Genesis 3
1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day 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, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”
12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” 13 And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14 So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”
16 To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.”
17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”
20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
21 Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. 22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”—
23 therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.
24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
The garden of Eden was beautiful but a curse came on it because of their sin. You wouldn’t recognise it today. It had a temperate climate and was an area of great beauty. Man’s sin made it change.
Read Deuteronomy 28 about God’s curses and blesses. You need to abide in Christ. It’s a wonderful thing to know God’s blessing on all you do e.g. Joseph who ran away from sin and temptation. To be cursed is a dreadful thing, to lose God’s blessing like Saul did who lost his kingship even. The wages of sin is death.
Bring God the little you have, don’t say you have nothing- use what you’ve got. He will bless it. Remember the feeding of the 5000 where the Lord fed so many people after looking up to God and asking His blessing on the 5 loaves and 2 fish. Remember Elijah who commanded a widow to make food for him first with the last grain she had before herself and her son, and look how she was blessed.
Eve was the weaker vessel and was deceived. She listened to the questioning of the serpent which made her doubt. Beware of those who question God’s word.
Adam was even weaker as he followed her into disobeying God’s command. Adam then hid from God and did not just confess his sin straight. He blamed Eve and ultimately blamed God himself for Eve – “the one you gave me.” The result of the sin was pain and sorrow, sweat and toil forever after.
God asked Adam where he was. God knew but he wanted Adam to admit his state and explain that he was afraid and hiding and naked because of his sin. God addressed Adam as the head of the home. Did you do what God asked? Are you where God put you or have you moved? The serpent had promised them so much but they ended with a sense of loss, shame and fear. When the devil tempts you speak to him, ask him where it will end, what will the consequences be, what will be the result?
We can never fathom God’s love. He came to Adam and look how Adam talked. He should have come and confessed his wrong and asked for mercy. Like a shepherd seeking the lost God came to him, to the sheep caught among the thorns. He should have been like the Prodigal Son, he should have run towards God not away, trying to hide. We should admit and confess and run to God.
A fire swept through an area and all was ash after it. People kicked through the debris and found a scorched chicken. Under her, her chicks were still alive. That is God’s love going to the cross to die for us so we might live.