Genesis 3:17-19

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17 Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it: Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.'" ~ Genesis 3:17-19

Today, we continue our study of Genesis 3. There are those who argue that male headship in marriage is a result of sin. But, the responsibility that God gave men from the beginning is woven into the fabric of creation, it was part of how God designed things before sin came into the world. In today's passage we learn for the first time the nature of the sin that caused the Fall of humanity and it was not merely that Adam ate the forbidden fruit; there was something that preceded the eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

In v.17 of today's passage we read, "Then to Adam He said, 'Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it:' Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.'"

This verse provides the rationale for Adam’s punishment which was that he had abandoned his headship. Adam’s fundamental mistake was that he obeyed his wife instead of God. Adam’s mistake was that, instead of protecting her, he went along with her into sin.

The Apostle Paul gives us the order of headship in 1 Corinthians 11:3 which reads, "Christ is the head of the man, the man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of Christ." In addition, it was also the Apostle Paul who informed us that Adam was not deceived in the Fall. The woman was deceived and she concluded when she ate the fruit, she would become like God. But Adam was not deceived. He knew that if they ate the fruit the Fall would follow; that they would lose their relationship with God, and that death would occur. He knew it, but he deliberately disobeyed God and set his wife above God. He denied the headship of Christ over himself and surrendered his own headship over the woman. 

As a result of man's deliberate sin the ground was cursed. The consequences for Adam and Eve were directed at their points of highest fulfillment. For woman, it is in her capacity as mother and wife. For man, it’s in his capacity as breadwinner and provider. Adam struggled to provide the bread that he and his family needed to live. Thorns and thistles appeared and began to cover the ground, and, man was introduced to unending toil and sorrow. The word "toil" is exactly the same word in Hebrew that is translated pain for the woman: It is heartbreaking sorrow. "Work" is not the curse given to man; work is a blessing. In fact, it is from work that we gain our dignity. It is toil that is the curse. If we do not have work to do, we are of all people most miserable. Work is a blessing from God; but hard, grinding, toiling work is the result of the Fall. 

In v.18 of today's passage we read, "Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field."

As we’ve been learning from Genesis 3, when sin came, came decay, disease, disorder, and death. The original Eden fell into chaos, and this is the general feature of life, that we are moving down a path of decay, disease, disorder to death. 

In v.19 of today's passage we read, "In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; For dust you are, and to dust you shall return."

It is the sense of death that lurks at the boundaries of our lives that gives us a feeling of futility about life. In Luke 12, after the rich man had built his barns and filled them that the Lord Jesus said to him, "You fool! This night your soul shall be required of you." Then he asked him this question, "Then, whose shall these things be?"  This is the question death forces us to face. We struggle to amass things on this earth, and then what a sense of futility there is in having to pass them along to somebody else. No one ever dies as a millionaire because none of this world's wealth can pass into eternity with us. 

Modern science has verified that man is made out of the same stuff rocks are made out of. In fact, our bodies are made of 85 percent water. Death is not really the original end for man, but a tragic punishment for his disobedience. Adam's work until he dies and when he dies, he’ll turn to dust. After sin came into the world, death came with it. And, Adam's death was described as a reversal of the creation process, "for dust you are, and to dust you shall return."  Adam’s name literally meant "dirt or dust," so his name was a perpetual reminder of his destiny.  

At the end of v.19 we see that man will be ultimately defeated by work, as the ground will eventually swallow him up in death.  But even in this punishment there is yet God’s provision. Although work is painful, it does bear fruit. And, the first couple had offspring, and one of their offspring will defeat the serpent in the end. Evil and pain still hounds mankind, but they won’t stalk us forever. And, as God has promised, death will be swallowed up in victory. For those of us who have believed that the Lord Jesus toiled on the cross for our rest and was raised from the dead, will one day live in a land where love and work will be blessed, not cursed. For now, pain is our punishment, but for eternity rest will be our reward.

Genesis 3:16

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"To the woman He said: 'I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.” ~ Genesis 3:16

Today, we continue our study of the first book of the Bible, the book of beginnings, the book of Genesis. After the serpent convinced the first couple to be defined by him, man had to live with all of the negative results of living in a world run by the devil. When God levied the curse on the serpent, the first woman, Eve, was informed that even though she had sinned, she would yet birth a child. The serpent was told that Eve's Seed would crush his head, implying to Eve that one day she would be with child. Due to the birth of sin, Eve discovered that the curse of the serpent and the promise of a coming Seed to crush his head would come at a great cost to her. Eve had been sentenced to the multiplication of sorrows beginning with her conception all the way through the birth of her baby. 

