The Consequences of the Fall, Gen. 3:8-24

     “The wages of sin is death” – so Paul wrote to the church of Rome. We all know what a wage is – payment received for labor rendered. We expect to gain profit from the work that we do on a regular basis in this life. But that is not the kind of wage Paul was talking about. He is talking about the just payment for all the sins we commit. We deserve death – physically, spiritually, and eternally for the countless acts of disobedience we have committed against God. We sin because we are sinners, and we are sinners because we sin. The origin of this horrible truth is described for us in Gen. 3.

    The first man, Adam, had only one commandment to obey, 2:16-17. God gave it to test the trust and obedience of Adam, and the penalty for disobedience would be death. Adam and his wife had no reason to eat from that tree. God had freely provided them a superabundance of fruit from which they could take daily sustenance. His intention was for them to enjoy life in the garden by tending it, communing with God their Creator, and filling the earth with more human life, living in perfect harmony with the earth and its creatures.

     But we have seen that all ended when a subtle creature, controlled by Satan entered the garden and deceived the woman. He caused her to doubt the word of God, to disparage the goodness of God, and deny the righteous justice of God. She believed the lie that if she ate of that fruit, she would be her own god. She looked upon it, desired it, coveted it, and ate of it. Then she quickly convinced her husband to do the same. In that moment of disobedience, they fully understood “the wages of sin is death.” They were no longer innocent, without sin, ignorant of evil. They felt the sting and guilt of shame that comes from disobeying God. They now feared him and sought to hide from his presence.

     Sin and disobedience always come with consequences. This narrative describes for us the just punishment that came as a result of the first act of disobedience. We find from these verses that sinners must confess their sins rather than excuse them; that God declares the consequences of sin and its prospect for sinners; but also, that God is gracious in his provision for sinners.

(Outline adapted from Creation and Blessing, Allen Ross)

I. The LORD Calls Sinners to Confess Their Sins Not Excuse Them, 3:7-13.

When the first couple became aware of their transgression, what did they do?

A. The first couple attempted to hide from God, 7-8.

    1. When their eyes were opened, they tried to cover or hide their nakedness, 7.

·         A sense of shame and guilt came flooding upon them. They became aware of their differences and tried to hide their bodies from each other and from God.

·         Instead of sensing good and becoming godlike, they now were tainted by evil that affected their mind and sensibilities. The image of God was marred by sin.

2. When they heard the LORD God in the garden, they hid from his presence, 8.

·         They did not see the figure of God, but heard the sound of him. The verb “to walk” simply conveys moving about from place to place. So, they could hear the Lord moving about, calling out to them, searching for them.

·         The cool of the day – lit., wind or spirit, which symbolized the presence of the Lord in the garden rather than just a certain period of the day. They understood fully that the Lord came to the garden, that his presence was there, but they were afraid to come to Him.

·         They now had a sense of foreboding and imminent judgment. They knew they were in trouble and feared what was going to happen to them. Adam reveals his fear in v. 10.

·         They were already beginning to experience death. Death’s first indication in the life of man is a sense of fear and separation from God.

3. This truth is now descriptive of all humanity – we try to hide our sin from God.

·         Do not little children sometimes run away from their parents and hide when they know they have done something wrong?

·         Without even thinking about it we try to hide from God. One of the most difficult things in witnessing to people is to get them to recognize their sinful condition and admit they are sinners before a just and holy God.

·         We also try to cover up or hide from our sense of guilt and shame when we do something wrong. We do not know what to do with the bad feelings, so we shove them off, try not to think about them. Sometimes we think if we do something good, it will help us overcome feelings of guilt.

·         It is now human nature to hide our sin and run from God rather than confess our sin and run to God.

B. God confronted the first couple so they would confess their sin, but they made excuses for it, 9-13.

     1. God confronts Adam, 9-12.

·         Note that the LORD calls to Adam – he was first created, he was the leader, so he was approached first. The verb to call can be taken to mean “summons”. We think of a summons to a court of law. In a sense, God was summoning Adam to meet with him to find out what was going on and to render a judgment.

