Genesis 3:14-15

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14 So the Lord God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel." ~ Genesis 3:14-15

Today, we return to our study of Genesis 3 where we have been introduced to deception for the first time in the history of man. After Adam and Eve broke God’s word, realize their nakedness, and hid themselves because of their shame, God came to them and drew them out of their hiding with His grace, rather than driving them out with their fear. Today's passage explains why the many horrifying things which have happened in the entire history of man on this earth can all be traced back to man questioning God’s goodness. In today's two verses we learn of God's response to the devil's deceptive tactics which brought about man's rebellion.

In v.14 of today's passage we read, "So the Lord God said to the serpent: 'Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.'"

In these words addressed to the devil, utter humiliation and utter degradation are promised. To this day one of the most humiliating things that anyone can be forced to do is to lie on his belly in the dirt. It means pride has been brought low; he is promised humiliated and shamed. And, notice that there is no conversation here. The Lord wasn’t looking for a confession from the devil like he was from Adam and Eve. This is a sentencing, not a trial.

Isaiah 14 is a passage that describes the fall of the Devil. In the pride of his heart he began to say to himself, "I will be like the Most High." This is the same fallen one who said to Eve in the Garden of Eden, "If you eat of this fruit, you will be like God, knowing good and evil." The significant thing about God's response to the devil in today's passage is that here we have God's announcement to the devil of his ultimate loss. Yes, it appears that evil always triumphs on this earth now, but, in this verse God reveals the ultimate end of the enemy.

Here in this verse, the devil learns, perhaps for the first time, that his judgment will one day occur on this planet. This is the first time God curses something in the Bible. Here, God places the devil under an eternal curse, and the nature of it will deliver continual humiliation and ultimate defeat. Cursing is the opposite of blessing. God’s curse removes creatures from his blessing. There are no curses against Adam and Eve, only on the serpent and the ground, giving the clear implication that God’s blessing has not been utterly lost. 

The first part of God's curse upon the devil began with: "You are cursed more than all the cattle, and more than every beast of the field." In other words God said: "Even dumb and mindless cow will be more than you." Then God continued to say to the devil: "On your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life." In other words, in the same way that a serpent slithers on the ground, so will the devil one day. Just as the devil slithered into the lives of Adam and Eve and brought them to the state where they would return to the dust, so the devil will live his existence in the very dust that he has been condemned them to.

A key passage is found in 2 Corinthians 12:7 which explains why the Lord didn't take the devil out immediately after he brought about the downfall of Adam and Eve. In that verse we read, "To keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited." God’s purpose in allowing the devil to perpetuate and the eventually harass the Apostle Paul was to keep Paul's pride in check. In God’s brilliant wisdom, he harnesses the devil's harassing of Paul and all believers so that he serves God’s purposes in our sanctification. Satan’s attempts to hurt Paul inadvertently humbled Paul and make him rely more gladly on the grace of the Lord Jesus.

In v.15 of today's passage we read, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel."

This verse is known at the protoevangelium or the "first gospel" because it is the first explicit reference in the Bible to the coming of the Christ. Without a doubt we have here a most remarkable prophecy of the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. This prophecy cannot be explained in any other terms than that it finds fulfillment in the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus. This concept of the seed of the woman is unique. Nowhere else in the Bible do we find such an expression occurring. 

Everywhere else in Scripture descent is reckoned through the male line. It is the seed of the man that is the line of descent and all the genealogies of the Bible trace the line of descent through the male. The father's name is given and when the mother's name is given it is only incidental, as referring to the wife of someone. This is the first Messianic prophesy in the Bible. Here, right after the Fall of man into sin, God stated that the woman will have a male Seed, an offspring who will eventually crush the devil.

Throughout the Bible there is a distinction made between the sons of men and the sons of God. The sons of God are the chosen line which leads from Adam, through his son Seth, down to Noah, then Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. This line continues to the coming Christ, who is the Lord Jesus, and encompasses the nation of Israel.

On the other hand, there is the line of Cain and all of those outside of the Messianic line who are the seed of the devil. This pattern is unmistakable and carries all the way through the Bible. In fact, in 1 John 5, the Apostle John tells us that the whole world is under the sway of the wicked one. Paul says the same thing in 1 Corinthians 15 when he makes the contrast between those in Adam and those in Christ. Those who are yet in Adam and their sin remains upon them, they are not in God's family and they remain under the devil’s control. Therefore, the woman is the godly line whom the devil is at enmity which is fully confirmed in Revelation 12.

The word "bruise" is the same Hebrew word describing the combatant’s parallel action. But it’s the location of the "bruising" that tells us who wins. A blow to the head is greater than a blow to the heel. The former can kill you, the latter can only wound you. The devil will be defeated and the seed of the woman will be injured in the process.

The word "offspring" is literally the word "seed," and it can refer to one’s collective descendants or to a specific individual.  There will be conflict between the descendants of the serpent and the descendants of the woman. Those who fought against their Creator will now be fighting one another.

Notice that at the end of v.15 God moved to the masculine singular pronoun when he said, "he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."  Though the conflict is between the two offsprings, the goal of the final crushing blow is not the seed of the snake but rather the snake itself. The seed of the woman will crush the snake.  And when we cut off a snake’s head, its whole body will die. Enmity will exist between both seeds, but the goal will be the crushing of the serpent himself.

In this, a plot was established, a program of redemption was begun. Genesis 22:18 makes the vague promise of 3:15 more specific. God said to Abraham, "In your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." This means God will defeat evil through someone born to a woman in Abraham’s family. The overarching theme of Genesis is that there’s hope for humans because the Messiah would come and deal with sin and death once and for all. And, He has delivered on His promise.

