What Happened to the Creation of God? Part 2
Genesis 3: Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which Yahweh God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘[a]You shall not eat from [b]any tree of the garden’?”2 And the woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God said, ‘You shall not eat from it, and you shall not touch it, lest you die.’”4 And the serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!5 For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”6 Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, so she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
As I said last time, six times in the creation story God looks over what He has made and declares that it was good.
And when He has finished creation on the sixth day, His crowning creation is humankind with their classification as “the image of God,” their position as caretakers of the animals and the earth, and the basic relationship between man and woman being one of cooperation, oneness and love. And it is then that He looked at the whole diorama and called it “very good.” And it was.
But the title of my message today is “What Happened to the Creation of God?”
The world is no longer “very good.” Mankind can be more of an abuser rather than a caretaker over the earth. The relationship between man and woman is often a contest for dominance rather than a partnership of love. So, what happened? That’s a difficult question to answer if we look for answers only in the fallen world that we live in. We only read about the perfection of God’s original creation. We can only imagine the Garden of Eden.
“Had Adam and Eve retained their original state, they never would have died. But Eve and then Adam yielded to the serpent's temptation, and death came into the world. Before that moment, they were in a beautiful, pristine state. They existed on a level far above the present condition of the human race. It is difficult to imagine what man was like then by viewing him as he is now. It would require something like trying to reconstruct the original version of an aircraft from its wreckage. If we knew nothing of flying, we would hardly suspect that it had once soared above the earth. The material would be the same; the capability of flight, however, would be lost.”
David Breese, Living For Eternity, Moody Press, 1988, p. 99.
So, “What Happened to the Creation of God?”
Well today we are going to continue answering that question from the Bible. The short answer to the question “What Happened to the Creation of God?” involves five things that we’ll explore. Last time we unfolded two of them. 1. The Garden. and 2. The Law. Today we consider 3. The Serpent. 4. The Fall. 5. The Curse. These are five steps that mankind took on the path away from God and His garden. We are going to unfold this story as it is told in Genesis chapter two.
Prayer
“What Happened to the Creation of God?” Last week we started answering this question by remembering what mankind left behind; the Garden. We already summarized that all of God’s creation was “very good.” But God did more than simply create man and set him down on the wilderness of the earth. He placed man and woman in a garden. We described the circumstances of the garden of Eden last week.
I. The Garden.
Genesis 2: 8 And Yahweh God planted a garden in Eden, toward the east; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground Yahweh God caused to grow every tree that is desirable in appearance and good for food;
A. God created a paradise within the paradise of His created world.
B. God created two special trees.
9 And out of the ground Yahweh God caused to grow every tree that is desirable in appearance and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Thus, Adam and Eve were given a choice. Eat from the tree of life and you receive life, disobey God, and eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and receive death.
C. God gave humankind an occupation.
Not only did God give mankind dominion over the earth and the animals, he gave them a job.
15 Then Yahweh God took the man and [n]set him in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.
D. God gave man a companion and a future family, clan, tribe…
18 Then Yahweh God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper [o]suitable for him.”
He didn’t leave man or woman alone. He gave them each other, and the capacity to build a family. God was providing everything needed. Now, that was the summary of the garden. Next, we turned to another part of the answer to our question; What happened to God’s creation? The next step was…
II. The Law.
15 Then Yahweh God took the man and [n]set him in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. 16 And Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may surely eat; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat from it; for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”
This is the rule that Adam and Eve broke. He actually gave them six rules.
A. “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth”
B. “fill the earth and subdue it” “have dominion over the earth”
C. 29 Then God said, “Behold, I have given to you every plant yielding seed that is on the [ak]surface of all the earth, and every tree [al]which has the fruit of the tree yielding seed; it shall be food for you;
D. Remember the seventh day.
2 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. 2 And [a]on the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created [b]in making it.
E. “cultivate and keep the garden”
15 Then Yahweh God took the man and [n]set him in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.
F. “leave father and mother and cleave to your wife.”
22 And Yahweh God [t]fashioned the rib, which He had taken from the man, into a woman, and He brought her to the man.23 Then the man said, “This one finally is bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called [u]Woman, Because this one was taken out of [v]Man.” 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother, and cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.
G. “you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
So, here’s the sum of this commandment. There was a tree in the middle of the garden that God told Adam and Eve not to eat from. But what is the knowledge of good and evil?
The best understanding that I can arrive at is summarized well by a certain Jewish tradition.
