be rendered, "Behold, what has become [by sin] of the man who was as one of us"! But to this point, she was called a female (Genesis 1:27), a helper comparable (Genesis 2:18), a woman (Genesis 2:22, 23), and a wife (Genesis 2:24, 25; 3:8). yea, hath God said?--Is it true that He has restricted you in using the fruits of this delightful place? In one sense her eyes were opened; for she acquired a direful experience of "good and evil"--of the happiness of a holy, and the misery of a sinful, condition. דוַיֹּ֥אמֶר הַנָּחָ֖שׁ אֶל־הָֽאִשָּׁ֑ה לֹא־מ֖וֹת תְּמֻתֽוּן: You … This was the mode of worship now established to show God's anger at sin and teach the mediation of a promised Saviour as the way of life, as well as of access to God. Adam called his wife's name Eve--probably in reference to her being a mother of the promised Saviour, as well as of all mankind. Our website uses cookies to store user preferences. ii. We may request cookies to be set on your device. saw (KJV): Jos 7:21 Jud 16:1,2 ; pleasant (KJV): Heb. But these reptiles were at first, probably, far superior in beauty as well as in sagacity to what they are in their present state. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden? If the fall of man were to have occurred in our times, one can hardly conceive of the consequences. Eve blamed the serpent, and the serpent wasn’t asked a question, but punished right away. Genesis 3:4-5 Satan knows that if they obey God and don’t take of the forbidden fruit, then they would be lost to his evil schemes, so “the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. How beautifully expressive are these words of the familiar and condescending manner in which He had hitherto held intercourse with the first pair. Second, it establishes the parameters by which God will redeem His people from their sin. a. seed of the woman--the Messiah, or His Church [CALVIN, HENGSTENBERG]. Whether it was only the appearance of a serpent, or a real serpent, acted and possessed by the devil, is not certain. He said--There being in the pure bosoms of the first pair no principle of evil to work upon, a solicitation to sin could come only from "without," as in the analogous case of Jesus Christ ( Matthew 4:3 ); and as the tempter could not assume the human form, there being only Adam and Eve in the world, the agency of an inferior creature had to be employed. of 1. the serpent--The fall of man was effected by the seductions of a serpent. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Adam had faith in God’s promise of a Savior, and God provided a covering for them through a sacrifice. 17-19. unto Adam he said--made to gain his livelihood by tilling the ground; but what before his fall he did with ease and pleasure, was not to be accomplished after it without painful and persevering exertion. But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, … They considered Paul to … Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. And here observe, (1.) We can speculate that God did not destroy it, but left it to the effects of the curse and suppose that it generally deteriorated from its original condition, blending into the surrounding geography. a. And the serpent said to the woman, "You will surely not die. Genesis 3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.. Ver. This does not mean God did not have a name for Eve, but we are told what the name is in Genesis 5:2: He called them Mankind. We are clothed with a garment of righteousness that was purchased with the life of another, Jesus Christ. Formed, at first, in our image to know good and evil--how sad his condition now. And take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever: In mercy, God protected Adam and Eve from the horrible fate of having to live forever as sinners by preventing them from eating from the tree of life. This is the last historical mention of the garden of Eden in the Bible. This interpretation with its emphatic biases should be dismissed as it is not what the text is truly saying. 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which Jehovah God had made. 2.The bruised heel of the seed of the woman refers to the crucifixion of Christ. d. He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden: Cherubim are always associated with the presence and glory of God (Ezekiel 10, Isaiah 6, Revelation 4). It is not improbable, that reason and s… He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 13. beguiled--cajoled by flattering lies. Genesis 3:15 has been called the proto-evangelium, the first gospel. i. What does Genesis chapter 3 mean? gave me--He blames God [CALVIN]. Perhaps there is a note of sarcasm by God here (as Elijah used in 1 Kings 18:27), regarding Satan’s empty promise to become like gods. The flaming sword was pointed against Satan to keep him from destroying the way of access to the altar, which God had set up.” (Barnhouse). Perhaps they felt if they left the garden, they might never see God again because it was the only place where they met Him. 14. 5. your eyes shall be opened--His words meant more than met the ear. Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website. Click to enable/disable essential site cookies. What a mournful chapter this is in the history of man! BACK; NEXT ; Getting the Boot. Covering ourselves with our good works is like Adam and Eve trying to cover themselves with fig leaves. Multitudes of them fell; but this that attacked our first parents, was surely the prince of the devils. Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. We'll send you an email with steps on how to reset your password. From the earliest times, Genesis 3:15 has been called the proto-evangelium because it is the first note of Gods redemptive intention following the fall in the garden of Eden. i. CHAPTER 3. in the cool of the day--literally, "the breeze of the day," the evening. From doubt, the tempter advances to a direct denial of the truth of the divine threat, and to a malicious suspicion of the divine love (Genesis 3:4, Genesis 3:5). 6. "But . There are only two religions; there is the religion of fig leaves and there is the religion of God’s perfect provision through Jesus. 19. till thou return unto the ground--Man became mortal; although he did not die the moment he ate the forbidden fruit, his body underwent a change, and that would lead to dissolution; the union subsisting between his soul and God having already been dissolved, he had become liable to all the miseries of this life and to the pains of hell for ever. 12. it shall bruise thy head--The serpent's poison is lodged in its head; and a bruise on that part is fatal. These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience. Metaphysical Bible Interpretation of Genesis Chapter 3 Metaphysically Interpreting Genesis 3:1-24. "Ye will by no means die" (לא is placed before the infinitive absolute, as in Psalm 49:8 and Amos 9:8; for the meaning is not, "he will not die;" but, ye will positively not die). c. And clothed them: This, together with the expression of faith in God’s promise indicated in the naming of Eve (Genesis 3:20), indicates that Adam and Eve were rescued from their sinful condition. A woman gains more of her identity from her husband than the man does from the wife. Already fallen, he was to be still more degraded and his power wholly destroyed by the offspring of those he had deceived. 21. Allegorical interpretations of Genesis are readings of the biblical Book of Genesis that treat elements of the narrative as symbols or types, rather than viewing them literally as recording historical events.Either way, Judaism and most sects of Christianity treat Genesis as canonical scripture, and believers generally regard it as having spiritual significance. I would imagine that the American Civil Liberties Union would immediately file suit—against God and in defense of Eve and her husband (the order of the two is not accidental), Adam. God punished the serpent, Eve, and Adam for their transgression. Check to enable permanent hiding of message bar and refuse all cookies if you do not opt in. iii. This verse causes some puzzlement. “Some creature had to die in order to provide them with garments, and you know who it is that died in order that we might be robed in his spotless righteousness. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain. Surely there is some mistake. naked--apparently, a confession--the language of sorrow; but it was evasive--no signs of true humility and penitence--each tries to throw the blame on another. Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refuseing them will have impact how our site functions. Or, perhaps the idea focuses on man’s greater knowledge (though in a bad sense) now that he has the experiential knowledge of evil. We are so used to saying "Adam and Eve" that we assume she already had her name. The idea that the woman takes her name from the husband, and the idea that both genders are encompassed in terms like mankind, humanity, and chairman. "But of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, … more subtile--Serpents are proverbial for wisdom ( Matthew 10:16 ). The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them: You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.