The Book of
Genesis 3
24 verses≈ 5 min2 peopleBSB
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In this chapter
Where we are
- 1–11BeginningsCreation, fall, flood, BabelChapter 3
- 12–24AbrahamThe call and the promise
- 25–36Isaac and JacobThe promise passed on
- 37–50JosephGod meant it for good
The Serpent’s Deception
Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made.
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The serpent
And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’”
Eve
The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You must not eat of it or touch it, or you will die.’”
The serpent
“You will not surely die,” the serpent told the woman. “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.”
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.
And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed together fig leaves and made coverings for themselves.
God Arraigns Adam and Eve
Then the man and his wife heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the breeze of the day, and they hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
But the LORD God called out to the man, “Where are you?”
Genesis 3:9
Adam
“I heard Your voice in the garden,” he replied, “and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”
God
“Who told you that you were naked?” asked the LORD God. “Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
Adam
And the man answered, “The woman whom You gave me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
God
Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
Eve
“The serpent deceived me,” she replied, “and I ate.”
Reflect
Where are you?
After the first sin, the man and his wife hid “among the trees of the garden.” God came looking anyway and called out, “Where are you?” The man answered honestly about one thing: “I was afraid.” Where are you hiding from God right now, and what are you afraid He will see? Write it down, and remember who came looking.
The Fate of the Serpent
So the LORD God said to the serpent:
“Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all livestock
and every beast of the field!
On your belly will you go,
and dust you will eat,
all the days of your life.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her seed.
He will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel
Genesis 3:15
Pray
The first promise
Before God says a word about pain, thorns or dust, He makes a promise to the serpent’s face: “He will crush your head.” The first good news in the Bible comes in the middle of judgment. Thank God that He did not leave the world in the serpent’s hands, and that the woman’s offspring has come: Jesus, who struck down the enemy at the cost of His own wounds.
The offspring of the woman
Whiteboard
One thread runs from Eden to the cross: the woman’s offspring. Genesis follows it through Seth, Abraham and Judah, and the New Testament names Him: Jesus, born of a woman, who defeats the serpent for good.
The Punishment of Mankind
For dust you are, and to dust you shall return
Genesis 3:19
And Adam named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all the living.
The Expulsion from Paradise
And the LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them.
Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. And now, lest he reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever...”
Therefore the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. So He drove out the man and stationed cherubim on the east side of the Garden of Eden, along with a whirling sword of flame to guard the way to the tree of life.
0:29
Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain
Question
Quick question
The man and his wife covered themselves once. Then God covered them.
What did the LORD God make for Adam and his wife before He sent them out of the garden?
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Genesis 3
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A verse to carry with you
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.
Genesis 3:15
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