Genesis 3:11-13

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11 And He (God) said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?" 12 Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." 13 And the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." ~ Genesis 3:11-13

Today, we return to our study of Genesis 3 where we have heard the voice of deception in v.1-6, and we are in the midst of hearing the voice of love in v.7-13, and we will hear the voice of judgement in v.14-19, and then, the voice of grace in v.20-24. As a result of Eve parleying with the devil, sin has been introduced to all mankind. This sin not only has destroyed man's relationship with God, but, it even has marred the relationship between the man and his wife. And, even though it was Eve who sinned first, God held Adam responsible for the Fall of man.

In v.11 of today's passage we read, "And He (God) said, 'Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?'"

In this one verse, God responded to Adam's deception with two more questions. God could have destroyed sinful Adam and Eve immediately for listening to and heeding the voice of deception, but He came seeking them out. This was evidence of God's extended grace to Adam and his wife. It was also a sign of God's grace that the couple could still hear and respond to God’s voice even though sin had so polluted their hearts.

God's first question to Adam was a bit strange because nakedness is not a condition that we need to be made aware of! The question behind this question was, "Why are you ashamed of your nakedness?" This question was meant to show Adam that no one had to point out his shame because his guilt is what caused his shame. Our feelings of shame are actually God’s way, through the means of our conscience, of speaking to us about our guilt. This is a gift from God that makes us ready for His grace, because without guilt we’d never see our need for the grace God.

There was no commentary from God after he asked Adam His first question. He followed it immediately with a second question, and with it God got right to the real issue. And through this question, God was urging confession from Adam, not condemnation from God. With those back-to-back questions God was trying to show Adam that his shame was due to his sin, that his nakedness was a result of rebelling against God Himself. God desired to see Adam own his own guilt. God was graciously inviting Adam to give an honest assessment of what had happened in the Garden that day.

The amazing thing was that God knew the answer to His questions before asking Adam. He didn't need for Adam to make confession, Adam needed to make confession if he were to continue to enjoy fellowship with God. Confession is sinful people's flimsy attempt to throw ourselves upon the grace of God. And, God's grace is only accessed by those who sincerely make their confession. Our confession is ironically a proclamation of our trust in God’s goodness. Confession is admitting that what we did was bad, and acknowledging that God's grace is greater than our sin.

In v.12 of today's passage we read, "Then the man said, 'The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.'"

With this answer, Adam appeared to be very logical. He rationalized, "You gave me the woman and she gave me the fruit! God, you are the One that said it's not good I should be alone, so you gave me the woman, and look at what happened!" Adam's response was logical but it was not theological. To fallen Adam it made sense, but it wasn't the truth. The truth was, Adam knowingly sinned. Eve was deceived by the serpent, yet Adam would take the blame ultimately because of it. Adam was guilty of not only violently rebelling against God, he also was guilty of blame-shifting. 

It is self-consciousness which is man's basic, fundamental problem. It is our awareness of ourselves that produces guilt. Our awareness of self makes us ashamed, embarrassed, and guilty. Then, in order to evade this sense of guilt, we do what Adam did, we blame others. Behind both of Adam's and Eve's excuses is the unspoken suggestion, very clear in this account, that it is really God's fault. Adam believed that if God had never given him the woman he would never have fallen into sin. 

In v.13 of today's passage we read, "And the Lord God said to the woman, 'What is this you have done?' The woman said, 'The serpent deceived me, and I ate.'"

Ultimately the pointed finger of Adam and Eve ended up pointed at God. This is what depravity does to us, it robs us of honesty and deflects the blame. Sin leads us to believe that we are all simply helpless victims of circumstance. This is what lies behind our urge to blame each other and pin the blame for our actions or attitudes upon some outward circumstance. Our natural proclivity is to blame others when things go wrong. 

Adam tried to evade responsibility for his autonomous sinful actions by shifting blame to the woman and to God. But God is not responsible for what Adam did. Many speculate why God would allow the serpent to do what he did. This narrative doesn’t address that question, but it does state clearly that man, not God, was responsible for what happened in the Garden that day.

We are either confessing or hiding our sins. Keeping silent about our sin zaps us of our spirituality. Confessing our sin refreshes and recharges us in the Lord. Walking in the light leads to life. Hiding in the darkness leads to despair and death. Forgiveness is always free, although it cost the Lord Jesus His life. And, this does not mean that confession is always easy. Sometimes it is hard. Incredibly hard. It is painful to admit our sins and entrust ourselves to God’s care. We don’t know what would’ve happened if Adam had come clean and confessed his sin that day. But, what we do know for certain is that the God of the Bible is faithful to forgive and to cleanse those who are honest before Him.

Genesis 3:8-10

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8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” ~ Genesis 3:8-10

Today, we continue our study of Genesis 3 where the serpent has tempted Eve and she has bit off his lies. As a result, without even noticing it, Adam and Eve died to God that day; they died spiritually and in time they would realize that they were dying physically, as well. One cannot understand redemptive history and its ending unless we understand its beginning. We cannot understand why it is important to have a Savior until we understand the Fall of man.

In v.8 of today's passage we read, "And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden."

The Hebrew word translated "walking" means "to move amongst in order to be conversant with someone." After Adam chose to violently rebel against the LORD God, the Lord still kept their special time where the couple would ask of Him questions. But, sin changed all of that because when God came to have fellowship with them after the Fall, the man and the woman ran away and hid from Him.

It was "in the the cool of the day" that God came walking in the Garden in search of Adam and Eve. It was at the end of the day that the One who had no beginning Himself came seeking the pair who had openly rebelled against Him. Their sin instantly separated them from God and it necessitated the eventual death of the perfect One who would come thousands of years later. 