Wikipedia
In Jewish tradition, the Tree of Knowledge and the eating of its fruit represents the beginning of the mixture of good and evil together. Before that time, the two were separate, and evil had only a nebulous existence in potential. While free choice did exist before eating the fruit, evil existed as an entity separate from the human psyche, and it was not in human nature to desire it. Eating and internalizing the forbidden fruit changed this, and thus was born the yetzer hara, the evil inclination.[11][12]
Now, let me bring all that together. What it means is that before Adam and Eve ate the tree, they didn’t have the knowledge of good and evil. They had no evil inclinations. We really don’t know what this looks like.
They don’t an evil inclination. They don’t become loud, angry, and violent because they don’t even think of that as an option. They don’t have a mean bone in their bodies. They don’t look at each other with judgment, or at themselves with shame, because those thoughts are not even there to access.
That is what “the knowledge of good and evil” was. And they didn’t have it until they ate of the tree.
Here’s an illustration to try and help you understand. How would you describe something that is dry? It is the absence of moisture or wetness. But what if you had never experienced wetness? How would you explain dry? You couldn’t. You wouldn’t even understand the question.
That was the state of Adam and Eve in the Garden, before eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Why is this important? Because now we have a sinful nature. And because sin separates us from God. The wages of sin is death. Spiritual and eternal separation from God in a place called Hell. Sin is the disease. But you can’t be cured of the disease until you know what the disease is. God offers the cure.
But if Adam and Eve had no evil inclination, why did they choose to do evil?
The next step was to listen to someone who contradicted God.
III. The Serpent.
Let’s read.
3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which Yahweh God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘[a]You shall not eat from [b]any tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God said, ‘You shall not eat from it, and you shall not touch it, lest you die.’” 4 And the serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5 For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
In sum, the serpent tempts Eve to eat of the tree that God told her and Adam not to eat. They had no evil inclination, but the serpent introduces the thoughts of doubt and disobedience to God.
Now, that’s pretty straight forward. But this passage raises a number of questions. What about the serpent? Obviously, we are talking about a snake here. So how are we calling a snake, “more crafty” than any beast of the field? And how is this snake speaking to the woman? And why is this snake speaking words that contradict what God told Adam and Eve? Is this a real snake? Is this story a fable or myth?
Well, if we look at the rest of Scripture we can arrive at an answer. First off, this has to be a real snake. Later God curses the serpent by condemning him to crawl on his belly. So, it’s a real snake. Every other place the serpent is mentioned in the Bible, it’s talking about a snake. Well then, how did it talk, and have conversation with the woman? Well, this is what Scripture teaches.
A. The Serpent was a snake indwelt by Satan. (crafty/subtle)
Who is Satan?
Satan used an animal as a disguise in order to tempt Eve to sin. And from this point forward, one of the titles we give Satan is “the serpent.”
Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
The Bible has a lot to say about Satan, but for now, we can learn a lot just by hearing some of the names he is called.
He is first called Satan in 1 Chronicles 21:1.
Then Satan stood up against Israel and incited David to number Israel.
The Hebrew word for Satan here is adversary. He’s simply the one who stands against God, and us.
He is called Lucifer in Isaiah 14:12. The word Lucifer comes from Latin. But the equivalent Hebrew word means “light bearer,” “shining one,” or “morning star.” That tells us that before he chose evil, he was a highly elevated and beautiful angel.
He is called the devil. In Greek that is “diabolos.” It means accuser, or slanderer.
1 John 3:8 The one who does sin is of the devil, because the devil sins from the beginning.
Satan as accuser reminds me of the story of Job. In the beginning of the story of Job, we are given a peek into heaven and the throne of God. In the narrative, Satan appears before God and talks to God about Job. God commends Job for his obedience. But Satan displays his nature as the accuser. Even though there is seemingly nothing to accuse Job of, he accuses him anyway. He says to God that the only reason Job obeys Him is because God has put a wall of protection around Job. Job hasn’t experienced many of the sorrows of life. He is prosperous. His family is full and healthy. He is successful and influential. And Job also has his health.
Satan accuses Job to God. He says to God, “Take all that away and he will curse You to Your face.” He is the accuser.He is called the evil one. 1 John 3:12 not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother.
He has many names, and most testify to his nature.
