Genesis Chapter 3

GENESIS 

CHAPTER 

3

1. Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman "Did God say, 'You shall not eat from any tree in the garden?"

(Genesis chapter 3 verse 1)

In chapter three of the book of Genesis we are introduced with a new element. This is the reality of evil in us and around us. Before the first two chapters we are given no indications of the presence of evil, therefore throughout these first two chapters something had happened that opened the door for evil to have a presence on earth.

Once evil entered it started its role of envy against humanity. For some reason the presence of evil that we know as being the devil wanted to tempt the first humans in order to get them into some form of trouble.  

According to the first verse of the book of Genesis, the evil one is very intelligent indeed. It seems that the evil one thrives on people who lack the necessary knowledge. In the case of the woman she had not directly received instructions from God therefore this means that she might have had the opportunity of being in doubt and would be easily persuaded. On the other hand the man would not have been an easy target for he had received the original instructions.

Therefore when confronted or tempted by non-believers it is necessary for us to be prepared because these people may be pawns in the hand of the evil one in order to try us by testing our faith. Not having the required knowledge is not an excuse because information about God has been flowing constantly to us through the Roman Catholic Church since its beginning. Therefore the argument 'Ad ignoratium' that of knot knowing is not valid anymore.

2. The  woman said to the serpent, "We may eat out 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 middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die."


(Genesis chapter 3 verses 2 and 3)


It seems that in her bout of wits with the forces of evil, that she should never have engaged in the female scored her first point by answering the truth to the attempted trial to tempt her into disobeying the will of God.


4. But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not 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."

(Genesis chapter 3 verses 4 and 5)


The devil plays a dirty trick on the woman by playing on the meaning of the word 'die'. The devil was aware of what the woman was understanding by this term. The woman had only understood material death and not the death of the soul and its punishment to eternal hell.


On the other hand the Devil was saying half truth, especially when considering that the first humans had a limited perception of their reality once their focus had been focused on God. This is proved by the fact that the two humans were not even aware of their state of nakedness.


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, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.


(Genesis chapter 3 verse 6)


For some reason the woman as by nature was influenced by the beauty of the tree and its produce, however the nature of the fruit is still rather doubtful because as far as I am aware apples or fruit in general do not have the capacity to make one more wise. On the contrary I would go for the option that the woman read a book on psychology focused on self-awareness, became aware of her nakedness and since, on eating she observed that she remained physically alive, she had enough proof in her possession to convince her that the Devil was not lying. Moreover as in human nature, the woman was eager to share this important discovery with her husband who believed her and willfully chose to disobey the will of God and obey that of his wife.


This is a replica of what happens in everyday life. By means of the Roman Catholic Church God tells us all the truth that we need, however as humans we are still not satisfied and refer to other sources such as philosophy, psychology etc in order to discover what they perceive as being the truth. As humans we prefer not to drink from the pure fountain of God and drink from the muddy waters of the world.


7. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

(Genesis chapter 3 verse 7)


When reflecting on verse seven I become more convinced that the product that the first humans consumed was knowledge however I could always be wrong. What convinces me is the fact, that all of a sudden the human's started catering for themselves and made clothes for themselves.


On the other hand their self-awareness made them experience fear for the first time in their lives since the time of their creation.


8. They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

(Genesis chapter 3 verse 8)


On observing the behaviour of the first humans we can note that sin breeds fear in us, so much that we are scared and seek shelter or a hiding place, with the awareness that the colour of their clothes would serve as camouflage among the foliage of the trees.


9. But the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?"

(Genesis chapter 3 verse 9)



On reflecting on this verse we must not be misled by the impression that God did not know where the first humans were hiding. God knows whats going on in the world at all times at all places. The reason why God asked the fatal question was that of stimulating the couple to admit their guilt that would lead to their repentance.


10. He said, " I heard the sound of you in the garden. and I was afraid, because I was naked: and I hid myself."

(Genesis chapter 3 verse 10)


Once again the author of the book of Genesis attributes human qualities to God whose footsteps are heard in the garden. This is strange when considering that the Spirit of God has no feet. Moreover I also observe that when we are put under the stress of our sins we become totally irrational. This is proved by the fact that the awareness of being naked has no connection with fear, unless any other issue such as disobedience is the underlying agenda.


11. He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?"


God shines the light of truth which penetrates the darkness of our sins and gently probes at our conscience so that the truth will be revealed. On observing how God deals with us we can observe that although God had all the right to act in a judgmental  way, He did not do so.


12. The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate."

(Genesis chapter 3 verse 12)


In contrast to God the attitude of the first human who had no right to pass judgement placed the blame on God for having had given the woman to him in the first place. It seems that as humans we only consider the presence of God when we are angry or in trouble so that we have a scapegoat on which to place the blame and vent our anger.

The first human apart from accusing God for having been given the woman that led to his downfall admitted that he had obeyed the woman and disobeyed the will of God. However the role of the devil is not yet exposed.


13. Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done? " The woman said, "The serpent tricked me, and I ate."

