Genesis 3 - The Rest of the Story
Part 1 - The temptations, the disobedience, and the immediate consequence (Gen. 3:1-8).
Part 2 - God's judgment on the Satan and salvation promised for the human race (Gen. 3:9-15).
Part 3 - Consequences of sin in the woman’s relationships (Gen. 3:16).
Part 4 - Consequences of sin in the man’s work and his death (Gen. 3:17-19)
Part 5 - The Tree of Life. (Gen. 3:20-24)
Deaf version of this same series of lessons.
PART IGENESIS 3:The study that we are beginning this next four Sundays is a review for many. It is a story that you been taught and you have taught it. It’s a story that has been read to you, and you have read it to others. And we seem to have no ending to teasing and jokes about this text.
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.I keep coming back to this story. And each time I come back to it, I see new application for the old truth. It is the story of Adam and Eve, their introduction of sin to the world, and the consequences that followed.
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'?"Our children have learned their lessons well. This week the littlest ones reminded me that "snakes can’t talk." Who was really speaking here? It was Satan. I am convinced that it was Satan making himself appear as a animal that now has become a symbol of his own personality, the serpent. How can Satan do that? The scripture says that Satan can transform himself to appear as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). The angels of God often appear in human form, and in other forms as well. Why not Satan?The Serpent said to the woman, "Has God really said that of all the wonderful fruit trees in the garden, you can't eat any of them?" Besides presenting an obvious lie, what is Satan doing here? He is, first of all, planting seeds of doubt. He would like Eve (and us) to doubt God’s goodness and blessing. Satan would like us to consider the possibility that God is holding back something good from us. "Did God say you can’t have any fun?" Sometimes we Christians live that way, don’t we? If it’s fun, it must be sinful.
And Eve answers the Serpent, We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 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.'"
What Satan has now done is given Eve a sensual focus, the pleasure of eating fruit. Satan has very cleverly drawn her attention toward that which is forbidden, a little like a "Wet Paint" sign.
Now if Even had precisely quoted the God’s restriction regarding this tree (Genesis 2:17), then we could move on in the story. But it appears to us, based on our limited information, that she misquotes the commandment:
GENESIS 2:A lot has been made of Eve’s addition to the command, "Don’t eat it." Eve said, "Don’t eat it; don’t touch it." What she had done (perhaps with agreement with Adam), that if we don’t touch it, we won’t be tempted to eat it. Let’s build a fence around that temptation, so we don’t even get close to it. And that’s not a bad thing.
9 And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil...
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;
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."You know what in your life is tempting. To fight against that temptation is a fight that you lose when you face it. So what you do, the Bible says, in the face of temptation is to flee, and avoid those situations that bring temptation to you. If you had an addiction to alcohol, the places where you found gratification for your addiction are still around. You avoid those places. If your familiar watering hole is right on your way home from work, and you can’t pass by it without stopping in it, you find another way home from work. You build a fence around that temptation.
What tempts you may not tempt me, and visa versa. The restrictions I establish for myself in order to avoid temptation may not necessary for you. And the restrictions you must adhere to in order to avoid moral pollution may not be necessary for me. (Paul Little has an interesting sidebar on this issue; see end notes.)
Adam and Eve knew their limitations, and they set up a "fence." It would have been better for Eve to say, "God said, ‘Don’t eat it,’ therefore we have chosen not to touch it."
GENESIS 3This is a verse that has an application in almost every situation in life.
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."On the one hand, Satan’s subtle message is, "God is lying to you. I told you that God is out to ruin your fun. God is out to keep something good from you. God doesn’t want you to eat that fruit, because He knows that you will know what He knows."
We certainly live in a culture that openly defies God, His commandments, His wisdom. We live in a culture that says, "We know better than God. And the God of the Christians is out to spoil our fun."
But what does the text say to us, who desire to know and love God?