The Accuser. Your Adversary. Angel of the Abyss/Pit (Abaddon, Apollyon). The Antichrist. Beelzebul (The Prince/Ruler of Demons, Lord of Flies, Lord of Dung). Belial. Day Star (In Latin, Lucifer, son of Dawn). The Deceiver. The Devil. The Dragon. The Enemy. The Evil One. The Father of Lies. (Anointed Guardian Cherub). A Murderer from the Beginning. Prince of Power of the Air. A Roaring Lion. The Ruler/god of this World/Age. Satan. The Serpent. Slanderer. The Tempter. The Thief. The Wolf.
Why did he tempt the woman to sin?
We don’t know. We don’t know why he bothered with humanity. But we might be able to guess based on his origin story. Where did Satan come from?
Remember that Satan was an archangel who had been cast out of heaven.
Ezekial 28:12 “You [b]had the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. Every precious stone was your covering: The ruby, the topaz, and the diamond; The beryl, the onyx, and the jasper; The [c]lapis lazuli, the turquoise, and the emerald; And the gold, the workmanship of your [d]settings and [e]sockets, Was in you. On the day that you were created They were prepared. 14 You were the anointed cherub who [f]covers, And I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire. 15 You were blameless in your ways From the day you were created Until unrighteousness was found in you…. And you sinned; Therefore I have cast you as profane From the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O [h]covering cherub, From the midst of the stones of fire. 17 Your heart was lofty because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground;
Why was Satan cast out of heaven? Because of his pride, but more than that…
Isaiah 14: 12 How you have fallen from heaven, O [g]star of the morning, son
of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, …. 13 But
you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on
the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. 14 I
will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most
High.’
He was on a power trip. It wasn’t enough that he lived in a perfect heaven. It wasn’t enough that he was chosen to watch over the very throne of God. He wanted to sit on the throne.
So, what happened? Revelation 12 describes it poetically.
3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems.4 And his tail *swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth.
Satan convinced one-third of the angels to rebel against God and try to take His throne. He lost that battle, and he and those who followed him were cast out of heaven to the earth. He is now the devil, and they are fallen angels; demons. They all will wreak havoc on earth until that final day of judgment when they are cast for eternity into hell.
When did this happen?
Sometime between the creation of the world, and here in the garden. So, back to our question; why did he tempt Eve? The answer could be as simple as he tempted because he was angry with God and wanted to destroy anything that God created. He was angry with God for casting him out of heaven, and maybe he is more angry because God has given authority over His creation to such a weak creature as man. Or it could simply be that Satan is acting out of his nature.
John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;
And whatever God made, he wants to steal, kill, or destroy.
Now that doesn’t answer all our questions about Satan, but the central thing we need to understand is that his appearance in the Garden as the serpent, and his temptation of Eve, was a step in the pathway to the curse of God’s creation. He tempted Eve to doubt God, to disobey God. This was a clearcut choice. Because God had said that they shouldn’t eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and if they did, they would die.
They chose the word of Satan over the Word of God. Now, before we go on to the next step let me say something here about Satan’s strategy.
A. Satan’s strategy
1. Divide and conquer.
3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which Yahweh God had made. And he said to the woman,
The woman is alone. Adam isn’t around. Have you ever noticed that your temptation is greater when you are alone?
2. Question God’s Word
“Indeed, has God said, ‘[a]You shall not eat from [b]any tree of the garden’?”
This is just a question. But notice the subtlety of it. “Did God really say that?” Satan is probing a weak spot. You see, the Scripture never says that God directly told Eve about the commandment not to eat of that tree. It says that He told Adam. So, we might assume that Eve heard the command second-hand; from Adam. And so, Satan uses this weak spot to introduce doubt. “How do you know that God really said that?”
3. State that God’s law is unbearable.
“Indeed, has God said, ‘[a]You shall not eat from [b]any tree of the garden’?”
Notice that Satan asks if they are allowed to eat from any tree. He doesn’t specify the one tree that they were forbidden to eat. He says any tree. It’s as though he is saying, “How can God be so unreasonable. He won’t let you eat from any tree that you want.”
Have you ever noticed that we over-exaggerate the limits and laws placed on us? God gives us so much. We say, “But I want more.”
4. Exploit weakness
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God said, ‘You shall not eat from it, and you shall not touch it, lest you die.’”
Eve not only states the command of God but adds to it. God did not say that they weren’t to touch the fruit of that tree. Why did she say that? Maybe she came up with that on her own. Maybe Adam, when he tells her God’s command, added that she shouldn’t even touch the fruit.