(Genesis chapter 3 verse 13)


As usually happens the blaming game is at play and at long last the culprit is exposed. Light penetrates the evil darkness and evil is exposed to the judgment of God. When we go for confession we do the same thing. In the presence of the priest we expose our sins and the role of the devil who causes us to commit one sin after another which at heart has the issue of disobeying the will of God in some way or another.


14. The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this cursed are you among all animals and among all wild creatures; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.

(Genesis chapter 3 verse 14)


God exercises His justice by imposing the adequate punishment in accordance to the crime committed by the source of all evil. The serpent was condemned to move on his belly in dishonour for all his life and eat of the dust of the earth a residue trampled on by everyone.


15.  I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel."

(Genesis chapter 3 verse 15)


The second part of the evil one's condemnation was a further condemnation by the human race at large and her descendants meaning all of us. Moreover the biblical author guided by the Holy Spirit of God is declaring an important prophecy. This is the battle between the Virgin Mary the Mother of God or Jesus and even between Jesus and the Devil. There are some who compare the woman to the Roman Catholic Church, whom the Devil will attempt to do harm and injure. It seems that the Devil will succeed in harming the woman or the Roman Catholic Church by striking the 'heel' however the offspring meaning God almighty shall inflict more severe damage by striking the head of the evil one.

During our times (2013) we are witnessing the damage that is being caused by the devil both inside the Roman Catholic Church and even beyond it in the world at large, however what is encouraging is that God at a time desired by His infinite wisdom will deal the fatal blow that will cause the end of the existence of evil and the evil one once and for all.


16. To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you."

(Genesis chapter 3 verse 16)


In relation to the woman who did not go off free of judgement God declared an increase of pain during the time of labour. However science in defying the will of God maybe not intentionally has developed the epidural injection in order to reduce the pain experienced during childbirth. However it one pain has been greatly reduced the pain and hardships of bringing up children still remains for both mother and father, however the mother due to her nature and stronger attachment to the offspring as child-bearer may tend to experience the hardships of her children in a more intimate way when compared to the father or husband.


17. And to the man he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree about which I commanded you 'You shall not eat of it, cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life: 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust and to dust you shall return.


(Genesis chapter 3 verses 17 to 19) 


God's last judgement was the downfall of humanity. This is the introduction of physical death and a life of work stress that will be life long. Moreover nature would now cease to produce freely of its produce because it was commanded not to be as fertile and fruitful as before. This meant an increase of labour for humanity thus making the task more difficult to accomplish.

However on reflecting the lesson that we can learn from the downfall of our forefathers of which we have inherited original sin is that of making it a personal goal of learning how to listen to the voice of God and learn to obey His will over that of the world which many times goes against the will of God.


20. The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

(Genesis chapter 3 verse 20)


Verse twenty confirms how much God's command was fulfilled. The man owned his wife so much that he gave her a name as he had done to all the animals that God had created. By giving a name to something it becomes a personal possession as in the case when we are given a puppy or a kitten as a pet. There first thing we do in order to claim it as our own is give it a name. On the other hand our names as in the case of Eve has a particular meaning especially if we stop and ponder on its real meaning and connotation. On reflecting Eve became the mother of all the living, however in truth she also became the mother of all the dead, because through disobedience all nature fell under the curse of original sin thus making all nature conditioned by a sinful nature that compels us to a life of sin.


21. And the LORD God made garments of skins for the man and for his wife, and clothed them.

(Genesis chapter 3 verse 21) 


Although the first humans sinned against God, the latter still showed His loving kindness towards humanity. As a parent God was aware that at some point in time the first humans, who as humans were by nature inclined to sin, would end up putting their foot in it. However, although the first humans had disrupted God's plan for humans, God had already embarked on plan 'B' in order to bring salvation for all humans in order to compensate for the sin of humanity.


22. Then the LORD God said, "See, man the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"

(Genesis chapter 3 verse 22)


Now that the first humans had become agents of disobedience they were a threat to order, peace and stability in that region created by God who made it perfect. The first humans were now a blemish that spoils the beauty of the perfect creation of God. God was not ready to take more risks, because the first humans were very close to becoming Gods. Like God they had the capacity to think and discern good from evil and even make decisions. Therefore as a parent God had to take a difficult decision.


23. therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken.

(Genesis chapter 3 verse 23)


In order to help the first humans grow in their maturity, the first humans had to face the consequences of their sinful actions and so God decided to expel the humans from their haven or place that had been a birthplace and home for them to go and venture in the world. When we disobey rightfully so we have to face the consequences of our sins for either a long or short term.



24. He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life. 

(Genesis chapter 3 verse 24)


It seems that God experienced resistance from the first humans. This is brought out by the fact that God is said to have driven with force the first humans from the garden of Eden. I can only imagine the feelings of fear and reluctance to leave the security of their birthplace to go and venture int the unknown. As for God He erected a firewall to protect the tree of life by being further damaged by the humans disobedience. The only means of granting us access to our heavenly home and convince God to switch of his firewall would be a great act of obedience that would be enough to compensate for the great act of disobedience committed by the first humans.



I would like to end this chapter with the following prayer:-



Oh God our loving father please protect us from evil that is in us and beyond us. Protect us with your loving kindness and love and with the Holy blood that you shed in your passion for our salvation. 

Amen