Genesis 3:1-24, 4:1-7.                    continuation
'And for Adam and his wife the Lord God made....'
Chapter 3 closes with these profound words. What is the message?
Man has decided to go his own way and run his life without God and without the fellowship he had with God. However God does not abandon man. God seeks him and provides for him. 1 John 4:10 tells us, 'Herein is love....' .
We see the proof of this when Adam and Eve realized that they were naked and attempted to cover themselves with fig leaves, man's attempt to cover himself-a pathetic inadequate attempt. It was God who took the initiative to seek man and provide a suitable cover for him; but this cover was not a free one. It cost God something and it had a great significance - a Sacrifice. Man always prefers nakedness but God's cover speaks for righteousness and holiness.
Here,  we see that God has standards with behaviour, dress, manners, etc., whereas man has what is convenient for him. Believers need to note these standards and apply them to their lives. We note the type of cover God used to cover them-animal skins. We have the first indication of what God requires as a price for atonement-Sacrifice and the shedding of Blood: Heb.9:22.
The Cross looms ahead right from the Garden of Eden. God had to pay the price for man's redemption. The animal creation was to serve man but because of the Fall it also provided for his atonement.
When the serpent tempted Eve, he suggested that if they ate of the fruit they would become like Gods, knowing Good and Evil: Partly true but not the whole truth. They did not become Gods, they only knew Good and Evil. A temptation for them with a hidden device to become like Gods. Here, Satan's strategy is exposed, truth mixed with lies. We need to discern this strategy and not fall into this trap. As for Adam and Eve reality struck them hard and cruelly. Now they are on their own. What does the future have for them? We certainly see no repentance and no plan for what lies ahead. The opposite is true with God. He takes the initiative and points the way for them to 
take though it seems He is hard on them, rather vindictive? He causes the two people He created and looked after to become homeless and even penniless. Nowhere to go.
When people sin in the Church and refuse to repent what is the answer? God's ways are not full of errors. In evicting Adam and Eve from the Garden we are given the reason for it. The Tree of Life. Before the fall they had access to the Tree of Life but now they are barred from it, the way is blocked. Sin blocks our way to Eternity. We can only approach the Tree of Life via a prescribed way-The Blood. Jesus said, 'I am the way, the truth and the life' . Had they partaken of the Tree of Life in their sinful state they would have continued like that for ever. Man is finally expelled from the Garden, the place he was supposed to look after. The Garden was not his property but he was only to care for it.
The Bible teaches that we are responsible for our actions and we should fully bear the consequence of our actions. We read in 1 Cor.10:26 that the 'Earth and the fullness thereof belong to the Lord' . Adam is told to go and work for his living outside the Garden. In the Garden there was work, pleasure and Fellowship with God. Outside there would be hard toil and pain. Adam's sphere of work and life would be the earth he was taken from.
In expelling them from The Garden  we see God's Mercy extending to them. We see a Merciful God giving them another chance and through them Mercy to the whole world - The Cross.
                                                                       To be continued
                                                                                            

Genesis 3:1-24, 4:1-7.                       Continuation
'And to Adan He said....' . God's main judgement seems to fall on Adam.
He was told to look after the Garden and to rule over God's Creation, but he chose to listen to his wife rather than God. This speaks of many believers as well. They often choose to listen to anybody other than God or even the leadership of the Church. This kind of people always seem to
know better and have the best opinion of what to do.
Through Eve's persuasion Adam was led to disaster and because of this the whole creation has suffered. God's intention for Adam was to have a glorious life but disobedience ruined everything. Sin will mar all life. Adam's disobedience brought death but Jesus Christ brought resurrection and life Eternal.
God's curse came upon the very earth that was intended to support man. Farming was to become a toil, full of problems and sorrows. It would provide a living, but not without sorrow. In the end man came to misuse and mistreat the very earth that was to support him and the very animal creation that was to serve him-Rom.8:18-25.
Had Adam not sinned, what would his life have been like? The Bible does not provide explicit answers but reading between the lines we see that God's purpose was quite different for man. Without sin, there would be no moral or physical decay Even after the fall Adam lived 930 years. What if the fall had not happened?
The next thing we see, in v.20, is news. The woman gets a name, Eve, the mother of all living. What kind of living? The verse seems to be out of place in the whole account. Why did Adam call his wife a 'mother'? How can Eve be called a mother if she did not have children? The word 'living' obviously refers to human beings and not to animals already in existence before she became Eve.
The term can only apply to beings which have the 'breath' of life in them like we see it in-Gen.2:7.
As human beings we are all descended from Eve, but what makes us alive is the very breath of the Almighty breathed into our first ancestors. Humanly speaking, we are related to Adam and Eve but spiritually we are related to our Lord Jesus Christ, our Great Kinsman.
                                                                         To be continued

