Genesis 3 Please read the chapter as I cannot quote it all here.
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” (Gen. 3:1 NASB). Most religions have some teaching about the problem of evil. Most religions will address in some way the problem of mankind’s corruption, fallen nature, crimes, mental illness, hatred, violence, greed and more. In the Bible we see it addressed in the book of Job where a man suffers evil for unknown reasons and people speculate on its source. Genesis will lay the cause at the foot of mankind’s choice. And the principle of choice is emphasized revealing more about the nature of God and mankind; that true love involves free will choice.
Now you can take this serpent as literal or metaphorical, I don’t care. But the story is talking about the source of mankind’s problems. I lean towards a metaphorical serpent because that is the genre of this section and because it is interpreted for us later in scripture as being a spiritual being. The mystery of the serpent is revealed in Revelation; “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.” (Rev. 12:9 NASB).
We see in most cultures of the world an awareness of evil spirits. Modern scientific men and modern religious men dismiss this as superstition. And we must agree in part that demons have taken superstitious blame for more than their share of man’s problems. However when I see a belief so universal I must give it at least partial recognition, realizing that science does not yet know everything. Who knows maybe tomorrow science will discover a whole new dimension to life.
This garden represents a deep yearning in the heart of mankind, we dream of a utopian garden state of life. Even in our denial of God we try to legislate perfect government where there are no poor, everyone has health care, no wars, etc. It is deep in the heart of mankind. We dream of beautiful peaceful marriages and families. We take a restful vacation to a place of perfect tranquility. Why can’t we just find a place of peace?
But there had to be a damned serpent in the garden! So why was there a serpent in the garden anyway? Do we blame God for the serpent? Many people do. Many accusers say that if God is good and powerful he should have created a world with no evil. In Genesis 1 we had God separating darkness from light, not creating darkness. And really God is not the one on trial here. But as all mankind asks the question in our hearts, “is God really good?” we must come to him and ask him ourselves, “God please show me who you are”. And we pray to trust our Creator to be totally good in spite of the evil in this world.
We also have in this first verse 3:1 the phrase, “Has God really said?” Well remember back in chapter 1 when God created he spoke, he said, “let there be… and it is good”. This theme is huge! So the test here is to believe what God says and believe his character to not be a deceiver.
This theme is picked up in the temptation of Jesus. At the baptism of Jesus God speaks saying, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased” And then immediately after the devil speaks saying, “If you are the son of God” (Matthew 4:3). The similarities are obvious, God makes a statement and the tempter challenges it. God says that you are my loved child and Satan says “oh really”.
Following these subtle yet profound themes is why many of us love the Bible. If the temptation of Jesus had been an overt copy of the Eden temptation it would have been comical. But it is not written that way. We must read the Bible with an attitude of careful observance.
Significance of Genesis 3
This is really the beginning of the Biblical drama. Imagine if this were a Hollywood movie. Imagine two lovers engaged to be married, then, just before the wedding something happens to separate them-a bad choice was made. Then the hero spends the rest of his life pursuing his lost love and makes a very large sacrifice to reunite them and they live happily ever after. This is why the artistic aspect of the Bible must be embraced to grasp the full impact of what God is saying to us. If we reduce it to a verse by verse history lesson we miss it. So in Adam and Eve we see mankind removed from the perfect state and the drama is that God in Christ is reaching out to us and we see in Revelation that perfect state restored.
As I said above, most religions of the world attempt to reconcile the fact that this world is not as it could be and that there is something desperately wrong. Some religion will say that there is nothing really wrong and it is just a matter of mental perspective. Some will say that no one ever avoids the deeds they commit and that karma will someday repay them. But there is still a desire to cycle out of this imperfect state into the perfect. This small chapter is huge in the issues it addresses.
Choice; choice is the difference between rape and love. Choice is essential to our ability to love. Choice is our strength and weakness. It is by choice that rich people on one side of the planet contribute to the perpetual poverty of people on the other side. It is by choice that we make murder and war. It is by choice that we abuse a spouse. It is by choice that we go to church while not loving God. It is by choice that we are not thankful.
But it is also by choice that we choose to recognize our Creator and be thankful. It is by choice that we choose to restrain our anger and lust. It is by choice that we choose to share. It is by choice that we choose to love. Choice is powerful. Choice is a gift.
Mankind’s choice does not account for the sufferings within nature such as earthquakes. And it is debatable if mankind is even causing global warming! But we could be. A passage in Romans explains the problems within nature like this; “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait” (Romans 8:18-23 NIV).
Just another point of symbolism that I would like to note; the chapter ends on this sad note, “So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life” (Gen. 3:24 NASB). The story leaves us with no way back into the garden to eat of the tree of life. However I believe this is pointing forward to Jesus on the cross as the tree of life. Several New Testament verses refer to the crucifixion cross as a tree, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree” (Peter 2:24). So in Christ we do find the tree of life, the bloody tree.
