HBS & DwJ Podcast

In Genesis 3 we have the root of sin and in Genesis 4 the fruit of sin.

How bad is sin?

Well, in this chapter, we find that man was not just suffering from ptomaine poisoning because of having eaten the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Ptomaine poisoning nowadays is much more commonly known by the generic term of food poisoning.

Chapter 4 reveals how much had really happened to the man. By his disbelief and his disobedience, he had turned away from God and had sinned in such a way that he brought upon himself and his race His judgment, because you and I are given this same kind of nature.

We have the same nature that our father had, and Adam has given all of us a pretty bad nature. All this is revealed in the story of the two sons of Adam and Eve. They had more children than this, but we are given the record of only these two at this time.

Genesis 4:1–16 tells the beginning of human history in the wake of Adam's and Eve's sin and separation from God. This passage details the murder of Abel by his older brother Cain, the first son of Adam and Eve.

Cain and Abel work the ground and tend sheep. They worship God, but Cain kills Abel in a fit of envy over God's rejection of Cain and his offering. The first human born on earth becomes the first murderer.

God forces Cain to leave his family and wander the earth, but God also marks Cain with a promise of great vengeance on anyone who would kill him.

The consequences of sin become apparent in chapter 4: envy, arrogance, rebellion, murder, punishment, separation from family, and separation from God. Adam and Eve's firstborn son, Cain, jealously murders his brother Abel and loses everything. Adam and Eve lose them both.

Cain's descendants amplify his sinfulness. Still, God provides help for Eve in childbirth and even provides protection for Cain in his wandering.

Eve remains a woman of faith, even in her loss. And the sons of Seth, born after the murder of Abel, become a people who proclaim the name of the Lord.

Our Scripture Of The Week Is:

Genesis 4:7 KJV
[7] If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

In the previous verse, God asked Cain why he felt so much anger when God rejected his offering.
God had shown favor on his brother Abel and his offering, which seems to have enraged Adam and Eve's firstborn son.

God now speaks a wise warning to Cain. Cain will not heed it, but it is a warning for us as well. God asks Cain to adjust his understanding of what is good to God's understanding of goodness. If Cain does well by God's standard, God will accept him.

In other words, there is no reason for Cain to be angry about God's rejection. The cure for that rejection is obedience: if Cain does what is right, God will accept him.

If Cain insists on setting his own standards for what is acceptable, sin "is crouching at the door." That poetic phrase captures the nature of our rebellion against God. Sin desires to own us, and our refusal to let God set the standard for right and wrong in our lives is the fast track to sin.

God acknowledges the reality of human nature. We are locked in a battle with sin's desire for us (or our desire to sin).

God tells Cain he is responsible to win that battle, to rule over his sin. The Hebrew terms used in this verse are exactly the same ones spoken to Eve in Genesis 3:16.

These are from the root words tashuwqah, translated "desire," and mashal, translated "rule over."
Despite sin's "desire" for control over him, Cain must "rule over" his temptations and not give in.

Genesis 4:1
And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.

Our lesson text now jumps past the account of the fall in Genesis 3 to the conception and birth of Cain.

The majority of interpreters see all the events of Genesis 4 as occurring after Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden (3:23, 24).

Against this understanding, however, is a proposal that the construction in the original language has the author backtracking (at least briefly) to events that occur prior to the expulsion.

This theory means that Eve’s future punishment noted in Genesis 3:16 connects with childbearing already experienced.

Whether what is recorded in the verse before us happens before or after the fall may affect interpretation.

If the birth of Cain takes place before the fall, then Eve’s words I have gotten a man from the Lord are seen as giving the Lord credit.

If the birth of Cain takes place after the fall into sin, however, Eve’s words are understood by some to be a boast in that she is claiming to have created a man just as the Lord did.

This reveals the fact that Adam and Eve certainly did not anticipate that the struggle was going to be long.

When Cain was born, Eve must have said, “I have gotten the man from the Lord. God said that the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent—and here he is!”

But Cain was not the one. He was a murderer, he was no savior at all. It will be a long time before the Savior comes.

For a minimum of six thousand years—and I think it has been longer than that—the struggle has been going on between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.

In either case, we see underway the God-ordained imperative to multiply.

The sexual function between husband and wife is God-ordained.

Sexual expression neither resulted in nor resulted from the fall into sin by Adam and Eve.

