Text:
(Genesis Chapter 3 in its entirety, but specifically…)
Genesis 3:6:
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Theme:
With Knowledge Comes Responsibility
Introduction:
- The Book Of Genesis is the first book of the Bible, the first book of the Old Testament, the first book of the Biblical books of History, the first book of the Pentateuch, and the first book of the Torah.
- Genesis literally means “in the beginning”
- Genesis spans the lives and accomplishments of its five main characters
- Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob
- Genesis outlines the beginnings of God’s plan for:
- The universe
- His chosen people
- Our lives
- We find the fatal turning point in the history of mankind during this Story of Adam and Eve.
- AKA à The “eating of the apple” or The “Fall of Mankind”
- Note…Adam’s eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil had its consequences…
- With Knowledge Came Responsibility
Body:
- First of all, let us set the stage…
- The 6 days of Creation were complete
- Day 1 à heaven and earth. (Ge 1:1-2); The creation of light. (Ge 1:3-5)
- Day 2 à the firmament, (Ge 1:6-8)
- Day 3 à the sea, the earth, and its fruits, (Ge 1:9-13)
- Day 4 à the sun, moon, and stars. (Ge 1:14-19)
- Day 5 à the fish and fowl, (Ge 1:20-23)
- Day 6 à the beasts, (Ge 1:24-25); man, (Ge 1:26-28); and food for both, (Ge 1:29-30)
- The 7th day of rest for God had been taken
- The Covenant established with Man
- Genesis 2:16-17, “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
- God created Woman from Man or Adam
- Genesis 2:18-25
- Adam à derived from the Hebrew word, Adam, meaning “man”
- Man did not have a name in the Bible until after God created Woman
- Adam named Eve BUT Eve’s presence named Adam…interesting!
- Serpent confronted the woman
- Genesis 3:1, “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”
- Eve ate of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
- Then Eve confronted Adam
- Eve took the fruit to Adam and Adam ate also.
- Hence our text, Genesis 3:6, “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”
- The Covenant broken when ADAM ate of the fruit
- God knew what had happened
- God knew that they had messed up from their response of being “naked”
- God said in Genesis 3:11, “Who told thee that thou wast naked?”
- If God did not tell them, it had to be the enemy
- Because the covenant was given to Adam, God held Adam responsible for maintaining it
- Genesis 3:9, “And the LORD God called unto Adam….”
- If Adam had not eaten of the fruit, the Covenant would not have been broken!
- Genesis 3:17, “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee….”
- God knew what had happened
- The 6 days of Creation were complete
- Let us look at the consequences of Adam’s breaking the Covenant with God…
- Sin entered into the world
- Their eyes were opened, and they saw their nakedness
- Genesis 3:7, “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.”
- Before it was all about God, but now pride was born!
- Their eyes were opened, and they saw their nakedness
- They hid from God
- Genesis 3:8, “And they heard the voice 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 amongst the trees of the garden.”
- Just like us, they wanted to “get right” before coming to GodJ
- Adam blamed the woman and the woman blamed the serpent
- Genesis 3:12-13, “And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.”
- We are often guilty of blaming others and situations for our wrongdoings
- Serpent must crawl on its belly
- Genesis 3:14, “And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:”
- The animal that Satan dwelt in to deceive the woman was condemned to crawling on its belly…the snake today.
- The war between good and evil began.
- Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
- The very one whom Evil used will have a child that will destroy Evil altogether…Jesus!
- The woman’s sorrow is multiplied in life, childbirth and motherhood
- Genesis 3:16a, “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children…”
- Pain in childbirth, the worrying that mother often endures, the struggle that a woman usually endures in relationships, and the burden of shouldering the household in a mean world were not a light punishment!
- The woman is made to be subject to her husband
- Genesis 3:16b, “…and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.”
- We see what happened when Eve wandered off from Adam! Now she is supposed to “stand by her man”J
- The man will have to 1)work AND 2)in a cursed ground.
- Genesis 3:17-18, “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;”
- Not only does the man now have to work with the ground to get what was given before. Also, when he does work with the ground it will produce weeds and thistles.
- When you have bad days at work and your paycheck isn’t enough to pay your bills, think about our buddy Adam.
- The man must work until death
- Genesis 3:19a, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground…”
- Retirement plans are nonexistent, 401Ks are dwindling, inflation continues to mount…We will have to work until we cannot work anymore!
- Death is guaranteed and imminent
- Genesis 3:19b, “…for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”
- This is a biggie!! Because of Adam, we will surely die!!
- Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”
- They were driven out of the garden so that they could not also eat of the tree of life and live forever.
- Knowing the difference between good and evil disallowed them to live forever.
- If they had eaten of that tree also, they would live forever! They had to go!!!!!!
- Sin entered into the world
- But just think…. What if…?
- What if Adam had not cowered to the alluring presence, words and touch of the woman?
- What if Adam had rebuked the woman’s straying from God’s instruction?
- What if Adam had listened to God instead of the woman?
- What if Adam had a different appetite at that moment? Berries or vegetables instead of that fruitJ
- What if Adam had not eaten of the fruit and broken the Covenant?
- We would not have to work!
- We would live forever!
- We would live in God’s Will forever!
- There would be no SIN!
- There would be no sickness!
- There would be no jails, hospitals, or courthouses
- There would be no lawyers, doctors, or policeman
- There would be no grocery stores, malls, or hardware stores
- There would be no cameras, computers, or schools
- IT WOULD BE ALL ABOUT GLORIFYING GOD and NOTHING ABOUT OUR SELVES!!!!!
Conclusion:
- Don’t worry! Paradise will once again give us what Adam’s breaking the covenant took from us!!!
- The Garden of Eden was the “Heaven” that Adam’s sin caused us to lose, but through God’s grace and mercy we can regain it.
- Genesis 3:24, “So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”
- God wants us to find our way back to the Tree of Life!
- Genesis 3:24, “So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”
- Now, those who are believers in God can look forward to Paradise, on earth and in Heaven
- Revelation 21:1, “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.”
- John 14:1-2, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”
- 2Corinthians 5:1, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”
- For Adam, with knowledge came responsibility. Now with us, it is the same!!
- Once we KNOW better, we must DO better!!!
- God has given us a way to Salvation, let us take it!
- John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
- What Adam took, God gave back!! Thank You, Father, for Your unmerited favor!!!
- The Garden of Eden was the “Heaven” that Adam’s sin caused us to lose, but through God’s grace and mercy we can regain it.
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