Genesis 3:22 - 4:1

I.    God’s recognition of a problem and solution Genesis 3:22-24

1.     Genesis 3:22 – And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

a.      Who is God speaking to? Himself? The angels? “Us” indicates plural meaning Himself and others, yet we know God is One.

b.     Why would God not want “the man”, His creation, to live forever?

2.     Genesis 3:23 – Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

a.      Now there is a man to till the ground from 2:5

b.     Note that he is to till the ground “from whence he was taken” which was westward of the garden (remember 2:8), he was not taken from the ground in the garden, but outside the garden (and outside of Eden for that matter)

3.     Genesis 3:24 – So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

a.      Were these Cherubims those whom God was speaking to in 3:22?

b.     What is the flaming sword?

     Hebrews 4:12 – For the Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit.

I.                 Eve Delivers Twins? (Genesis 4:1-2)

A.    Genesis 4:1 – And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said “I have gotten a man from the Lord.”

1.     This is the first birth recorded in scripture

2.     Wife – אשה 'ishshah, woman, wife, female (woman and wife and interchangeable translation and based on context, this word is translated to wife 425 times and woman, 324 times)

3.     Conceived - הרה harah, to conceive, become pregnant, bear, be with child, be conceived, progenitor

4.     Cain – קין Qayin – possession or spear

a.      Whose possession?

b.     Names in the Bible, especially the OT tend to have an indicative meaning of the nature of that person similar to Native Americans.

5.     “I have gotten a man from the Lord” (possession?)

a.      Interesting choice of words, for this word is used man is איש 'iysh which is used for a mature male, rather than a baby or a child.  Many scholars render this as “man-child”

b.     “Through the Lord” – Jerome

c.      “I have obtained a man from the Lord” – Calvin

d.     “I have the man, the Lord” - Luther

e.      Many scholars agree that he desired meaning of this text is not readily forthcoming and is the source for much contention and debate.

f.       Matthew Poole’s Commentary – “…which showed Cain to be of that wicked one, of the serpent’s seed: so early was such seed sown, and so ancient the enmity between seed and seed.”

g.      Matthew Henry Commentary – “Many suppose that Eve had a conceit that this son was the promised seed, and that therefore she thus triumphed in him, as her words may be read, I have gotten a man, the Lord, God-man. If so, she was wretchedly mistaken…”

h.      Samuel was also mistaken when he stood in front of Eliab, son of Jesse, thinking this must surely be God’s chosen

·       I Samuel 16:6 - So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, "Surely the LORD's anointed is before Him!"

6.     Aramaic Targums – Aramaic Targums are basically ancient commentaries in Aramaic on the Hebrew Torah, there are several Targums with manuscripts dated from 2^nd century to 7^th century.  They are not on the same level as scripture, but they can certainly be used to help us understand scripture.

a.      Targum Pseudo-Jonathon Genesis 4:1 – Adam knew his wife Eve who had conceived from Sammael, the angel of the Lord.

·       Also translated as follows: “Adam knew that his wife Eve…”

b.     Palestinian Targum Genesis 4:1 - And Adam knew his wife Eve, who had desired the Angel; and she conceived, and bare Cain; and she said, “I have acquired a man, the angel of the Lord…”

c.      Targum of Jonathan Genesis 4:1 - And Adam knew his wife Eve, who was pregnant by the Angel Sammael, and she conceived and bare Cain; and he was like the heavenly beings, and not like the earthly beings, and she said, I have acquired a man, the angel of the Lord.”

7.     Tertullian, Patience Chapter 5:15 “…that impatience which was conceived by the seed of the Devil with the fecundity of evil gave birth to a child of wrath and instructed its offspring in its own arts…”

8.     Are the manuscripts complete?  Are there other examples of scripture being incomplete?

a.      I Samuel 11:1 starts out with Nahash the Ammonite besieging Jabesh-Gilead, but why? No background is given as to what he was doing so far from his territory.  It wasn’t until a Dead Sea Scroll fragment 4QSam-a was discovered that light was shed on what led up to this siege of Jabesh-Gilead. …Read I Samuel Chapter 11, then read the DSS excerpt from Understanding the Dead Sea Scrolls, Hershel Shanks, pg. 161

·       Missing section – Nahash king of the children of Ammon, sorely oppressed the children of Gad and the children of Reuben, and he gouged out all their right eyes and struck terror and dread in Israel.  There was not left one among the children of Israel beyond the Jordan whose right eye was not put out by Nahash king of the children of Ammon; except that seven thousand men fled from the children of Ammonand entered Jabesh-Gilead.  About a month later…

·       The point here is to show that though we state that the original Autograph is without err, the copying and translating over thousands of years have left us some flaws in our current versions.  Nonetheless I believe the Holy Spirit reveals truth as required.

Genesis 3:16-21

G.    Punishment pronounced on man & woman Genesis 3:16-19

1.     Genesis 3:16 – Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire [shall be] to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

a.      If the sin of disobedience was simply eating the fruit, wouldn’t the appropriate punishment involve the digestive system rather than the reproductive system?

b.     So if the transgression against God was physically eating forbidden fruit how does that increase conception?

·       The result of the “act” was conception of the “thy seed” or the “tares” spoken of in the previous verse

·       Conception is to be multiplied in order to “outproduce” the “tares” and take dominion through numbers

·       I Timothy 2:14-15 – And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression: Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.

o      Saved through increase of the “wheat” and teaching children the righteousness of God.

c.      Proverbs 30:20 – Such is the way of an adulterous woman; She eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, “I have done no wickedness.”

·       Isn’t this precisely what the woman did in 3:13,

d.     Notice three things she receives from God as a consequence for her actions are very different than her perception of the serpent’s temptations:

·       Good for food (lust of the flesh) à multiplied sorrow, conception (pain in the flesh)

·       Pleasant to the eyes (lust of the eyes) à desire shall be (subject) to the husband (restrained from desires)

·       Desired to make one wise (pride of life) à husband shall rule over thee (imparting humility)

e.      I Corinthians 11:9-10 – Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.  For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.

2.     Genesis 3:17 – And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed [is] the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat [of] it all the days of thy life;

a.      Men, is it wrong to listen to your wife? Of course not, but what this does tell us is that as a man sometimes we need to take a stand in obedience to God.  Pure speculation here but I would conjecture that the man would have certainly been able to prevent certain events from transpiring had he not been in an altered state of mind from eating the fruit.

b.     The curse, seems to be a more appropriate punishment as God has now cursed the food source.  Leads one to believe that the entirety of Adam’s sin was the disobedience of eating the forbidden fruit.

c.      The creation is placed in “bondage of corruption” on account of the man

·       Romans 8:19-24 – For the earnest expectation of the creature (creation) waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.  For the creature (creation) was made subject to vanity (disappointing misery) not willingly, but by reason of Him Who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creature (creation) itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.  For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

·       Here we see that God’s creation (which is now cursed and in bondage) is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God, the day when we realize Thy Kingdome on earth as it is in heaven.

·       When is this?

o      Revelation 11:15 – And the seventh angel sounded (seventh trump); and there were great voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.”

o      See also I John 3:2 and I Corinthians 15:51

d.     Now that the ground is cursed and the yield is most likely much less, does this introduction of a food shortage change the orientation of some animals from vegetarian to carnivore?

e.      Placed a higher value to the words of the woman vs. the Word of God

·       Matthew 10:36 – And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.

o      Sometimes we listen to the things those closest to us say to our own detriment rather than taking a stand that may hurt someone’s feelings.

3.     Genesis 3:18 – Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

a.      A sample of the things brought into being from the curse

b.     Thorns and thistles might also allude to famine, plagues, insects, weeds and other poisonous or non-edible plants

4.     Genesis 3:19 – In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou [art], and unto dust shalt thou return.

a.      “…Thou art dust…”, what was it again that the serpent should eat all the days of his life?

b.     First mention of a “return unto the ground” indicating that the man would indeed suffer death

c.      James 1:14-15 – But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.  Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

d.     Note that there is no evidence that the man or the woman repented of their sin or even felt remorse for their disobedience.

H.    God’s provision Genesis 3:20-21

1.     Genesis 3:20 – And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

a.      Here we have Adam giving his wife the name Eve because she was the mother of all living

b.     By eating from the forbidden fruit death was just pronounced upon them, so were they living? The promised seed was to be of the woman.

c.      All living - חי chay (adjective, feminine noun, masculine noun) live 197, life 144, beast 76, alive 31, creature 15, running 7, living thing 6, raw 6, misc 19

d.     What does this phrase “all living” mean?

