Understanding what went wrong

Genesis chapter 3. Please join with me.

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

And he said to the woman,

Did God actually say you shall not eat of any tree in the garden?

And the woman said to the serpent,

We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden.

But God said,

You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that's in the midst of the garden.

Neither shall you touch it, lest you die.

But the serpent said to the woman,

You will not surely die, for God knows that when you eat of it,

your eyes will be opened and you'll be like God, knowing good and evil.

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and it was a delight to the eyes

and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise,

she took of its fruit and ate.

And she also gave some to her husband who was with her.

And he ate.

Then the eyes of both were opened and they knew that they were naked

and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.

And the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord,

from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.

But the Lord God called to the man and said to him,

Where are you?

And he said,

I heard the sound of you in the garden and I was afraid

because I was naked and I hid myself.

He said,

Who told you that you were naked?

Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?

And the man said,

The woman you gave me to be with me,

she gave me the fruit of the tree and I ate.

And the Lord God said to the woman,

What is this that you have done?

And the woman said,

The serpent deceived me and I ate.

The Lord God said to the serpent,

Because you have done this,

curse to you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field.

On your belly you shall go

and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.

I will put enmity between you and the woman

and between your offspring and her offspring.

And he shall bruise your head

and you shall bruise his heel.

To the woman he said,

I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing.

In pain you shall bring forth children.

Your desire shall be contrary to your husband.

But he shall rule over you.

And to Adam he said,

Because you have listened to the voice of your wife

and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you,

you shall not eat of it.

Cursed is the ground because of you.

In pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life.

Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you.

And you shall eat the plants of the field.

By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground.

For out of it you were taken.

For you are dust.

And to dust you shall return.

The man called his wife's name Eve

because she was the mother of all living.

And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife

garments of skins and clothed them.

Then the Lord God said,

Behold,

Behold,

the man has become like one of us

in knowing good and evil.

Now,

lest he reach out his hand

and take also the tree of life

and eat and live forever.

Therefore,

the Lord God sent him out

from the garden of Eden

to work the ground

from which he was taken.

He drove out the man

and at the east of the garden of Eden

he placed cherubim

and a flaming sword

that turned every way

to guard the way

to the tree.

Well,

good morning,

everyone.

Why don't we pray

as we come to God's word.

Lord God,

we always need your help

to hear you speak

through your word.

We need your help

to understand.

We need your help

to trust

that your way

is the way of life.

So I ask

that you would be

helping each one of us

to listen to what you say

here in Genesis 3

and help me

to be true

and clear

and give

all the glory

to Christ.

In his name we pray.

Amen.

Well,

it's a bit of a negative

question to start with,

but what do you covet?

We don't really use

that word much,

do we?

What does someone else

have that you just

long

to have

to possess yourself?

Let me ask

another question.

what is it

that you are willing

to hurt

for?

To work

hard

and struggle

to make happen?

You're willing

to have pain

to get it.

I'm asking

these questions

because

I'm hoping

they start

to bring

some things

to mind

and help you

to work out

what you believe

is the best

thing about paradise,

the paradise

we've heard

in Genesis 1

and 2.

Is it the place?

Is it a body

that is in order?

Imagine that.

Relationships

and family

thriving.

Just abundance.

The safety,

the purpose,

the significance

in your work.

So is it the place?

Is that the best

thing

about

paradise?

Is it the

flourishing

of human

relationships?

Is that

the best

thing?

Or

is the

very best

thing

that the

Lord is

there?

What we think

is the very

best thing

about paradise

is what

we will be

spending our

entire lives,

body and

soul,

striving to get.

life

so it's

pretty important

that we

work out

what the

very best

thing is.

Otherwise

we'll be

spending our

whole lives

chasing

something that

isn't the

best.

We're about

to hear

what our

greatest

problem

is

that's

getting in

the road

of having

the best

thing.

We're going

to hear

about why

life now

is more

like a

wilderness

than a

garden.

and we're

going to

get a

glimpse of

the solution,

a picture

of the

hope that

we have.

So how

did chaos

and darkness

and death

become the

new normal

in God's

very good

world?

