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Genesis Chapter
Three
I.
Content of the Chapter
The First Fall of Man
A. The serpent induced the woman (v.1-5);
B. The man and the woman ate the fruit of the knowledge
of good and evil (v.6);
C. The results of the disobedience of the man
and the woman to God’s commandments:
1. Their eyes were opened 666at once and knew that they were naked
(v.7);
2. They escaped the face of God (v.8-10);
3. They were questioned by God and shuffled off
the responsibility (v.11-13);
4. The condemnation of God upon the serpent
(v.14-15);
5. The condemnation of God upon the woman
(v.16);
6. The condemnation of God upon the man
(v.17-19);
7. Grace in judgment (v.20-21);
8. Be cast out of the garden of Eden (v.22-24);
II.
Verse by Verse Commentary
Gen. 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'?"”
YLT: “And the serpent hath been subtile above
every beast of the field which Jehovah God hath made, and he saith unto the
woman, `Is it true that God hath said, Ye do not eat of every tree of the
garden?'”
Meaning
of Words: “serpent”, the etymon of the word is the
same with that of “enchantment” and “divination”; “cunning”: crafty, subtle;
Literal
Meaning: Satan was also called the “ancient serpent” (Rev. 12:9; 20:2). It entered
into the cleverest living creature at that time and transformed itself into an
angel of light to speak to Eve (2Cor. 11:3, 14).
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) The way of Satan’s work is hiding its true face
behind some beautiful and wise men or things to deceive others secretly.
2) The devil often speaks to men through men or things. Let believers
take heed of the words of the devil.
3) The devil does not seek man, but woman, so he always starts from
those who are weak in spirit (it is said in the Bible woman is the weaker
vessel) (1Pet. 3:7).
4) The devil’s intrigue of inducing man is doubt about the word of God
---- “Has God
indeed said...”.
5) “Has
God indeed said”, some believers
have clearly seen the word of God, they still regard it is not spoken to them.
Gen. 3:2 “And the woman said to the
serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;”
YLT:
“And the woman saith unto the
serpent, `Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we do eat,”
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) It is the first step of fault for Eve to not
refuse to talk with the serpent. Let us resist the temptations of the devil and
be steadfast in faith (1Pet. 5:8-9).
2) Eve went beyond Adam and talked to the serpent directly. It is the
main reason for man’s failure of not keeping his own domain and going against
the authority.
Gen. 3:3 “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."'”
YLT: “and of the fruit of the tree which in the
midst of the garden God hath said, Ye do not eat of it, nor touch it, lest ye
die.'”
Meaning
of Words: “touch”: beat, draw near, smite;
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) The first failure of Eve is changing the word of
God slightly:
a. “May freely
eat” (2:16) is decreased as “may eat” (v.2).
b. “Shall not
eat” (2:17) is increased as “shall not eat...nor shall you touch”.
c. “Shall surely
die” (2:17) is changed as “lest you die”.
2) Unfamiliarity with the word of God may give room to the devil.
3) It is dangerous for a man who does not know God to use the word of
God flippantly.
Gen. 3:4 “Then the serpent said to
the woman, "You will not surely die.”
YLT:
“And the serpent saith unto
the woman, `Dying, ye do not die,”
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) God has said “you shall surely die” (2:7), but
the devil said “will not surely die”.
2) The devil often deceives man by the word of “will not surely ...”,
for example: doing evil “will not surely” be caught by God. And doing something
“will not surely” be displeased by God.
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."”
YLT: “for God doth know that in the day of your
eating of it -- your eyes have been opened, and ye have been as God, knowing
good and evil.'”
Literal
Meaning: the devil’s word in this verse on one hand accuses of God and provokes man’s
doubt about God’ will. And on the other hand, it stirs up man’s pride to be “like
God”.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) It is the worst crisis for believers to doubt
God’s good will, which is just equal to opening the door to welcome the devil’s
temptations.
2) It is the main reason for man’s stumbling of coveting for the power “like
God”.
