The Book Of Genesis Line By Line: Genesis 3:1-7, The Fall

Welcome back to our Genesis study; today we’ll start with Chapter 3 and focus on verses 1 through 7. We saw in our previous study how the Scriptures were preparing us for what was to come later, the Fall of Mankind. This is one of the most tragic events recorded in the Scriptures.

The Passage: Genesis 3:-7, The Fall

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^[a] 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,^[b] 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.

• Verse 1 ( the serpent’s craftiness)

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^[a] shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

First, we need to recognize that the Serpent ( Snake) was created crafty by God Himself. We need to remember that God’s original creation was good, every function and functionary created were good, meaning were functioning according to their purpose. So there is nothing wrong with the craftinesss of the serpent, it was God ordained. Even our Lord Jesus, in Matthew 10:15 encourages us to be crafty but  adds on another quality with it, see verse below,

¹⁶ “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

We also need to see where the serpent belonged ( a beast of the field). This leads me to believe that the Garden of Eden was not supposed to be its abode ( or the Scripture wouldn’t make it a point to mention that the Serpent was a beast of the field). Now whether the serpent is a synonym of satan or whether the serpent was used as  a tool by satan is up for  discussion. I believe the latter and the rest of the passage will justify this position. The serpent was created crafty and good but satan utilized this craftiness ( that is what he was after) to cause havoc in the Garden of Eden. We’ll get to that. So far , all we know is that the Serpent crossed its appropriated territory into another one. Now let’s take a look at what he said to the woman.

First, we need to recognize that he didn’t address the man but the woman. Paul makes mention of this in 2 Corinthians 11:3 ,

But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ

and 1 Timothy 2:13-14,

¹³ For Adam was formed first, then Eve; ¹⁴ and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.

The serpent recognized by his craftiness that the best way to wreak havoc was to direct his cunning words at the woman ,not the man. We can infer from this that the man ( Adam) was probably not going to fall for the serpent’s scheme if he had been addressed directly. Now that doesn’t take away Adam’s responsibility ( since we know that he was present at the moment of the conversation). The later verses will reveal that.

Let’s now examine the Serpent’s opening words to the woman in more detail. Has God said? I get the impression that the Serpent/Satan was trying to gather some intel about what the woman ( Eve) knew about the edible or non edible fruits in the Garden when he asked the question. He was probing her with the intention of trapping her; he wasn’t doing it to help (I know I’m getting ahead of myself). Now let’s examine the woman’s response

• Verses 2-3

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.’

We’ll have to analyze her answer in light of what God actually said in Chapter 2. God’s command was directed at the man primarily, and these were the instructions:

¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, ¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat^[d] of it you shall surely die.”

The Scripture clearly tells us that God commanded the man. So if anything, the man should have been the one responding to the Serpent. This confirms the Serpent’s craftiness. He crossed over his territory and  addressed the woman, knowing that she wasn’t the primary recipient of the commands of God concerning what could be eaten or not in the Garden. And the woman’s answer shows us her lack of proper understanding of the commands of God. In verse 3 of Genesis 2, God clearly singles out the tree that the man and his companion are not to eat out of, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The woman in her response doesn’t clearly identify the tree by its name, she only identifies its location ( in the midst of the garden). And on top of that, she adds on to the word of God. God never said not to touch it, all HE said was not to eat from it. There is also something very critical that we need to point out. God said, “you will surely die” while the woman said “lest you die”. This is very important, “You’ll surely die “implies a certainty of the death ( it might not be immediate but it will surely occur). “Lest you die” implies an immediate death ( this is why the woman said- God said not to touch it). In her understanding, even touching it would cause an immediate death.

• Verses 4-5

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.

The Serpent completely contradicts the word of God by saying “you will not surely die”. And he backs up his claims by giving the woman a positive consequence- your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. He follows the positive consequence or outcome by also  painting a negative picture of God- “For God knows”. He is basically convincing the woman that God wants to keep her from progressing because HE is possessive and selfish. He presents God as a selfish manager of a company that would do anything to keep other employees from getting ahead. I know this isn’t the best example to use but I want you to see the negative picture the serpent is painting of God- a God that is so fearful of mankind’s progress.

being like God, Knowing good and evil: how are we to understand this? The serpent was encouraging the woman and the man ( indirectly) to become autonomous, a prerogative only reserved for God. Man is free but not autonomous. God is the creator, and He is the one who decides that which is evil and good. Adam and Eve before the fall were naked and not ashamed. This is very key in understanding the phrase ” knowing good and evil”. Before the fall, they didn’t regard being naked as something shameful ( keep that in mind). We also need to understand that aspiring to be like God is not wrong. Actually God wants us to be like Him, let’s go to 1 John 3:2

Beloved, we are God‘s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

God certainly wants us to be like Him, and Adam was supposed to be the representative of God ( this is why he was created in the image of God). But it all has to do with maturity. There is a time for everything. We know that everything that God created was good, and that includes the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And God himself is good and would not put anything bad in the Garden to lead Adam and Eve to sin. I believe eventually Adan and Eve would have been given the opportunity to eat from the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil ( at the proper time). We need to remember that God rested from all His works on the sixth day, so the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was not an after thought, it was part of the created order, and it had a purpose. The serpent short circuited that purpose.

