Temptation and Fall
Genesis 3:1-8
If Genesis 1 & 2 described the world as God created it and designed it to be, Genesis 3 tells us what went wrong with the world and why it is the way it is today: the fall of mankind into sin. Whether you embrace the Christian faith or not, most of us know that something is not right with the world. Almost every thinking person understands that our world is filled with evil, destruction, and corruption. People hate, lie, cheat, steal, murder and more. Our world is filled with war, poverty, prejudice, and injustice. People are plagued by disease, injury, neuroses, phobias and death.
Moreover, in our more honest and reflective moments we have to acknowledge that the problem is not just out there somewhere or with others, it is in our own hearts also. More often than we care to admit our thoughts are not pure; our motives are tainted; our actions are underhanded; our attitudes are nasty; and even our best is polluted by selfishness.
It is obvious to the most casual observer that we do not live in a Genesis 1 world where everything is good, good, good, very good (Gen. 1:31). We do not live in a Genesis 2 world where men and women live in beautiful, unashamed, open relationships with God and with one another. Something has gone terribly wrong with the good world that God made. Genesis 3 tells us what in the world went wrong.
Genesis 3 shows us the earthly origin of human sin and its consequences. God’s word clearly and emphatically tells us why the world is in such a pathetic plight: the man and woman sinned by breaking God’s commandment. Death has ensued from sin. Consequently, God pronounced a curse on humanity and creation, a curse that God Himself promises to cure through His Son Jesus Christ.
Listen to our text, Genesis 3:1-8,
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.
By the way, the word “sin” does not appear in Genesis 3. The first occurrence of that word is Genesis 4:7 when the LORD speaks to Cain. But Genesis 3 is where sin begins in the human race. In Romans 5:12 Paul, speaking of Adam, makes it clear that “through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” We not only inherit death from Adam, we inherit sin because we all sinned in Adam. He is the federal head of the human race of whom we are all members.
The first few verses of Genesis 3 we will see the nature and danger of temptation, the entrance of sin into the human race, and the consequences of man’s disobedience.
I. The serpent’s temptation (Gen. 3:1-5)
A. His appearance and cunning
Genesis 3:1, “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.” The serpent suddenly appears in Genesis 3:1 with very little introduction. The serpent is said to be one of God’s creatures. He is a “beast of the field which the Lord God had made.” As such, according to Genesis 1:28 the man and woman should have exercised dominion over this animal, but instead they submit to his suggestions.
The chapter never positively identifies the serpent as Satan. Perhaps Genesis 3:15 does so in veiled terms. But the New Testament states it clearly. Twice in Revelation he is called “the great dragon … that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world” (Rev. 12:9; 20:2). The New Testament just as clearly emphasizes that Satan’s methods involve deceit, schemes, lies, and trickery (see John 8:44; 2 Cor. 11:3, 14, 15; 1 Tim. 2:14). The word “cunning” means shrewd and although it is used in a good sense of “prudent” in Proverbs (12:16, 23; 14:8, 15, 18; 22:3; 27:12), in Job the word describes those whose hands devise crafty plans (Job 5:12) and whose crafty tongue speaks from iniquity (Job 15:5). The serpent was cunning in that same sense. He used his shrewd knowledge to devise an evil scheme and his cunning tongue to lie, deceive and tempt the woman to evil.
Satan’s deceptive tactics are seen initially in the form he takes. The serpent, before the curse, was probably different than the poisonous, repulsive reptile we know. Part of God’s curse was that it be more cursed than all other beasts and crawl on its belly (Gen. 3:14). Apparently before that it was an attractive animal which did not cause Eve any fear or revulsion. Satan doesn’t usually operate as a hideous creature which would make us run the other way. He comes appears attractive, transforming himself into an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14).
Genesis 3 does not tell us the origin of evil. We don’t know why the serpent is in the garden or why he tempts the woman to disobey God. There are other scriptures that allude to the fall of Lucifer or Satan (Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-15; Luke 10:18; Rev. 12;7-9). Moses does not seem to be concerned here with the origin of evil or the fall of Satan, but with the origin of sin in mankind. He wants to make the point that we are sinful. To pursue more distant causes for evil only serves to remove our responsibility for our own sin. God will not accept the blame-shifting attempts of Adam (Gen. 3:12) or Eve (Gen. 3:13).
B. His temptation and tactics
Notice the approach that the serpent takes here. He begins by planting a suggestion in the form of a question (Gen. 3:1), And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” What is the serpent doing here? How does he operate in temptation?
First,
1. Satan challenges the authority of God’s word
Satan came to Eve as an inquirer. He deliberately distorted the command of God, but in such a way as to imply, “I may be wrong here, so correct me if I am mistaken.” The wording of the serpent’s inquiry is significant. The word ‘indeed’ is dripping with innuendo. The effect of it is this: “Surely God could not have said this, could He?” As Derek Kidner perceptively puts it, Satan’s question “smuggles in the assumption that God’s word is subject to our judgment” (Genesis [IVP], p. 67).
