GENESIS 3: NOW THE SERPENT
Genesis 3:1 begins: “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?”
GENESIS 3 introduces us to a new entity: the SERPENT …
& The Bible identifies the SERPENT from Genesis 3 as SATAN & the DEVIL.
Revelation 12:9 says: “… the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world …”
Revelation 12 identifies Satan as a supernatural creature who has set out to deceive the entire world.
Think about that: the ENTIRE WORLD is under the DECEPTION of SATAN …
… who is elsewhere identified in the Bible as the “god” [with a small “g” or “prince” of this world.
In 2 Corinthians 4:4, for example, Paul says: “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”
& in Genesis 3:1 The Bible teaches that the SERPENT accomplishes his work of deception through subtlety.
Paul says, for example, in 2 Corinthians 11:3 that the: “serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty”.
Paul also speaks of Satan’s subtlety in Ephesians 6:11, when he says to the Christian: “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
& so the first thing that the SERPENT does in Genesis 3 is QUESTION GOD’S WORD, by asking a question.
A question that is no question at all, but a suggestion: “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”
Satan’s objective here is to get EVE to JUDGE & then DOUBT GOD’S WORD …
… instead of simply submitting to GOD’S WORD.
EVE loses the moment she ENGAGES the DEVIL in conversation …
… instead of sharply rebuking Satan & fleeing from him …
Genesis 3:2-3 says:
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
Unlike Satan’s failed temptation of Christ in the wilderness …
The woman considers SATAN’S WORDS, where as CHRIST…
… when tempted of the DEVIL …
… EXALTED God’s Word by rebuking the devil with Scripture alone.
The Bible says in James 4:7: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Once drawn in, Satan then LITERALLY LIES about GOD’S WORD.
Genesis 3:4 says: “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:”
This was an outright CONTRADICTION of GOD’S WORD.
God says MAN shall SURELY DIE; Satan says MAN shall not surely die.
& so it was a matter of GOD’S WORD against SATAN’S WORD.
JESUS ALSO CALLS SATAN a LIAR & identifies the SERPENT as the DEVIL.
Of Satan, Jesus says in John 8:44: “He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”
Unlike Satan, the Bible says that God CANNOT LIE.
God is LIMITED only by His own righteous nature.
Numbers 23:19 says: “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”
Titus 1:2 also says: “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;”
Hebrews 6:18 also says that it is: “… impossible for God to lie …”
God detests lying, because LYING originated from SATAN & goes against the very NATURE of who GOD is.
1 John 1:5 says: “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”
SATAN’S WORDS continue in Genesis 3:5 in defiance of GOD’S WORD: “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
This was the subtle deception.
It was true that Adam & Eve would know the difference between good & evil …
… but they would know it, not the way God does because of His OMNISCIENCE ….
… but because their disobedience would result in MAN experiencing evil personally & become tainted by it.
SIN would be IMPUTED unto MAN …
& to all the GENERATIONS OF MAN.
So that Paul could rightly say: “There is none righteous, no not one … They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Romans 3:10, 12).
That’s why he could say in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
SIN HAD BEEN IMPUTED unto all the GENERATIONS of MAN …
… the SINFUL NATURE was inherited; the curse which Go would pronounce was not only for ADAM …
… but for ALL HIS GENERATONS.
This is the DOCTRINE OF ORIGINAL SIN.
Romans 5:12 says: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”
In case, you don’t believe in ORIGINAL SIN, Psalm 51:5 also says: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
We all inherit the sinful nature.
& so that’s where MAN stands today, apart from the saving grace of Christ:
Isaiah 59:2 says: “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid [his] face from you, that he will not hear.”
That’s why we need a Savior, because we all have sinned.
& SO WHO IS SATAN?
Who was SATAN before he FELL WITHOUT pardon or the offer of GRACE?
The Bible teaches that SATAN used to be AN ANGEL …
… more specifically a cherub.
BTW: cherub is the singular and cherubim is the plural of the same word.
We get a GLIMPSE into who SATAN was before he fell, in Ezekiel 28 …
The passage in EZEKIEL 28 begins with a rebuke of the KING OF TYRUS …
… but the descriptions given to the KING OF TYRUS actually go beyond the HUMAN KING …
& the Bible begins to reveal the person of Satan instead.
This is what’s known as DUAL PROPHECY.
