Paradise Lost
Text: Genesis 3:8-24
Core Idea: The story of humanity’s fall reveals the profound impact of sin as it destroys everything that God intended to be good. But there’s still a glimpse of hope for God’s people, for Christ has been sent to crush Satan’s power and restore what was broken. Then, let’s cling to Christ today, for He alone is mighty to save.
INTRODUCTION
Well, after over a month, we’re briefly back in the Book of Genesis – looking at how all things started. I say briefly because we’ll be taking another break next Sunday for our joint service. I know – at this rate, we’ll be in this book for a very long time. But I pray that going through this book slowly hasn’t been burdensome but beneficial to your walk with God as it’s giving you an opportunity to look at the creation account in a fresh way. Then, before we dive into our text, let me quickly give you a summary of what we talked about so far so we can better appreciate our text today. In Chapter 1, we learned that among all that God had created, Adam and Eve were unique in that they were made in His own image. God personally molded them, breathed the breath of life in them, and placed them in a perfect paradise called the Garden of Eden so that He could continue to shower them with blessing upon blessing. They had everything they needed to be happy and content – there was beauty to enjoy and enough food to fill them. God also gave them the gift of work so that they would be fulfilled and the gift of marriage so that their longing for companionship could be satisfied. All that to say, there was nothing they lacked. In fact, Chapter 2 ended with these beautiful words – Genesis 2:25, “Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.” It felt like nothing could go wrong at this point – until it did. Chapter 3 began with the introduction of the serpent, whose mission was to plant a seed of doubt in Eve’s heart so that she would start to question God’s goodness and generosity. He said to Eve, “Wait, did God really say that you shouldn’t eat from any of the trees in the garden? Are you sure that’s what He said? I’m just asking because it sounds a little harsh. Why would He create all these things only to keep you away from them? It sure feels like He’s holding back from you. It’s like He doesn’t really want you to be happy.” No wonder the serpent was called crafty. Now, because Eve didn’t have a clear and precise understanding of God’s Word, she believed the lies, ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and even gave some to Adam, who ate as well. Genesis 3:7, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so, they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.” That’s where we left off last time. Then, with that in mind, please turn your Bibles to Genesis 3:8-24. Let me read this for us.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so, I hid.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman You put here with me – she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly, and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel.” 16 To the woman, He said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor, you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” 17 To Adam, He said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil, you will eat food from it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow, you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” 20 Adam named his wife Eve because she would become the mother of all the living. 21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat and live forever.” 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After He drove the man out, He placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
Amen. This is the Word of God for you today.
Let me point out three things from this passage:
· THE CONFRONTATION
· THE CURSE
· THE PROMISE
1) THE CONFRONTATION
Let’s read verse 8 again, “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.” Here, we read that what had previously been the greatest delight to Adam and Eve has now become a dread to their souls. The sound of God near them should’ve caused them to leap with joy – but now, it only made them feel a heavy burden in their hearts, for they knew that they had disobeyed God. They were too scared to face Him. They were too scared to face the consequences of their sin. So, instead of running to God, they hid from the Lord. Verse 9, “But the LORD God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’” Now, why did God ask this question? Did He not know where they were? Of course not – He knew exactly where they were. Then, why did He ask? Because He wanted to draw them out of their hiding place so that He could listen to them, speak to them, discipline them, but also restore them. Yes, God was grieving over their sin – and He certainly wasn’t going to overlook their sin. But God’s heart for them was still filled with compassion and love – which is why He sought them out. He was calling for them – inviting them back to Himself. Then, this question isn’t so much driven by His anger but by His tender mercy toward them. He wasn’t saying, “Where are you? You’re going to be in big trouble if I find you” – but rather, “Adam, why are you there? That’s not where you should be. Don’t you know that I would never drive you away if you had come to Me? But you hid because you did not trust Me.”
Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains it this way, “Why would Adam, who looked into God’s loving face at the moment of his own creation, flee from God’s voice calling in the garden? Because he does not know God, because he has believed a lie about Him, because he is altogether wrong with respect to Him, because he does not realize that the very God against whom he has rebelled and into whose face he has spat is the only One who can save him and that He is prepared to do so. That is the tragedy of the world. Men and women in their misery, in their sin, try everything except what God says to them.” Friends, does this describe you today? Are you hiding from God because you think that He’ll be harsh against you? Are you scared to approach Him because you think that He’ll flare up with anger toward you for the sins you committed? If so, it could be because you do not know God. The Bible tells us that He literally sent His one and only Son to suffer and die for us so that we could have life. If that’s what He did for us, why would He be upset that we came to Him with our troubles and needs? He won’t get flustered when we come to Him – He’ll forgive us, embrace us, and provide for us. One time, Eli got in big trouble, so I had to discipline him. Now, when it was over, he asked me, “Dad, do you still love me?” And at that moment, my heart was drawn out to him more than ever – so I said to him, “Of course, I love you. I will never stop loving you no matter what you do because you are my son. You can never make me stop loving you.” Brothers and sisters, if I, as a flawed and sinful being, can love my child this much, how much more will our heavenly Father love us? “Where are you?” is not a call of judgment but a call of grace. It describes the Father’s heart for us.
Verse 10, “[Adam] answered, ‘I heard You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.’ And [God] said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?’ The man said, ‘The woman You put here with me – she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.’” Despite God’s gracious invitation, Adam didn’t confess his sins. He didn’t say sorry. In fact, he didn’t take any responsibility for his sins. He was just sorry that he got caught – which is why he started blaming Eve for his disobedience. Do you remember what he said about Eve in Genesis 2:23? “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” Not too long ago, he was literally singing over her. His heart was completely captivated by her beauty. But here, he was almost despising her. As her husband, as the leader of the family, he should’ve said, “God, I’m so sorry. You’ve given me this important responsibility of guarding my family, but because I let my guard down, I sinned against You and disappointed my wife. Would You please forgive me for what I’ve done? And please be merciful to Eve, too. Her disobedience is on me as well.” Instead, he shifted the blame on her. “It wasn’t my fault, God. She made me do it.” His heart was so cold toward her. In fact, he started blaming God as well. “Actually, the bigger blame is on You, God. If You had given me a better wife, I wouldn’t have made this kind of mistake. Why did You let me marry her? So, really, it’s Your fault.” Now, Adam wasn’t the only one blaming – verse 13, “Then the LORD God said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’” Adam and Eve both shifted the blame because they didn’t want to be responsible for what they had done.
Now, before we point the finger at them, the truth is that we’re no different from them in that our proud hearts are constantly looking for someone else to blame every time we’re confronted with our own sin as well – so we blame our spouse, parent, co-worker, pastor, friend, or even God but never ourselves. Let me give you some examples. “God, I would’ve never said this or done this if I had a spouse who was a little more understanding. If my children were less rebellious and less whiny, I would definitely be happier. I wouldn’t be so worried, so depressed, and so mad all the time. If my boss wasn’t so relentlessly demanding, if my clients were less needy, I would have more time for You. If You had helped me get the other job that I really wanted, I wouldn’t be so money-driven like this. This is all Your fault, God. I would be a very patient person if it weren’t for these traffic jams that I have to be in every single day. I would have a pure mind if there weren’t so many sensual images in our culture. My spiritual life would be so much more vibrant if my small group were more encouraging or if the sermons were better.” I could go on and on with these examples – but the point is that no one wants to take responsibility for their own sins. We’re all just so busy blaming others. Now, this is a lot more serious than you think because it can keep us from humbling ourselves and repenting before God. As a result, we’ll live in this delusion that we’re better than others – that we’re holier than others. Then, let me ask you, “Does this describe you in any way? Are you blaming God and others for the way you are and the things that you do?” If so, listen to what James 1:13-14 says, “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.” In other words, the problem is not God. The problem is not the people around us. It’s not even the circumstances or the trials we face. The problem is ultimately in our hearts – the problem is us. Then, friends, we must learn to own up to our sins and run to the One who can free us from the weight of our guilt and shame. He won’t be harsh with us, but be gentle, for He is our Father who loves us unconditionally.