·       Could not be all physical life because all physical life would include plants and animals not of the human species

·       Could not mean all human life for she obviously was not the mother of Adam and humans were no longer “living” after the curse

·       Could it possibly mean that she is mother of “her Seed” who is Christ and “In Him was life; and life was the light of men” (John 1:4)? In that in her lies the “Seed” preserved. How God preserved the line of the Deliverer is a marvel of primeval history. Adam had, of course, listened closely to God’s oracle to the serpent. He understood that one of Eve’s offspring would bruise the head of the snake. Thus Adam “called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living”. Eve means “life.” Hope of a Deliverer welled in the primeval couple.

2.     Genesis 3:21 – Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

a.      Even after rebellion God still provided a covering

b.     What did God make the coats of? Skins…therefore to get the skins animals would have had to have been killed, who killed them? Is this the reason sacrifice was necessary? To cover sin

c.      Once again, what was covered with the skin? Their nakedness, their shame…not their mouths

Genesis 3:15

F.    Promise of enmity and two seeds Genesis 3:15

1.     Genesis 3:15 – And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed; It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.”

a.      First great promise and prophecy

·       Matthew 13:24-30 – “…The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.  But when the blade was sprung up and brought forth, then appeared the tares also.  So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, ‘Sir didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? From whence then hath it tares?’  He said unto them, ‘An enemy hath done this.’  The servants said unto him, ‘Wilt thou then we go and gather them up?’  But he said, ‘Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.  Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

·       Mathew 13:36-43 – …and the disciples came unto Him saying “Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.”  He answered and said unto them, “He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.  As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.

b.     The Great Teacher gives us this parable detailing what happened at the beginning of the world and then He does something He doesn’t do very often, He decodes the message to make it clear what He is talking about!

·       He that soweth = Son of man

·       Field = World

·       Good seed = Children of the kingdom

·       Tares = Children of the wicked one

·       Enemy that sowed tares = Devil

·       Harvest = End of World

·       Reapers = Angels

c.      In Chapter 2:9 there is an indication (based on Ezekiel 31) of a strong possibility that TKGE was analogous to Satan himself.

·       Going back to Genesis 1:12 we know that every tree brings forth seed after its own kind, so the fruit brought forth from the TKGE would contain seed after its own kind.

·       The fruit from the TKGE would contain seed, if the tree spoken of in Ezekiel 31 is in fact the TKGE then we have the seed of Satan.

·       Genesis 1:29 says that “…I have given you every herb bearing seed, which [is] upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which [is] the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.”

·       Here again we have an example of God saying clearly that EVERY TREE that the fruit contains seed is good for meat.  If the TKGE was indeed one of these trees specified here it would have been free game.  Something is most definitely different about the TKGE that distinguishes it from other trees.

o      Is it a physical difference or a spiritual difference?

o      Does the TKGE contain “the fruit of a tree yielding seed”?

o      God was speaking to the serpent, not the TKGE, what is the connection, if any, between the two entities?

o      The fruit of the TKGE is not what “her Seed” is to have enmity with, so there is a clear reference to something that took place after the act of “eating” the “fruit” to create enmity between her seed and the serpent’s seed.

d.     So back to 3:15, we have thy seed which is the seed of the wicked one whom Christ points out in His parable of the tares and we have her Seed, who we know is Christ, but what is the body of Christ? Christ spells it out clearly “the good seed are the children of the kingdom”

·       We know Christ is the physical representation of “her Seed”

·       Is there a physical representation of “thy seed” (or seed of the devil)

o      John 8:44 – “Ye are of your father the devil…”

o      Matthew 3:7 – But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

o      Matthew 12:33-34 – Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by [his] fruit.  O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

o      Matthew 23:33 – [Ye] serpents, [ye] generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

o      Luke 3:7 – Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

o      Acts 13:8-10 - But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.  Then Saul, (who also [is called] Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, [thou] child of the devil, [thou] enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?

o      I John 3:11-12 – For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.  Not as Cain, [who] was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.

e.      Could it be that the fruit that the woman “ate” and then gave to the man was some sort of mind-altering substance that opened their mind, but made them vulnerable.  While  in an incapacitated state the serpent/seraph who was “the enemy that sowed the tares” (as spoken of in Matthew 13) did just that, with an incapacitated Eve?  Is it possible?

