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Genesis: The Serpent
October 7, 2017

This week finds us in the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles having last Sabbath observed the Day of Atonement. We continue the study of Genesis after last week considering the exliing of Satan and all that is evil, and today consider the Biblical introduction of evil in Genesis chapter three.

Introduced as the serpent, Satan convinces the woman to abandon the commandment given by God concerning the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Because of the action taken by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden the world we know is a world that is aware of the knowledge of good and evil and frequently contrasts that which is good with that which is evil. A recurring thought in this world is that for evil to triumph, good men do nothing. Our world is a world based on the knowledge of good and evil. The possibility of what the Tree of Life could have brought is something very hard to imagine. We can see shadows of the possibility of what couild have been a far distance away as we look though the dark smoky lenses of a corrupt society. The serpent challenged the woman's belief. She believed what she had been taught by God, that if she ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil she would die. At this point, Eve probably had no concept of life, death, or non-existence. At this point in human history, there was no birth and there was no death. All Even and Adam had known was life. Even in our own life, except for the stories from those older than us, or from the death of a loved one, mortality is hard to comprehend. The older I get, the less I seem to recognize the face that is looking back at me in the mirror. That face seems to be looking more like my father and less like me. Mentally, I do not consider myself as aging, but physically aging is happening to me as one day will death. Like so many young people who live a life as though they will live forever, Eve and Adam made their choice in the Garden of Eden that forever changed the course of this world. As a result we live in a world of both good and evil having this knowledge of both. How different this world would have been if only the Tree of Life would have been considered. Had this choice been made, human suffering as this world has known would not exist and all actions of society would lead to eternal life for all as the world would be living in obedience to God.

Genesis 3:1-7
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Having become self-aware, Eve and Adam made clothes to cover themselves at which point God confronted them. Adam blamed Eve for giving him fruit to eat from the Tree of the Knowlegde of Good and Evil. in turn, Eve blamed the serpent claiming the serpent deceived her. God then cursed the serpent and provided a prophecy; that throughout the existence of mankind Satan would be at odds with the children of God, that Satan would bring temporary harm to her children, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and in turn Jesus Christ would remove Satan from power by binding him in the bottomless pit, a theme of the Day of Atonement.

Genesis 3:8-15
And they heard the voice 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 amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

God also gave consequences to Eve and Adam and as an extension to women and men throughout history. The challenges of parenting and earning a living we all know today were imposed as a punishment for these actions as was human mortality. Up until this time the Bible is unclear if God's intent was to create physical mankind as immortal; but from this point forward motality is evident.

Genesis 3:16-24
Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

The knowledge of good and evil is something that God has knowledge and God most wanted mankind to first learn the knowledge of life as the knowledge of life would influence choices for good over choices for evil. To prevent an evil access to eternal life, Eve and Adam were exiled from the Garden of Eden which was protected by Cherubims and a flaming sword to protect access to the Tree of Life.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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