How did

that happen

in a word

the Bible's

word for

it is sin?

Here we

get in

Genesis 3

the beginning

of sin.

But it's

not only where

sin began,

this is the

best case

study you'll

find on

what sin

actually is

because you

can't blame

what happened

here on

the environment.

You can't.

You can't

blame it on

family upbringing.

We get

the best case

study for

understanding

what sin

is here.

So to

understand

how awful

and foolish

sin actually

is, we

need to

just remember

what we've

seen so

far in

Genesis 1

and 2

and I

want to

describe it

from Adam

and Eve's

perspective.

I think,

see if you

agree with me

here, but I

think it would

have felt a

lot like

play.

I don't

mean a

theatrical

play like

they're

pretending.

I mean like,

I reckon it

probably felt

something like a

father play

wrestling their

child in the

backyard in the

grass.

purpose.

I'm not

trying to say

that Adam

and Eve's

purpose wasn't

important.

They were

representing God

in everything

they were doing.

They must have

felt hugely

significant.

And I'm not

even saying that

their work wasn't

difficult.

It could have

been very

strenuous, but

it would have

been full of

purpose.

It would have

been without

any sense of

fear.

They would have

been full of

confidence.

confidence.

It would have

been done in

community.

The results

would have

been fruitful.

I think, have

you found, like,

even if you're

scrubbing a

dirty pot in

the sink, washing

it up, sometimes

if you're just so

busy talking and

laughing with the

person next to

you, it feels

like play.

It doesn't feel

like work.

There they were

with the Lord in

everything they're

doing.

there they were

speaking and

walking with the

Lord, hearing his

words to them,

knowing that his

words were the

same source, the

same words that

put the sun in the

sky to warm their

face.

Those were the

words that formed

the rivers to

create this garden

that commanded the

rain to fall so

that everything they

ate was from him.

When they were

hearing his words,

they knew that

they were the

ones who put the

stars in place

that declare his

glory.

This is the one

we're talking to

right now, the

one who made all

this.

All the animals

and plants,

beautiful to the

eye.

And they were in

total oneness of

soul and body as

man and woman,

never competing,

never threatened,

but reflecting the

love of God and

loving God together,

worshipping him

together.

They were in such

close relationship

with God and with

such dignity,

representing him,

being image bearers

in the world,

they were so close

to being God

himself that God

put one limit in

place, a limit for

them to enjoy so

that they can

remember the Lord

is God and I am

your people, we are

your people.

To quote the

theologian

Colin Buchanan,

you can tell what

we've got playing

over and over in

our car, that

birds were made

for flying,

flip,

flap,

flippity flap,

fish were made

to swim,

splish,

splash,

splish,

splash,

you and me

were made by

God to love

and treasure

him.

They knew

that the Lord

deserved their

heart, soul,

mind and strength

and they were

totally fulfilled

giving it to

him.

I'm suggesting

that must have

felt a lot like

play.

joy, or if

you want a

biblical word,

joy, just

pure joy.

Enter the

serpent.

Verse 1.

Scripture later

identifies this

ancient serpent as

the adversary of

God, Satan.

We're not told

where he came

from, how he

fell, we want

to know all

that, but

we're not

told.

We don't

need to

know.

It's

possible that

verse 1 isn't

just a

description but

part of the

deception.

That coming

in the form of

a serpent,

clearly underneath

the authority as

a creature to

Adam and Eve.

So maybe that

was part of the

deception.

The main

lesson here isn't

in the action of

taking and

eating because

that is very

quickly dealt

with in verse

5.

The focus is it

slows down and

concentrates on the

conversation.

This is where we

need to learn the

lesson of sin in the

conversation that

takes place.

Don't be ignorant of

Satan's schemes.

Learn them here.

Understand the

anatomy of

temptation and what

sin is.

He doesn't

outright suggest

disobedience.

That's obvious.

The best truths,

as we all know,

are half-truths.

He invites Eve to

question God's

word.

Notice from

verse 1 to

verse 2 that it

goes from the

name the Lord

God back to

just God.

Now maybe,

maybe that's

suggesting that

Satan wants

Eve, just

forget God's

personal covenant

relational nature.