Ezekiel 28:6 says that the KING OF TYRUS is being judged: “Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God;”
The KING of TYRUS, like SATAN, had made his heart equal to or above the heart of GOD …
EZEKIEL 28:12-17 then switches to a description of the DEVIL:
(it begins w/ the KING OF TYRUS)
12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
[& here’s where it’s obviously no longer about the human king, but about the devil BEFORE HIS FALL].
13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God;
[We know that the KING OF TYRUS was not in the GARDEN OF EDEN …
… this is obviously talking about one of the creatures in the GARDEN …
… every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
[there’s mention here of musical instruments – “thy tabrets” & “thy pipes” –
… no wonder they say the devil has the best music …
he was endowed by God w/ musical talent in the day that he was created.
The devil — before his fall — was instrumental in the worship of God in His throne room …
… Ezekiel 28:14 says:
14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
It’s amazing when you understand how holy the role that God had given to the cherubim is.
& that Satan used to be among the chief of the cherubim …
… who’s wings himself covered the glory of God.
The Bible depicts cherubim with the direct worship of God.
Their wings cover the glory of the Majesty on High …
In the MERCY SEAT in the INNER SANCTUARY of the TEMPLE OF GOD …
… which was merely an earthly representation of things in heaven …
… cherubim are pictured with their wings outstretched covering the MERCY SEAT …
… where the GLORY & PRESENCE of GOD would appear to the children of Israel.
The curtains of the temple were also embroidered with the likeness of cherubim.
& so the DEVIL before his fall is identified as a CHERUB that covered the glory of God in heaven.
Ezekiel 28:15 continues:
15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
SATAN is a CREATED BEING …
… & as a CREATED BEING, he’s not anywhere near as powerful as the Almighty God;
Satan is subservient to God in every way …
… must even get God’s permission to move against God’s people …
… as we later see in the book of Job.
But the DEVIL was created PERFECT at the beginning until —
… the Bible says: “iniquity was found in thee”.
God did not cause this iniquity;
… it was simply found in him, when he lifted himself up in pride ABOVE GOD.
Ezekiel 28:16-17 says:
16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: [again a reference to the human king, & then back again mid-sentence to the devil at the moment of his fall]
… therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, [the devil was created as a glorious angelic being, and it was pride in his own wisdom & beauty that led to his fall] thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
We get a similar picture of the devil exalting himself above God in Isaiah 14 …
… which is the only place where his personal name is mentioned …
& some people dispute this today … but I hold to the traditional view …
(like in most doctrines unless there’s a serious reason to doubt the traditional view) …
… namely that Satan’s personal name is LUCIFER.
In Isaiah 14, a prophet of God, is again casting judgment on an earthly king …
… this time the KING OF BABYLON …
… & again – through the prophetic use of dualistic utterance …
Isaiah describes the FALL OF SATAN.
Isaiah 14:12-15:
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Satan’s final destiny is HELL.
We see that Hell, in fact, was initially created for the purpose of punishing the DEVIL …
… & the THIRD OF THE ANGELS who rebelled with him against God.
In Matthew 25:41, Jesus says to the ACCURSED GOATS on his left: “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:”
So we see that while Hell was originally created for the devil & his angels …
… that because of Satan’s deceptive work in Genesis 3 …
… he takes unregenerate man with him into Hell …
… & a place that was originally prepared for him, & not man.
Which is what makes Hell all the more terrifying, it was not meant to be our natural abode …
… but was designed to contain & torment the angelic, utterly evil, fallen creature known as THE DEVIL.
& so this SUPERNATURAL BEING, now in the FORM of a SERPENT …
… entices EVE through subtly and craftiness of words …
… to defy GOD’s CLEAR commandment …
& to eat of the FRUIT OF THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD & EVIL.
Genesis 3:6-7 continues: 5 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food [Satan appealed to the lust of the flesh], and that it was pleasant to the eyes [Satan appealed to the lust of the eyes], and a tree to be desired to make one wise [& Satan appealed to the PRIDE OF MAN], she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
And so we that while woman was enticed by the serpent, man was enticed by woman.
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.
The MOMENT they sinned …
… they were ashamed of their nakedness …
… because unlike before, they were no longer without blemish or flaw.
Sin had entered into God’s perfect creation …
… by the wiles of the devil – & the willful choice of man.
Adam & Eve, at this point, sew FIG LEAVES together to cover their nakedness …
… but this was both a TEMPORARY & an INSUFFICIENT covering …
… because MAN cannot cover over his own sin …
This is a picture of man trying to save himself …
This was the futile self-effort of trying to cover their own transgressions …
& so further down in VERSE 21, God Himself provides a more PERMANENT & SUFFICIENT covering for them.
