The Beginnings of Sin

Genesis 3:1-6

IN THE opening verse of our lesson the “serpent” is introduced as the tempter and deceiver of mother Eve. It is believed by many that in reality it was the fallen Lucifer who conversed with Eve, using as one of their proof texts Revelation 20:1-3, which speaks of “that old serpent, the Devil, and Satan,” and declares him to be the one who has deceived all nations. Whether this view be the correct one, or whether Satan used a literal serpent as a medium through which to approach Eve is quite immaterial; for in either case he was the one responsible, the great deceiver, the one whom Jesus spoke of as a liar from the beginning.

It is hardly true, literally, that a snake is more subtle, or more wise than any of the other beasts. The Hebrew word here translated “beasts” could just as properly be rendered “living creatures,” and applied to all God’s intelligent creation. Dust has not been the serpent’s food throughout the centuries, nor has the literal serpent’s head been bruised by the seed of the woman, as forecast in verse 15. Solomon wrote, “Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterward his mouth shall be “filled with gravel.” (Prov. 20:17) Satan’s deception of Eve was doubtless a very sweet morsel for him, and possibly it was in the manner mentioned by Solomon that, symbolically speaking, his mouth afterward became filled with gravel, or sand—a very unpleasant experience. This would be true whether he spoke to mother Eve through a serpent, or otherwise.

Satan’s approach to Eve was to call in question the Word of God: “Hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” His approach to Jesus four thousand years later was in a similar manner. At Jordan the Heavenly Father had said of Jesus, “This is my beloved Son.” (Matt. 3:17) Forty days later, Satan tempted him, and said, “If thou be the Son of God”—that is, if what God said is true.

Eve readily affirmed that Satan was right in his understanding of God’s law. That he knew of the command which had been given to Adam in connection with the forbidden fruit would in itself impress Eve with the fact of his superior knowledge and tend to give her confidence in what he later had to say. She evidently obtained her knowledge of divine law from Adam, for it had been stated to him before she was created; but where did the “serpent” get the information?

After Eve expressed her knowledge of God’s law, revealing her understanding to be that death would result from disobedience, Satan bluntly said that this was not true—“Ye shall not surely die.” This was more than a lie, for it was an attempt to make our first parents and their posterity believe that God was a liar. The New Testament tells us that Adam was not deceived. (I Tim. 2:4) This is understandable, for Satan did not attempt to disguise the fact that he was charging the Creator with being a liar. The only basis of deception in this situation was a lack of faith in the Word of God, and evidently this was Eve’s sin—the sin of unbelief.

But this controversy between God and Satan became more involved as time went on. The truth of God’s Word soon began to be demonstrated by the death of the human race. This was then countered by Satan with his many misleading sophistries by which he tried to prove that death was not what it seemed to be, that it was not a reality, but merely an experience by which one enters into another life. Thus he has induced people to believe that the dead are more alive than ever. This, in turn, purports to prove that there is no death—“Ye shall not surely die.”

Revelation 20:3 indicates that the “old serpent, the Devil, and Satan,” has deceived all nations. This we see is true. Go where we will, we find that the vast majority of those who have any religious convictions at all, maintain that there is no death. This is as true among all the heathen religions as it is in the many branches of the professed Christian religion. Satan has indeed been very successful in deceiving the people on this point.

Satan further told Eve that God knew that as a result of eating the forbidden fruit men would become “as gods.” In the 22nd verse, God said that man had become as “one of us, to know good and evil.” Evidently God was speaking to the Logos, as in chapter 1, verse 26, where he says, “Let us make man.” God knows good and evil by intuition. Evidently the Logos knew it by information, being willing to believe what his Heavenly Father told him on the subject. For a brief time Adam and Eve, while enjoying the blessing of Eden, learned something of good, and now they were by experience gaining a knowledge of evil; so in this respect they had become “as one of us.”

Genesis 3:9-15

After Adam had transgressed God’s law, he was afraid. Fear is one of the plaguing symptoms of sin which, throughout all the ages since the reign of sin and death began, has robbed men and women of much of the peace and joy which otherwise might have been their portion. The sinner’s conscience accuses him. Adam knew that he had sinned. It was not necessary for God to tell him this.

When confronted by the Lord, Adam and Eve both gave a very straightforward and truthful account of just what had occurred. Adam explained that the woman the Lord had given him for a companion had induced him to eat the forbidden fruit. Eve explained that she ate the fruit because she had been beguiled by the serpent. Both statements were true enough, although they both indicate a tendency to shift the responsibility.

Adam, Eve, and the “serpent” all participated in the wrong, and appropriate punishment was declared upon each. Lucifer had said in his heart, “I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. … I will be like the most High.” (Isa. 14:13,14) Instead of accomplishing this, his sin brought humiliation and degradation as symbolized by the punishment pronounced upon the serpent of Eden—“Upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.” It is prophesied of all the enemies of God and of righteousness, that they shall “lick the dust.”—Ps. 72:9

In verse 15 the Lord declared that he would put enmity between the “serpent” and the woman, and between its seed and the woman’s seed. Also, “it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Here is prophesied the great controversy which was to rage between the “seed” of promise—The Christ—and Satan and his seed. One phase of this struggle is mentioned by the apostle when he says, “Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist stedfast in the faith.” (I Pet. 5:8) Another allusion to this prophecy of Genesis is in the promise, “The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.”—Rom. 16:20

Satan is able to bruise only the “heel” of the seed of the woman; that is, a non-vital part of the body. Christ the real “seed,” and his body members—also part of the seed—have been persecuted by Satan, many times painfully so, but the seed has not been destroyed, nor will it be. On the other hand, Satan, the “serpent,” will be destroyed by the seed of the woman, Christ.—Heb. 2:14; Ps. 145:20

Eve was not directly sentenced to death. She was deceived. Nevertheless she shared the death penalty with Adam. “I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception,” the Lord told her. Thus does the Bible become the only source of information as to why human mothers “travail in pain” while giving birth to their children. It is a part of the curse.

Adam explained that he ate the forbidden fruit because Eve had given it to him, but he did not need to yield to the temptation. The Lord said, “Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, … unto dust shalt thou return.” There are incidentals attached to this sentence—“Cursed is the ground for thy sake”; “in sorrow shalt thou eat”; and “in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.” These, however, were merely some of the means by which the death penalty was to be carried out.

God did not instantly destroy Adam. The original warning of the penalty for sin was, “Dying thou shalt die.” (Gen. 2:17, margin) This describes a dying process, and, in the divine economy, while man is dying he is permitted to “multiply and fill the earth.” Thus, automatically, has the entire race been receiving an experience with evil. By this arrangement Adam was held the responsible head of the race, making it possible for Christ, in redeeming Adam, to provide deliverance from death, not only for Adam, but for all who lost life through him—all mankind.

QUESTIONS

Who was the “serpent,” and what was his method of approach to mother Eve? Compare this with his attempt to tempt Jesus.

How has Satan deceived the people since the days of Eden?

What is one of the characteristics of sin, as displayed by Adam?

Describe and explain the individual punishments inflicted upon the “serpent,” upon Eve, and upon Adam.

Explain how it is possible for one man to redeem the entire human race.

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