3) Today, many believers seek spiritual gifts blindly but have ignored
the growth in life. Probably, they do not know they have been deceived by Satan’s
trick of “being like God”.
4) Behind the desire of “being like God”, there is an evil ambition of
man rebel against God and become God.
Gen. 3:6 “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.”
YLT:
“And the woman seeth that the
tree good for food, and that it pleasant to the eyes, and the tree is desirable
to make wise, and she taketh of its fruit and eateth, and giveth also to her
husband with her, and he doth eat;”
Meaning
of Words: “pleasant”: greatly beloved, precious; “wise”:
intelligent, have understanding;
Literal
Meaning: “so then”, it showed that she had received the suggestion of Satan in
mind.
“Desirable”: her affection was also
attracted.
“She took...”: she made the decision
with her will.
All the three functions
of her soul ---- mind and affection and will ----take part in it.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) Eve was drawn by three kinds of desires: a) “good
for food” ---- the lust of the flesh; b) “pleasant to the eyes” ---- the lust
of the eyes; c) “make one wise” ---- the pride of life (see 1John 2:16; Matt.
4:1-11).
2) There were four steps of Eve’s fall: a) “see” with her eyes; b) “take”
by her hands; c) “eat” with her mouth; d) “give” to others with her hand;
3) The fall of Eve lies in failing to use her “spirit” but use “body”
and “soul” only. In other words, her “body” obeyed her “soul”, instead of her “spirit”.
4) Eve was supposed to ask Adam first. However, she did by himself ----
this was the reason for her failure. It is an omen of sin of the mind of
scheming to be independent of God.
5) Adam failed to stand on the position set by God, nor kept the
commandments of God.
6) Sin is infectious. Once man commits sins, those who are close to him
will be influenced.
7) “Eat”, it shows that the fall of man had not only disobeyed the
commandment of God (Gen. 2:17) but also let the constitutions of sin enter into
man.
Gen. 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.”
YLT:
“and the eyes of them both
are opened, and they know that they naked, and they sew fig-leaves, and make to
themselves girdles.”
Literal
Meaning: “fig tree” existed
naturally; “sew”: make by human effort; “leaves” and “coverings” both symbolize
human works;
This verse indicates that the conscience of sinners makes them know
their shame so that they desire to cover them by their natural strength and
works. In other words, it is impossible to be made perfect by the flesh (Gal.
3:3).
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) The first response of man to sin is covering.
2) It is a sign of sin of putting on clothes. Therefore, let us not pay
too much attention to gorgeous clothes (1Pet. 3:3-4).
3) When man’s eyes were opened, they did not become like God, but saw
merely shame and ugliness from the good things before them.
4) Though the coverings made by fig leaves were beautiful, but they endured not long, which
indicates that man’s will of doing good appeared to be good in the beginning
but failed finally.
Gen. 3:8 “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.”
YLT:
“And they hear the sound of
Jehovah God walking up and down in the garden at the breeze of the day, and the
man and his wife hide themselves from the face of Jehovah God in the midst of
the trees of the garden.”
Spiritual
Meaning: “in the cool of the
day”, it suggested that the fall of man destroyed the warm and harmonious
relationship between God and man.
“Trees”, it symbolizes a bloodless way (to please God by good works).
However, there is no remission without blood (Heb. 9:22).
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) Man always hides himself after sin instead of
confessing sins for remission.
2) Though man eluded the face of God, the eyes of Jehovah are in every
place, beholding the evil and the good (Pro. 15:3).
3) If believers do not seek the face of God, they may fall into sins and
become weak in conscience.
4) The feeling of sins makes man afraid of meeting God. Every time when
we come to God, we have to confess our sins and be cleansed by the precious
blood. Thus we are enabled to have fellowship with God with boldness (1John
1:7-9; Heb. 10:19).
Gen. 3:9 “Then the LORD God called
to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?"”
YLT:
“And Jehovah God calleth unto
the man, and saith to him, `Where thou?'”
