As we set out to lay down our 12 Stones of the statues and testimonies of God, we do so in the context of the grand narrative of God; Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Consummation. We looked at the first movement, Creation, in three parts, Creator God, Creation Out-of-Nothing, and Creation in the Image of God.
This week we begin the ominous second movement of our grand story, The Fall. We will do so by focusing on the context and events leading up to the Fall. I believe this is the most compelling part of this story because its content is simple, yet profound.
I. The Garden
Let us look together toward the shores of the Persian Gulf, to the mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers where God planted a garden in Eden. Out of that garden sprang up every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food. In the middle of the garden was the Tree of Life, and the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil. God put the man, whom He had formed, in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
II. Two Sermons
God is a preacher. The world began with a sermon. God created the world through speaking.
Here in the Garden, we see that two sermons were preached. For the first time there is a message in opposition to the message of God. There is the Message of the Law given by God to Adam in Genesis 2 and the Message of the Lie given by Satan to Eve in Genesis 3, but only one message was believed.
A. The Law - Genesis 2:16-17 says, “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 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.’"
1. You may surely eat; God’s command generously permitted man to eat from every tree of the garden. Nothing God had made was withheld from Adam, even the Tree of Life seems to be in play here. Based on Genesis 3:22-23; the Tree of Life was a source of sustenance for eternal, physical life and a way to confirm a person in their moral condition.
Access to this tree was banned after the Fall. However, in the end, access to the fruit of this tree is granted to those who conquer in Christian spiritual warfare, as it says in Revelation 2:7, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.”
It reappears in the New Jerusalem, watered by the living water of God’s throne, to be a constant source of nourishment and healing to those whose names appear in the Lamb’s Book of Life. "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." (Rev. 22:1-2)
The Tree of Life, available to Adam and Eve in the Garden, stands here as a reminder of God’s complete and abundant provision for us and as a picture of eternal life in Scripture, from the second chapter to the very last.
2. You shall not eat; God’s command clearly prohibits them from eating the fruit of only one tree, the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil. If the Tree of Life represents eternal life, what does the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil represent?
It most likely represents moral experience. By either their obedience or disobedience, Adam and Eve would come to know good and evil by experience. Experience gained by the fear of the Lord is wisdom, according to Proverbs 1:7, while that gained by disobedience is slavery.
God’s law is never restrictive, but always protective. God was not trying to limit humanity in the garden. He was not holding back. He was trying to preserve what He had made and protect it.
As parents, our rules or authority should always seek to be protective, never restrictive.
A Yard fence is a protective boundary that keeps danger out and serves as a safe perimeter in which our children can play in freedom. It is not a restrictive boundary designed to keep them in, which would only provoke the desire to venture out of the fence. We are not to provoke rebellion in them.
Remember, God made us in His image, but He did not make us God. Therefore, we are perfectly made, but not made perfect. God knew that as soon as He created a being lesser than Himself, we had the potential to fall short of His glory, the potential for evil.
So, He placed the Tree of the Knowledge in the garden as a way for us to learn obedience and gain moral experience of good. So that we might not gain experience of evil and be separated from Him. That is what we should be striving for as parents, that our children learn obedience and gain moral experience of good.
3. You shall surely die; Now this is in essence, coupled with the instructions in 1:28-30, a covenant between God and Man. As with any covenant, there are blessings associated with keeping the covenant, and consequences associated with breaking the covenant. Here, the blessing is eternal life, the consequence is sure death.
This death is not punishment, but instructive or corrective. Just as God’s law is never restrictive, but always protective, His discipline is never punitive, but always corrective or instructive. How can death as a consequence not be punitive? Good question.
Primarily because consequences are not punitive. You are not being punished when you reap the consequences of your behavior or choices. When you choose an action, and you know there are consequences that come with that action, then the consequences are not punishment, they can only serve to deter you from the action or to prevent you from repeating the action.
That is what Death is here. God says, “for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” This implies a fixed certainty, not an immediate absolute. God is saying that on the day that you eat of it, the consequences of death become sure for you.