After the Fall, God's approach to Eve was different than it was to Adam. To Adam, God said, "Because you have done this," and then He held Adam responsible for the consequences of his sin. But to Eve, God made no such charge of responsibility. This is very significant. There were consequences that followed sin in Eve's life, but God did not charge her ultimately with being at fault for sin and we shall see why when we come to God's word to Adam. 

The word translated "pain" in today's verse refers to more than mere physical pain; it is the Hebrew word that adds "sorrow" to pain. This word comes from a root which means "heart-breaking toil." This is perhaps why there has come into our language a description of birth pains as "labor," the toil of the heart-breaking variety. It is evident, in view of the way the whole context has developed, that this means more than simply physical pain; it refers also to the heartbreak associated with having and raising children. This is why the mother struggles with potential heartbreak throughout her children's lifetimes. This word means that a mother's sense of success or failure in life is shackled to her children's overall success or failure. Any threat to her children, no matter their age, will always render pain in the heart of the mother.

The words in today's verse helps to explain 1 Timothy 2:12-15 which reads, "12 And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. 15 Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control."

Obviously this passage is about how a mother finds a sense of satisfaction in life. The life of the mother who is being defined by God is made most purposeful through the process that begins with the birthing and rearing of her children. All mother's hearts are wrapped up with the lives and careers of their children. In each mother's life, her meaning and purpose is largely wrapped up in the success of her children. The Lord here in 1 Timothy informs the mother that her responsibility before the Lord for the "success" of her children is to train them in the ways of the Lord and as long as they continue in faith, love, wholeness with self-control, they will bring joy to their mother.

God's design which was disrupted by sin was for the husband to lead his family in the culture of God. This responsibility was to include a selfless approach as the husband walked with God and would be used of God to inculcate His culture in the lives of his family. We see the proper order of this relationship carefully noted by the apostles in the New Testament. In order for the mother to be defined by God best as a mother, she is responsible to fulfill her role with reference to her husband first. When sin was introduced, strife was introduced in her relationship with her husband. And, to the degree that she chooses to be defined by God, will be the degree to which she will train her children in the culture of God. The wife best deals with the negative results of sin in her most important relationship on earth with her husband by being herself defined by God. Before she can export the important lessons found in God's love and holiness with self-control, she must herself import the culture of God into her own life. And, of course, she does this by being defined by God. As a result of her being defined by God, her children will be more likely defined by God's love and wholeness with self-control.

Back in Genesis 1, God said to the first couple "Be fruitful and multiply." Adam and Eve were to be a team that worked together in the way they had been created. Ruling together, subduing together, and multiplying together; they were to export the culture of God to all those around them. But, once sin entered the world, their team was broken up and Eve's desire for her husband had turned into "her desire to rule over him."

The final phrase in Genesis 3:16, "And he shall rule over you," is used only one another time in the entire Old Testament. The only other time it is used is in Genesis 4:6-7 describing Cain's desire to rule over his brother. And, we know where that got him. This means the culture of the devil was automatically passed on to Eve's children, making her more sorrowful. Adam and Eve were meant to be together, to reign together, and to have dominion over the earth together. But, once Eve was deceived and defined by the enemy, she usurped the authority of her husband and she desired to rule over him.

Sadly, everyone since came into this world automatically being defined by the devil. As a result, everybody wants to blame God for the evil that we brought into this world. Many ask, "How can a loving God be so unloving?" Well, this question has been tainted by the very one who has duped everyone into believing that God is not good. And, we know that the root of sin is the suspicion that God is not good. 

As we have pointed out before, the free will solution proposes God desires authentic relationships with humanity over a world without evil, and free will is necessary to initiate and cultivate authentic relationships. Thus, God chose to create a world where the highest good of real love was and is possible through humanity’s free will, despite the risk of giving birth to evil. If the free will solution is accepted, then God remains all-knowing, all-good, and all-powerful because a free humanity is the cause of evil, not Him, and He cannot restrain evil without violating free will and eliminating the possibility of real relationships anchored in genuine love.

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.