The serpent's other lie is, "You will not surely die. For God knows... God understands. You must have misunderstood. God would not keep back from you something so good. God wants you to eat of the fruit, For God knows that if you eat it you will be like Him." And what’s wrong with that? Doesn’t our New Testament say,
"Be imitators of God..." (Ephesians 5:1)Certainly one of the sensitive areas which Satan was appealing to in Eve’s personality, which is characteristic of the strength of women, is spiritual growth and nurture. All too often in our families is the women who take the lead in spiritual things, because they have a sensitivity to that. And here in our text Satan takes this strength of this woman and uses to destroy her. He appeals to instant spiritual growth apart from the Holy Spirit of God."Have this character, this attitude, be in you which was also in Christ Jesus..."
(Philippians 2:5)"You shall not surely die, because God knows... God knows that in the day you eat it that your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God. He knows that. Isn’t that what God wants for you? You will know good and evil. And what is wrong with that?" (E.g. historically Christian denominations "blessing" same-sex "marriages" because it has the appearance of compassion and understanding.)
What is wrong with being able to discern good from evil? There is a great difference between discerning evil and knowing it. We are to know what is good, and thereby we can discern what is evil. The way you discern error is not to study error but to study the truth. To discern what is false, you must first know what is true and right.
My deaf friends who have worked the Federal Reserve Bank as cash counters, are flipping dollar bills all day long. They are flipping away hundreds of thousands of dollar bills. And when they touch a counterfeit, they know it instantly, not because they have studied about counterfeit money, but because they are so familiar with the real thing. Know what is true, good, and right, and you will be able to discern what is false.
What is the heart of the temptation here? Let’s phrase it this way...
"When you eat fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, you will be able to decide for yourself what is good and what is evil."
We hold God’s Word, God’s Law, God’s Wisdom in judgment. "Lord, tell me what You want me to do... then I will decide whether or not I want to do it." Read the first chapter of James; he said, if you ask for wisdom that way, you’re not going to get it. (James 1:5-8, where the Greek for "doubt" means to exercise the right to veto.)
"I will be my own god!" That was exactly the original of Satan himself, when he was a holy angel under the authority of God alone, when he said, "I will be as God." And that what he presented to us, we will be as god, deciding for ourselves what is right, what is wrong, what is good, what is evil.
Our character is not shown in what we do what other people are looking, but our character is shown in what we do when no one is looking.
Does God’s Word really matter in those situations?
GENESIS 3:6Now if you are following along with me in the text, you will notice that I skipped two words. Two very important words.
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," [so she thought,] she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband..., and he ate.You see as I have heard this story, and as I have told this story, the question comes to mind, "Where was Adam when Satan was having his conversation with Eve?" ...caught her alone in a vulnerable moment, while Adam was out working in the garden, pruning the trees. She fell into sin, and then went and found Adam and said, "Here, try this. It’s good!"
Some time ago I heard an interesting twist on the story, that goes like this. Adam came home from a long day working in the garden. He kicked up the foot rest on his easy chair, hit the "on" button for the cable TV remote, while he browsed the newspaper, and the doorbell rang. Ding-dong. "Eve, Honey, can you see who it is?"
After a moment of silence, Adam hears Eve call back, "It’s an apple salesman."
Adam answers, "Well, okay. You can go ahead and take care of it."
That little scenario got me to check the story again. What does the text say? Where was Adam when Eve was having her conversation with the Serpent?
... she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her...That’s exactly what it says in the Hebrew text. One of the reasons I missed it was that some of the modern English translations that I had been working with omit those two words. Perhaps the translators thought they were redundant in meaning. But if I am reading this right, Adam was right there watching the whole conversation! As we study the Scripture on God’s design for the family structure, it was Adam’s responsibility to be not only the provider but also to be the protector for his family, for his wife. And when the conversation had just gotten started, it was Adam’s responsibility to interrupt, and say, "Time out! Get lost!"It’s a powerful lesson. I must tell you that since I have had this understanding of the text, I am far more discerning when the doorbell rings, or the telephone rings in my home. If when the phone rings, and Georganne answers, and then there is a long silence, I will hike over to where she is, just as a matter of curiosity. And she will say to the caller, "Here. Talk to my husband."