Genesis 3:1-24, 4:1-7                              continuation
God's judgement upon the man, the woman and the serpent is of significance to us.
As regards the serpent: we see the spiritual battle involved between us and the forces of the Devil - Eph.6:12. Of all the animal creation the serpent was brought very low in having to crawl on the earth signifying its sphere of activity. Its intelligence would be restricted to the animal world only and be at enmity with man.
God is not only addressing the serpent but also the force behind it. God's words reveal His plan - the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, fulfilled at the Cross. The enmity between the seed of the woman and the serpent will continue unabated till the day when God brings about the final restoration of the whole creation.
God could have ended the whole affair of the Garden there and then and start afresh, but here we see God's wisdom unfold. More glory is brought upon His Name by taking fallen man and enabling him to overcome temptation to gain eternal Salvation through the Blood paid for sin. God's master plan was the best kept secret. Satan thought that he scored something in the Garden but God had the final word. On the Resurrection Day Satan must have got an awful shock from the resurrection and an even  worse one from the birth of The Church.
God's judgement upon all three seemed to be hard. Let us ask ourselves. Does sin deserve a mild approach? Adam and Eve were warned by God about the consequence of disobedience. They had no excuse, much less the serpent- 'The soul that sins shall die'.
The immediate result of their action was separation from God, the source of life. Their spirit could no longer be sustained by His spirit and that separation led to moral and spiritual decline. Physical death was the natural result. Real life, the life of God can only exist when the Holy Spirit fills our lives and we are alive to God. Jesus said, 'I have come that they might have life and have it more abundantly' .
Both Adam and Eve had to learn now how to manage without God. The woman is told what her role in life would be. She is delegated to being subject to her husband. This is God's order and no amount of rebellion by women can reverse things. Her desire is to be for the man and nothing can deny that either. In the Garden  the woman took the initiative and fell to the serpent's temptation. Her initiative is now turned to her disadvantage. She persuaded the man she should honour and respect to yield to temptation and now she is the one to yield to his desires and rule.
Sin has an uncanny justice upon the sinner. The things we desire by disobeying God will turn round to enslave us. Satan will tempt us to rise above God's order of things to cast away God's authority over us.
Eve's judgement did not only apply to her personality but also to her physical nature. God told them at creation to be fruitful and multiply-a clear blessing. Fruitful, yes, but now not without pain and sorrow-Romans 10:22. We all want to have God's blessing in our lives but it cannot be earned or claimed, only bestowed by God. However, Satan by cunning and temptation can even turn blessings to curse. Adam was blessed with a wife but what a failure it all turned out to be!

Genesis 3:1-27, 4:1-7.                        Continuation
'And they heard the voice of the Lord...' . Whilst they lived in the Garden they had communion and Fellowship with God, they knew His voice and spoke with Him. Jesus said, 'My sheep hear My voice...' , the relationship we also have with our Lord.
This reaction, of hiding from God's voice, is typical of many believers today. When sin enters their heart their immediate reaction is to hide. Why? Holiness and unholiness do not mix, darkness hates the light and lies hate the truth - John 3:19. A person with sin in his heart will not want to face God, unless he repents. Sin will bring a state of shame upon the person. That is how Adam and Eve felt.
'Where are you?' . The first question in the Bible.
It appears that God could not locate them. Not so, it was something else. It was not a question concerning their place but their condition, their state. God has put this question to sinful man even since sin came into the world. Are we what God wants us to be or something else? It was the same call that went out on the shores of Galilee and in Judea-Luke 19:10.
Adam's response was rather pathetic, 'I heard your voice and was afraid...' .The effect of sin had already worked its way into their beings.
1. They knew they were naked, though they were naked before; but now God's covering had departed from them.
2. Fear gripped their hearts. Fear caused them to run away from God's presence and hide. Fear has a paralyzing effect and makes people disloyal.
At that moment they did not fully understand the implications of sin yet they were gripped by fear.
The Bible has a lot to say about Fear simply because God wants us to be set free from its grip. Two reasons:
a) Believers do have fears in their hearts.
b) God wants to set us free from fear.
Not all fear is negative. There is a fear that protects us, e.g. the fear of a passing car that may hit us, but the 'fear of man' is not a healthy fear. The 'fear of God' , however, is a healthy fear and that is what we need in our Christian lives. It is the fear that causes us to revere God and turn away from disobeying His Word, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom' .
'And God said, who told you that you were naked?' .
A strange question. Should someone have told them they were naked? The question actually reveals the explanation. They could not have known that they were naked unless they had eaten of the fruit of the tree. Why did God ask such a question? Simply to show Adam that he had to come out with the truth. It was no good trying to hide things from God.
It is of no use for us either, when we sin, to try and cover things thinking that somehow we can fool God and people. When David sinned God knew all about it and He sent Nathan to confront David, because David thought that he could cover it up.
Apart from fear Adam and Eve show unwillingness to accept responsibility for their action. Adam's excuse was to blame his wife -a familiar story, the accusing finger. What Adam was actually doing was to blame God, like we do. Had not God given him the wife? If He hadn't this would not have happened!! Notice the words, 'The woman you gave me' . Not only is the blame on Eve but he also lets her down by trying to absolve himself of all the blame. "It's all God's fault, not our responsibility", we inwardly bear a grudge against God for our circumstances. What is actually the problem? Pride. But God is only interested in cleansing and setting us free in order to restore us to Himself as a holy people. He does not remember.
Eve took up the accusation theme and blamed the serpent, but the serpent never actually forced her to take the fruit. They both knew what they were doing. Interesting to note that the serpent did not blame anybody. God turns now to the serpent and we see no questioning, no conversation at all. God simply pronounces judgement upon it. Why?
Adam and Eve were tempted and consented to the whole affair but not the serpent. It allowed itself
to be used by Satan, a serious thing in the sight of God. Temptation is unavoidable, it comes to all of us but yielding to Satan's wiles to be used for evil purposes is something else and will bring dire consequences upon us.
The serpent belonged to the animal world which was created to serve man, not to become master over him. The serpent's role was misused, therefore its role and purpose in God's creation had to be altered. Man, though fallen, had a role to play in God's redemptive plan, a different role from that of the animal creation.                         To be continued