2) THE CURSE
Even though God is loving, the Bible clearly tells us that He’s also holy. And because He’s holy, He wasn’t going to sweep their sin under the rug – so here, we see Him pronouncing judgment against the serpent, Eve, and Adam. Then, let’s go through them one by one so that we can feel the devastating effects of sin in our lives. First, the curse against the serpent. Verse 14, “So the LORD God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly, and you will eat dust all the days of your life.’” Unlike His interaction with Adam, God doesn’t ask the serpent any questions – His only purpose is to judge and condemn. Now, some of you may be thinking, “Why did God curse the serpent? Wasn’t the serpent just being used by Satan?” That is a legitimate question. In fact, that was one of the questions that I had as well. So, I consulted the commentaries – and this is what Kent Hughes said, “The cursing of the snake is consistent with the fate of other animals in Scripture that caused injury to humans and were therefore put to death not because they were accountable, but because they were used to abuse men and women made in the image of God. Every animal was made for man and was subject to him as its head. Thus, any abuse or perversion of the order called for strict judgment – just as a loving father, when punishing the murderer of his son, might snap in two the sword with which the murder had been committed. So, in cursing the snake, God shows His special and fervent love for the human race.” Isn’t that amazing? Now, when it says that the serpent will crawl on its belly and eat dust all the time, it probably doesn’t mean that snakes walked upright before the fall. Because the concept of eating dust in other parts of the Bible is a metaphor for humiliation, many commentators agree that this was God’s way of saying to Satan, “The way snakes crawl on the ground will constantly remind you of your defeat. You’ll forever live in humiliation and disgrace, for that is the fate of anyone who opposes Me.” Not just that, but verse 15 also says, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers” – which means that God’s people will forever be at war against Satan. No wonder Christians have been hated by the world throughout history. Until Christ comes back, we’ll continue to be opposed by the enemy. This is the result of the fall. Now, there’s one more part to this curse, but we’ll save that for our last point.
Then, let’s move on to the curse against Eve. Verse 16, “To the woman He said, ‘I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor, you will give birth to children.’” When Adam and Eve looked for life apart from God, He ordained it so that bringing forth life would now be excruciatingly agonizing. Because of the fall, what was meant to be one of the greatest sources of joy has now become a source of great pain and burden. In fact, I’m not just talking about the pain of labor – the hardship of motherhood continues even after the actual birth, as raising children can be physically exhausting and emotionally taxing, as many of us know. All that to say, sin has brought a curse upon one of the highest blessings in life.
Now, if the first curse touches the woman as mother, the second curse affects her as wife – verse 16, “Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” Now, why is this bad? Isn’t it a good thing for a wife to desire her husband? Well, we see the same Hebrew word for “desire” used in Genesis 4:7 when God spoke to Cain – listen to what He said, “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” Is it good for sin to desire you? Of course not. When it says that sin desires to have you, it means that it desires to overpower you, oppose you, and work against you. Then, in the same way, when it says that Eve will desire Adam, it means that she will desire to overpower him, oppose him, and work against him. She won’t desire to complement him but compete with him. She will basically say, “I’m going to do things my way because I can do it better. I’m going to take charge from now on.” But she won’t get her way because the second part of the curse says that he (Adam) will rule over her. The word “rule” in this context implies that he will assert authority by force in a harsh and oppressive way. And sadly, this is what we see around us – men assaulting, manipulating, and controlling women for their own pleasure and benefit. All that to say, sin brought conflict in marriage. In fact, sin destroys all relationships – between a parent and a child, between co-workers, between friends, between strangers. But that’s not all.
Let’s look at the curse against Adam. Verse 17, “To Adam He said, ‘Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, “You must not eat from it,” cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil, you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.’” Sin doesn’t just affect childbearing and relationships in general, but it also impacts the creation. As a result, where once the earth had eagerly produced its fruit (almost holding it out with eager hands and begging Adam and Eve to take it), now the earth had become stingy. It withheld its riches, and Adam was now forced to labor hard and painfully to get them. As I shared in the beginning, work was a gift that was meant to make us feel fulfilled in the world that God created – to experience the satisfaction of achieving something. But work now became difficult and distressing when Adam turned away from God. I don’t have to convince you of this because we feel the weight of this curse every day. Our work has a tendency to wear us out and wear us down. It can be a source of massive frustration in our lives. Clearly, the curse of sin touches and disturbs every aspect of our lives. But the worst is found in verse 19 – “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” It says that sin will ultimately lead to death. You’ll bear children in pain, put in a lot of effort to cultivate relationships, and work in frustration only to end up as dust. Everything would have been for nothing. Then, what does it matter if you work hard to remain healthy? What does it matter if you gain all the knowledge in the world? What does it matter if you fall in love, get married, and have children? What does it matter if you travel the world and experience great things? What does anything really matter since to dust you will return? Death robs us of everything that gives meaning to life – nothing will really matter in the presence of death. And this is all because of our sin. Friends, if there’s anything we can learn from this is that we should never take our sins lightly. We should never be comfortable with our sin, knowing that it’s a lot more devastating than we think. Sin will tear us apart and crush us until we’re completely destroyed. Then, is there any hope for us? Absolutely. Despite His judgment against our sins, He wasn’t going to leave us in our hopelessness and misery.