In Genesis 2:17 we read, "In the day that you eat thereof you'll surely die." The first expression of death for Adam and Eve was distrust of one another. We know this because back in Genesis 3:7 they sewed fig leaves together in order to cover themselves in the presence of one another. The second expression of death for the couple was their distrust of God. Motivated by fear, the pair thought they could avoid the eyesight of the Creator by hiding behind the trees in the Garden. In Psalm 139 we read, "Where shall I go from Your spirit? Where shall I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, behold You are there; if I make my bed in hell, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell on the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your right hand shall guide me." There was no hiding from God, but that didn't prevent Adam and Eve from trying. Even in this attempt, we see that their rational abilities had been affected by the fall.

In v.9 of today's passage we read, "Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, 'Where are you?'"

God's response to Adam's rebellion was a gentle response which was certainly not what they had expected since they had disobeyed God. Adam and Eve expected that God would end their life since He earlier had said that if they sinned they would die. But what they discovered was the God who seeks out sinners. This is the first time we see grace in the Bible. This wasn’t grace that granted them salvation, it was grace that withheld them from destruction.

The omniscient and omnipresent God of the Bible knew exactly where Adam was hiding when He called out to him. This question from God to the fallen couple was much more than a question about their whereabouts, it was a self-revelatory question. It was a direct question that gave Adam the opportunity to come clean with the God who created him. This was a compassionate, loving, gracious, merciful God who is by nature a sinner seeking Savior. The word "called" here is a word used often in the Old Testament for summoning someone to give an account. This was God compassionately serving a gentle warrant for Adam’s arrest. 

In v.10 of today's passage we read, "So he said, 'I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.'"

Adam had been stripped of his ability to be completely rational and truthful. This is the mark of depravity; when we cannot tell the truth about our own condition which was obvious to anyone in sight. Adam had been corrupted and now he evaded the question and he resembled the deceiving serpent. Adam was not repulsed by his sin for it was not the sin that he didn’t like. It was the consequences that he feared and that was why he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid." Adam said nothing about his sin. He said nothing about offending God who gave him life and gave him everything he had ever needed. Adam never confessed his sin, and, neither did Eve.

Adam and Eve had been naked since God had created them, but now, all of a sudden, they knew evil and they were made aware of their vulnerability. Up till this point, they did not have a self-consciousness. They, up to the point, were selfless. Now that Adam and Eve had invited the rule of the enemy into their lives, they had a deep, self-conscious awareness that led them to frightening fear. And, their ability to appraise properly had been destroyed. Self-absorption is what causes us to feel shame before others and most importantly, God. 

Satan had promised the first couple freedom from God’s limiting control. He had told them that God was less good than He purported to be, and that by eating the forbidden, they would be like God. As a result, they did in a way become like God, but they could not handle it. They thought they would be free, but what they got was slavery to sin. Sin brought them shame, guilt and fear. With depravity, there is no confession of sin, nor is there repentance from sin. With depravity, there is no asking for forgiveness. And, due to the Fall, man has deemed that God is now the bad guy. Sinners love to say God is this overbearing, unkind, judgmental, threatening executioner while all along He has been our faithful and true friend.

Genesis 3:6-7

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6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. ~ Genesis 3:6-7

Today, we continue our study of Genesis 3. The world had been created along with the woman and the man, and God had placed them in the Garden of Eden. In the Garden the man and the woman were given freedom and dominion. But that freedom and that dominion had a limitation; They were still responsible to God; They couldn't do whatever they wanted. Hence, God's command to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

God is our Maker and all of His commands are given by Him for our good. His commands are not just a to-do list; they are an invitation to a relationship with God Himself. In Deuteronomy 32:47 we read, "For it is no empty word for you, but your very life." In context Moses was speaking to the children of Israel. He was trying to help them understand the importance of the word of God. For the believer in Christ, this means there is no thought of "imitating Christ" now! The beauty of the Christian life is that "Christ lives in the believer." The Lord Jesus is both the living word and the written word. Instead of "getting better," now that we have been born again, the Christian is not responsible to produce eternal life. No, we experience life, the very life of Christ lived in, to and through us. This is why the word of God is our "very life" because all of the word points us to the life that is eternal, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

In v.6 of today's passage we read, "So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate."

This verse describes the four steps that Eve took resulting in sin. Sin is when we define something in a different way than what God has defined it. The four steps that Eve took that day in the Garden of Eden were that she looked at the forbidden fruit, she took of the forbidden fruit, she ate the forbidden fruit and she gave the forbidden fruit to Adam. 

The first step that we are given here is one of conception and birth. The seed of an aroused desire had been planted in the heart of Eve. It was through Eve's eyes that sin became a temptation. As a result, Eve's mind came into play. Up to this point the serpent has worked upon Eve's feelings and aroused a strong desire within her for the forbidden thing. But now her mind came into action. It was the function of her mind that pressed Eve into the seemingly logical goodness of the forbidden fruit.

Eve had come to believe the lie of the serpent that the forbidden was "good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and desirable to make her wise." The devil seized upon the opportunity to draw out of Eve her innocence in knowing good from evil. When he did, he drew out of Eve disobedience which resulted in fault and this fault resulted in death for all of us ever since that moment. After all it was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eve had not known evil until that day.

So, Eve gave in to sin that day because it made her feel good to give into sin by acting upon her pride. We are no different than Eve because sin always satisfies us in some way. It feels good to lose our temper for awhile! It feels good to hurt others when they have hurt us in some way. There is always a pleasure to be found in sin. 