Just forget that

for a moment.

Let's have a

conversation here.

Maybe that's

what's going on.

Now this should

have been a very

short conversation

if Eve knew

clearly and

trusted what

God had said.

But Satan is

more precise with

God's word,

the actual

word in here,

than Eve was.

First she

minimises the

provision of

God.

She says we

may eat of

the fruit of

the trees.

But the Lord

said you may

surely eat of

every tree.

Maybe we

shouldn't read

into it too

much but it

sounds like she's

already minimising

the abundance that

God has given,

even the tree of

life.

And then she

adds to the

prohibition.

The Lord said

you shall not

eat the tree.

She adds

neither shall

you touch it.

She makes the

Lord's limits

sound more

strict than

he actually

says.

And then she

weakens the

penalty, lest

you die.

When the Lord

said you shall

surely die.

Literally it

says in dying

you shall die.

So she

minimises the

provision, she

makes God

sound more

strict and the

penalty she

reduces slightly.

And having

followed Satan

into a position

of placing

herself in

judgment over

what God

says she's

ready for the

outright lie.

You shall

not surely

die.

There is no

punishment for

sin.

There are no

negative consequences.

Or as many

believe today,

there is no

judgment day.

There is no

such thing as

hell.

There is no

condemnation.

Satan offers a

different motive

for this

prohibition.

It's not that

the Lord is

like a loving

mother who

says don't go

in the pool and

swim by yourself.

Don't do it.

It's not a

loving warning.

It's he's

holding back

from you.

He's holding

the best life

back from you.

He knows you

can elevate

yourself.

You can choose

what is good

and bad for

yourself.

You don't have

to be under

his rule.

You can be

God.

God is

short-changing

you.

And if

that's the

case,

disobedience

doesn't feel so

wrong.

You're just

chasing what

is the best

life.

So we're

getting to the

essence of what

sin is.

Whose word

will you

believe?

God is

holding back

from you.

Whose word?

The Lord who

gives us life,

who says that

being under his

rule brings

life and peace

and relationship,

which is what

we're made for.

Being under his

rule is life.

Or Satan's

word, God is

holding back

from you.

you can decide

where life can

be found.

You can make

it happen

yourself.

You'll

surely die.

No, you

will not die.

There's no

consequences.

Someone is

lying.

Someone.

the essence

of sin is

internal

before she

ever reaches.

It's completed

by the act

of disobedience,

but the sin

is internal.

It's

unbelief

in what

God says.

It's believing

a lie,

not the truth,

of where

the good

life is

found,

of where

paradise is

found.

But we've

all swallowed

this lie.

Eve was

deceived into

believing it,

but where

was Adam?

Verse 5

tells us

he was with

her.

He wasn't

deceived.

Why

didn't he

step in

and speak

up?

Get

stuffed,

Satan.

You say

you are

offering a

better path

to life,

but you

want to

murder us.

You want

us to

see us

dead.

Why

didn't he

step in

and say

something?

Where

is he?

He

wasn't

deceived.

He ate

willingly.

He saw

a clear

line and

he

transgressed

that

line.

Why

so

when you

hear in

scripture

that Eve

was

deceived,

Adam

takes the

full,

he takes

the primary

responsibility

there.

He

transgressed

a clear

line in

obedience to

his wife

rather than

the Lord.

In the

history of

mankind,

every hero

in the

Bible,

inverted

commas

hero,

we see

succumbing

to these

lies.

we need

a champion,

someone who

will come

and fight

Satan's

lies for

us,

a stronger

man.

And we

do see

that when

we get to

the New

Testament.

Satan

again twists

God's word,

worship me,

don't go the

path of the

cross,

bow down

to me,

I'll give

you the

whole world.

But this

stronger man

trusts his

father even

to the

point of

death.

That

stronger man

has come,

that champion

has come.

Well,

whatever the

tree of the

knowledge of

good and

evil means,

what is

clear is

that it's

taking in

one's own

hands as

a creature

what only

belongs to

God.

It's

trying to

invert

God's

order and

be in

charge

without

God.

Satan

was telling

a half

truth.

In their

current state

of innocence

their eyes

would be

open.

