The Fall of Man
Making Sense of the Bible • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
Introduction
Have you ever found the Bible to be difficult to understand?
Do you see it as a series of 66 books that have no continuity or plot?
The Bible Is Unique
The Bible was written over a period of roughly 2,000 years by 40 different authors from three continents, who wrote in three different languages.
In this series, “Making Sense of the Bible”, we will be looking at what I believe are some of the most important passages of scripture.
I believe this series will help us make greater sense of the over–arching story of scripture and further understand God’s purposes for our lives.
Review: Last week we looked at Creation in Genesis 1-2 and the “Creation Mandate, God mandate for man to contribute to the common good and human flourishing. In this God is glorified.
Today, we will look at the event that disrupted and intruded upon God’s divine order, the “Fall of Man’”
The Prohibition
The Prohibition
The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The Lord God planted a garden in Eden.
Two trees are highlighted:
The Tree of Life
The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
The Prohibition
The Prohibition
Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 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 surely die.”
God commanded man to eat of every tree in the Garden with only one exception–the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The consequence and penalty would be death.
Why The Prohibition?
Why The Prohibition?
Only God, the Creator of heaven and earth, could determine what exactly is “good and evil”.
He alone is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresence.
This prohibition would demand that man remain relationally dependent on God.
God’s determination of “good and evil” would provide man for the necessary boundaries to fully,enjoy God’s presence and blessings.
God’s boundaries are always for our good!
The Temptation
The Temptation
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”
Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
The temptation of the serpent, the devil, is as follows:
Questioning God’s Word
“Has God said...”
Challenging God’s Authority
“You will not die...”
Exalting the Supremacy of Man
“You will be like God...”
Satan’s Goal
Satan’s goal is to incite man to rebel against God , because he personally knows the consequences of such rebellion. (Lucifer’s fall)
Separation
Death
Condemnation
The Rebellion
The Rebellion
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
The tree was “good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise”.
Eve took the fruit and gave it to her husband, Adam, and they ate.
Immediately, everything in Creation was changed.
“Their eyes were opened, they knew they were naked, and covered themselves.”
They set about attempting to “cover” their sin.
The Judgments
The Judgments
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”
Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”
And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
When the Lord God came down to meet with Adam and Eve, they hid from his presence.
They acknowledged their sin, yet placed blame for their actions.
The Lord then pronounces a series of judgments.
The Serpent
So the Lord God said to the serpent:
“Because you have done this,
You are cursed more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you shall go,
And you shall eat dust
All the days of your life.
And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”
The Woman
To the woman He said:
“I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;
In pain you shall bring forth children;
Your desire shall be for your husband,
And he shall rule over you.”
The woman would experience pain in child bearing and the desire for authority over man.
The Man
Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:
“Cursed is the ground for your sake;
In toil you shall eat of it
All the days of your life.
Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,
And you shall eat the herb of the field.
In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
Till you return to the ground,
For out of it you were taken;
For dust you are,
And to dust you shall return.”
The man himself was not cursed, but the earth itself.
It would now require hard labor to bear fruit.
Death was the final judgment for man’s disobedience and rebellion.
Quote: In response, God issues a number of punishments. One crucial aspect to note about these punishments is that they correspond to the tasks that God gave to Adam and Eve in Genesis 1–2.10
God punishes Eve in two ways. He first tells her that, from now on, it will be painful to bear children. He then tells her that “her desire will be for her husband, but he shall rule over you.” The word desire here is not a positive positive term; rather, it indicates a desire to master, rule, or oppress the husband. This desire will be thwarted, though, and in turn there will be strife between husband and wife.
These two punishments both relate to the primary task God gave to Adam and Eve, to be fruitful and multiply. Not only will it hurt to have babies, but the tension between husband and wife will make it difficult to conceive babies as well.
God punishes Adam for his sins. First, he tells Adam that the ground is cursed because of him, and that it will be difficult to bring forth sustenance from the ground. Instead of all the green plants available to him and his wife in Gen 1:29–31, the ground will bring forth thorns and thistles when Adam works it. Instead of food being easily available, Adam will have to toil by the sweat of his brow to make anything grow. Again, this relates to one of the tasks God gave Adam and Eve, to cultivate and keep the garden. No longer can Adam do this easily. Further, this punishment affects not only Adam but the land itself. “Cursed is the ground because of you,” God says to Adam. The effects of sin are creation-wide.
(Emerson, Matthew Y.. The Story of Scripture)
EMPHASIS: The Fall of Man has introduced every hardship and difficulty in the world.
There is now pain, suffering, futility, and death.
Yet, immediately after the Fall, God makes a promise for redemption and restoration.
The Promise
The Promise
And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”
When God was pronouncing judgment on the serpent, the devil, he includes a future event that will destroy every work of evil.
The “seed of woman” would “bruise” the serpents head, even though the serpent would “bruise his heel”.
This seed of woman would be Jesus!
Though in crucifixion the enemy would bruise the heel, Jesus through his death, burial, and resurrection would crush his head!
He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
This promise assures us that God will have his way in the world!
He will be glorified!
We will experience the redemptive blessings of our great God!
Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
In Genesis 3 we find man rebelling against the only prohibition given by God.
This was not without interference–the devil, Satan, tempted man to rebellion against God’s sovereign authority because he knows the consequences.
He found out the hard way!
He is a bitter foe who does everything in his power to incite man to rebellion.
The Fall of Man has resulted in “the curse of sin and death”.
All that is wrong in this world is due to man’s resistance and rebellion to God’s created intent.
YET!
Yet, God immediately showed mercy in the Garden.
He covered man from his shame.
He expelled him from the Garden.
Prohibited them from eating of the “Tree of Life”.
He promised redemption.
God would have his way in his Creation!