f.       When God commanded the man not to eat of the TKGE, what was the “moral reason why”?  God does not just do things without a purpose or a reason, God wanted to be the one to reveal knowledge and wisdom to His children, but through their disobedience they received knowledge and mysteries when they weren’t ready for it.  Its like handing your 5 year old just learning to read a book on the atrocities of WWII, its not that that having that knowledge is bad, their minds are just not yet ready to receive that kind of information.  Opening your mind through psychedelic drugs, chanting, meditation or even through suggestive lyrics of today’s popular music is not the way God wants to reveal knowledge or wisdom to you.

g.      The Protevangelion of James – was publicly read as canonical in the early eastern churches with no doubt that it was authored by James the lesser.  Controversies included relate to the age of Joseph at Christ’s birth and to his being a widower with children.  It is nevertheless considered apocryphal by both Protestant and Catholic churches

·       Protev. 10:1-7 – And when her sixth month was come, Joseph returned from building houses abroad, which was his trade, and entering into the house, found the Virgin grown big: Then smiting upon his face, he said, With what face can I look up to the Lord my God? Or, what shall I say concerning this young woman?  For I received her a Virgin out of the temple of the Lord my God, and have not preserved her such! Who has thus deceived me?  Who has committed this evil in my house, and seducing the Virgin from me, hath defiled her?  Is not the history of Adam exactly accomplished in me?  For in the very instant of his glory, the serpent came and found Eve alone, and seduced her.  Just after the same manner it has happened to me.

·       Joseph is comparing finding Mary with child to that of Adam finding Eve, implying that Eve was in fact pregnant as a result of her adultery.

Genesis 3:8 - 14

D.    God’s questioning, Man and Woman’s reply Genesis 3:8-13

1.     Genesis 3:8 – And they heard the voice 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 amongst the trees of the garden.

a.      Note that they hid in the permissible trees (of the garden)

·       Just like human nature is today, to try and create an alibi, they went to where they were permitted to go to give the impression that they were doing what they were supposed to be doing (they didn’t hang around the TKGE, the scene of the crime)

b.     Does the voice of the Lord walk?

·       Voice = קול qowl, (masculine noun) voice, sound, noise

·       Appears they heard the sound of the Lord walking, which seems interesting to be able to hear God walking, indicates some sort of physical presence

c.      Amongst = תוך tavek, same as the word midst in 2:9

d.     Cool of the day – either early morning or dusk

e.      “Mistrust and fear have, for one thing, taken the place of trust and free communion…” H.C. Leupold

f.       Appears that this was something that God did frequently, most likely to enjoy His creation.  Was He in bodily form?

2.     Genesis 3:9 – And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where [art] thou?

a.      Man seeks to hide, God seeks to find

3.     Genesis 3:10 – And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I [was] naked; and I hid myself.

a.      The reason that the man and woman were afraid was not due to their nudity, but their disobedience.  The sin was committed and another as an attempt to cover it.

b.     Shows the damage caused by sin, the man is now a shadow of his former self.

4.     Genesis 3:11 – And he said, Who told thee that thou [wast] naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

a.      By the Lord’s response we can see that the only way the man and woman would have known they were naked were:

·       Someone told them

·       They ate of the TKGE

b.     God was fully aware that another being was present in the garden that :

·       Could communicate to the man and woman

·       Knew what being naked meant

5.     Genesis 3:12 – And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest [to be] with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

a.      An embarrassing response, the man takes essentially no responsibility and blames:

·       The woman

·       God Himself

o      indirectly in that it was His gift to the man who caused his demise

b.     God can clearly see the corrupt state that man is now in from this one answer

c.      A response from God is not even warranted

6.     Genesis 3:13 – And the LORD God said unto the woman, What [is] this [that] thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

a.      Beguiled - נשא nasha', (verb) to seduce or currupt

E.    Punishment pronounced upon the serpent Genesis 3:14

1.     Genesis 3:14 – And the Lord God said unto the serpent, “Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

a.      Notice God did not even question Satan or give him an opportunity to defend himself against his accusers, why?

·       He already knew the rebellious nature from the fall

b.     Are other animals cursed?

c.      On thy belly

·       Leviticus 11:42 - Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon [all] four, or whatsoever hath more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they [are] an abomination.

d.     “Thou shalt eat dust”, what was the man created from?

·       I Peter 5:8 - Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

e.      Is this literal or allegorical?

·       Trees

·       Fruit

·       Serpent

·       Covering