Genesis 3:1-24, 3:1-7.                      continuation 

 'And the woman took of the fruit....' .

Satan tempted Eve but Adam knew of God's command yet he was persuaded  by Eve to take the fruit and eat it. What made him do that? The Bible does not give us any explanation but we can make some good guesses. A matter of relationship?

God created Eve for Adam because he had no companion, the obvious solution to loneliness. Loneliness can be a very hard trial for the individual but as so often happens the things we keep praying about and consider as pressing needs often turn out to be our downfall or a constant thorn in our flesh.

Abraham took Lot with him and he finally had to rescue him from Sodom. Moses took Aaron with him as a spokesman and the result was the Golden Calf. At other times, the blessing we yearn for from God, when received, draws us away from the Almighty.

What sort of influence did Eve have on Adam? Did she accuse him of not loving her? Did she threaten him with divorce? God put man as head over his house and it is a disaster when this role is not fulfilled. Was Adam with Eve when the serpent tempted her or not?

When Eve took of the fruit it was obvious nothing evil took place immediately and that is why perhaps Adam was easily persuaded. To be left out of a loving partnership is a hard decision to make! The immediate results of their action were not obvious to them neither is it to us when we commit sin, therefore we may indulge in it. For a time we think we are alright! Remember Samson? He got used to playing with sin and temptation but one day he woke up to find that God's power had deserted him.

'And the eyes of them both....' . Soon it became apparent that something drastically wrong had happened to them. They became aware of their nakedness and fear in their hearts. We see that they ran away to hide from God but we do not see any desire to turn to Him. The effect of sin is to turn away from God and a desire for more sin.

Their first reaction was to cover themselves. Man's first attempt to cover his sin and degradation-Fig Leaves. Why fig leaves?  not the best cover for the body.
                                                                                      To be continued

Genesis 3:1-24,4:1-7.                               continuation
'And the serpent said to the woman...' . Why did Satan pick on the woman? Simply because he knew Eve would give an ear to him.
God commanded Adam not to eat of the fruit but Eve must have known this very well because she told the  serpent so. Why do so many believers give an ear to Satan's talk and accusations?
1. They do not discern the difference between God or Satan talking to them.
2. Their hearts are so deceived by carnal ways that they will readily listen to anything of the world.
Eve had no business to sit and listen to the serpent's suggestions. James, in his Epistle warns us clearly: 'Resist the Devil...' .
Now we see Satan's strategy in making people believe a lie, 'Has God really said...' God never said anything of the sort to them. He actually told them the opposite but Satan cannot call God a liar so he resorts to half-truths.
Many believers do just the same when they resort to half truths to ease their conscience but this means telling half a lie. Nowhere does the Bible condone half lies or deception but roundly condemns them. They come from the father of lies. The moment I resort to lies I become his child
Eve never saw through the serpent's suggestion and fell into the trap. The moment doubt was sown in her mind the battle was lost. The next suggestion was an outright lie. By this time her mind was ready to accept anything. Why?
Life in the garden was perhaps a daily routine; animals to name, plants to look after, same weather every day, walks with God, etc. Time for something different? There are many Christians who feel just the same. Anything to escape from the daily routine of ordinary life, then Satan comes along and offers the carrot of exciting meetings, signs and wonders and more. If Christ is not our passion other things will tempt us, not necessary evil things. Even a clean cloth can obscure your vision.
Eve looked at the tree and its fruit and saw in her mind that they looked so harmless and ordinary.
Sin looks so attractive and desirable to the eye but the Bible warns, 'The wages of sin is death' .
There are THREE things to Remember here:
1. 'She saw that the tree was good for food' The lust of the Flesh.
2. 'It was pleasant to the eyes' The lust of the eyes.
3. 'Desirable to make one wise' The pride of life.
The basic areas of our lives where temptations take place. They are: SPIRIT, SOUL, BODY.
                                                                                   to be continued