So Satan’s first attack was leveled against the Word of God. If he could make Eve question what God said, or to doubt what God said, then his battle was partially won. Listen, Satan still tempts by getting people to question the authority of God’s Word. “C’mon, you don’t believe that fruit will really harm you, do you?” Today he says things like: “You don’t really believe all that restrictive stuff about sexual immorality, do you? You don’t believe all that outdated stuff about the headship of the husband, do you? Surely you don’t believe that this book of ancient Hebrew religious myths is binding on us today, do you?” That’s Satan’s tactic. He tempts us by deceptively challenging the authority of God’s Word.
At first Eve defends God by correcting Satan’s extreme statement in Genesis 3:2-3,
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.'”
Did you notice that Satan has not mentioned either the tree of life or the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? What a subtle attack! His question brought the forbidden tree to the center of Eve’s thinking, but without any mention of it. By his question Satan has taken her eyes off of the generous provisions of God and caused her to think only of God’s prohibition. Satan does not wish us to ponder the grace of God, but to grudgingly meditate upon His denials.
The text reveals Eve’s change of attitude by several seemingly minor omissions and additions to God’s word. While God said (Gen. 2:16), “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat,” Eve said, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden” (Gen. 3:2). Eve omitted “every” and “freely,” the two words which emphasized the generosity of God.
While her words downplay God’s generosity, they also distort God’s severity in prohibiting the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. She expressed God’s command as: “‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die” (Gen. 3:3). But God had told Adam (Gen. 2:17), “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
While exaggerating the prohibition to the point to where even touching the tree was prohibited, Eve downplayed the judgment of God by omitting the word ‘surely,’ and by failing to report that they would surely die “in the day that you eat of it.” In other words, Eve exaggerated God’s severity, but understated the fact that God’s judgment of death was certain and immediate.
Satan offers a question based on the perversion of God’s word. Eve then begins to question it herself, as evidenced by her revisions of God’s word. And then Satan is free to declare God’s word as wrong. (Kent Hughes).
So the serpent first attacked the word of God with subtlety in an effort to create doubt about the authority of God’s word so she would focus her attention on what was forbidden rather than what God freely gave. Satan challenges the authority of God’s word. We also see that,
2. Satan impugns God’s character
The serpent does this in several devious ways. Did you notice that throughout Genesis 2-3 Moses has referred to God as “the LORD God” or Yahweh Elohim? The serpent avoids this more personal covenant name Yahweh and calls God Elohim. It’s subtle, but Eve seems to fall for it and she also uses God, not LORD God, when she speaks to the serpent.
The serpent also uses exaggeration to make God seem harsh. God had not said that Adam and Eve could not eat from every tree, but only from one tree. The serpent stretches it to sound like God was prohibiting everything.
The serpent then moves from a subtle suggestion which plants doubt (Gen. 3:1) to bold statement which implies God is a liar (Gen. 3:4), “Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die.’” By beginning with a subtle question, then smuggling in the assumption that God’s word is subject to our judgment, and then exaggerating God’s strictness, the serpent has set up Eve to accept it when he flatly calls God a liar. The serpent’s dogmatic denial weakens Eve’s opposition. How could anyone be wrong who was so certain?
Then he goes on to imply that God isn’t really good because He’s trying to hold something good back from you. The serpent wants them to believe that God is keeping them in the dark and that God is selfishly preventing them from becoming more. (Gen. 3:5), “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.” Of course there is a grain of truth in the serpent’s words. That’s what makes them so deceptively believable. After the man and woman eat the forbidden fruit Genesis 3:7 says, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened” and God will say (Gen. 3:22), “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil.” The serpent’s lie is that sin is not bad and God is not good. Satan wants us to doubt the goodness of God, because we won’t believe a God who is not good, and unbelief is the root sin. Pride and disobedience follow quickly on the heels of unbelief.
So Satan tempts by challenging God’s word and assailing God’s goodness. Also,
3. Satan denies God’s judgment
The serpent blatantly contradicts God’s word of judgment when he says to the woman (Gen. 3:4), “You will not surely die.” Satan’s lie is that there is no judgment, there is no penalty for sin. His lie is that you can disobey God and get away with it. But the truth of scripture says otherwise. God told Adam (Gen. 2:17), “… in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” In Ezekiel 18:4 God says, “The soul who sins shall die.” Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death.” Romans 1:32 says that even those who attempt to rid themselves of the knowledge of God innately know “the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death.” Unless people have stopped their ears to God’s warnings, seared their conscience from guilt and hardened their hearts to God’s mercy, all people know that there must be a judgment.
Satan tempts by denying God’s judgment. Then his final tactic is,
4. Satan peddles half truths
The serpent tells Eve (Gen. 3:5), “… your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Satan’s assertion is deliberately elusive and vague. It was a mixture of truth and falsehood. Yes, after they ate their eyes were opened (Gen. 3:7), but the only light they received from their open eyes was the knowledge of their guilt and shame so they hid themselves (Gen. 3:8). Yes, they began to know good and evil (Gen. 3:22), but they didn’t know good and evil the way God knows it. They knew good before they ate, but after they ate they began to know evil not the way God knows it. God knows it like the physician who offers the cure to the cancer victim. They know evil like the cancer victim who is dying from it. They knew evil experientially. They knew evil by doing it.