As parents, our discipline should always seek to be corrective or instructive, never punitive. We must find ways to demonstrate the reality of life, that actions and behaviors have consequences. Good behavior has positive consequences and evil behavior has negative consequences. We create and use these consequences to instruct our children about what honors God and to correct them when they fall short. In that, we can show mercy, grace and forgiveness. That is motivated by love. Punitive discipline, or punishment, leaves no room for the character of God and is motivated by pride, a desire to hurt and a warped sense of justice.
So, while the death is sure, it is not necessarily immediate. We will look more at that in two weeks when look more closely at the consequences of sin. It is important now only because it allows us to see the consequence as part of a bigger picture that is instructive, “do not eat” and corrective “you will die.”
What kind of death does this promise, is it physical, spiritual or both? There is no clear indication in the language, so the only way to find out is to continue with the story.
B. The Lie - Genesis 3:1-5 says, "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 shall not eat of any tree in the garden?'" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 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.'" But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.""
We see that Satan the serpent showed up also to preach. Satan’s deception was in preaching a false gospel, twisting God’s word and even boldly declaring that God’s sermon was a lie. Our first parents had to choose which sermon they would believe.
Now the serpent is suddenly introduced without much detail or explanation. He is only said to be one of the beast of the field, but the initial introduction is full of ambiguity. Though he will alter be revealed as the enemy of God, here we are only given an indication of potential danger in that it is the craftiest of the beast. However, the Hebrew term, ‘arum does not carry the negative moral connotations that are communicated by the English words “crafty” or “cunning.”
So, to the original hearer and to Hebrew readers, the serpent’s initial question may have sounded quite innocent, but to the discerning ear who hears him deliberately misquote the command of God.
1. You shall not eat; The serpent does not make a declarative statement here, but as false teachers are apt to do, he only asked a question that brings the word of God into question. “Did God actually say?” If ever we hear this question asked our ears should perk to attention and we should rush back in our minds to that day in the garden.
Our serpentine preacher proceeds to twist the words of God. Does he simply misunderstand? The fact that he does not use the personal name Yahweh, or LORD, but only the generic 'elohiym, or God; may be a clue that he is motivated more by deception than misunderstanding.
Then, notice the subtlety of the lie. Instead of God’s generous permission to eat of every tree but one, including the Tree of Life, the serpent makes the protective law, restrictive, “you shall not eat of any tree in the garden.”
Eve’s response should have been a resounding “NO!” “God did not actually say that.”
Instead she tries to negotiate with the terrorist, win the deceiver, debate with the father of lies.
She tries to remain faithful to the instruction given, but it was second hand information to her and she fails to mention that the tree in the midst is clearly identified as the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil. Surely she does not want to be too technical with her confused friend or to offend him in any way. Yet, then she adds, for emphasis I suppose, “neither shall you touch it, lest you die.” Maybe that is the way Adam communicated the command to Eve.
Maybe it reflects that the woman views God’s instructions as open to human modification, Eve was a progressive woman!
2. You will not surely die; The serpent does not only directly contradict what God has said, but goes on to present what God has prohibited as something to be desired. This is exactly how God characterizes the worst kind of evil in Isaiah 5:20, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”
“You will surely die,” the truth of God,
“Your eyes will be opened, you will be like God,” exchanged for a lie.
Romans 1, concludes this way, “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”
It may be said that the serpent was right when he said they will not surely die, because they do not die. But, remember, we have already said that this implies a fixed certainty, not an immediate absolute. God is saying that on the day that you eat of it, the consequences of death become sure for you. So, while the death is sure, it is not necessarily immediate. Adam lived to be 930 years old!
While Adam and Eve do not cease to exist physically, they are expelled from the garden to bear the mark of wage of sin, and are cut off from the source of life and the tree of life. Out of the sanctuary of Eden, they are in the realm of the dead. They are expelled from God’s presence. And even after 903 years Adam does die.
3. Your eyes will be open; There eyes were opened, as we will see in verse 7. There eyes were opened, but all they saw was that they were naked. Their eyes were opened only to shame. As a result, their sense of guilt makes them afraid of God and slaves to evil.
4. You will be like God; God acknowledges in verse 22 that “the man has become like us in knowing good and evil.” Unlike all the rest of creation, who knows only good or evil, Man now knows both by experience. The funny, but tragic, thing is that Adam and Eve, unlike the serpent, had been made in the image of God. They are already like Him in the most significant ways. They have been given authority over the beast of the field, yet they betray the trust God has placed in them by obeying the serpent. Again, we will look at this in detail in when look at the consequences of sin, but again note the subtlety of the lie. Instead of God’s loving, instructive and corrective consequences for sin, the serpent’s half-truths rightly portray a punishment that does not exist.
III. The Loss of the Image of God
Tragically, they believed the serpent’s sermon over that of their own creator, and sin, death and chaos have ensued ever since. Most importantly, the serpent has continued to preach. Sometimes his message is very subtle and other times widely publicized.
The exchange of the truth of God for a lie . . .
The image of God for an image of an image . . .
One might even wonder whether man could still be thought to be like God. W see as quickly as Genesis 9:6 where God tells Noah that, "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image,” that even though people are sinful, there is still enough likeness of God in them that murder is still an attack on the part of creation that most resembles God and is likened to an attack on God Himself. The New Testament gives confirmation that Man is still in God’s image, when James 3:9 says that with the tongue, “we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.”
However, as a result of our sin we are not as fully like God as we were before. Our moral purity has been lost and our sinful character certainly does not reflect God’s holiness. Our will is in rebellion to the will of God. Our intellect is darkened by falsehood and misunderstanding, and our speech no longer glorifies God. Our emotions are corrupted by pride and our relationships governed by selfishness rather than love. Though man is still in the image of God, in every aspect some part of that image distorted or lost. After the Fall, we are still in God’s image - we are still like Him and represent Him - but the image is distorted by the imperfections of man that we have inherited from Adam, and we are less like Him than we were created to be. We fall short of His glory!
So, as our children walk in the image of our image, we must be sure that they walk in the image of God; that we have been restored by the work of Christ and are becoming more and more like Christ, progressively recovering more of the image of God so that what they see in us is the image of the living God, not some cheap, substitute image that is distorted and diluted and causes them to exchange the truth of God for a lie. We must believe the message of truth from God and reject the message of the lie from Satan. We must teach our children the message of truth and how to discern and reject the message of the lie.
Take These Stones Home
I. The Garden: Genesis 2:8-15
Look on a map with your children and help them find the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
Based on the information in the passage, ask them to try and figure out exactly where the Garden of Eden may have been.
II. Two Sermons
Read the two passages (Genesis 2:16-17 & Genesis 3:1-5).
Talk with them about the difference between what God says and what the serpent says.
With older children you may ask them to compare and contrast the two statements.
Talk with your children about the Tree of Life and how it represents God abundant provision.
Ask them to draw a picture of the Tree of Life.
Talk with your children about how God's law is always protective and not restrictive.
Ask them to discuss some of your rules at home that they think are restrictive.
Try to either explain how those rules are protective, or ask for forgiveness.
Share with them how the consequences for their behavior are meant to instruct or correct them.
Talk with them about how every attitude, action and behavior has a positive or negative consequence.
Help them understand your discipline by explaining the difference between your motivation to instruct or correct and the motivation to punish.
Be ready for a surprising conversation.
III. The Loss of the Image of God
Talk to your children about their relationship with God.
Be sure they understand that while parents in the world want obedient, successful kids, your ultimate goal is for them to be captivated by Jesus.
Read this quote from ApParent Privilege with your children.
"In the efforts of providing for our children so that "they will have it better off than we did," have we asked what "better" is?
Is "better" a nicer car, entrance into a more prestigious university, a higher-paying job, more comfort, less suffering?
What if "better off" meant a better hunger and thirst for righteousness? What about a better prayer life that shows great dependency on the Creator of our children’s souls?
What about a child who better understands the biblical principles that guide our lives? What about a better compassion for a world that does not know Christ as Savior and Lord?
That is the kind of better I hope for." (pages 72-73).
Pray with them that your family might walk in the image of God, be restored by the work of Christ and become more like Christ.
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