Regardless of how it happened, she had added to God’s law. And adding to God’s law is as much a tool of Satan as subtracting from it is. Many people have been led down the wide path to destruction by religious legalism. Somebody sits down and makes rules for every part of your life. And in so doing they do two things that aid Satan in temptation. First, they create a people who think they can earn their own righteousness, and second, they create a burden of rules that drives people away from God.
5. Contradict God’s law
4 And the serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!
Now he goes for the throat. And directly calls God a liar. Maybe he perceived that the woman considered God’s command unreasonable. Maybe he sensed that she was curious about the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Whatever it was, he takes his opening and lunges. How often we are tempted to flat out deny the truth of God’s Word.
6. Accuse God
5 For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
This is ascribing to God sinful motives. “God is holding out on you. He’s keeping the best stuff for Himself.”
This is probably one of the most difficult parts of living life in this cursed world; trusting God. We all suffer. Bad things happen to everyone. We are tempted to say, “Why me?” We are tempted to scream at the heavens and doubt that God loves us, or that He’s paying attention, or that He has the power that He claims. We’re tempted to doubt God. The difficult thing is to trust Him. Job said, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”
These are the same tactics that Satan continues to use today. And they led to the woman eating the fruit.
IV. The Fall.
Satan tempted Eve. But we need to remember that Eve and Adam played their part as well. We like to say, “the devil made me do it.” We listed Satan’s tactics before. But look at how Eve and Adam went down the same path that every human being has followed from that first temptation. There are actions they take to aid and abet their sin. After that last statement by Satan, he never says another word, it’s all Adam and Eve now. Let’s look first at Eve.
A. Go take a look.
6 Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise,
The first thing that she did was to stick around and think about the fruit. She rolled the temptation around in her head. She should have recognized the danger she was in and left the area.
B. Remain alone.
6 Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food,
She remained alone. She didn’t go consult with her husband. She didn’t go inquire of God. We do that. In our times of temptation, we keep it to ourselves. We don’t seek help or advice. We don’t seek God. Eve didn’t say, “Let me ask my husband, then we will ask God.”
C. Believe the lie.
6 Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, so she took from its fruit and ate;
There are three very common forms of temptation based around lies.
1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh (the tree was good for food) and the lust of the eyes (it was a delight to the eyes) and the boastful pride of life, (the tree was desirable to make one wise) is not from the Father, but is from the world.
For the woman, the lust of the flesh said to her that simply because she desired the fruit, that it was good for her, it was good for food. The lust of the eyes told her that simply because she desired it, she had a right to it. The pride of life told her that simply because she desired it, she deserved to have it, and to withhold it from her was denying her right.
So, she took it.
D. Entice others to sin.
She not only ate herself, but she also gave some to Adam. This is the ultimate way that we co-labor with Satan. He is the tempter, but we help tempt others.
and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
E. Don’t ask questions.
and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
We can’t help but mention this. How did Adam get coaxed into eating the fruit? Eve gave it to him. Did he know what it was? Yes, he did, or else God wouldn’t have punished him. He, himself, when confronted by God, God says, “Did you eat of the tree I told you not to eat?” simply says, “the woman gave it to me.”
Now isn’t that a kindergarten answer? “Why are you eating the cookie I told you not to eat?” “She gave it to me.” He doesn’t say, “I didn’t know where she got the fruit.” He doesn’t say, “she deceived me.” He just went along.
We contribute to the process of our own fall by just going along.
F. Hide your sin.
7 And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves [c]loin coverings.
Adam and Eve compounded the sin by hiding and trying to cover up their sin. We do the same. We fall into sin. And we feel shame. But our strategy for beating sin the next time is to just try harder and keep our sin a secret. That’s not how Scripture tells us to deal with it. It says, “Confess your sin…”
G. Blame God and anyone but me.
Satan does a lot to entice us to sin. But when we are caught, we contribute to our own failure by blaming it on everyone but myself.
8 Then they heard the sound of Yahweh God walking in the garden in the [d]cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God in the midst of the trees of the garden. 9 Yahweh God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 And the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave to me from the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then Yahweh God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Somebody else is to blame. And this is the Fall. Satan tempts, but we choose to walk down that pathway. For Adam and Eve it led to the curse, for us it led to the curse; the answer to the question, What happened to God’s creation?
Next time we will begin by looking at the curse that resulted from Adam and Eve’s sin.