After God pronounces judgment on MAN, v. 21 says: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”
The covering & the sacrifice could only be provided by GOD HIMSELF …
… which is a picture of God giving His only begotten Son, the Word made flesh …
More on this later, but …
We see this pictured also in Genesis 22:8 w/ Abraham & Isaac: “And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering …”
Only GOD HIMSELF could offer the SACRIFICE for sins …
GENESIS 3:8-9 continues the narrative of MAN’S FALL:
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.
Since God the Father is a Spirit who’s form cannot be seen …
THE VOICE OF THE LORD God walking in the GARDEN in the cool of the day …
… was certainly the first appearance of the pre-incarnate CHRIST, the WORD OF GOD …
& Whereas before, man enjoyed perfect fellowship with God in the Garden …
… now FELLOWSHIP was broken because of sin …
… & was replaced instead w/ FEAR.
The first thing that Adam & Eve did was to HIDE themselves from the presence of God.
But God, in His infinite grace, sought after MAN:
9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? [God was SEEKING after MAN here, though He was dead in his sins. This doesn’t mean that MAN had no choice but to receive Him, like the Calvinists teach, but GOD does reach out to every MAN …
… The Bible says in 1 John 4:19: “We love him, because he first loved us.”
Adam responds to God’s call in VERSE 10:
10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
This is the 1ST REAL question in the OT.
Satan’s “question” was no question at all, but a suggestion devised to deceive.
But God, searches out & beseeches MAN & asks him penetrating questions …
… for the purpose of saving him.
12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
13 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.
People often say there was a lot of blame-shifting going around here …
& rightly so …
& but it was also a truthful account of the events which had transpired.
… & so man CONFESSES his GUILT before God …
… not before MAN or PRIEST, but before GOD …
HE ADMITS HIS GUILT.
… This is the 1st step that leads to salvation, admitting that you have sinned …
& understanding your need for a SAVIOR.
Realizing that you can’t cover over your own transgressions with frail fig leaves …
… but that you NEED GOD to cover your transgressions.
Paul later comments on MAN’S FALL in 1 Timothy 2:
11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.
12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.
13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
This is why WOMEN are not to be the LEADERS in our SOCIETY.
This is why the Apostle Peter also says in 1 Peter 3:7: to give: “honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel …”
NEXT WE SEE THAT GOD doesn’t even ADDRESS SATAN, like He does MAN …
… but immediately pronounces JUDGMENT on him.
Genesis 3:14-15:
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:
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.
It’s interesting that the 1ST TIME the GOSPEL is PREACHED, it’s addressed directly to Satan …
… but it’s spoken for the benefit of MAN.
SATAN SEED is the generation of those who REJECT CHRIST …
… & who by default of their UNREGENERATE, FALLEN CONDITION …
… align their souls with Satan …
SATAN’S SEED is exemplified by the unbelieving Pharisees, to whom Jesus said in …
John 8:44-47:
44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
47 He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
But EVE’s SEED is not only the generations of God’s faithful people …
… but ultimately the SEED (singular) …
… is a reference to the coming Messiah who would redeem & deliver FALLEN MAN.
In Genesis 4:25, after Cain slays ABEL, Eve upon having another son, says that God: “hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.”
The Messiah who was supposed to come through Abel, would now come through Seth.
Eve understood that SETH would be a fulfillment of the Messianic promise of Genesis 3:15.
& we’ll see the MESSIANIC line picked up through all the genealogies to come.
We see the genealogy of the MESSIANIC SEED later in Genesis 9:9 with Abraham: “And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;”
Paul affirmed the genealogy of Christ also, when he said in Galatians 3:16: “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.”
THE SEED (singular) the MESSIAH would deliver a FATAL BLOW & BRUISE SATAN’S HEAD …
… He would do this by DYING ON THE CROSS, being buried, & resurrecting …
… thereby overcoming DEATH ….
& vanquishing the hold SATAN has over unregenerate man, for those who believe.
But in doing so, Satan would BRUISE THE MESSIAH’S HEEL – which is a picture of the crucifixion.
NEXT, JUDGMENT is pronounced on WOMAN.
Genesis 3:16-19:
16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
God then pronounces JUDGMENT on MAN, in v. 17:
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, 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;
18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
& so DEATH is pronounced; MAN is to RETURN to the DUST from which he came.
& so BURIAL for the DEAD is established as the Biblical method for dealing w/ the DEAD …
JUDGMENT is also pronounced on MAN’S ability to work.