·         “Where are you?” is rhetorical – God knew where Adam was. Adam’s response indicates this since he does not reveal where he is, but expresses his fear of meeting God. He was afraid because his awareness of nakedness was the result of receiving the knowledge of good and evil which God had forbidden.

·         The purpose of the Lord’s questions is to get him to tell the truth, to confess his disobedience. “Who told you…” is again rhetorical. The real point comes in the next question. The word order emphasizes the act of disobedience – “Did you from the tree – which I commanded you not to eat from – eat?” The Lord is stressing the command and asking Adam if he broke it.

·         At this point, Adam attempts to minimize his action by averting attention to his wife. The woman gave me to eat – it was her fault for listening to the serpent in the first place. How quickly his attitude changed! The woman, whom he needed as a companion; the woman whom God had graciously made to meet his need; the woman who was flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone, who was a great source of joy when presented to him, is now viewed as the source of his sin. I wonder how Eve felt?

·         But even worse, Adam put the ultimate blame on God himself. The woman, whom You gave to be with me… God is now guilty of evil as Adam attempts to shift the blame from himself onto others. 

2. God confronts the woman, 13.

·         What is this you have done? What in the world have you done? Do you realize the severity of your action?

·         But she uses the same tactic that her husband does, she tries to minimize the guilt of her sin. “the serpent deceived me…” Sometimes people use the same tactic today, even in a joking kind of way – “The devil made me do it.” You can blame the devil, but being deceived into sinning still does not excuse your actions or remove culpability.

·         We often play the same game today, don’t we? It is much easier for us to make excuses, justify ourselves, pass the buck, minimize our sin, or feel we are not as bad as other people, instead of simply confessing our wrong and asking God to forgive us.

3. Finally, they both do admit their wrong – “I ate.” That is the bottom line, confessing the sin. But sin carries consequences and the Lord must render appropriate punishment. This punishment falls upon the serpent, the woman, and Adam.

 

II. The LORD Declares the Consequences of Sin, 3:14-19.

A. Curse upon the Serpent, 14-15.

   The fall inaugurated a perpetual struggle between good and evil.  When God addresses the serpent, there is no question to solicit a confession. The Lord knows the figurehead behind the deception and consequent sin. The only thing due the serpent is the judgment of a curse.

     1. The first aspect of the curse is primarily physical related to the animal kingdom, 14.

·         You are cursed more… When Adam fell, the world fell with him. The effect of his sin came upon the animal kingdom which would receive the curse of suffering and death associated with life outside the garden.

·         But the curse upon the serpent is far greater. This can be taken in either a comparative way – it will feel the affects of the curse in a greater way. Or, in a separative sense – isolation from other animals. Snakes are the only creatures that literally crawl on their bellies on the earth.

·         The main emphasis of the curse is that of eating dust. This is symbolic of being brought low, humiliated, suffering defeat.

·         The serpent or snake is a perpetual reminder of the effects of the fall of man and the ultimate defeat of the spiritual power behind it.

2. The second aspect of the curse is primarily spiritual conflict, 15.

·         This verse brings out the serpent/Satan interpretation once again. The placement of enmity between the snake and a woman far exceeds the sense of fear and hostility between humans and snakes in the world.

·         The two seeds are indicative of offspring, what the serpent brings forth and what the woman brings forth. So, seed in this sense is collective. There will be hostility and conflict between humanity and spiritual foes. The seed of the serpent – figuratively speaks of the seed of Satan working in the world. It refers to his constant efforts for evil and wickedness to rule. His fight for evil to overcome good, for lost people to never become saved, for the spirit of antichrist working in the world.

·         But this conflict becomes individual in the next phrase where the seed is personal rather than collective. He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.

·         The seed of the woman here relates to a single person, one who will crush the serpent Satan even though Satan will bruise his heel. This is the first hint of the gospel in God’s word. The seed that will eventually come from the woman and crush Satan and his works is Jesus Christ. It will seem that Satan has the upper hand when Jesus dies on the cross – the bruise of Satan’s blow. But it is not fatal after all since Jesus rises from the dead. In that act, he crushes the head of Satan signaling his ultimate defeat and destruction.