Interestingly, the Bible lays the blame for sin squarely upon Adam. In 1 Timothy 2:14 we read, "For Adam was not deceived, but the woman, being deceived, fell into transgression." Eve was deceived into sin. The deception of the serpent was made effective when Eve started to believe that what he said was true. Now, what the serpent said was not true and she was not off the hook, but it was still deception. With Adam, it was just flat disobedience. In 1 Corinthians 15 we read, "For in Adam all die." Sin and death came to all of mankind through Adam when he took and he ate of the forbidden fruit. Genesis 3:6 is the complete example of every sin that has ever been committed in human history. Any sin that we can recognize in ourselves comes from this place, the place of trying to live our lives on our own apart from God. 

In v.7 of today's passage we read, "Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings."

This was the darkest moment of human history because every bad thing that has happened since can be traced all the way back to this point in time when sin was introduced into the existence of man. In Romans 5:12 we read "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned." Sin entered, death entered, death spread, and death has reigned. 

The Fall of man was so serious that we are blinded to the fact how serious it really is. When we listen to how people talk about sin, we hear words like "mistake" or "personal baggage." Most hate the word sin but God calls it what it is, it is sin. But we're so blinded to how bad our condition is, we don't even see it and that's the reason we have such problems with things like God's judgment and eternal hell. Since we don't understand how bad sin is; that it's bad enough to separate us forever from God, we downplay it. We will not go to a doctor unless we are convinced that we are sick. In like manner, we will never seek a Savior until we realize we are sin-sick sinners in need of a savior. 

When Adam sinned, he acted as the representative for all of humanity. This is why the Scriptures refer to the Lord Jesus as "the last Adam." Everything Adam messed up, the Lord Jesus came to make right. When we try to use whatever God has given us in a way that is contrary to His definition of it, we distort the way God made it. That is what makes it sin. It was not until He went to the cross though that He overcame sin. Then He overcame death through His resurrection. It was on the cross that God judged all sin in the body of the Lord Jesus. And, it was through the resurrection of the Lord Jesus that He overcame death. 

There were others who were resurrected from the dead, but eventually they died a second time. After His resurrection, the Lord Jesus never died agin. He conquered death because He was sinless. The curse that came upon mankind in the Garden of Eden brought about our certain death. Ever since, we have been convinced that "the wages of sin is death." Since the Lord Jesus was never guilty of committing one sin, death had no power over Him. His death was a voluntary sacrifice for our sin, and, given His sinless perfection, His resurrection logically followed. It was the Lord Jesus Himself who said in John 10:17, "I lay down my life, only to take it up again."

Genesis 3:1-5

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1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?" 2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'" 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." ~ Genesis 3:1-5

Today, we transition into Genesis 3. In Genesis 1-2 the focus was on God's creation. In Genesis 3-11 we will learn of man's degeneration. In order for the fall of Genesis 3 to make sense, we need to understand from what we fell. We better understand the horrors of sin when we understand the beauty of God's creation which is a reflection of His person. 

The degeneration of man was caused by the serpent whom we have not been introduced to quite yet. He seemingly appeared suddenly from out of nowhere; up to this point in history there was not even a hint to his existence. But, those who know their Bible know who he is and from where he came. According to Revelation 12, we find that he is none other than the dragon who was cast out of heaven. He was cast out of heaven because pride was found in him. And, when he was cast out of heaven by God, he convinced a third of his angel friends to follow him. This is where demons came from; demons are fallen angels.

In v.1 of today's passage we read, "Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, 'Has God indeed said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?'"

When we ignore the teachings of Genesis 1-3 the story of humanity becomes impossible to understand and to explain. The serpent or the devil as he is called in Revelation 12, we are told, was more cunning than any beast of the field. That means the devil or Satan is most crafty at convincing others to believe that God is not good. This is why the devil entered into that snake in the Garden because the snake was already known to be crafty. As is made clear throughout the Bible, the devil always comes in a crafty disguise. He never appears announcing that he is the evil one. If he came that way, everyone would reject him. No, he always appears in disguise as he does here, as an angel of light, appearing not to be bad but good and trustworthy.

The first words from the devil was a question that misguided Eve. The serpent tempted Eve to doubt God's goodness by misquoting God. As a result, he made sin enticing and at the root of all sin is his idea that God is not good. To Eve, he said, "Has God indeed said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" But that was not at all what God said. What God said was, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat." The word "freely" gets at the root cause of sin which is to try to make a life for oneself apart from God. This is always a losing proposition.

The first couple were naked before each other. The need for clothing never crossed their minds. They suffered not from an inward pull of selfishness or shame. Before they rebelled against God, they had an outward look on life. They did not possess an inward look on life before they chose to disregard the word of the LORD. When Adam and Eve broke God’s command, a cancerous corruption filled their hearts and instantly spread throughout the whole world. This is why everything and everyone we know, including ourselves, is dysfunctional, hurting, and broken. Original sin explains why we pursue self-destructive behavior even though God has placed eternity within our souls.

In v.2-3 of today's passage we read, "2 And the woman said to the serpent, 'We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'"

The devil was so good at deception that he led Eve to misquote God. God had not said, "nor shall you touch it." In addition, it was the tree of life, according to Genesis 2 that was in the middle of the garden not the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan always uses the same tactic when he tries to get us to think that God is more strict than He really is. Also, Satan will always tempt us to seek out the lust of our hearts. The problem here is that we entertain lust which is not a skill we want to give safe haven to in our souls. 

In v.4-5 of today's passage we read, "4 Then the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'"

These words of the devil were a bald faced lie and they brought the integrity of the Lord into question and was a direct challenge to His authority. The serpent denied that there is any danger in disobeying God. In fact, he denied that Adam and Eve would die. So, the first doctrine to come under attack by Satan was the doctrine of divine judgment. He knows that if he can get us to believe that there’s no judgment, then we’ll live however we want. No judgment means that we don’t have to live with reference to God. But, if there’s a judgment, then everything changes. The reality of judgment reveals our need for a Savior, for someone to take our place because we know that we don’t have what it takes to survive God’s judgment. I find it instructive that in Genesis 1-2 God spoke and the result was life and order. In Genesis 3 Satan speaks and the result was death and chaos. 