3) THE PROMISE
Let’s go back to what God said against the serpent in verse 15, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel.” This verse is known as the protoevangelium, which literally means “the first gospel” because it’s the first good news that comes after the fall. What makes this so good is the fact that God promises a Figure who will come to crush the head of the serpent. Of course, the identity of this Redeemer has been kept a mystery for some time – but we know who this is. It’s Jesus Christ, for He alone fulfilled this prophecy. No wonder Satan has been waging war against Him ever since He was born. It was the devil who manipulated King Herod to send soldiers to slaughter the baby boys of Bethlehem. It was the devil who worked through the religious leaders to sabotage Jesus’ ministry over and over again. It was the devil who possessed and tortured people to distract Jesus from establishing His Kingdom on earth. It was the devil who entered the heart of Judas so that he would betray Jesus. And it was the devil who blinded the heart of Pilate so that he would have Jesus flogged and crucified. Can you imagine what Satan must have thought as he saw Jesus dying on the cross? He must have been convinced that he was victorious. Why wouldn’t he? Death brings an end to all things. But little did he know that Jesus’ death was a necessary part of God’s salvation plan. St. Augustine wrote, “The devil was conquered precisely when he was thought to be conquering, namely, when Christ was crucified. For at that moment, the blood of Him, who had no sin at all, was shed for the remission of our sins. The One who was guilty of no sin freed them justly from this condemnation.” Let me explain it this way. Think of a courtroom setting where God is the Judge, Satan is the prosecutor, and we’re the defendant. Here, Satan would hold up the record of our sins and say to God, “They have failed You and disobeyed You over and over again. You’ve always been good to them, but they have trampled upon Your grace time and time again. They don’t treat You as King because they want to be in control over their lives. They’re fools. They forget that they’re only creatures. How dare they stand against the Almighty God? They clearly don’t love You. They’re not good enough for You. Then, punish them. Execute them, for death is what they deserve.” And we would have nothing to say to defend ourselves because his accusations are all true. We are guilty of our sins. Now, just as we were ready to give up, another man stood up – it was Jesus, our Advocate. And this is what He said, “Yes, it’s true that they did what the Accuser said they did. But they’re not guilty. They can’t be guilty because I have already served the sentence for their offense. In fact, I served that sentence to the full when I died on the cross for them – which means that it would be unjust for You to punish them again. No guilt remains. There’s nothing left to punish, for I paid the price through My death.” The devil’s greatest weapon against us is our sins. Then, when Jesus died on our behalf, the devil was being made powerless, for he could no longer accuse us of anything. No wonder Colossians 2:13-15 says, “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; He has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” On the cross, what was promised was fulfilled – Satan struck His heel, but Jesus crushed his head.
Of course, the most amazing part about the gospel is that this wasn’t the end of the story – it also tells us that death could not hold Him down. Jesus Christ conquered the grave and rose again so that we may have life and life to the full. And because of what Jesus did on the cross, everything that has been distorted is now restored in Him. He made it possible for us to be the people that we were created to be.
Friends, are you feeling unworthy, filthy, and defiled because of your sins? Are you weighed down by the effects of sin today? Are you fearful of death? If so, let this promise remind you that Christ has crushed Satan, covered your sin, and conquered death on your behalf. This is why the message of Christianity isn’t “try harder to be a better person” – but rather “look to Jesus for rescue.” Friends, you cannot do it yourself – but He has made a way for you. All you need to do is receive Him. Then, if you’re not a Christian, I invite you to stop making coverings with fig leaves but take the covering that Jesus offers you. In other words, stop trusting in the created things that will always disappoint you and turn to the Creator, for He alone can satisfy your longing souls.
Now, if you’re already a Christian, take this message and proclaim to the world that the Redeemer has finally come. He’s the only hope for the lost. He’s the only hope for your family and friends. Let them know that this hope has come.
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, the story of humanity’s fall reveals the profound impact of sin as it destroys everything that God intended to be good. But there’s still a glimpse of hope for God’s people, for Christ has been sent to crush Satan’s power and restore what was broken. Then, let’s cling to Christ today, for He alone is mighty to save.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) In what areas of your life do you find yourself shifting blame or resisting responsibility? How does the gospel empower us to confront and repent of our sins?
2) What are the implications of God cursing the serpent, Eve, and Adam? How do these curses reflect the consequences of sin in our lives today?
3) How does Genesis 3:15 serve as the first announcement of the gospel? In what ways do we see the promise of Genesis 3:15 fulfilled in Jesus Christ?