8/29/10 Genesis 3:14-24

August 29, 2010 Speaker: Matt Reed Series: Protoevangelium

Passage: Genesis 3:14–24

  1. Recap
    1. God placed man and woman in the garden; they were given ample permission to enjoy a variety of plants; only one prohibition
    2. The serpent tempted the woman (Adam seems to be silently next to her); they eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil
    3. Disobedience enters the picture; there is an innocent dependence on God that is lost; effects are seen immediately as they hide from God and then do the blame game
  1. The Order
    1. Sin of man, sin of woman, sin of serpent; judgment on serpent, then woman, then man—a chiastic structure
  1. The Serpent’s Curse (vv. 14-15)
    1. Crawling on belly and Eating dust = Expressions of humiliation and subjugation
    2. V. 15 depicts a continual unresolved conflict between humans and representatives of evil
    3. A hint of promise?
      1. V.15b is often called Protoevangelium (the first good news)
      2. Promise that some unspecified member of the human race will lash out at serpent’s ‘offspring’
      3. Possible foreshadow of Jesus who defeats sin’s curse on the cross
  1. The Judgment on the Woman
    1. Pain in childbearing
      1. Note: she is not to become barren; there is mercy in the judgment
    2. Strife in the husband wife relationship
      1. Break in the relationship of equality; sinful husband will seek to be a tyrant
  1. Judgment on the Man
    1. The work that man was designed to do will now be difficult and frustrating
    2. Contrast that image compared to tending the garden
  1. Expulsion from the Garden
    1. Passive punishment: when man disobeyed God, God removed the blessing of the garden; work outside the garden (where God was present) is toilsome
    2. Lost access to the tree of life—death becomes inevitable
  1. A New Hope
    1. Woman is now named Eve—sounds like Hebrew verb ‘to live’
      1. Though death has now entered the picture, there is hope the human race will live on
    2. New clothing—way of showing God is still looking out for them; they do not leave the garden vulnerable

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