The devil also said something that was true when he said, "God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." The problem with this was Adam and Eve had not been told this by God yet. The devil made it sound like it was therefore something God held back for His own purposes. This appeal from the devil was an invitation to Eve to be worshipped and served. By his cunning craftiness, the devil undermined God's word by misquoting Him and therefore causing Eve to doubt God. The devil has always called God’s word and His goodness into question and sadly most people believe his lies.

Finally, you will remember that back in Genesis 2 there was an emphasis on the name of the LORD God. Over and over we read, "LORD God." The word LORD puts the emphasis on God's sovereignty and this gets to the heart of the waywardness of sin. The devil readily refers to God as Elohim which is a more generic word for God. He will not use the word LORD, because he somewhere along the way made the decision to be his own God. This is his tactic with us. He does not try to get us to follow him directly. No, he gets us to follow him indirectly by getting us to follow ourselves. This is why he sought to overthrow God's sovereignty in his rebellion. It is the sovereignty of God that got him thrown out of heaven, along with the rest of his fallen angels. We must always be most wary of anyone who values us more than God.

Genesis 2:24-25

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24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. ~ Genesis 2:24-25

Today, we conclude our study of Genesis 2 where God has completed His work of creation by forming the first family now that He has brought Eve to Adam. The foundation to any good and operative society is found in the solidity of the nuclear family. The solidity of such is measured by the walk of each family member with the Lord. A family that is godly is a family that is defined by God. Largely, as the marriage goes, so goes the family, and, as the family goes so goes society.

In v.24 of today's passage we read, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."

The first verse of today's passage sets the stage for the bonds of marriage which have followed man down throughout the ages. The word "joined" means "stick together like glue." This word is also used to describe the Old Testament woman Ruth the Moabitess who joined herself to her mother-in-law, refusing to leave her after the death of her husband, Mahlon. 

When we read, "a man shall be joined to his wife," it is the man who is responsible to join his wife like glue. God has given the husband the responsibility to hold tightly to his wife. And if he demonstrates the kind of loving power reflected in this verse, she will naturally want to be held by him. The relationship must begin by severing one relationship so as to solidify another relationship.

The idea behind marriage is permanence. The idea is two people come together and make a commitment and a determination to be together permanently is at its root. It could be translated welded together or bound inextricably together. God's idea of a marriage relationship is that it is an ongoing, permanent bond resulting in the weaving of the two into one. This is much more than physical, however when a man and woman come together physically, it is a physical expression of the spiritual and soul oneness that should be happening. The phrase, "they shall become one flesh," indicates that this is a two-way union where both partners work at achieving oneness with the other. The best way oneness is achieved is through selflessness. The Hebrew word for "joined" indicates that the responsibility is on the husband. 

When God breathed life into man, there was the intimate connection of God to man. That was lost through sin, but when God regenerated us with His Holy Spirit, that intimate connection was reestablished. It is the same with man and woman. A connection is lost between the two and a void exists until the two are joined in marriage. What man lost in the rib, he regains in the wife. 

In v.25 of today's passage we read, "And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed."

When God created man and woman, they were naked and there was no shame. God created them in a state of beauty and perfection and there was nothing to cause them to hide from either God or each other. Nakedness implies more than just the possibility of shame though. It also implies that there was nothing that could harm them. The temperature would have been perfect, none of the animals were a threat. They were naked, secure, and they were also unashamed.

Nakedness and not being ashamed is the product of true intimacy. Adam and Eve trusted because they were naked and not ashamed. And it's more than just physical; there was a psychological vulnerability, a trust, where they could completely be themselves and hide nothing and there was no fear of reprisal. The disease of self had not yet raised its ugly head. As a result, they enjoyed that intimacy until sin enters the relationship and then they sought to hide from one another and from God. Adam and Eve weren’t ashamed because evil had not invaded their space; they didn’t even know any evil. They didn’t know that sexual desire could be perverted and twisted. They didn't know that it could be used for wicked purposes. They didn’t have any wicked thoughts running around in their imaginations. They had no capacity to feel shame, because they didn’t know evil existed.

Before sin entered the realm of the Garden, Adam and Eve had nothing to hide. That all changed when sin gave birth to shame which is produced by the consciousness of selfishness. We feel shame in our lives as sinners because we have evil thoughts caused by selfishness. Before their evil selves were awakened, there was an unmatched beauty in the shameless wonder of that original marriage. And Adam and Eve enjoyed to the fullest their shameless oneness. God had given them the perfect environment, and, they experienced perfect love and trust. 

Recently, I heard an atheist ask how could God create a world where children get bone cancer. God did not create a world like that. Evil has no existence of its own; it is really the absence of good. Evil is like darkness which really does not exist; it is the absence of light. Evil is the absence of good. Evil is the absence of God. God did not create evil, He allowed the possibility of evil. Free will is what made evil possible. And love cannot exist in an environment where there is no free will. 

I close this study with a quote from C.S. Lewis, "There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, 'Thy will be done.' All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. Those who knock it is opened."

Genesis 2:21-23

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"21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 23 And Adam said: 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.'" ~ Genesis 2:21-23

Today, we return to our study of Genesis 2 where God has created all things and pronounced them good, and He has created man and pronounced him very good. This concept of good has been quite prominent thus far in the creation story. The first time God said it was not good was when it became evident that man was alone. So, in order to address this issue, God decided to create Eve, the companion of Adam.

In v.21 of today's passage we read, "And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place."