My wife is so nice and doesn’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings. But I don’t care, so I can say, "No thank you. Goodbye." Click. (I must tell you that she is now doing much better at this.)
We will be getting more into the matter of the relationship between a husband and a wife, as God designed it, in the third message of our series. But I cannot close this lesson without saying this: why God is so vehement about the matter of marriage throughout Scripture.
When I began my deaf ministry here in Dallas 17 years ago, we had a lot of young deaf adults people attending our church. And I thought I would start my ministry with a Bible study on something simple, benign, non-offensive and non-controversial. We’ll do a study of the Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). OOPS! In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus talks about marriage. And what Jesus says about marriage was a great offense to the members of my congregation. And I lost them.
Georganne said to me, "Be of good cheer. John the Baptist lost his head on that issue." That was some comfort.
Why is God so strong on marriage? Scripture makes it absolutely clear that it is because marriage is a matter of design. The design is that of His relationship with us. Throughout the Old Testament prophets God uses marriage as an illustration of His relationship with Israel. "I have married you," God told Israel, "and you have committed adultery, worshipping idols." (Jeremiah 3; Hosea 1-3)
In the New Testament:
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her... So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. (Ephesians 5:21-33)Marriage is His design. When we wreck His design, the Designer is hurt and offended. We are the reflection of His design to the world. They get to see what God is like, when they get see we’re like Him.In my work in deaf ministry I often get to go into that area of Dallas we call Oak Lawn. I lot of people I meet tell me, "Oh, I used to live in that neighborhood. I grew up there." Yes, but you don’t live there now, do you? In the area around Inwood and Harry Hines, and Maple and Motor, I often see factories and warehouses that go out of business and are left vacant. I am astounded how a building that once was the hub of so much activity, within a few months, becomes a wrecked, empty shell. As I drive by these places that are abandoned, abused, and falling apart, I wonder if the architects who designed these buildings have seen what has happened to their creative work. I wonder how they would feel about it. I wonder if the builders who labored long and hard to erect these buildings saw what has happened to their handiwork.
And I get a picture of how God feels when we wreck what He design in our relationships in our families and in the church.
But then as I continue my work around Oak Lawn, I see that someone somewhere, another designer, another architect, another builder... someone sees a vacant building that’s broken down, sees the potential, and says, "I will buy that land. I will buy that building. I will not only restore the beauty that was originally there. I will make it better than it was before." As I travel around I see some of the broken down places transformed by someone who had the vision to see of what it could be.
And again I see a picture of what God has done for us in His Son Jesus Christ. We have wrecked what is good. And God said, "I am not giving up. I am getting involved. I am going to fix it. I am going to make it better that it was before." That’s what we call grace.
GENESIS 3Satan is a liar. And every temptation presented is a lie. The lie is,
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..."If you do this, you will feel good."
"If you will do this, you will prosper."
"If you do this, or don’t do that, you will avoid difficulty."
It’s a lie. And one thing old age has taught me is to recognize the lie. The bite of the Serpent is waiting for me on the other side. Here you can hear Satan laugh, as often as I can hear him laughing when I caved in. No, I didn’t feel good. I felt worse. I didn’t feel proud, I felt embarrassed. It’s a lie.
The effect, the consequences of sin, is a separation that has come between us and our Lord, a separation that, as we will see next time, has been bridged by our Lord Jesus Christ.
PART IIGENESIS 3A few years ago we were conducting midweek after school Bible class for several children in the Garland-Mesquite public school. Those of you who helped us in that program have vivid memories of those rambunctious children.
9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?"
10 So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."
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?"
12 Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate."
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."
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.
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."One day that stands out most vividly in my mind. As we started the lesson for that day, three girls sitting in the back of the class agreed together that it was a much too nice of a day to waste it sitting inside So these three, whom I shall call Susan, Sarah, and Stacie, picked a moment they thought I wasn’t looking to slip out the side door and go hit the playground. Unfortunately there was a distance of at least 30 feet between them and the side door. Their exit caught the attention of all the adults and half of the students.
