Sermon Tone Analysis

Passage: (ESV)

Intro:

[17] And to Adam he said,

I.

Because of Sin, mankind is Destined for Destruction (17-19)

A. [17] 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; [18] thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.

[19] 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.”

A. [17] 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; [18] thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.

[19] 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.”

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife

B. Destined to a pitiful reminder (17a)

B. Destined to a pitiful reminder (17a)

and have eaten of the tree

C. Destined to painful labor (17b-18)

1.

The ground that Adam had worked with ease is cursed by the fall

of which I commanded you,

D. Destined to a promise demise (19)

a) The ground’s curse would forever remind Adam that he had sinned

‘You shall not eat of it,’

II.

Because of Sin, Mankind is Destined for Division (22-24)

b) His sin: abdicating his headship to the woman

cursed is the ground because of you;

A. [22] Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil.

Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” [23] therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.

[24] He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

2. Moses writes that the ground is cursed because Adam “listened to the voice of (his) wife.”

in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

B. Destined to know Good but unable to do it.

(22)

a) Men: this is not God saying, “never listen to your wife.”

[18] thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;

1.

b) What this means is man chose his wife over God

and you shall eat the plants of the field.

C. Destined to know Grace but excluded from it.

(23)

3. To whom should man listen?

[19] By the sweat of your face

1. Adam knew the graceful provision of God in the garden

a) Answer: God.

you shall eat bread,

2. Now, God would still provide, but not in the same way

b) Competing voices are still working to dissuade men from listening to one voice

till you return to the ground,

3. Adam’s toil would be hard and his work of the ground would remind him where he came from and to where he was going.

(1) God is creator

for out of it you were taken;

D. Destined to know God but driven from Him. (24)

(2) God is sustainer

for you are dust,

1.

(3) God is provider

and to dust you shall return.”

III.

Because of a Substitute, mankind is Destined for Deliverance (20-21)

(4) God is sovereign

A. [20] The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

[21] And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

(5) God is supreme

1.

(6) Only the voice of God is worth the endeavor of our ears

[20] The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

[21] And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

2.

4. The curse of the ground had results that affected the work of man

B.

C. Destined to painful labor (17b-18)

[22] Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil.

Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” [23] therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.

[24] He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

(ESV)

1.

1.

The man’s joyful labor is cursed by the fall

2.

2. Like the woman, man’s joy is cursed

Invitation

a) I know we don’t always think of labor as joy

b) But in the economy of God, labor was and is a good thing

c) In , work was given to man as a blessing and a sign that man was an image bearer of God

3. Now, after the fall, painful labor abounds

a) Arthritis, joint replacements, aching muscles are all evidence of the fall

b) Many of us must force ourselves to do certain tasks because we know the pain that our labor will cause.

4. The destiny of man changed with the fall

a) No longer will there be unabated joy in our labor

b) Instead, our joy will be infused with pain

c) This will be a constant reminder of the sinfulness of man

5. Man’s labor will be done in pain and the end result of his labor will be his death

D. Destined to a promised demise (19)

1. God makes a promise in this curse to man

a) Man will return to the place from wince he came

b) God formed man from dust

c) Man will again be dust

2. The sobering reality of death sinks in when Adam hears this curse of God

a) Man and woman did not die immediately in a physical sense

b) Instead, the died immediately in a spiritual since

(1) They are not with God any more

(2) They are subject to their new knowledge and their new nature.

c) However, death immediately began its slow march to their demise

(1) Adam and Eve are destined to be dust

(2) Their life will eventually lead them back to the ground now cursed by God

(3) Adam will die at 930 years, but his death began that fateful day in the garden of God

E. Man is destined for destruction

1.

He will be reminded of his eminent demise all the days of his life

2. But, man is also destined for division because of the fall.

II.

Because of Sin, Mankind is Destined for Division (22-24)

A. [22] Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil.