Genesis 3:1-24
"The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man...." Genesis 2:8. The man was Adam, and God made a woman for him. Her name was Eve. Adam was commanded by God, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Genesis 2:16, 17.
A cunning serpent was also in the garden of Eden. This snake of old is called the Devil and Satan. Revelation 12:9. He beguiled Eve through his craftiness. Just how did he do that? First, he cast doubt on the Word of God, asking, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?'" At the same time he was questioning the goodness of God. Second, he denied the Word of God, saying, "You will not surely die." Third, Satan impugned the motive of God behind His command by declaring, "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God...." Genesis 3:1-5. Jesus called him "a liar and the father of it." John 8:44.
Eve was deceived. Her sin began with a look. "The woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes." Next desire came to the front, when she saw the tree as "desirable to make one wise." Finally, "she took of its fruit and ate." She indulged. James put it this way: "But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death." James 1:14, 15. Sin often involves others. In this case "she also gave to her husband with her, and he ate." Genesis 3:6.
Sin is not without its consequences. To the subtle serpent God said, "Because you have done this, you are cursed...." Genesis 3:14. To the woman the Lord said, "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." Genesis 3:16. Adam was told, "Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life...." See Genesis 3:17-19.
There was more. "The Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man...." Genesis 3:23, 24. They ended up out of Eden.
Genesis 3 records what is often called "the fall of man." When Adam fell, mankind fell with him. "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned---" Romans 5:12.
But in the midst of this dark scene we find hope in Genesis 3:15, where the Lord says to the serpent, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel." The seed of the woman is our Lord Jesus Christ. The bruising of his heel at Calvary was not the end. He rose again from the dead. But this Jesus bruised the serpent's head. "Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil." Hebrews 2:14. The final word is this: "The devil...was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone...." Revelation 20:10.
Thank God for the Savior!
Almighty God, You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness. Thank You for the victory that is ours through Your Son, our Savior. Continue to deliver us from evil, we pray. In Jesus' name. Amen!