Genesis 3:1-24,4:1-7.                                   Continuation
And God looked, when all that He created was good, and saw that it was perfect. How then has it become like it is today?
Of all God's creation mankind was the only one given the faculty of logic. The animals, plants, etc., were to serve Him-Gen.1:27-30. It was this ability in humans to reason and make decisions that brought about their downfall. Why did God work things that way? What is the answer?
God did not deprive man of his free will. Man had the ability to choose, to follow and make decisions. God was not interested in making robots: they are made to serve, not to love. That is why humans stand out as being different from all God's other created beings. However, this free will had to be tested and proved in the same way we are tested by God time and time again during our earthly life.
From Gen.2:16-17, we surmise that there was nothing evil about the tree; but what it stood for, a means of gaining knowledge and man used his free will to choose to disobey God's command. Therefore evil entered the world because of man's decision to partake of that source of evil. How?
Through intimate communion and a tangible contact-taste. The first reference as to how sin is committed through the members of our body. Preceding that action an inner decision took place-Lusting, concluding that the fruit was harmless.
Chapter 3:1, begins with an almost casual but awesome statement, 'The serpent was more....' . We naturally think of serpents in terms of evil, crawling, poisonous, deadly creatures. A careful look at these verses conveys a different picture. Of all the animals in the garden, the serpent was the most intelligent. Remember the words of Jesus? 'Wise as serpents...' . It probably had the ability to communicate and not crawl on the ground. It was not an evil looking creature or Eve would have had second thoughts about chatting with such a creature. Satan simply found a suitable vehicle to work through and tempt Eve. Why was the serpent readily used? Was there a wider plot in the garden? We can only surmise; but our intelligence and wisdom do not always work for our good - 
1 Cor.2:6-8.
At this point in the account Satan enters the scene in the Garden of Eden. Why did God allow Satan to interfere with His creation? What was the whole point, He could have surely stopped it.
Satan is a powerful being and we must not underestimate his power and cunning, as some Christians do. In actual fact Satan's power and authority is always limited by God's authority so he can only do what God allows him to do-Job 1:6-12. However, we note that Satan had access to the Garden of Eden. He is free to enter Churches and interfere with our worship and also with our lives.                     
To be continued

Genesis 3:1-24, 4:1-7.
Genesis is one of the most controversial books in the Bible. What has God to offer us in this book? Stories about the Creation, the Flood, etc. ? More than stories. God's account of "how things began" from the Greek word "Genesis". The very name speaks of its clear message to us, the Book of Beginnings.
 The Book of Beginnings is not a scientific book and does not set itself out to be so, though it contains many scientific and historical facts. It does not try to justify God's existence. One of its most pointed themes starts very early in its account of God's dealings with man-a question, 'Where are you?'. The same question is directed to every human being today.
The setting of the Book of Genesis begins with the Garden of Eden, a special place where God has placed His created human being to look after it and enjoy fellowship with God. It was a perfect place.
However, let's go back a bit further and look at what God was doing. On the sixth day, when God finished His creation, He looked and saw that everything He had done was found perfect 'in His eyes'. A perfect creation from the hands of a Perfect Creator. Whatever God does is always perfect, very different from man's doings who always tries to find fault with God's doings. God's timing and methods are always perfect. In His dealings with us He always works to bring the best for us out of every situation.
The man and the woman were created perfect and God breathed into Adam the Breath of Life. Both became living souls, both created in God's image. In ch.1, we read that God (Elohim) expressed the desire to create human beings.Why?
Here we see God's motive in creating man. God who is Love wants to have Fellowship and though He knew what was to come yet He went ahead with the plan-1 John 4:16. How foolish the unbeliever would say, why do such a thing? Does a woman who longs to have a child sit down and consider whether the baby she will bring into the world will one day become a criminal? No, she loves that little creature, her offspring, and she nurtures it in love and care all her life.
God created the man and the woman and placed them in that special place for a specific purpose, not to enjoy themselves; but to have fellowship with God, to be loved by Him and to return that love. Was it in the end a failure, was it a rewarding experience for God or was it a waste of time?
Let us ask ourselves. Is love a rewarding experience? Yes it is; no matter what failure or disappointment may intervene. The Cross proved that God's creation was worth it.

to be continued