I suspended the lesson while one of our helpers went out to get the girls and escort them back into the building. In they marched, single file. The first one in was Susan, the youngest of the three and the one least likely to misbehave. As she came in, she saw that all eyes were focused on her, so she immediately offered her defense: "It’s not my fault. Sarah told me [to do it]." Then Sarah came through the door, and she also noticed that everyone was looking at her. So she also offered her defense: "It’s not my fault. Stacie told me [to do it]." Behind her was Stacie, her only defense was to shrug and smile sheepishly.
This was the perfect setup for me to teach the lesson for the day: The story of Adam and Eve’s fall into sin.
As I got into the lesson, I related how Eve at the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, "then she gave the fruit to Adam, and he ate it. Then all of a sudden they both felt terrible! Why? Can anyone tell me?"
Susan was on her feet, excitedly waving with one hand, and signing with the other, "I know! I know!" I looked around the class to see if anyone else also might want to volunteer an answer. There was none, so I called on Susan, "Tell us, why did Adam and Eve feel so bad after they ate the fruit?"
Her answer was just one word, carefully spelled, "G-E-R-M-S !"
Good guess. But what made Adam and Eve feel bad was their guilty consciences convicting them of their disobedience. What they felt was shame. So they tried to hide from God.
God came and said, "Adam, did you eat that fruit?"
"It’s not my fault. Eve told me!"
So God ask Eve, "What have you done?"
"It’s not my fault. The snake told me!"
When we sin, our first response is to try to hide our guilt. When that doesn’t work, we justify our disobedience with excuses, either by transferring blame to others, like Adam and Eve did, or we justify our disobedience by perpetuating the lie that Satan presented to Eve... "God didn’t really mean it. My situation is different, so those rules don’t apply." How quickly we trade our principles for convenience, and when our consciences remind us of the contradiction, we have a ready rationalization. When caught in wrong-doing, we are quick to point out the misdeeds of others, which, in our eyes appear far more serious than our own slight, excusable infraction.
Spiritually and morally we are in quicksand. The more we, like Adam and Eve, try to get free from the condemnation and consequences of our sin, the deeper we go.
[CONSEQUENCES]
After Adam and Eve each argued their defense, God spelled out what will be the consequences of their disobedience. But He begins, this time, not with Adam, but with Satan, who appeared here as a serpent.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.On a surface level, this is saying that snakes will bite people and people will fear and hate snakes. But this story is not about animal species of snakes. It is about The Snake. It is about that once very beautiful, very good, very intelligent angel of God who, in pride, became the very cunning, very evil liar, deceiver, and murderer, Satan, who, to tempt Adam and Eve, appeared in the form of a creature which thought to be particularly beautiful, a snake.
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."Similarly, this story is not about mankind and their unhappy relationship with snakes. It is about The Man, born of the seed of the woman, who would one day crush the Serpent’s head while that Serpent was in the act of striking the Man in the heel. As oblique as it is, this is Scripture’s very first prophecy addressing God’s ultimate solution to the sin problem. And that solution was the sacrificial death of the God-Man Jesus on the Cross which won our freedom sin and salvation from sin’s eternal consequences.
The Scripture describes Jesus Christ not only as the God and Lord of all creation - as Adam himself vainly had tried to be - but the Scripture also describes Jesus as a New Adam, a Second Adam, who confronted Satan, defeated him by the Cross, and reconciled us to God... and reconciled us to each other.
COLOSSIANS 1:As I began preparation for this series, I was at a loss to understand the significance of the first part of that verse where God pronounces judgment on Satan, using the analogy of the snake, that part that talks about crawling on your belly and eating dust. Well, here is the answer:
13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,
20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.COLOSSIANS 2:
8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men [AND OF SATAN], according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.
9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;
10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power...
13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
15 Having disarmed principalities and powers [THAT’S NEW TESTAMENT JARGON FOR THE DEVIL AND HIS DEMON ANGELS], He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it [I.E. THE CROSS].REVELATION 12
7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought,
8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.
9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.
11 "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
12 "Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time."