Literal
Meaning: God sought sinners,
because: 1) God’s righteousness ---- He must judge sins; 2) God’s
loving-kindness ---- He cares about sinners; 3) God’s grace ---- He prepares
the way of atonement for sinners.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) It is God seeks man, not man seeks God. This is
the distinct difference of Christianity from other religions. In Christianity
it is God seeks man. However, in all other religions, it is man seeks gods. Therefore,
they cannot find the true God.
2) God always calls believers in them for watching and repentance after
they have made mistakes.
Gen. 3:10 “So
he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was
naked; and I hid myself."”
YLT:
“and he saith, `Thy sound I
have heard in the garden, and I am afraid, for I am naked, and I hide myself.'”
Literal
Meaning: it was not the voice
of God, but the sin in him, that made him afraid.
Gen. 3:11 “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?"”
YLT:
“And He saith, `Who hath
declared to thee that thou naked? of the tree of which I have commanded thee
not to eat, hast thou eaten?'”
Literal
Meaning: “who told you that you were naked?” It
means that who told you it was not good of being naked. God asked this question
to lead him to confess his sin.
Gen. 3:12 “Then
the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the
tree, and I ate."”
YLT: “and the man saith, `The woman whom Thou
didst place with me -- she hath given to me of the tree -- and I do eat.'”
Literal
Meaning: “You
gave to
be with me”, here Adam spoke
in a tone of complaint.
“She gave me”, Adam also shifted his fault to others.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) It is a common mistake of man to commit sins but
not confess sins and blame everyone and everything but himself.
2) He who covers his transgressions shall not prosper, but whoever
confesses and forsakes shall obtain mercy (Pro. 28:13).
3) That the man lays the blame upon others shows there is complaint
among men because of sins (Col. 3:13).
Gen. 3:13 “And
the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The
woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."”
YLT:
“And Jehovah God saith to the
woman, `What this thou hast done?' and the woman saith, `The serpent hath
caused me to forget -- and I do eat.'”
Meaning
of Words: “deceive”: induce, beguile;
Literal
Meaning: Eve also shifted the
blame on to others as Adam. We can see from her answer that she had realized to
be deceived by Satan.
Gen. 3:14 “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.”
YLT:
“And Jehovah God saith unto
the serpent, `Because thou hast done this, cursed thou above all the cattle,
and above every beast of the field: on thy belly dost thou go, and dust thou
dost eat, all days of thy life;”
Literal
Meaning: note that God did
not inquire of the serpent, nor gave a chance to the serpent to vindicate
itself.
“And more than every beast of the field”,
all beasts were involved because of the fall of man.
“On
your belly you shall go”, it
suggested that the serpent walked in other manners previously, but then its way
of walking was changed, which showed that it was made lower.
“And
you shall eat dust All the days of your life”, it was wasting and humiliating (Ps. 72:9; Mic.
7:17).
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) The devil swallows all those who are of the dust
(of the world).
2) Whenever we live by the natural life, we are the food of Satan.
3) Believers will not be hurt or swallowed by the devil when they live
by the heavenly life and live in the heavenly realm.
Gen. 3:15 “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."”
YLT:
“and enmity I put between
thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; he doth bruise thee --
the head, and thou dost bruise him -- the heel.'”
Literal
Meaning: “seed”, it singular
form shows it refers to a man or a group of men.
Spiritual
Meaning: “her Seed” typifies
that Christ Jesus was born of the virgin.
“Bruise your head”, the Lord gave a fatal wound to the devil when He was
on the earth (Heb. 2:14; 1John 3:8).
“Bruise His heel”, the devil can at most kill the physical body of the
Lord but cannot prevent Him from resurrection.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) The devil is the enemy of believers forever. Therefore,
let us be chosen soldiers of Christ (2Tim. 2:3).
2) Not only Satan, but also its ministers have enmity against believers.
3) The new man of believers has enmity against the old man. The flesh is
against the Spirit (Gal. 5:17).
4) Only in Christ, can believers deal with the enemy of God, Satan.