The name Cain occurs 20 times in 17 verses in the KJV, and all but one of these (Joshua 15:57) refers to the individual in the verse before us.

Three of the occurrences are in the New Testament (Hebrews 11:4; 1 John 3:12; Jude 11).



Genesis 4:2.
And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

These are the two boys that we are looking at.

The designation Abel occurs 16 times in 13 verses in the KJV, although some refer to a stone (1 Samuel 6:18) or a city (2 Samuel 20:14, 15, 18).

Four of the references to Abel the man are in the New Testament (Matthew 23:35; Luke 11:51; Hebrews 11:4; 12:24).

To be either a keeper of sheep or a tiller of the ground is a common occupation in antiquity.



Genesis 4:3
And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.

The phrase used here refers to a long indefinite period.

This was probably the first offering that he brought, even though the Lord had explained to the First Family the necessity of the Sacrificial System, that is, if they were to have any type of communion with God and forgiveness of sins.

There is evidence that Adam, at least for a while, offered up sacrifices.

“In process of time” actually means “at the end of days,” which would mean on the Sabbath Day, on the day that God had rested.

“Cain brought”—the idea of “brought” means to an appointed place.

They are bringing an offering to God to an appointed place to worship.

All this would indicate that they are doing it by revelation.

I know that they are, for when we turn to Hebrews 11:4, we read: “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.”

How could Abel offer it “by faith”?

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17).

God had to have given His Word about this, or this boy Abel could never have come by faith, and that is the way he came.

The other boy did not come that way. “Cain brought of the fruit of the ground.” There is nothing wrong with the fruit.

Don’t think that he brought the leftovers—his attitude is not that of giving old clothes to the mission.

I think that the fruit he brought would have won the blue ribbon in any county or state fair in the country.

He brought the best of his beautiful, delicious fruit. and he brought it as an offering to the Lord.

Cain knew the type of Sacrifice that the Lord would accept, but he rebelled against that admonition, demanding that God accept the labor of his hands, which, in fact, God could not accept.

So we have, in the persons of Cain and Abel, the first examples of a religious man of the world and a genuine man of Faith.



Genesis 4:4
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

This is what God demanded; it was a blood sacrifice of an innocent victim, a lamb, which proclaimed the fact that Abel recognized his need of a Redeemer, and that One was coming Who would redeem lost humanity.

The Offering of Abel was a Type of Christ and the price that He would pay on the Cross of Calvary in order for man to be redeemed.

As stated, this was a Type of Christ and the Cross, the only Offering which God will respect.

Abel’s Altar is beautiful to God’s Eye and repulsive to man’s.

Cain’s altar is beautiful to man’s eye and repulsive to God’s.

These “altars” exist today; around the one that is Christ and His atoning work, few are gathered, around the other, many.

God accepts the slain lamb and rejects the offered fruit; and the offering being rejected, so of necessity is the offeror.



Genesis 4:5
But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

Someone may say, “I don’t see anything wrong in the thing Cain did.”

In the eleventh verse of his epistle, speaking of apostates in the last days, Jude says, “. . . They have gone in the way of Cain . . .”

What is the way of Cain?

When Cain brought an offering to God, he did not come by faith—he came on his own.

And the offering that he brought denied that human nature is evil.

God said, “Bring that little blood sacrifice which will point to the Redeemer who is coming into the world. Come on that basis, and don’t come by bringing the works of your own hands.”

Cain’s offering also denied that man was separated from God.

He acted like everything was all right.

This is what liberalism does today in talking about the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man.

My Christian Siblings, things are not all right with us today.

We are not born children of God.

We have to be born again to become children of God.

Man is separated from God.

Cain refused to recognize that, and multitudes today refuse to do so as well.

The third thing that Cain’s offering denied was that man cannot offer works to God—Cain felt he could.

Scripture says: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5).

The difference between Cain and Abel was not a character difference at all, but the difference was in the offerings which they brought.

These two boys had the same background.

They had the same heredity.

They had the same environment.

There was not that much difference between them.

Don’t tell me that Cain got his bad disposition from an alcoholic grandfather on his father’s side—he didn’t have a grandfather.

And don’t say that Abel got his good disposition from a very fine grandmother on his mother’s side.

They just didn’t have grandparents.

They had the same heredity and the same environment.

The difference was in the offerings.

That offering makes a difference in men today.

No Christian takes the position that they are better than anyone else.

