Our Tuesday studies are looking at the book of Genesis from around a hypothetical hearth in the home of an Israelite family in Egypt, during the time of the exodus and ensuing years. What would those Israelites have known about sin, at least its origin?
An outline of the biblical text:
3:1-7 – The sin: The serpent was “crafty” or “clever.” Since the serpent was created, he see all hints of “dualism” ruled out. Whatever type of serpent this was, he was created by God. He is not a god. Some ancient people saw serpents as being gods of fertility. Not in biblical theology. The serpent attacks Eve’s faith by planting doubts in her mind about God’s nature. “The deceptive nature of the serpent’s appeal lay in its interpretation of godliness which it equated with defiance of God’s will, with power, rather than with strength of character” (Sarna, Genesis, 27). Kidner writes that the serpent’s tone “is both disturbing and flattering; it smuggles in the assumption that God’s word is subject to our judgment” (72).
3:8-13 – The discovery of the sin.
3:14-19 – The curses: The serpent was cursed (ָused 55 times in the OT, 8 times in Genesis) and would eat dust. Enmity would separate him from the seed of woman. The word “seed” is obscured in many modern translations, translated as “descendant,” but it is a key word in Genesis, used 59 times. The woman was to experience multiplied pain in childbirth and her desire would be for her husband. He would rule over her.
3:20-24 – The expulsion: The woman received her name – Eve, the “mother of all the living.” Eve, obviously, is not goddess. There is no female counterpart to Jehovah God. But her essence is as a “mother.”
God made garments of skin for the two and clothed them. We do not know if He made these garments out of nothing or if He killed an animal and took its skin (my presumption). In which case, it perhaps was a daily reminder that their innocence (2:25; 3:7) was gone. If it did involve the killing of an animal, it was a daily reminder of their disobedience.
Man came, then, to know good and evil. At first, God “knows”; now man “knows.” Then, lest he eat from the tree of life and live forever, the Lord God sent out the man (vs 23). He “drove out” the man, based on vs 24. God set a cherubim to guard the forbidden tree.
Lessons from “The Entrance of Sin” for the nation of Israel:
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“Serpents” will play a role in the nation of Israel. Many ancient people believed the snake had divine qualities. Thus, it was imbued with powers of health, fertility, immortality, etc. (cf Num 21:9). Here, the serpent was made by God. Additionally, the serpent does not speak in the presence of God, “a sure sign of its impotence.” Aaron’s “snake / rod” was challenged by Pharaoh’s magicians’ – Exo 4:3; 7:15.
The venomous snakes would bite and kill Israel at Kadesh Barnea – Num 21:6 & 9. Israel would not likely recognize this serpent as being the embodiment of Satan. That would require further revelation from God.
“To hide” is not found in the Pentateuch, but the “face of the Jehovah” is: Exo 33:14f; Num 6:25-26; Deut 4:37. God “turning” His face or “hiding” His face was an act of judgment: Lev 17:10; 20:3, 5, 6; 26:17; Deut 31:17; 32:20.
Those who disobeyed God’s commandments would be cursed: Deut 27:15-26; 28:16-19; 30:15-19. Balaam (Num 22-24) will learn that only God can curse Israel.
Israelite men would take the leadership in their home, based on 3:16. Children are in the same moral condition (Deut 1:39) as Adam and Eve before the sin, that is, a state of innocence. God will “drive out” the Canaanites: Exo 34:11; 23:28-31; Deut 33:27. What value would the cherubim and flaming sword have for future Israelites? Cherubim were located on the ark of the covenant. The Genesis imagery of cherubim would inspire a deep sense of awe and trepidation in the heart of the Israelite: Exo 25:18-20, 22; 26:1, 31; 36:8, 35; 37:7-9.
Lessons for the present generation:
Satan (who the serpent is: Rev 12:9) is “crafty.” He is the deceiver (2 Cor 11:3). We are not usually deceived by people we do not know nor like! The NT revelation identifies Christ as the Seed of woman: Gal 4:4. The serpent bruised Jesus’ heel, putting Him on the cross: 1 Cor. 2:8. Jesus, the seed of woman, fatally bruised the serpent, rising from the dead: 1 Cor 15:56-57. Sin expels the sinner from the presence of God. The cherubim and flaming sword suggest as much. There is only One who can get past the flaming sword: The holy Child, Jesus Christ (Acts 3:14; Heb 10:19-22).
Paul Holland