PART IIIGENESIS 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."This morning we are into the third part of our series on the third chapter of Genesis - the story of the introduction of sin into the world with the temptation of Adam and Eve.PART 1: The temptations which Adam & Eve encountered... how they nurtured those temptations, how Adam and Eve bought the lies Satan offered them in each temptation, how their disobedience introduced them to a new emotion: shame & separation from God.
PART 2: Last week we looked at God’s curse against Satan in verse 15 and the prediction God made Christ’s victory against Satan which was accomplished on the cross.
PART 3: This morning we look at the last part of this chapter, in which God spells out in detail some of the profound effects or consequences of sin in our daily lives and relationships.
Geneses 3:16 To the woman He said: "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children..."NIV: ... "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children..."Sorrow in conception? "Oh no! I hope I’m not pregnant!"
From conception the sorrow and pain moves on to childbirth.
One of my male friends said that he was foolish enough once to ask a group of women what childbirth feels like. One of the ladies responded by instructing my friend, "Grab your lower lip." So he did. Then she said, "Now pull it up over your forehead." Like so many things in life, what God had created as good and intended for our joy, sin has turned it into something painful.
The pain moves beyond the childbirth to child rearing.
Childbirth is just the beginning. Compared to what follows in raising, nurturing, and teaching those children, childbirth is the easy part. That this dark prediction is made to the woman is no accident. And when all her efforts fail to bear fruit in virtuous children, it is Mom who is hurt the most. I have often seen the Proverb of Scripture fulfilled, which says, "A wise son makes a glad father, But a foolish son is the grief of his mother." (Proverbs 10:1)
Sin not only affects a woman’s relationship with her children. Sin also has spoiled her relationship with her husband:
[Genesis 3:16] "...Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you."This text has been a bone of contention between feminists and traditionalists for years. The fact that it is usually linguistically misunderstood and mistranslated hasn’t helped in the debate. This is one of those handful of texts that I use to test the quality of any newly published modern English translation of the Bible.What I have read to you this morning is from the New King James Version. The New International Version is identical: "Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." This is quite literal to the Hebrew text, but not very helpful in clarifying its intended meaning.
Some other modern English versions try to make the meaning clear, and usually they do a pretty good job of it. But on this verse they miss it by a mile.
The Living Bible: "...you shall welcome your husband’s affections, and he shall be your master."
God’s Word to the Nations: "...you will long for your husband, and he will rule you."
The problem in correctly interpreting this text is in understanding the meaning of the word here used for "desire." Does it really mean affection? Or does it mean a different kind of desire? This is one of those times where the Scripture is its own best interpreter.
In the Hebrew language there are, as in English, over a dozen words which can mean desire, each one with its own nuance. For example, we read in Genesis 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.
The root verb for the word the that is translated Genesis 3:6 as "desirable" (chamad) means to covet, to desire to have in one’s possession. It’s the same word that is used in Psalm 19:
9 ...The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.The word for desire used in Genesis 3:16, however, is quite a different word (teshuqah). It's a word that is used only three times in the entire Old Testament. This is the first occurrence. To find the second time it is used in the Bible, you need only scan your eyes over to the next page in your Bible, to Genesis 4:7, the story of Cain and Abel. In the time leading up to Cain’s murder of his younger brother, Cain harbors bitterness and resentment against Abel. God sees where that bitterness is leading him. So as a caution, God speaks to Cain this message:
10 More to be desired are they than gold...[Genesis 4:7] "If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."Notice the clear meaning of desire in this verse. "Sin lies at the door, and it’s desire is for you..." The image here is that of a predator laying in wait for its prey. Or better yet, it is the picture of a bandit, ready to ambush his next victim. The meaning of the word desire here clearly does not mean affection. And it is precisely the same word that is used in Genesis 3:16, when God says to Eve, "Your desire will be for your husband."Not only does our Lord use the exact same word, but He frames the sentence in the exact same grammatical construction, with the same verbs; just different pronouns:
Genesis 3:16
Your desire shall be for your husband.
And he shall rule over you.Genesis 4:7
Sin’s desire is for you.
But you should rule over it.