The thing that makes them a Christian is that they recognize that they are sinners like everyone else and that they need an offering, they need a sacrifice, and they need Someone to take their place and to die for them.

Paul says of Christ: “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood . . .” (Rom. 3:25).

Therefore Paul could further write: “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God” (Rom. 10:3).

That is the picture of multitudes of people today.

They are attempting through religion, through joining a church and doing something, to make themselves acceptable to God.

God’s righteousness can only come to you—because it must be a perf

Our topic today is:

The Doctrine Of Redemption Introduced – The Blood Of The Sacrifice Discussion

This does not mean that Cain and Abel were born in the Garden of Eden, but it is definite that they were born after the fall of Adam and Eve.

In order to have the skins of animals, the animals have to be slain. I believe that this is the origin of sacrifice and that God made it clear to man.

God rejected their fig leaves but made them clothing of skins, and when Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden, they looked back upon a bloody sacrifice.

When they looked back, they saw exactly what God had Moses put on the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies: two cherubim looking down upon the blood that was there—and that was the way to God.

Our Scripture Of The Week Is:

Leviticus 17:11 KJV
[11] For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

But this law was ceremonial, and is now no longer in force; the coming of the substance does away the shadow. The blood of beasts is no longer the ransom, but Christ's blood only.

The blood is now allowed for the nourishment of our bodies; it is no longer appointed to make an atonement for the soul.

Now the blood of Christ makes atonement really and effectually; to that, therefore, we must have regard, and not consider it as a common thing, or treat it with indifference.

***It is now time for something to think about:
If You Happen To Find Yourself Wanting To Support A Minority Business Try -

135 Agency – PR Company

A team of audacious, experienced communications possesses unrivaled grit, tenacity, resourcefulness, and local experience.

They stop at nothing to get strong results for their clients by driving reach and inspiring consumer engagement.

They have offices in New York City and Atlanta with local presence in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Washington DC, Baltimore, Detroit, Charlotte, Philadelphia, Newark, St. Louis, Houston, Miami, Seattle, Las Vegas, and San Francisco.

You Can Find This Business Online @

one35agency.com

That's

one35agency.com

Genesis 3:20
And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

The story ends with some final arrangements.

The woman needs a name, and Adam served as the namer-in-chief earlier (Genesis 2: 19, 20).

He gives her a hopeful name, one based on the word for living.

Adam understands that Eve will produce babies and multiply the number of humans (1: 28).



Genesis 3:21
Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

Following the devastating announcements of discipline, God proceeds to demonstrate an act of grace: He makes coats of skins for the couple.

The two have already made coverings of fig leaves for themselves ( Genesis 3: 7 ), and we wonder if the additional covering of skins foreshadows the system of animal sacrifices that God will institute later.

Nothing is said in the Bible about this.

The immediate message to Adam and Eve is what should not be overlooked: the God who has just disciplined them still cares deeply for them.

There are four great lessons that we see from the fig leaves and the fact that God clothed them with skins.

Humankind must have adequate covering to approach God.

We cannot come to God on the basis of your good works.

We must come just as we are—a sinner.

Fig leaves are unacceptable; they are homemade.

God does not take a homemade garment.

God must provide the covering.

The covering is obtained only through the death of the Lord Jesus.

Man must have a substitute between himself and God’s wrath.

That is important even in these days for man to consider.

The hardest thing in the world is for man to take his rightful position before God.

This anonymous poem on prayer reveals the necessity of this even in our own hearts:

He prayed for strength that he might achieve; He was made weak that he might obey.

He prayed for health that he might do greater things; He was given infirmity that he might do better things;

He prayed for riches that he might be happy; He was given poverty that he might be wise.

He prayed for power that he might have the praise of men; He was given infirmity that he might feel the need of God.

He prayed for all things that he might enjoy life; He was given life that he might enjoy all things.

He had received nothing that he asked for—all that he hoped for; His prayer was answered—he was most blessed.

Salvation comes when you and I take our proper place as sinners before God.



Genesis 3:22
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:

The author gives a divine detail at this juncture: the gist of God’s rationale for expelling the two from the garden.

Things have changed, and sin has caused a loss of innocence for the man and his companion.

God foresees that Adam has become as one of us. The “us” is not specified.

Some see this as God’s addressing His heavenly council of angels (compare Job 1: 6).

Others see it as conversation between the three persons of the Triune. Still others see it as the “plural of majesty”.

To lose access to the tree of life signs the death warrant of Adam and Eve.

