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The Fall of Adam and Eve

Scripture Passage: 
Genesis 3:1-24

Introduction:

Man’s first chance at paradise was lost because he listened to the lies of the devil and did the one thing that God had kept from him.

  1. THEIR SIN (Genesis 3:1-6)
    1. The Serpent Questions God’s Word (Genesis 3:1)
      1. The serpent was a “beast of the field.”
      2. However, it was also the embodiment of Satan.
      3. In scripture, Satan is called “the piercing serpent” (Isaiah 27:1), “that crooked serpent” (Isaiah 27:1) and “that old serpent” (Revelation 12:9; Revelation 20:2).
      4. To be subtil (modern spelling is subtle) is to be crafty or sly.
      5. Eve was beguiled through the serpent’s subtilty (2Corinthians 11:3).
    2. The Woman Misquotes God’s Word (Genesis 3:2-3; Genesis 2:16-17)
      1. God had not said that they could not “touch” the tree.
      2. Eve’s heart was evidently already being swayed by the attacks of the devil on God’s word.
    3. The Serpent Contradicts God’s Word (Genesis 3:4-5)
      1. Yea hath God said (Genesis 3:1)
      2. Ye shall not surely die (Genesis 3:4)
      3. Your eyes shall be opened (Genesis 3:5)
      4. Ye shall be as gods (Genesis 3:5)
    4. The Woman Disobeys God’s Word (Genesis 3:6)
      1. The threefold temptation (see 1John 2:16; Luke 4:1-13)
        1. Good for food – lust of the flesh
        2. Pleasant to the eyes – lust of the eyes
        3. Desired to make one wise – pride of life
        1. The taking of the fruit
          1. For herself
          2. For her husband
      2. Adam’s involvement
        1. Adam was evidently with Eve when she partook of the forbidden fruit (“she gave also unto her husband with her”).
        2. Just as Abram did two millennium later (Genesis 16:2), Adam “hearkened unto the voice” of his wife (Genesis 3:17). (See also1 Kings 21:25.)
        3. However, there are times when God wants men to hearken to their wives (see Genesis 21:12).
  2. THEIR SHAME (Genesis 3:7-13)
    1. Covering Their Nakedness (Genesis 3:7)
      1. Their eyes opened
      2. Their shame revealed
      3. Their attempt to cover themselves
    2. Hiding From God (Genesis 3:8-10)
      1. The time of fellowship comes (Genesis 3:8)
      2. They hide from the presence of God (Genesis 3:8)
      3. They are sought by the voice of God (Genesis 3:9-10)
    3. Blaming Others (Genesis 3:11-13)
      1. The man blames the woman (Genesis 3:11-12)
      2. The woman blames the serpent (Genesis 3:13)
  3. THEIR SENTENCE (Genesis 3:14-19)
    1. On the Serpent (Genesis 3:14-15)
      1. The serpent punished (Genesis 3:14)
        1. Cursed above every beast
        2. Cursed to crawl on his belly
        3. Cursed to eat the dust (Isaiah 65:25)
      2. The seed promised (Genesis 3:15)
        1. This is the first and one of the most outstanding prophecies concerning the coming Messiah found in the entire Old Testament.
        2. The serpent and his seed (Antichrist) to be forever at war with the woman and her seed (Jesus – Isaiah 7:14; Galatians 4:4)
        3. The serpent to bruise the heel of the woman’s seed
        4. The woman’s seed to bruise the head of the serpent
        5. Jesus Christ is the “seed of the woman” because He was born of Mary but without a human father (Luke 1:30-35). The “heel” of Jesus is bruised. That refers to His temporary pain on the cross.
        6. The “head” of the serpent will be bruised. That refers to the Devil’s future destruction (Revelation 20:10).
    2. On the Woman (Genesis 3:16)
      1. Sorrow in childbearing
      2. Subjection to her husband
    3. On the Man (Genesis 3:17-19)
      1. A curse on the ground (Genesis 3:17-18)
        1. Fruit from the ground to be eaten in sorrow (Genesis 3:17)
        2. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth (Genesis 3:18)
      2. Much sorrow in his labor (Genesis 3:17; Genesis 3:19)
        1. Adam worked in the garden before sin came. (Genesis 2:15)
        2. The curse is the sorrow associated with labor.
      3. A return to the dust (Genesis 3:19)
  4. THEIR SENDING (Genesis 3:20-24)
    1. The Naming of Eve (Genesis 3:20)
      1. Named by Adam
      2. Named Eve because she was the mother of all living
    2. The Coats of Skin (Genesis 3:21)
      1. God’s covering (contrast Genesis 3:7)
      2. Required the shedding of blood
    3. The Casting From the Garden (Genesis 3:22-23)
      1. To separate them from the tree of life (Genesis 3:22)
        1. The tree of life would have kept them alive in their fallen condition.
        2. The ability to depart this life is a gift from God only necessary because of sin.
      2. To till the ground from whence he came (Genesis 3:23)
    4. The Guarding of the Tree of Life (Genesis 3:24)
      1. The Cherubim
      2. A flaming sword

CONCLUSION:  Because of the sin of Adam and Eve, we all live under the curse of sin. However, God makes a way for us to overcome this curse through the death, burial and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ.

David Reagan and Andrew Ray

Daily Proverb

Proverbs 28:9

He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.