So to translate this passage in Genesis 3:16 as "You will have affection for your husband..." as is offered in a few modern English translations, is quite incorrect. God predicts that as a consequence of sin in Eve’s relationship with her husband, there is going to be a power struggle. "You will desire to control your husband. And not only will you fail to control him, he will control you." This is not a verse that describes God’s design for marriage, involving a husband’s loving leadership, and wife’s loving submission. There are plenty of texts of Scripture which do that, but this isn’t one of them. Rather, here God describes the consequences of sin in family relationships, as sin does with everything good that God has created. Sin has corrupted the loving relationships which God designed in marriage into a bitter and painful power struggle.
But just as the cross of Jesus Christ reconciles us back to God, bridging the gap in our relationship with Him, so also does the cross of Jesus reconcile husbands and wives, bridging their gap created by sinful actions, sinful attitudes, unfulfilled expectations, and bitter disappointments. The keys to our reconciliation with God are His sacrificial love and forgiveness. The keys to healing in our family relationships are... sacrificial love and forgiveness.
This is not the verse you husbands can use to demand physical affection from your wives... "demand affection," that’s even a contraction in terms! Nor does this verse justify your dictatorial rule of your family. Rather, this verse alerts us that sin causes conflicts in our marriage and family relationships. And it’s not just "sin" in general, but specific sinful attitudes which we harbor, and sinful habits which we nurture, which lead to specific consequences in our family relationships.
A man who indulges in alcohol or pornography tends to be either harsh and demanding in the home, or he abdicates all leadership and authority altogether. A man who is married to his work fails to understand why his wife is reluctant to also share her affections. A wife who is prone to worry, will be angry at her husband for making what she perceives as unwise decisions. She may move to take charge over that which is not ultimately her responsibility, and she will try to effect changes in situations over which she can really do nothing, and over which she has no control. Parents who fail to take time for each and for their children lose respect for each other, as do their children. One of major measures of love is respect, and respect is measure (1) by time and (2) by focused attention. And you can’t give either if you are forever tied up on the Internet or using your free time to indulge in other forms of electronic entertainment. Those who harbor hurts of unfulfilled expectations are constantly playing mental tapes of past offenses and find little motivation to forgive.
SOLUTION:
This verse describes the problem... and it’s root cause. God did not abandon His original design for marriage. But in providing a way to repair the damage, he also offered some improvements.Our Reconciliation to God is accomplished through Christ’s sacrificial suffering, death and resurrection. Our reconciliation with each other is accomplished... how? Also through the sacrificial suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord. The primary principle in relationship with God is forgiveness. The primary principle in our relationship with our spouses and with our children is.... forgiveness.
Are you battling bitterness against your husband or wife? Do you resent your parents’ failure to show compassion or to provide the kind of leadership God indent in your home? The secret getting free from those negative emotions is to view your offender - whether that offender is your husband or wife, whether that offender is your parents or your inlaws, is to view the offending person through the eyes of Jesus. See that one who hurt you through the eyes of compassion, just as Jesus does.
(Ephesians 5:21-33)
PSALM 127
3 Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth.
5 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; They shall not be ashamed, But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.MATTHEW 18:10 "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.
MARK 10
13 Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them.
14 But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.
15 "Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."
16 And He took them up in His arms, put His hands on them, and blessed them.The very last verse of the OT - MALACHI 4:
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
6 And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse."LUKE 1:17 "He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
PART IVGENESIS 3:Question: Didn’t God tell Adam to also work before the fall? (15 "Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.")
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.
18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field.
19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return."
20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
21 Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
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";
23 therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.
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.So what’s the difference between work then and now?
God designed for man to work - but the work was creative, just as God’s work was. Adam’s work was to be done as a service to benefit others, just as God’s work is. Adam’s work was to bring joy and satisfaction, just as God’s work does.
God’s original design for work has not changed. His intent is that our work is to be creative, benefit others, and be satisfying. But after the fall, all that creativity for creativity’s sake, all that joy and satisfaction, has to take a lonely second place to work for mere survival. Work that is cursed by sin is no longer work that gives, but must by necessity be work that gets. And there are no long any guarantees.