God is the original anesthesiologist and surgeon who caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, so that He could make Eve from Adam. This is the first of seven occurrences of the phrase "deep sleep" in the Old Testament. In each case it refers to a special state induced by the Lord Himself in order to convey an important revelation to, or through, the person experiencing it. 

Interestingly, the pioneer of anesthesia, Sir James Young Simpson, was inspired by God's actions in Genesis 2. Simpson took seriously God's Word, and he discovered that the chemical compound chloroform would put people to sleep and prevent them from feeling pain. He then used chloroform to help women in childbirth beginning in the mid 1800s AD. I find it most instructive that when asked of his greatest discovery, Simpson responded that his greatest discovery was that he had a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

We are not sure if Adam and Eve would have felt any kind of pain while in the Garden of Eden, but even if they didn't, it would probably have been a horrifying experience had Adam watched the operation performed upon him by God. So, it makes sense that God would put him into a "deep sleep" first before performing the procedure.

Throughout the Scriptures, when God put anyone into "deep sleep" which happened seven times in the Old Testament, a new relationship was initiated. While Adam slept, God created a new relationship for him with Eve. In like manner, according to Genesis 15:12, when God initiated a new relationship with Abraham, He put him into a divinely induced, "deep sleep." According to Genesis 28:11, the same thing happened to Jacob when God initiated a new relationship with him.

Earlier, in God's making of Adam, God used the "dust of the ground" to form his body and "He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." But, in the making of Eve, God did not go back to the dust; He used one of Adam’s ribs to form and fashion her. It is significant that God made Eve from Adam because earlier God had paraded the animals before Adam knowing Adam would not find a helper suitable for him. Unlike Adam's naming of the animals, the name Adam chose for Eve shows she was of his very nature. The animals were not of his very nature. And that is why God took them out of the ground and took Eve out of Adam. 

In v.22 of today's passage we read, "Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man."

The word "rib" are used about thirty-five times in the Old Testament. This is the only time it is ever translate rib. Thirty-four times it’s not translated rib. Twenty of those thirty-five times its translated "side." God literally put Adam to sleep and then slit open his side and took tissue from Adam to show that Adam and Eve were of the same substance. Interestingly, our ribs have amazing regenerative powers. Portions of rib bone and cartilage removed in bone graft surgery will regrow in a few months’ time, as long as the rib perichondrium is left intact. This means that Adam’s loss of a rib was only temporary; he did not have to go through the rest of his life with an incomplete skeletal system.

When God brought Eve to Adam, they were united in marriage: the "woman" in v.22 is called Adam’s "wife" in v.24. The pattern for marriage, the first social institution, was thus established by God in Eden. The manner of Eve’s creation is "why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh." The unity of a married couple and the "one flesh" principle are based on the fact that God used one of Adam’s ribs to make the woman. A successful marriage is not merely that two people live together compatibly. It involves a third Person. It is most difficult to develop a satisfying love relationship apart from God because love is an exotic, something which comes from outside of us, produced by the activity of God in our lives. We are best positioned to develop an adequate love relationship with our partner when we are cultivating our love relationship with Jesus Christ. 

In v.23 of today's passage we read, "And Adam said: 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.'"

The woman was made from the man and she was made for the man. God created man and woman and determined every detail that would perfectly fill every void in each other. What one lacked, the other filled. Every need finds its fulfillment. This was a marriage where the blending of their two psyches merged. It is for this reason that divorce is such a terrible thing, especially after years of marriage. Divorce is literally the tearing apart of a person. It is the dividing up of a single life, much as you would take an ax and split a body in two. No wonder it is so terribly painful. 

God's institution of the home is the most important human institution. It is significant that cultures of all times and sorts have acknowledged the superiority of monogamy, even though they have not always practiced it. Such an awareness could not be a product of evolution, since it does not characterize most animals, and thus can only be explained in terms of God's creation and revelation. 

Furthermore, the fact that the very first wedding took place at the very "beginning of creation," rather than billions of years after the beginning, was confirmed by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself  in Mark 10:6-9 which reads, "6 But from the beginning of the creation, God 'made them male and female.' 7 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.'"

The one word above all that makes marriage successful is the word "ours." When God brought Eve to Adam, he had a new pronoun, the word "us." Magnifying Adam's understanding of this is revealed in his words: "Bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh." Thus, as the New Testament so wisely points out, the man who hurts his wife hurts himself. He may not feel it directly, but down the line the result of it will show in his life, because she shares one life with him. They had become one flesh. More on this magnificent concept of oneness in tomorrow's study.

Genesis 2:18-20

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18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. ~ Genesis 2:18-20

Today, we continue our study of Genesis 2 where God has spoken everything into existence and He has now created a pristine environment for the first man, Adam. In the Garden of Eden, God provided for Adam all that he would ever need.

In v.18 of today's passage we read, "And the Lord God said, 'It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.'"

Again, in this verse God "said." This small, seemingly insignificant word highlights the fact that the word of God is far more important to us than we realize. There is a power to the word of God that most know nothing of. In Proverbs 30:5 we read, "Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him." The word of God imparts wisdom to the hungry soul. Wisdom is the ability to look at life and its difficulties from God's point of view. As we learn more of the Word of God and begin to get a grasp of its practical principles, we will also gain the ability to look at life from a heavenly and eternal viewpoint. When the word of God dwells within us richly, we will see the world through the eyes of someone who is infinitely wise, entirely good, and whose agenda includes the well-being of all people. Consequently, we will begin to see our circumstances as opportunities He has designed to train us according to His culture. 

If there were no other reason to disbelieve in the theory of evolution, the creation of women would be enough. No amount of random chance, no amount of adapting and changing, nothing in the evolutionary equation could ever be able to produce the genius of God as seen in the woman. Only an infinitely intelligent mind could give man such a wonderful gift. Only God could have created a woman and He did it from Adam's rib.