Their eyes

were opened.

There was a

half truth

there.

But that

gaining of

knowledge of

evil actually

robbed them

of innocence.

That grasp

at a

supposed

better glory

actually

lowered them

into shame.

Immediately

they no longer

feel innocence

but guilt

and shame

and they

tried to

cover it

up.

They try

and deal

with it

themselves.

And here's

where we

see them

dying this

day.

Physically

they die

later but

spiritually

speaking they

die.

Verse 8

They heard

the sound

of the

Lord God

walking in

the garden

in the

cool of

the day

and the

man and

his wife

rejoiced.

No not

anymore.

They hid

themselves

from the

presence of

the Lord

God among

the trees

of the

garden.

Joy has

been turned

to fear.

Seeing

the face

of God

is turned

into fear

because of

our guilt

and shame.

But you

can't hide.

what you

cannot hide

from the

Lord.

Your sin

will be

exposed.

Every one

of us

will come

face to

face with

our maker

one day

to give

an account.

Whatever

pathetic

attempts we

are trying

to remove

our shame

they're like

fig leaves.

They don't

work.

The Lord

will not

accept them.

The obvious

ones just

to name a

few is we

we try

and win

the approval

of others

with our

beauty,

with our

power,

with our

wisdom.

We try

and present

well,

putting on a

front,

putting on a

mask from

other people

but it

doesn't deal

with the

shame.

The guilt

and shame

is still

there and

the Lord

sees who

we are

and he

sees what

we've done.

and like

a prosecuting

barrister

the Lord

asks questions

that expose

what they've

done.

They keep

trying to

hide.

They shift

the blame.

It's the

woman's fault.

Actually,

Lord,

it's your

fault.

You put

her here.

They're still

trying to

hide.

And then she

shifts the

blame as

well.

It's the

servant's

fault.

None of

them are

taking ownership

for their

sin.

They're

still trying

to hide

it.

But the

Lord will

have none

of it.

Eventually

they confess,

I did

eat,

yes.

You

can't

hide.

We

can't

hide.

Fear

now replaces

joy at

the prospect

of coming

face to

face with

the Lord.

And then

in verses

14 to

19,

after seeing

that fear

separates us

from God,

we see the

effects of

sin on

God's

perfectly

ordered

world.

Sin has

thrown it

all into

chaos and

darkness.

We don't

have time to

go into all

the detail,

but I'm

hoping to

give you a

framework to

think about

these verses,

which you

can go away

and do some

more study.

What this

section is

about is

this is

the new

normal.

It's not

saying that

if you

sin in a

particular

way,

then these

will be

the

particular

consequences

for that

sin.

It's

saying,

more or

less,

this is

where we

all live.

Some of

us will

experience

these

things to

a greater

or lesser

degree,

but this

is where

we live,

isn't

it?

the key

word in

here is

toil.

It's

just life

is toil.

It is a

striving because

we live

amidst

conflict and

pain and

death.

It's just

toil.

instead of a

state of

innocence before

God, there

is now a

perpetual

struggle between

good and

evil, between

the serpent

seed and

mankind

seed.

Good and

evil is a

constant

struggle.

Each person

is no longer

in harmony

within

themselves,

within their

own body.

long before

psychologists and

Freud talked

about fear,

here it is

in scripture,

here's where

our fear has

come from.

So even

within our

own body,

between the

Lord, there

is no peace

anymore.

Within

ourselves, there

is no peace

anymore.

Within the

family and

social relationships,

that order has

been broken.

The woman's

glory in

bringing image

bearers into

the world is

now tainted

by pain.

pain.

And that can

be both

emotional and

physical.

And between

men and

women, it's

no longer

harmonious

worship of

God and

partnership, it

is battling

for control.

And then

the relationship

between mankind

and nature is

frustrated.

Instead of

abundance, it's

barely making

a living.

And nature

can even be the

cause of pain

and death, as

we've seen on

a large scale

again this

week with

those

earthquakes.

And as

warned, all

people, without

exception, have

all these

relationships, God

and people, within

themselves, man

and man, people

to people and

people to

nature.