·         The seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman indicate the constant struggle between good and evil, God’s people and the lost world, Satan against the saints, until God’s kingdom prevails in the final coming of Christ.

B. Punishment of the woman, 16.

                We need to note that a curse is not placed on either the woman or the man, only the serpent. They are punished for their sin, a punishment that prevails upon all humanity. But there is going to be grace and forgiveness that extends their lives.

     1. Prospect of painful labor in childbirth.

·         God’s edict to the man and woman was to multiply and fill the earth. This was a joyful prospect of bringing new life into God’s good creation. There was not any indication of pain or sorrow in that prospect.

·         But now, childbirth would be associated with “painful labor.” There would be an intermingling of sorrow with joy. Every time a child was born to Eve, it would be a reminder of the disobedience that brought her pain about.

·         Most women today that have brought a baby into the world have experienced this truth, but few understand why it is so.

2. Conflict between man and woman replaces camaraderie.

·         There is much debate concerning the last part of this verse. What does “your desire” refer to and what does “rule over you” mean?

·         God’s intent for man-woman, husband-wife relationships in the garden was for the man to take the role of leadership, the wife the role of helper, completer, counterpart. This was to be a harmonious, loving, fulfilling relationship. V. 17 indicates that this relationship was reversed when Adam listened to Eve and heeded or obeyed her voice.

·         As a result of disobedience, struggle for control of the relationship ensues. Desire seems to indicate a desire for dominance or control. It is very similar to what God says to Cain in 4:7. Sin is crouching at the door and desires to take control of him, but he is supposed to rule over it.

·         So, this does not describe the NT ideal of loving leadership and humble submission in the home. The woman is going to be tempted to take the lead. The man is going to be tempted to be passive and give her the lead. Or, he may be tempted to forcefully dominate his wife. How often has this played out in marital relationships to the detriment of the home?

C. Punishment of Adam, 17-19.

     The underlying reason for his punishment is laid out in v. 17, repeating the deliberate act of disobedience. Instead of listening to God, he listened to his wife. He was not deceived, but was guilty of knowingly breaking God’s command. The result of his disobedience is twofold.

      1. Painful labor to produce sustenance for all his life.

·         The ground or earth is cursed. It will not bring forth abundantly without labor anymore. Instead, it will bring forth thorns and thistles. All that is a detriment to fruitfulness and abundant harvest is removed. You farmers imagine how great it would be to hardly work at all to get a crop. Every year would produce a great harvest and all you have to do is take it to the buyer.

·         Now, Adam would have to labor by the sweat of his brow to get a crop. The verb for toil is the same as pain in v. 16.

·         And did you notice how many times the verb to eat occurs in these verses? Because Adam ate what he wasn’t supposed to, he would now have to work hard in order to eat.

2. Death – he would return to the dust from which he came, 19.

·         Adam was created from the ground. God created for him abundant fruit from the ground which Adam did not have to labor for.

·         Now Adam had to work the ground to get it to produce. He would work hard all of his days, 930 years. Then he would return to the dust or ground from which God made him. Paradise lost at what cost!

·         Today, millions of people work by the sweat of their brow to eke out a living in this world. Without Christ, what do they have to look forward to? Physical death, spiritual death, eternal death. The wages of sin is death.

 

1. You can’t hide from God. You can try to hide your sin from him. You can try to make excuses for the wrong that you do. You can try to minimize it by comparing it to others. But someday there is going to be an accounting. Some day the Lord is going to be your judge and you will not escape a rightful judgment. You need to take care of the sin issue now, while you can.

2. There is going to be continual conflict between good and evil, right and wrong until Christ comes again. There are only two sides, two seeds. Of what seed are you? The seed of Satan – lost in your sin, fighting against God and the saints. Or the seed of Christ, fighting against the devil and his hosts. Where you spend eternity depends on which seed you are!

3. God wants you to confess your sins so he can forgive you. This applies to your initial salvation, but also your continual relationship to Christ. Hiding sin, ignoring sin, excusing sin never has a good outcome. We need to confess our sins, even when we are saved so we can realize that He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.