• Verses 6-7

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,^[b] 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.

Verse 6 gives us another vivid description of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil  that confirms what we just talked about. The tree was good for food. Let’s pause for a second. The Scripture clearly tells us that the tree was good for food, in other words its fruits were edible; but there was a restriction not to eat from it (yet). We also need to see that the woman was now using her eyes and not the hearing (by faith of the commands of God ) to make judgements. The tree was also to be desired to make one wise. The author of Genesis is indeed telling us all the good attributes of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and this isn’t by accident. The tree was indeed good but Adam and Eve were not (yet) permitted to eat from it. Satan by using the craftiness of the Serpent completely thwarted the woman’s mind by presenting all the good attributes of the tree thus making the woman believe that God didn’t want her to have these good things, simply because HE ( GOD) was selfish, fearful and jealous.

We also learn something very important in Verse 6. While this whole conversation was taking place, the man was there the entire time, was silent and did not intervene. He actually acquiesced to the woman’s request and ate with her. Immediately after they ate of the fruit, then came the realization that they were naked. Now no other human was there to point out their nakedness but they still covered up.

Nakedness is mentioned in 81 times in between the Old Testament and the New Testament. In most of the Scriptures that I looked at, every time nakedness is mentioned, it carries with it a sense of shame that was birthed out of committing sinful acts. The verse that best illustrates nakedness is Lamentations 1:8,

Jerusalem sinned grievously; therefore she became filthy; all who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans and turns her face away.

According to the verse above, the filthiness of Jerusalem came after she ( Jerusalem) sinned grievously. And as a result, those who honored her now despise her because they have seen her nakedness ( her shame). One fundamental thing we need to understand is that sin ( disobedience to any single command of God)  is grievous in His sight and brings shame to the sinner immediately. In Adam and Eve case, they only had one command to obey- not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And when they took of the fruit, they became filthy in God’s sight as their consciences were stricken and the first thing they realized is their physical nakedness which was the external representation of their shame and guilt that were brought about as a result of committing cosmic treason against God.

I do want to mention that there is one passage in the bible that mentions a nakedness that did not bring about shame, that is 1 Samuel 19:18-24,

¹⁸ Now David fled and escaped, and he came to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and lived at Naioth. ¹⁹ And it was told Saul, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.” ²⁰ Then Saul sent messengers to take David, and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. ²¹ When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. ²² Then he himself went to Ramah and came to the great well that is in Secu. And he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” And one said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.” ²³ And he went there to Naioth in Ramah. And the Spirit of God came upon him also, and as he went he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. ²⁴ And he too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay naked all that day and all that night. Thus it is said, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

This occurred when King Saul in his insanity, was pursuing David. I hope you see what the passage is conveying. Saul started prophesying when the Spirit of God came upon him, and as a result, he stripped off his clothes and lay naked all day and all night. When the Spirit of God came upon him, for that period of time, there was no longer shame, this is why he could strip off his clothes. The Scripture is telling us something very profound here. It was almost a if Saul went back to the original state of mankind mentioned in Genesis 2:25( they were naked and not ashamed). But I believe the passage is giving us an even greater hope that the Spirit of God will eventually give all those who are redeemed by Christ. They will be made new, without shame or guilt, because their sins will be completely washed away and the Spirit of God will bring about freedom, as demonstrated in 1 Samuel 9:24 (a nakedness that brings no shame, for mankind will be made right with God because of His Spirit indwelling them forever), and this is good news, people.

What Can We Learn From These Verses?

One thing that many people overlook is the craftiness of satan. Hollywood has a lot of people believing that satan and his demonic agents are all fictitious and a myth. We underestimate his craftiness and consequently fall prey to his deceptions. To counter the enemy, people of God have to be acquainted with the word of God and understand the commands of God as prescribed by God. Paul tells Timothy about this in 2 Timothy 2:15,

¹⁵ Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,^[a]a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Jesus embodies this principle and gives us his experience in the wilderness as a model to follow. When tempted by satan, JESUS responded by correctly quoting the right scripture to him (satan). In the same way, we can’t expect to live victorious lives if

• We don’t know the Word of GOD
• We don’t correctly interpret the Word of GOD

So it is imperative that as believers, we read and meditate on the Sacred Scriptures. They are our only offensive weapon in the armor of GOD. Eve’s deception shows us how dangerous it is to not be sound in our understanding of the Words of GOD. We become prey to the evil one and his demonic army.

There is no room for passivity when it comes to serving GOD. Adam was too passive and didn’t protect the garden as he should. The Serpent should have never been allowed in the Garden in the first place, and Adam should have interrupted the Serpent’s conversation with Eve. He would have been justified in doing so ( he would have been protecting Eve). But instead of participating in the discourse, he stood there and did nothing. He was instructed by God to “keep (maintain) the Garden.” And he did not perform his duties.

And the same applies to us when we fail to carry out the commands of God thoroughly, we give room to the adversary to come to tempt us. Are there places in your life where you’re allowing the serpent to crawl in?