All these

relationships will

come to an end

when finally we

turn to dust.

God's

love.

While all

people still

bear the

image of God,

every person

bears the

image of God,

I think it's

Schaeffer who

calls us

majestic

ruins.

God's

God's

God's

God's

goodness.

This is

probably feeling

pretty heavy

by this

point.

The effects

of sin are

bitter and

just reality.

But don't

miss God's

goodness in

here.

There is so

much grace and

goodness in

these verses.

We'll come to

the next section

which we have a

picture of hope,

but even here,

don't miss God's

goodness.

God's

love.

Let me first

ask, what tone

are you imagining?

It's very hard to

work out tone in a

written text, but

what tone are you

imagining?

Are you imagining

just harsh,

critical, full of

rage?

Now, anger is

very appropriate.

Like, we've told

the Lord to get

stuffed, basically.

Anger is

appropriate.

But could it

possibly, mixed

without anger is

a father

weeping, longing

for peace?

He wouldn't have

wanted to turn his

good world into

this chaos.

Now, again, it's

hard to know tone,

but I just, I want to

raise the question.

Other ways to see

God's goodness here,

he warned.

He had a loving

warning.

It's Satan who

wants us to walk

blindly into death.

The Lord warns us

again and again,

don't go there.

He warns.

He's patient.

He could have just

wiped out humanity.

It's what they

deserved.

But he wants us to

confess and turn

back.

He's patient.

The punishment is

righteous.

It's just.

He hands us over to

the disorder that we

craved.

We wanted to break

God's order and be

God without him.

It's like Romans 1

says, a lot of God's

judgment is just

giving us what we

want.

Okay?

You want to break

the order?

That is not going to

go well.

And all the,

all, everything is

affected.

And the Lord is

righteous.

He's not indifferent

to evil.

It would be awful

if God didn't care

about evil.

He punishes it.

He will get rid of

it.

Another mercy here

is that this state

of things is not

going to last

forever.

He kicks Adam and

Eve out of the

garden so that they

can't eat from the

tree of life and

live forever.

That leaves the door

open for redemption.

another way is that he

still graciously gives

us food and there's

still so many gifts of

family and marriage and

work.

Like, food is

delicious, isn't it?

We still get those

moments of joy in

relationships.

It should astound us

that we receive so

many good things.

I know life is toil,

it is toil, but we

still get incredible

gifts.

Now in verse 15, he is

gracious in that he

gives a promise.

The struggle between

good and evil will end

one day.

Satan will be crushed.

He, a descendant of

Eve, shall bruise your

head.

He's going to stand on

your head and crush you.

And you shall bruise

his heel.

He will be wounded.

He didn't, God didn't

need to give that

promise, but he did.

From this point on,

we're looking for that

serpent head crusher.

Is it going to be

Cain?

No, he crushes his

brother instead.

Succumbing to those

lies again.

And from this point on,

we're looking and we're

getting our hopes up.

Is it Noah?

No.

Is it Abraham?

No.

Is it Moses?

No.

Is it King David?

No.

And then finally, he

does arrive.

The seventh way I think

we see God's grace here

is if we just step back

from this section and

ask, what's the purpose

of telling us all this?

Like, why tell us that

everything in chaos now

is the result of sin?

Why tell us this?

I think the purpose here

is that our daily toil,

our daily struggle,

should be a constant

reminder that the root

cause, the biggest

problem, is our sin.

we've actually got a daily

reminder.

This is not how it

should be.

He wants us to remember

that sin is the problem

so that we confess

and look to him

to save us.

So paradise is lost.

And then in verses 20

to 24,

even while man is being

driven out of God's

presence, out of the

garden, there's hope

in these verses.

We've already heard the

promise of the serpent

crusher.

Some think in verse 20

that this is, so the man

called his wife's name Eve

because she was the mother

of all living.

Some see in that

that that is an expression

of faith.

That life

will continue

and life will get

the victory in the end.

Maybe.

It seemed to be hopeful

trusting in God

to bring that about.

And although

the cherubim

are put in place

to guard the way

back to the garden

and the tree of life,

that doesn't mean

that it's permanently

cut off.