But it is an appropriate consequence of sin, is it not? Didn’t Adam want to be as God? Let’s see Adam do in his own strength, power, and cleverness, what was originally God’s work on Adam’s behalf.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN:
FULFILLMENT IN WORK / RELATIONSHIPS.
Today even secular psychologists, who have little regard for the Divine revelation of Scripture, affirm that one of the distinct differences between men and women is that generally men tend to receive their personal satisfaction and sense of identity in their work, which women generally tend to receive their personal satisfaction and sense of identity in their relationships. When men meet socially for the first time and they describe themselves to their new acquaintances, what do they talk about? Their work. And what do women discuss? Their families, their friends, their enemies.... and I often cannot distinguish the difference.Sin has corrupted the relationships which God intended to bring fulfillment to women. Sin has wrecked the work which God designed to bring fulfillment to men.
OUR AREA OF STRENGTH IS ALSO OUR AREA OF GREATEST VULNERABILITY.
Famous men who have been successful in their professions are often interviewed in the latter years of their lives, and they are asked to reflect on their successes, their failures, their joys, and their regrets. The question is always asked, "If you had it to do over again, what would you do differently?"I have never heard or read anyone responding, "I wish I had spent more time on the job." or "I wish I had made different investments." The answer is always, "If I had it to do over again, I would spend more time with my family."
I have heard many men say, "My greatest strength was that I loved my work. And do you know what my greatest weakness was? I loved my work. When I came home, the lights were out."
The week of the Fourth of July this year was a busy week for me. The day after the holiday, I got on a plane and flew to St. Louis, and spent two and a half days there, taking care of business for Lutheran Church’s deaf ministry program. Then Friday after I flew back, I got on a Dart bus and went straight downtown to help interpret for a large conference Friday night and all day Saturday. In St. Louis I had talked to a few important people about some important issues. Then at the conference I heard some famous men expound significant wisdom - when I had I chance I took my own notes, so I might not forget some of the good nuggets.
Yet the most important, most memorable thing said to me all week, something I didn’t have to take notes on, for I shall not forget it for a long time to come, was said to me 6:00 Saturday morning by an eleven year old boy, as I was getting ready to the leave the house for the rest of the day. What was said was just seven little, but most profound words: "Thank you for talking with me, Dad."
God’s original design for Adam was for him to work, while God provided for his basic needs. God owned the garden. The design has not changed. We work, but God provides. Ultimately He owns all we have; we are only managers of what is His. If we can hold loosely to what we have, God is free to bless others through us, and we are free from the worry that the curse of sin has brought to our work.
Psalm 127 (The first part speaks to a man’s work; the second part speaks about his family.)PHYSICAL DEATH - DUST
1 Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early, To sit up late, To eat the bread of sorrows; For so He gives His beloved sleep...
3 Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth.
5 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; They shall not be ashamed, But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.1 Timothy 6
6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.Jesus, from the Sermon on the Mount: "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things [basic necessities] will be added to you." Matt. 6:33
2 Thess. 3:10 "If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat."
1 Timothy 5:8 "But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."
And of course the final consequence of sin as we experience on earth is physical death. "For dust you are, And to dust you shall return." This is a text we read at every funeral. It will, in all likelihood, be read at yours. And it will be read at mine.The story in Genesis 3 concludes with God expelling Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, for the specific purpose of preventing them from having access to the Tree of Life, "lest he... eat, and live forever." If I understand the text correctly, the only thing that Tree of Life could offer was a preventative from physical death. It was not only an act of God’s judgment which kept Adam and Eve from that tree, it was also His mercy. Imagine, contending with sin and it’s consequences for eternity! That, my friends, in the ultimate sense, what hell is like.
The Bible, however, does speak of another Tree of Life, one which remedies the eternal consequences of sin by dealing with the problem of sin itself.
Rev. 2:7 "To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God."TWO WORDS FOR "TREE" IN GREEKRev 21:
9 Then one of the seven angels... came to me and talked with me, saying, "Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife."
10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,...
22:2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life,... The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3 And there shall be no more curse,...
