Genesis 3:1-24: The Gospel in the Garden

The Gospel in the Garden: Genesis 3:1-24

Our Scripture reading this morning comes from Genesis 3:1-24. Hear now the words of the Living and True God:

¹ 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’?” ² And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, ³ 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.’” ⁴ But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. ⁵ For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ 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. ⁷ Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. ⁸ 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. ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” ¹⁰ And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” ¹¹ He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” ¹² The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” ¹³ 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.” ¹⁴ The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are 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.¹⁵ I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” ¹⁶ To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” 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.” 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. 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.

May God bless the reading of his Word. 

In superhero movies, origin stories are almost always included in the first movie of a character’s franchise in order to explain their unique powers or background (nerdy student bitten by a radioactive spider, gains great powers, learns that they come with responsibility). While everyone who goes to see the movie generally already knows the story/character, it is a necessary part of storytelling to provide foundational information. Similarly, Genesis serves this explanatory purpose for the people of God, providing us with some very important details that explain the world as we see it now. It provides answers to some of the deepest questions humanity ponders: Why do people have to die? Why is there suffering in the world? What will God do about it?  

Main Point – Our text introduces us to the fall of man, the brokenness of the world, and God’s gracious promise of redemption.

The Fall of Man – (Vv.1-7) The narrative opens with the first hints of disorder/ rebellion in God’s good world, the intruder in the Garden. He begins to engage with Eve over God’s Word, questioning it and then outright denying it. (v.1&4) Then in verse 5, he implies that God is jealously guarding something that He doesn’t want Eve to have, even covering/blinding her eyes.  Succumbing to the deceptive words of the serpent, Eve takes the fruit and eats – as well as giving some to her husband, passively standing by. 

The Result – Their eyes were in fact opened – but only to their own guilt and shame, manifesting in their aversion to their nakedness – they stand exposed and immediately attempt to improvise coverings for themselves, the works of their hands (v.7). 

This text provides the origin of sin and fallen man, who no longer lives as he was made. Because of this fateful decision, we will see the entrance of spiritual death (and the accompanying threat of physical death) into the human experience, as the wages of sin.  But the corruption of sin runs deeper than death itself, as we will see, as it expands to include the corruption and brokenness of the world. 

The Verdict of the Courtroom – (Vv.8-19) The guilty pair hear the thundering sound of God’s presence approaching and try to hide themselves amongst the trees. Verse 8 references the “sound of the LORD God”, which literally means “voice/cry/thunder” in the Hebrew. In verse 9, Adam literally declares “I heard your voice, and I was afraid”.  

This Hebrew construction is most often used in judgment passages (Ezekiel 9:1/ Micah 6:9) but is also used to describe the terrifying presence of God coming down onto Mt.  Sinai (Exodus 19:19). With this imagery in mind, consider the fear that would be coursing through the guilty pair. 

God calls to Adam and begins his line of questioning (not b/c he lacks knowledge of the situation, but as a judge seated behind the bench). None of the questions are about God “finding out answers” but are aimed at provoking a response in Adam. Yet, Adam’s responses reveal a continued running from God, rather than running to God in repentance, as the interrogation concludes with a series of blame-shifting responses. 

God then issues a series of judgments (v.14-19) – Curses upon the serpent (v.14-15) including a promise that an offspring of the woman will crush him. Promises to the woman (v.16) that her life will be marred by pain and conflict. Promises to the man (v.17-19) that his life will be one of labor and suffering all the days of his life – and that his actions have brought a curse upon the very earth itself. 

This text has now also given us the origin of the brokenness and pain we all experience in this world. Conflict, sickness, suffering and the marring of God’s good creation find their origin in mankind’s rebellion against God’s commands.  

The Gospel in the Garden– (Vv.20-24) In the midst of all the brokenness of this text, it is important to not miss the abundance of grace and the revealing of God’s redemptive plan.  

First, we see salvation promised through the judgement of the serpent. In the promise of judgment upon the serpent, God also promises that deliverance will come through the seed of the woman. A child is promised to us that will ultimately defeat our great foe and provide a means of rescue and redemption for those who have sinned. While conflict will be present all of the way up to and included in God’s deliverance, the promise stands that God himself will ensure that the promised seed delivers his people through the judgment of and victory over the serpent. 

Second, all throughout God’s judgments of v.14-19 and including mankind’s exile from the Garden in v.22-24,we see indicator of God’s grace on display in Adam & Eve not receiving the execution of death that their sin deserves.  

In v. 15,16,17,19, &20, there are promises involving the future, indicating that the guilty will not face the penalty of physical death yet. Even Adam’s expulsion from the sacred Garden space is gracious in that if mankind were to reach out to take from the Tree of Life in their present state their spiritual death (separated from favor with God) would result in an eternal state of death. So, God exiles them and sets up guardians, symbols of his justice, that will need to be passed through one day in order to enter back into his presence. It will be the promised seed who passes through the flaming sword and Cherubim one day in the place of his people. 

Third, we see that God will accept a substitute on the behalf of his sinful creatures. V.21 shows God accepting a substitute in the place of the guilty, as well as providing for them new clothes that will cover their guilt in his sight.  

An animal’s life is taken (the innocent substitute) and God makes for the guilty “garments of skin” to cover their nakedness. He replaces their loincloths of their own design, with a more appropriate covering. The particular Hebrew word used here is later used to describe the priestly garments as well as an image picked up by later writers to describe God’s salvation (Psalm 132:9, 16 / Isaiah 61:10).

Finally, we can easily see Jesus as the fulfillment of this “Promised Shaped Pattern” (Hamilton). Without the appropriate clothing of Christ, we all stand naked and exposed before God – as guilty sinners worthy only of the flaming sword of his justice. Jesus alone is the one who has passed between the Cherubim of the veil and endured the burning sword of God’s justice for his people. 

 Hebrew 4:13 - Reminds us that on our own we all stand “naked and exposed” before God. We would all stand as the condemned criminal, with our necks exposed to the executioner’s blade – but in Christ deliverance alone is found.