Scripture for Study
For context, start with these key verses:
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 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 die.” Genesis 1:15-17
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27
This lesson focuses on Genesis 3:1-14:
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
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 is 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 will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that 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 God among 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?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Commentary
In the first chapters of Genesis, we learn how God created the world. Many people will say that Genesis is symbolic rather than literal. In this world full of half-truths, that can seem to be an intelligent response. But what if God does not lie? There are many Christians who love science who have shown that the various descriptions in Genesis can match real phenomena, and doubters might do well to explore those possibilities. On the other hand, when we fully realize that God does not lie, not only can we finally have true hope in eternal life, but we must accept the Bible literally and stop trying to shape it to match the limited intelligence of humankind. “In hope of eternal life which God, who never lies, promised ages ago…” Titus 1:2.
In Genesis chapter 3 we learn about why people harm each other. It is truly an interesting question because it is healthier and wiser to avoid problems. The truth revealed in Genesis is that the first people listened to a liar, disobeyed God and then tried to hide from God even as they blamed each other. They covered themselves because they suddenly felt the desire to harm themselves and each other, and they no longer felt beautiful before God. God is love which means that when we disobey Him, we are separating ourselves from love; all actions like that naturally lead to problems. When we disobey God, it is called sin. Genesis 3 describes a real event from the beginning of time, but also the ongoing nature of humanity since we are all descendants of the first people. Some people will also suggest Adam and Eve were not real people. However, take a moment to ask yourself how often you have believed someone who turned out to be lying and how often you have made a choice that you inwardly sensed was wrong. And how often do we immediately blame others when instead we can choose personal responsibility? Why do we have to teach children how to behave? Why do they not choose easier, less problematic behaviors if only to make their own lives easier? Sinning begins in childhood, and, as hard as we may try, it never entirely goes away. Whether it is called sinning or being mean or foolish, you will find very few elderly people who will not confirm that it persists through our final years.
Was the serpent just any snake? We find the answer in the final book of the Bible: “And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years” Revelation 20:2
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