Welcome to the MHB Podcast. This is Michael Baun. And welcome to my thirty first episode. Tonight I’m going to delve into Genesis chapter three and discuss it with you. I think the best way for me to do this is to read it to you in its entirety, then go back over it and parse it out verse by verse. Please enjoy.
Genesis Chapter Three:
The Man and Woman Sin
The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”
4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man[a] and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”
11 “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”
12 The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” 14 Then the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. 15 And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike[b] your head, and you will strike his heel.” 16 Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.[c]” 17 And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. 18 It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. 19 By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.”
Paradise Lost: God’s Judgment
20 Then the man—Adam—named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live.[d] 21 And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife. 22 Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings[e] have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” 23 So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. 24 After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
So first I want to look at verses 1-5:
The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”
4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
We must always keep in mind that Satan is a created being. He has not always existed in the way that God has. He was once an awe inspiring angel named Lucifer. Lucifer wanted to be like the Most High God, and his pride caused his descent into evil. Outside of the church, it is popular to think that God and Satan are two opposite ends on a spectrum. This is just not the case biblically, because Satan is not equal to God. Satan actually cannot do anything without God’s permission.
I want you to notice the way in which Satan is trying to convince Eve to eat the fruit. He is rationalizing it for her. Asking her, “Did God really say that?”, and telling her “You won’t die, you will become like God, knowing both good and evil.” Rationality is a gift that we can use to understand the things of God and the things of our universe. But without God, rationality is straight out of the mouth of hell. Just think about all of the horrific behaviors that have been rationalized by individuals and governments throughout history.
I also want you to notice the name of the tree. It is called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil – this name implies that evil already existed before Adam and Eve took the fruit. This can be attributed to the original sin of pride committed by Satan himself. Satan is called the father of lies because he has no real power other than to deceive individuals into turning away from God.
Let’s look at verses 6-7:
6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
Why do you think Satan chose to approach Eve and not Adam? It could be simple chance that she was there and Adam wasn’t – but I don’t think so. One of the easiest ways to corrupt a man is through a woman. Think of all the violent crimes and instances of men behaving erratically. These things can almost always be winnowed down to a struggle for power or for a woman.
We see Satan using this tactic in the book of Job as well. Job has lost everything and is sitting in the ash heap of his life when his wife tells him to curse God and die. I suspect this was Satan speaking to Job through his wife, because Job’s wife could not have possibly known about the conversation between God and Satan where Satan told God he could convince Job to rebel. I don’t believe that women are more corruptible than men, but I do believe that men have major weaknesses for women.
Also notice in verse seven where it says that their eyes were opened and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. I believe adults feel shame at their nakedness in a way that small children do not because adults have lost their innocence. But there’s something else to think about too. Not only do clothes maintain our privacy but they also protect our vulnerabilities. You only know how to hurt someone because you know how you yourself could be hurt. I think the concept of being vulnerable is essential to being able to love others, but it also opens the door to acts of evil.
Verses 8 – 11:
8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man[a] and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”
11 “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”
Here we see Adam and Eve trying to hide from God. Why would they do this? Why try to hide from an omniscient being? Adam says he hid because he was naked and afraid. This is exactly what happens today when we commit a sin – we try to hide from God. We feel ashamed and guilty. Christ’s forgiveness is the only way to be washed of that guilt and of that shame. When He returns, there will be those who run to embrace him and those who run to hide from him. Which will you be?
Let’s move to verses 12 – 19:
12 The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” 14 Then the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. 15 And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike[b] your head, and you will strike his heel.” 16 Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.[c]” 17 And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. 18 It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. 19 By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.”
Notice how Adam refuses to accept the blame for eating the fruit. Not only does he throw his wife under the bus, but he accuses God of being at fault for creating her in the first place. This is a shining example of how not respond to God as a man. Cain does this same thing in the next chapter when God refuses his offering. Cain blames God. If you are suffering a tragedy, it may be one that you caused or it may be one that you didn’t cause and could not prevent. But one thing is for certain: if you blame God for your pain, then you will only make your pain far worse than it needs to be. And I’m not talking about judgment day, I’m talking about right here and right now. I will talk more about this when we discuss Genesis 4.
Notice how God says he will cause hostility between the serpent’s offspring and Eve’s offspring. God says the serpent will strike his heel but He will strike the serpent’s head. This is a reference to the first coming of Christ thousands of years later. It’s talking about Satan’s failed attempt to corrupt Jesus and Jesus’ final victory over Satan in the end of days.
Finally, let’s see verses 20-24:
Paradise Lost: God’s Judgment
20 Then the man—Adam—named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live.[d] 21 And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife. 22 Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings[e] have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” 23 So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. 24 After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
Notice how God is referring to Himself as “us.” God is triune, meaning that he is three distinct persons in one. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. No one really knows how this works and it’s impossible for human beings to fully understand it in this plane of existence. However, I think if you get on YouTube and watch Carl Sagan’s Tesseract video, you might get some grasp on what a being from a higher dimension might be like.
The tree of life mentioned here is a tree that appears again at the end of the Bible in the book of Revelation. In Revelation, people are pictured eating from the tree and enjoying eternal life in God’s presence. Genesis three is loaded with information. This has been a brief study covering some of the major points, but I would encourage you to check it out for yourself and see what you can make of it.
If you find this content valuable, feel free to share it and to use it in your own studies. If you’d like to support this podcast, you can do so at www.patreon.com/michaelhbaun. There is a link in the description. Your generosity goes a long way to promoting the growth of this enterprise and the cause of free speech. Thank you all for joining me this evening, and I will see you in the next episode.
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