Gen. 3:16 “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."”
YLT:
“Unto the woman He said,
`Multiplying I multiply thy sorrow and thy conception, in sorrow dost thou bear
children, and toward thy husband thy desire, and he doth rule over thee.'”
Meaning
of Words: “sorrow”: pain, suffering; “desire”: longing for,
including sexual desires and possessive instinct;
Literal
Meaning: there were three
punishments for woman because of sin: 1) the sorrow of conception; 2) the
sorrow of bearing children; 3) the ruling of husband; woman in the world would
not be delivered from the sorrows of conception and bearing children and always
played a weak role in emotional matters.
“And he shall rule over you”, it indicates that God here sets husband
as the head of wife (Eph. 5:23), which does not mean female is inferior to male
but they perform different functions in family life.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) Female believers shall be preserved in
childbearing, if they continue in faith and love and holiness with discretion
(2Tim. 2:15).
2) God’s appointment to woman is truly her deliverance and protection
---- love and obey her husband with whole heart.
3) The husband symbolizes Christ (Eph. 5:23). Let believers magnify the
Lord in daily life and let Him have the first place in everything (
Gen. 3:17 “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.”
YLT:
“And to the man He said,
`Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and dost eat of the tree
concerning which I have charged thee, saying, Thou dost not eat of it, cursed
the ground on thine account; in sorrow thou dost eat of it all days of thy
life,”
Literal
Meaning: “because you have
heeded the voice of your wife”, it shows that hearing his wife blindly is the
reason for his sin.
“Cursed is the ground for your sake”, man’s sin made all things involved
(
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) Husband shall love his wife. However, the
husband shall judge the words of his wife and not hear her blindly. Once
mistakes are made, the husband shall pay more responsibility.
2) It is the fate caused by sin that man shall make a living in toil all
his days. However, if we are willing to come to the Lord, we will find rest in
labor (Matt. 11:28).
3) If man is idle all day, he may have evil thoughts and commit evil
works. Therefore, God’s judgment upon man is still a kind of deliverance and
protection ---- labor and toil.
4) “Eat of it”, Man makes a living through and by all things God
had created.
Gen. 3:18 “Both
thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of
the field.”
YLT:
“and thorn and bramble it
doth bring forth to thee, and thou hast eaten the herb of the field;”
Literal
Meaning: thorns and thistles
symbolize all kinds of difficulties man experiences in his life.
Spiritual
Meaning: “thorns
and thistles” are the sign of
curse. The Lord Jesus wore the crown of thorns on the cross, which showed that
he bore the curse of sin.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) Though believers have tribulations in the world,
they have peace in the world (John 16:33).
2) The way of transforming bitterness to blessing is to love God ----
whatever he who loves God does shall prosper (Ps. 1:2-3).
Gen. 3:19 “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."”
YLT:
“by the sweat of thy face
thou dost eat bread till thy return unto the ground, for out of it hast thou
been taken, for dust thou , and unto dust thou turnest back.'”
Literal
Meaning: it is appointed by God
that man shall make a living by labor and toil. And it is the vivid picture of
the painful life of laboring all one’s life and being full of sweat on one’s
face and turning out to be vain after death.
It is analyzed that the chemical composition and elements are proved to
be out of the ground. Man’s flesh will be decayed to the dust after death.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) What vanity for a man to seek fleshly pleasure
only!
2) Death is the extreme point of a painful life. However, believers do
not fear death, for we have the hope of resurrection and for us to live Christ
and to die gain (Phil. 1:21).
Gen. 3:20 “And
Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.”
YLT:
“And the man calleth his
wife's name Eve: for she hath been mother of all living.”
Meaning
of Words: “Eve”: life, the source of life;
Literal
Meaning: this verse indicates
that Adam still believed the promise of God (see v.15).
Gen. 3:21 “Also
for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.”
YLT: “And Jehovah God doth make to the man and to
his wife coats of skin, and doth clothe them.”