God created woman for man. The two fit together much better than one does all alone. In Genesis 1, we read at the end of the sixth day that "God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day." But, in today's passage God concluded it was "not good" that Adam was alone on the sixth day. This underscores the literal interpretation of the six day creation narrative. God had to have created everything in six literal days because of the precise nature of the narrative.

God interjected the first negative in the story of His creation when He said, "It is not good for man to be alone." Up to this point in the creation story, everything had been pronounced "good" and on the sixth day of creation God said that everything He had done was "very good." But now we read that it was "not good for man to be alone," indicating that it never was God's intention for man to be alone. From the very beginning God intended to make two genders in the making of man, especially in light of the fact that this was the case in the rest of His creation.

Toxic to the human condition is loneliness which is now reckoned to be the single greatest cause of suicide, and it is undoubtedly the most widespread source of human misery in the world today. Yet, it is a perfectly human experience. Each of us has felt at times the need for human companionship. There is nothing wrong with that; God made us that way. Loneliness is not a product of the Fall. We need one another. We were not made to exist in loneliness.

The phrase "I will make him a helper comparable to him" literally means the woman was prepared by God to share man’s responsibilities, respond to him with love and understanding, as he should to her. The man and woman were meant to work together. As a result much oneness and intimacy is created when a man and woman work on tasks together. The blending of the three loves, companionship love, commitment love and physical love produces the intimacy each couple desires. Intimacy with our spouse really is about who we are together, not simply what we do. In the context of everyday life, we are offered opportunities to develop trust between us and this is a large piece wherein our intimacy grows.

In v.19 of today's passage we read, "Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name."

It was out of the ground that the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air. God created the woman from Adam. Then God gave to Adam the task of studying the animals. He gave him a project to work out before he was ready for marriage. Doubtless it was in order to show him that his wife was to be quite different than the animals. Many men have not learned this yet, but it is clear that this was the intent of God in setting man upon this research.

Adam could not possibly have given names to the animals without knowing the character of each, because a name always reflects a characteristic. In the giving of a name to each of the animals Adam had to understand, whether by a revelation from God or by searching and examining on his own, something of the character of each animal. As a result Adam learned that woman was not to be like an animal as so often she has become in the history of mankind. There are societies where women are treated exactly like animals, where the price of a woman is approximately the price of a cow, and where women are sometimes traded for cows. But this is a violation of what Adam learned in the beginning, that woman is not like the animals. She is precious having been taken from so near to Adam's heart.

In v.20 of today's passage we read, "So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him."

Very quickly Adam learned that the wife was to be a helper fit for him, corresponding to him. The philosophy of the pornography industry reflects the idea that women are nothing more than something to be used. God's way is to use things and to love people. A wife is not to be treated as some mere disposable thing. It is very instructive that the word "helper" in this passage is the same word God used to describe Himself in Psalm 46:1 which reads, "The Lord is our refuge and our strength, a present help in times of trouble." The very same exact Hebrew word used there for God is used for the wife here in today's passage.

Marriage is a pre-fall institution and our definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman comes from the very beginning of God’s created order. The marriage relationship is rooted in our understanding of how and who God created us to be. God created us with the need for relationship and this is a reflection of His image and character. God Himself exists in relationship; it is clear even in the biblical names used to describe God: God the "Father," and God the "Son." The whole idea of the Trinity is an idea of relationship, of "one God eternally existing in three persons," of needing one another, and yet being equal with one another. Our very understanding of God is an understanding of relationship, and we reflect that in how we were created in God’s image.

Genesis 2:15-17

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15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 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." ~ Genesis 2:15-17

Today, we return to our study of Genesis 2 where God has provided for Adam who is His highest and most complex creation in every way possible. But for the deception of the enemy, as we will see in Genesis 3, there was no way man would rebel against God because God had provided everything Adam could have wanted in the Garden of Eden.

In v.15 of today's passage we read, "Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it."

In this verse work is being proposed for the Garden of Eden, but when we consider the purpose of the Garden at that point, this makes no sense. Earlier, in v.5, we read that man was to "till the ground." However, this was before God planted the Garden of Eden. Man was formed outside of Eden and then placed there. In fact, Adam was  originally "put" into the Garden where he could "rest" and enjoy "God’s presence." Originally, the Garden of Eden was meant to be a place where Adam would have intimate fellowship with God.

The word translated "put" here in today's passage is a completely different word than what was used earlier in v.8. This word gives us the idea that God caused Adam to rest in the garden. If that was so, and it was, then why would man need to tend and keep the garden? And, to add to our difficulty understanding this, the word "garden" is written in the masculine in the Hebrew, eliminating the garden from being the object of the verbs. The only conclusion that we can make is that the verbs should be taken as abstract in meaning and that the significance of man resting in the garden was to provide a setting for the story to demonstrate man’s relationship and responsibility to God.

With this abstract meaning in mind, we instead should translate the words "tend and keep" as "worship and serve," as both of these words are translated elsewhere in the Bible. This just highlights the fact that man can not in any way supply for our needs on our own. From the very beginning, man, like all of the rest of creation, needed God desperately. It is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the One who supplies our every need. It wasn’t the garden to which Adam was responsible. No! Adam was and man is responsible to worship and to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. In the way, God didn't create man to meet some need He had in Himself. God created man to worship and to enjoy God forever. Real freedom is when we are operated according to the specs with which God made us.

In v.16-17 of today's passage we read, "16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, 'Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 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.'"

This verse contains the very first words that God spoke directly to man. The word "may" clearly indicates that Adam had the ability to choose right from wrong. This is why God created multiple trees in the garden and they were graciously granted by God for Adam's benefit. Adam was given the freedom to choose to partake of any of those trees except one. 