The thing the serpent promised was true, but at the same time was far from the truth. It is like the freedom that sin promises: It’s true in part; but it’s ultimately false, since sin enslaves us. The serpent didn’t bother to tell Eve the terrible consequences for her, her family, and the human race. He never does.
Satan still uses the same tactics today, challenging the word of God, impugning God’s character, denying God’s judgment, and telling half truths emphasizing all the pleasure of sin and none of the pain. Sin takes hold of us when we begin to doubt God’s word and God’s goodness.
That is the temptation of the serpent. What follows is,
II. The sin of Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:6-8)
A. Eve’s rationalizing
Moses provides a brilliant description of the woman’s descent into sin. It all takes place in Eve’s thoughts and in her heart. That is where sin always originates. Note the progression of Genesis 3:6: “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food …” It was nutritional, not harmful or poisonous. It tasted good. But listen, the same was true for every tree of the garden, not just this tree (Gen. 2:9). But by listening to the serpents lies the woman is only focused now on this one tree. She can’t keep from looking at it and longing for it. This corresponds to what John calls “the lust of the flesh” (1 John 2:16). The temptation looks as if it will meet a legitimate need.
Next, Eve saw that the fruit “pleasant to the eyes.” It was not ugly. Satan doesn’t tempt you with sleazy stuff; he tempts you with attractive things. This corresponds to what John calls “the lust of the eyes” (1 John 2:16).
Then Eve saw that the fruit was “desirable to make one wise.” Wisdom is generally a good thing. God wants us to develop our minds. But wisdom apart from or in opposition to God’s Word just feeds what John calls “the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). At this point, Eve is rationalizing—making up reasons to justify what she has already decided to do. “It will help me nutritionally; it’s pleasant to look at; and it will make me wise. How can it be wrong when it seems so right?” So “she took of its fruit and ate.”
But she was not alone. At the end of Genesis 3:6 we see that her husband was with her. So there we see,
B. Adam’s surrendering
The blame for human sin does not just fall on the woman. Genesis 3:6 says, “She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” Was Adam with her the whole time? If so, he has been silent and passive. Paul informs us in 1 Timothy 2:14 that “Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.” So perhaps Adam arrives after the serpent has done his deception and left. Or maybe it is that Adam simply sins willingly and knowingly without being deceived. Does this absolve Adam from guilt? Absolutely not! In fact, scripture lays the deadly sin on Adam, not Eve. Paul writes in Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” And again in Romans 5:19, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners …” And the judgment of death came through Adam as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:22, “For as in Adam all die.”
Why is Adam held responsible? Because Adam is the head of the human race. It was he who was created first. It was Adam who received the commandment from God. It was Adam who should have lead his wife to obey the LORD. But instead, God says to him (Gen. 3:17), “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.” Instead of helping his wife to obey God, Adam obeyed his wife. He surrendered his headship and submitted to her rather than leading her. Rather than exercising dominion over the serpent, Adam surrendered to him. God’s whole creation order was turned upside down. “Eve followed the serpent, Adam followed Eve, and no one followed God” (Hughes).
C. The immediate consequences of sin
Genesis 3:7, “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.” The results seemed initially beneficial. They didn’t physically die on the spot. Their eyes were opened, just as the serpent said. Maybe God was wrong. But of course, death did set in at that moment: they died spiritually, separated from their relationship with God. Physical death began its course in them that very day. It is only by God’s mercy that God did not strike them dead physically on the spot. Sometimes we wrongly interpret God’s merciful delay of judgment to be a denial of the certainty of judgment. But what God says, He always does.
God has not yet prescribed the curse for their sin, and yet they already feel the consequences of it. They experience guilt and shame (Gen. 3:7), which led to alienation from one another and from God (Gen. 3:8-13). The nakedness which Adam and Eve shared without guilt (Gen. 2:25) was now a source of shame. Sweet innocence was lost forever. Remember, there was no man in the garden but the two of them. But they were ashamed to face each other without clothing. Not only could they not face each other as they had before, but they dreaded facing God. When He came to have sweet fellowship with them, they hid themselves in fear.
The history of the human race from this point on is marred by the tragedy of sin. Satan’s promises never come true. Wisdom isn’t gained by disobeying God, but by fearing and obeying Him. God’s judgment may be delayed, but it is always certain. It is true that sin may give initial pleasure; but it’s always followed by lasting pain.
Finally look at Genesis 3:8-9, “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. Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?“” God came looking for them in the garden. God came calling for Adam. Do you think God didn’t know what they had done? No! Of course God knew that they had disobeyed Him. God knew they had sinned. But in His grace and mercy God still pursued them, still came for them.
In fact, that is the story of the rest of the Bible. Because of His love, His great mercy and grace, God seeks sinners. He Himself will provide the true covering for their sin and shame in the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ. Everyone who believes in the Son of God is given the gift of eternal life. Is He calling you today?