We see the cherubim

again in the tabernacle

and temple.

I think it's more

saying if you are

going to come back

to the tree of life,

it's got to be God's

way.

You can't come in

any other way.

God will prescribe

a way.

And then we get

a picture of

God's grace

and the solution

in verse 21.

And the Lord

God made

for Adam

and for his wife

garments

of skins,

animal skins

and clothed

them.

The Lord

won't accept

our pathetic

efforts at covering

our shame.

He won't accept

that.

But

in confessing,

he graciously

covers us.

This clothing

is very

different

from the

sinful attempt

to hide

your guilt

because this

clothing

required

death.

It required

a sacrifice.

It required

blood.

So by wearing

this clothing,

you're not

hiding,

you're confessing

that animal

should have

been me.

But not

only is

your guilt

and shame

dealt

with,

you're

covered.

That

innocence

is

restored.

If you

are to

enter God's

presence,

having your

relationship

with him

back in

order,

the Lord

must clothe

you.

So

Genesis

1-3

sets up

what

paradise

is,

how it's

been lost

by sin,

so that

we might

not hide

from God

but confess

our sin

and look

to God's

grace to

restore

all things.

Now I

want to

finish by

suggesting

that there's

three ways

people try

to seek

paradise.

There's

three options.

If the

best thing

about

paradise

is good

health

and long

life

and abundance

of the

place,

harmony

among

people,

then the

message in

Genesis 3

sounds like

God is,

I think it

sounds like a

needy bully

who's going,

I'm going to

withhold

paradise from

you until

you submit

to me.

And if

that's what

you hear

God saying,

which I

don't think

is what

he's saying,

but if

you think

that's what

he's saying,

I'm going

to withhold

paradise until

you submit

to me,

then either

people are

going to have

one or two

options.

Stuff that.

I'm not

submitting to

God's rules.

I don't

need Jesus.

I can make

paradise myself.

Working hard

and I can

do it.

So most of

our society

in Australia

are trying

that method.

Or the

religious among

us will go,

okay, I'll

submit to

God's rules

and then you're

going to keep

your end of

the bargain

and give me

that long

life, that

health, those

good relationships,

that prosperity,

either in this

life or in

the life to

come.

Both are

missing the

point of

paradise.

what the

essence of

paradise is.

One looks

very religious,

one looks like

throwing God

out of their

lives, but

both are

equally

missing it.

But here

comes a third

way.

If the very

best thing

about paradise

is to play

with the

Lord,

I hope you

don't mind

that joy

with the

Lord, not

fear, having

restored

relationship

with him

because you're

designed to

love and

treasure him.

If he is

the essence

of paradise,

then the

message here in

Genesis 3 is,

look, see how

destructive life

is without me.

confess your

sin, stop

trying to

hide and

trust in my

goodness and

I will deal

with the

problem.

I will

restore

things.

So there's

three ways.

Two of them

try and cover

up the problem

ourselves.

Two end in

bitterness and

despair because

paradise feels so

far away, it

just doesn't

work.

But the

Lord is

urging us to

a third

way, the

way of not

hiding, trying

to create

paradise ourselves

but confessing

our sins, seeing

the Lord himself

as our

treasure.

If you want

paradise in

God's presence,

let me tell you

what you need

from what we've

heard in

Genesis 1 to

3.

Here's what you

need.

You need

someone, and

maybe it's

yourself if you

got tickets on

yourself.

You need

someone strong

enough to

crush Satan's

head, to

defeat evil and

not believe his

lies.

You need

someone to

put the

whole cosmos

back in

order.

Healing the

relationship with

us and God,

healing people

to people,

healing people

to the land

healing within

our own

bodies.

You need

someone strong

enough to put

everything back

in order.

And you

need someone to

actually deal

with your guilt

and shame, not

just try and cover

it up, but

someone trustworthy

enough that when

you confess your

sin, they won't

reject you.

Someone who will

actually take it

for you and

bear the curse

for you and

then give you

their innocence

so that you can

enjoy the

father again.

That's a tall

order.

If you've lost

hope in this

life and don't

know where to

turn, it will

not feel like it,

but hopelessness

in yourself and