MAN DID WORK prior to his fall, as he tended the GARDEN …
… but now his WORK would be TOILSOME & wrought with stress & anxiety.
There would now be THORNS & THISTLES that would impede on HIS WORK …
… & make life DIFFICULT for MAN.
We see that AS A RESULT of MAN’S SIN …
… that the CREATION ITSELF changes …
Romans 8:22 says: “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.”
The CREATION, which is NOW FALLEN, as a result of MAN’S DISOBEDIENCE …
… will not be renewed until Jesus returns, melts all the ELEMENTS w/ a FERVENT HEAT …
… & starts all over again with a renewed CREATION.
In John’s apocalyptic vision, the apostle says, in Revelation 21:1: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away;”
This is the same phrase, “HEAVEN & EARTH” from Genesis 1:1 …
… which will be destroyed & then REGENERATED @ the END OF THE WORLD.
A final note on the CURSE:
It’s interesting that the pronouncement of the CURSE is given in the same order as the order of the FALL:
1st to the SERPENT, then to the WOMAN, then to the MAN …
Genesis 3:20 says: “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.”
Adam not only named all the creatures, but also names his wife …
… again revealing his Godly authority (not superiority, but authority) over EVE as the head & leader of their marriage.
Despite being the one through whom Satan tempted man …
… Adam gives her a name full of grace, by calling her: “THE MOTHER OF ALL LIVING”.
This name also signifies the REVERSAL of the sentence of DEATH through the promise of HER SEED.
EVE would also be the ANCESTOR of the entire HUMAN RACE.
GENESIS 3:21 CONTINUES: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”
God now provides MAN with a more durable COVERING that He Himself provides …
… & in so doing the FIRST ANIMALS are SACRIFICED …
… DEATH now LITERALLY enters in the world for the first time …
… as a consequence of MAN’S TRANSGRESSION.
THE FIRST ANIMAL BLOOD SACRIFICE foreshadows the ANIMAL SACRIFICES that would later be established …
… & ultimately represents the BLOOD SACRIFICE of JESUS CHRIST Himself.
SO NOT ONLY is the GOSPEL preached in GENESIS 3:15 …
… but the GOSPEL is also DEPICTED in the BLOOD SACRIFICE in Genesis 3:21.
& so God makes BLOOD ATONEMENT for ADAM & EVE right there in the beginning …
Leviticus 17:11 says: “… for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”
Genesis 3:22-24 ends the chapter with:
22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
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.
In VERSE 22, God says: “Behold, the MAN is become as one of US” —
… again a reference to the Triune nature of the Godhead that we also saw in Genesis 1:26: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness …”
That’s a two-fold witness of the triune nature of the GODHEAD.
& SO GOD BARS THE WAY to the TREE OF LIFE …
… the implication is that if MAN would have eaten from the TREE OF LIFE @ this point …
… he would have lived forever in HIS SINFUL state.
& so, in a further act of MERCY …
… GOD BARS THE WAY to THE TREE OF LIFE …
… GOD places CHERUBIM & a FLAMING SWORD around the TREE OF LIFE to KEEP MAN out …
… until he could first be redeemed.
IN CONCLUSION …
The Bible has many things to say about the OLD SERPENT …
… the DEVIL & SATAN …
The Apostle Peter calls him the “ADVERSARY” of the Saints …
… & a “roaring lion” who “walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” in 1 Peter 5:8.
Jesus calls him a “murderer” from the beginning & the father of lies in John 8:44 …
… (since he murdered man both physically and spiritually in Genesis 3 through by beguiling Eve) …
The APOSTLE JOHN says of the DEVIL, that he “sinneth from the beginning” —
… again a CLEAR REFERENCE to Genesis 3 & enticing MAN to FALL in the beginning.
THE APOSTLE PAUL calls him “the god of this world” in 2 Corinthians 4:4 …
… (MAN seceded his dominion & authority to SATAN …
… when he chose to obey SATAN’s WORD instead of GOD’S WORD).
JESUS ALSO echoes this when He calls the DEVIL the “prince of this world” in John 14:30.
& SATAN continues to try to TEMPT MAN today …
… & to even get CHRISTIANS to stray from their understanding of the DOCTRINES OF CHRIST.
In 2 Corinthians 11:3, Paul says: “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”
We must guard our minds and hearts from the subtlety & craftiness of SATAN …
& the best way to do this is not to even entertain Satan in any way —
… neither by word nor by deed.
Again, James 4:7 says: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”