The words "shall not" clearly indicates God's desire for Adam to not choose the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam was given free will and his free will was given and exercised in a state of innocence. If he hadn’t yet eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil then Adam would not have had the knowledge of evil. Adam's free will was the product of his ability to love or to not love. He had never died and he had never experienced death around him. When he was told that death would result from disobedience, Adam had no way of understanding the implications of his decision to ignore God's instructions. 

Many say of the Bible that it is just a book of do’s and don’ts. I beg to disagree. It is really a book of choices. The do’s and the don’ts are involved in many of those choices, but in this context the choices are set out for our good. If there is a "do," it is there to keep us following the right path. If there is a "don’t," it is there to keep us from getting onto the wrong path. God's do’s and don’ts are the expressions of His love and wisdom. When we operate according to His word and are defined by Him, we will have demonstrated that we have acquired God's wisdom. 

As you already know, Adam didn't choose wisely. As a result he was graciously cast out of the Garden of Eden after he chose to rebel against God. If he had accessed the Tree of Life, well, Adam would have been unredeemable because in his state of sin he would have been galvanized in his sinfulness. After this account in Genesis 2, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil disappears from Scripture. We do not find it specifically mentioned after Genesis 3, largely because its effects have become commonplace. But the tree of life reappears again in the book of the Revelation. In the Garden, there was one command in the negative and that command was based on faith. In Christ there is one request and it is in the positive. And it, likewise, is based on faith. That request says to us today, "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."

Genesis 2:10-14

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10 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. ~ Genesis 2:10-14

Today, we return to our study of the book of Genesis. The theme of the Water of Life begins here in the book of Genesis and goes all the way through the book of Revelation. You will remember that Eden means "delight." In today's passage is mentioned areas that were named before the Flood occurred. All who lived before the Flood knew these areas. They no longer exist as they did before the Flood, but at one point they did and they were known throughout the inhabited world at that time. The rivers names are Pishon, meaning "increase" or "to spring up;" Gihon, meaning "bursting forth;" Hiddekel, meaning "rapid or purpose;" and Perath, meaning "fruitfulness."

The proof that this account is no myth is that two of the rivers mentioned can still be identified. We have certain geographical landmarks given to us. Remember this account describes something that existed before the Flood had undoubtedly widely changed the surface of the earth. Yet, certain of these rivers can be identified. The Hiddekel River is the Tigris today. And the last river was the Euphrates, of course, still bears the same name. The other two rivers are perhaps identical with certain streams which still flow.

In v.10-12 of today's passage we read, "10 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there."

Coming out of the Garden of Eden was a river that watered the garden. The first river that flowed out of the garden was full-flowing, and it makes sense that God wants us to experience a full-flow of His Presence and power in our lives. Once it left the garden it split into 4 branches. Here we have the mention of the first of these four rivers that flowed out of Eden and it was named by God the Pishon River. This river’s name means "to spring up." As was the case with all four rivers, the Pishon River came from one source. Combined with the other three rivers, together they wound their way around the world speaking to all of the God who made them. 

Sadly, many today dismiss the Garden of Eden as a legend or a myth, thinking they are not a real historical account. Nevertheless, today's account itself is highly detailed, giving the sense of a historical narrative, not a myth or legend. Moreover, we do have geographical evidence, as two of the four rivers identified are still in existence today. 

In v.13 of today's passage we read, "The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush."

The second mentioned river was the Gihon River. This river’s name is based on a verb meaning "to burst forth." The previously mentioned land of Havilah is unknown regarding its whereabouts, but it is mentioned four more times in the book of Genesis. As mentioned previously, Havilah had gold and precious stones. The land of Cush may refer to a region of modern-day Ethiopia, so that this river would have gone further to the west. One goes to the south and one goes toward the west, and the Gihon flows west of the Mesopotamian Valley toward modern Ethiopia.

If there had only been one full-flowing river coming out of the garden, we might have concluded that all God was concerned about was us experiencing fullness on a personal level.  However, if we move beyond "fullness" and are "bursting forth," then the nature and character of God coming out of us is bound to influence and impact others as well.

In John 4:14 we read, "Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst, not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life."

It would seem that the message of the Gihon, bursting forth or gushing is that God doesn’t want us merely living lives of survival or of just success, but to move beyond that and truly live lives of significance, not merely focusing on what we need or want for ourselves, but on what we can contribute to others.

In v.14 of today's passage we read, "The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates."

The name of the third river was Hiddekel which meant "swift" or "darting." The idea it gives is that of purpose. For the believer in Christ we get our purpose from being defined by God Himself. Hiddekel was the name some Assyrian monuments had given to the Tigris River which flowed east of Assyria. The two other rivers went south and southwest. Of course the Mediterranean Sea went to the west. And, then there was the Euphrates River. Euphrates means "sweet" or "fruitful." Metaphorically, when we have the first three rivers flowing in our lives with fullness, overflow, and purpose, the result is us experiencing His sweetness and fruitfulness for ourselves.

The Garden of Eden was a massive garden that God provided for man in His original creation. It had rivers flowing out of it. God had been gracious and kind to Adam. This gave Adam no reason to rebel against God but he did. Adam rebelled because he has the freedom to choose God or to choose his way. And, out of that choice, as we know, Adam chose very unwisely. Adam's unwise choice has rendered the chaos, distrust and violence that we see throughout our world today. 

Thank God that the Lord Jesus made the way to reverse these evil effects in our lives for eternity by going to the cross and bearing the payment for our sin which had separated us from God. I trust you have invited Him into your life. These four rivers remind believers in the Lord Jesus Christ that we are God’s garden today, and the message in the names of those original four rivers communicate what God wants operative in our lives today. God wants us to know Him intimately and to go forth and to bear His fruit before a lost and dying world!