Literal
Meaning: “skin”: leather
taken from animals, which showed that there was a sacrifice shedding blood and
giving life for them;
Spiritual
Meaning: “skin” typifies
Christ is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). If
man believes into Him, he will put on the robe of righteousness (Luke 15:22).
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) There is no remission without blood (Heb. 9:22).
2) Man used leaves ---- good works ---- to cover shame. But God used
skin ---- let man covered under Christ.
3) Skin was prepared by God, which showed that the salvation of Christ
was utterly out of the counsel of God Himself.
4) Today the redemption has been fulfilled (John 19:30). However, if we
do not “put on” ---- “do not believe and receive” Christ, we cannot enjoy the
profit of the salvation.
5) Clothes are for the purpose of covering shame. It goes against the
Bible that man in the world likes to wear revealing clothes. Therefore, let
believers not imitate them.
Gen. 3:22 “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"--”
YLT:
“And Jehovah God saith, `Lo,
the man was as one of Us, as to the knowledge of good and evil; and now, lest
he send forth his hand, and have taken also of the tree of life, and eaten, and
lived to the age,' --”
Meaning
of Words: “put out”: stretch out, send; “live”: make …
alive;
Literal
Meaning: since man had
fallen, if he was allowed to eat the fruit of the tree of life again while
living in sin, his condition would be miserable.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) Today, we have another “tree”, namely, the cross
on which the Lord Jesus was crucified (1Pet. 2:24), through which we can live
forever.
2) If the problem of sin is not solved, man cannot enjoy the divine
life. Man has to first appropriate the “blood” of the Lord shedding on the
cross and then enjoys the “water” out of Him.
3) If believers desire to have fellowship with God and enjoy the divine
life, they have to confess their own sins first (1John 1:9).
Gen. 3:23 “therefore
the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which
he was taken.”
YLT:
“Jehovah God sendeth him
forth from the garden of Eden to serve the ground from which he hath been
taken;”
Literal
Meaning: since man’s relationship
was interrupted, he had to return to live in the realm of dust.
Gen. 3:24 “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.”
YLT:
“yea, he casteth out the man,
and causeth to dwell at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubs and the
flame of the sword which is turning itself round to guard the way of the tree
of life.”
Meaning
of Words: “drive out”: cast out, drive away, expel; “place”:
set, abide; “cherubim”: those who are held; “turn way”: whirl around, be
converted;
Literal
Meaning: “cherubim”, it is in
the plural in the original Hebrew, referring to the angels who are much closer
to God (Ps. 80:1; 1Sam. 4:4) and have great relationship with the glory of God
(Heb. 9:5; Ezek. 9:3).
Spiritual
Meaning: Adam was isolated
from the source of life (the tree of life) ---- this is “death”.
“Cherubim” symbolizes the glory of God; “flaming” symbolizes the
holiness of God; “world” symbolizes the righteousness of God.
This verse indicates that man cannot draw near to God or enjoy His life
until he has satisfied the requirements of God’s glory and holiness and
righteousness.
III.
Outlines of the Spiritual Lessons
Reasons for Adam’s Sin
A. Meet the temptations of the devil (v.1-5);
B. Doubt the word of God (v.4);
C. Pride and the desire of being like God
(v.5);
D. Disobedience to the commandment of God
(v.6);
Adam’s Reponses after Sin
A. Make themselves coverings by fig leaves
(v.7);
B. Hide themselves among the trees (v.8);
C. Shuffle off their responsibilities to one
another (v.12-13);
Results of Adam’s Sin
A. Lose authority (1:28);
B. Lose joy (v.16-20, 24);
C. Lose good (v.7:29; see Gen. chap.4; 6:5-8);
D. Lose holiness (v.7; Eccl.7:29; Col. 3:10;
Eph. 4:24);
E. Lose peace (v.8-15);
F. Lose life (v.19; Rom. 5:12; 6:23; James
1:15);
──
Caleb Huang《Christian Digest Bible
Commentary Series》
Translated by Mary Zhou