14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.
Our confirmation students may remember the study we did in Young’s Analytical Concordance. You recall that when we looked up the word "tree" in the concordance, there were two words in the New Testament the original Greek, which are both translated as "tree" in our English translations. One (dendron) was the tree that referred to the plant in ground, with roots and a trunk, branch, leaves, and fruit. The other word (xulon) translated as "tree" did not refer to the growing plant, but simply a large plank of timber, that wooden cross piece that was used to crucify our Lord.1 Peter 2:24 "Jesus Christ bore our sins in His own body on the tree (xulon), that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed."When the Apostle John, in the book of Revelation, reports the view of "the New Jerusalem" which he is privileged to see, and he identifies the "Tree of Life" present there, the word he uses for tree is not the plant in the ground, but it’s the other word (xulon), the Tree on which the very Son of God was crucified, and took His life, to give us life, a life in eternity free from sin... free from sin’s power, free from sin’s control, free from sin’s corruption, the way God wanted it in Eden the first time.
Addendum from the late Paul E. Little, How to Give Away Your Faith, © 1966 by Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship of the United States of America, Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, IL. Pp. 100-101.
I got some practical firsthand experience with this problem at a student conference in New Jersey some years ago. There I met a fellow, a salesman, who literally worshipped baseball before he became a Christian. He would slave away all winter long so that he could be completely free for his god in the summer months. For something like twelve years he hadn't missed a single game in Philadelphia. He knew every batting average since 1910. He slept, ate, drank, and breathed baseball. Then he met the Savior and gave up his idol, leaving it at Jesus' feet.
Toward the end of our rugged and somewhat exhausting conference, this fellow overheard me suggest to another staff member, 'Say, after the conference let's go to Connie Mack Stadium and see the Phillies. They're playing the St. Louis Cards.' The salesman was staggered. Incredulous, he stared at me and demanded, 'How can you as a Christian go to a baseball game?' Now, I've heard a lot of taboos in Christian circles, but this was the first time I'd heard baseball banned! I was flabbergasted and didn't know what to say. When he asked a second time, 'How can you and Fred claim to be Christians and then go out to a ball game?' Fred and I starting thinking and discussing the situation. As we talked to the salesman we uncovered his problem. Here was a man like the Christians in Rome, a former idol worshiper. Baseball had been a big thing to him; now he assumed that anybody who saw a game (ate meat), however removed from idolatrous intents, was worshipping baseball as an idol.
Fred and I canceled our baseball date since our going would have needlessly disturbed our friend at a sensitive stage in his Christian life. But we also talked and counseled with him, and he gradually realized that not all Christians find baseball a problem. With his background, baseball will probably be a dangerous temptation to him for the rest of his life; this he knows. But later he also saw that he couldn't legislate for Christians who have no problem with the sport. It heartened us to see him begin to mature in his attitudes.
More on the meaning of the word "desire" used in Gen. 3:16...
I mentioned in Part III of this study that the word "desire" (teshuqah) used in Gen. 3:16 is used only 3 times in the whole Old Testament. The second reference is Gen.4:7, as discussed above. However, the third time it is used is in Song of Solomon 7:10, "I am my beloved's, and his desire is for me."
A first impression from the Song of Solomon text seems to allow for translating teshuqah as "affection," contrary to my exposition of Gen 3:16 and 4:7. Biblical lexicographers have taken their cue from Song of Solomon 7:10, with a misreading of Gen. 3:16, and so offer "affection" as an appropriate translation for teshuqah. However, I am now convinced that the meaning of teshuqah as it is used in Gen.4:7 has a subtle application to the Song of Solomon text.
Song of Solomon 7 opens with the husband describing with poetic delight his wife's body parts. If we apply the Gen.4:7 meaning of "desire" to the wife's response in SS 7:10, "I am my beloved's, and his desire is for me," that text becomes a playful, "My beloved is the preditor and I am the prey (and I am very much enjoying the hunt)!"
So the "preditor's desire for prey" meaning of teshuqah suggested by Genesis 4:7 applies to all three Bible verses which uses the term.