Instead of living forever, they will age and eventually die.

Another future feature of the New Jerusalem is year-round access to the tree of life, planted in or straddling the river of life (Revelation 22: 2).



Genesis 3:23
Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

Perhaps this verse offers one reason why the Lord has clothed the couple: to prepare them for life away from the garden of Eden, from which they are now expelled.

In verse 22 (not in today’s text), God gives the reason for their eviction— so that they, in their fallen condition, will not eat of the tree of life and live forever.

This is an act of discipline, but it is also one of grace.

Sin-cursed humanity must be protected from itself.

Unchecked sin would be catastrophic.

The Hebrew word translated till is the same as that translated “dress” in Genesis 2: 15 .

The man will continue to do the work he was doing in the garden, only now he will do so with the grim awareness that the ground from which he has been made is cursed ( 3: 17 ).

He has no one to blame for this sad outcome but himself.

All I can say to this is, thank God that He did not let man live eternally in sin and that God is not going to let us do that.

That is really a blessing!



Genesis 3:24
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 Lord takes extraordinary measures to prevent contact with the precious tree of life, posting a guard of heavenly beings known as Cherubims (compare Ezekiel 10: 20).

Although stated as guarding the east side of Eden, the implication is that the Cherubims prevent any approach to the special tree.

This raises a question: Why didn’t God just destroy the garden and its location.

The Bible does not address this issue specifically.

Given that the garden of Eden is not to be found anywhere today, God either did destroy it eventually or allowed forces of nature to overtake it.

Traditionally, the garden is located in Mesopotamia between the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers.

We search in vain, though, to find this exact spot.

We will only see it restored as the New Jerusalem of Revelation 21 and 22.

This does not mean that God put up a roadblock.

It means that the way of life was kept open for man to come to God.

But now that way is not through the tree of life.

Salvation must come through a sacrifice, and when man looked back, the blood of the sacrifice is what he saw.

Our Scripture Of The Week Is:

Romans 5:9-10 KJV
[9] Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
[10] For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

This and the following verse say very similar things. Paul often repeats words and ideas in his letters to emphasize how important they are. He begins by saying that we have now been justified by Christ's blood.

To be "justified" in God's eyes means to be "declared righteous," or to be made right with God.
This is important, since earlier verses have made it clear that we are not, actually "righteous" people.

Based on our actions and attitudes, we are not "good." In order to be reconciled to God, we need to be forgiven, and "declared" as righteous; this is what it means to be justified. The way that we were justified is by Christ's blood, by His death for our sin on the cross.

In fact, Paul has shown that there is no other way to become right with God than by Christ's death for us. Since that is true, Paul writes that it is even more true that we will be saved by Christ from the wrath of God.

We need to be careful how we read this. Paul is not implying that there is a question about whether those who are in Christ will experience God's wrathful, angry judgment on sin. Those who have expressed saving faith—true believers—absolutely will not.

Instead, Paul is simply arguing that the second idea is obvious, once the first is accepted. Writing today, Paul might have said, "Since A is true, then B is really, really true." Both ideas are connected, and both are true.

In other words, those who are justified in God's eyes, through faith in what Christ has done, will certainly never suffer God's wrath for our sin. This is the context of Paul's use of the word "we" in this passage: those who are saved by grace through faith.

Verse 10 very closely follows the pattern of the previous verse, but it also contains key changes. Verse 9 emphasized the legal standing of those who trust in Christ: We have been justified, and we will not experience God's judgment.

Put another way, we have been declared "not guilty," and we will not be condemned. This is important to understand, since earlier passages made it clear that we are not, in actual fact, righteous people (Romans 3:10, 23).

The point of salvation by grace through faith is that we are forgiven, and declared righteous, thanks to Christ, though we don't deserve it. This verse shifts to focus on our personal relationship with God.

Those who trust in Christ are reconciled to God by Christ's death, even though we were God's enemies, because of our sin. In other words, Christ's death in our place for our sin made it possible for us to enter into a real and personal relationship, something not possible without Christ.

Before we came to this point, God considered us enemies due to our rebellious sin. Now He considers us His beloved children.

Since we were reconciled with God by Christ's death, Paul writes, how much truer is it that we will be saved—rescued from being eternally separated from God, and from His angry judgment—by Christ's life.

This may refer to Christ's sinless life on earth before the crucifixion or it may refer to Christ's resurrection from the dead, which showed that God's justice for our sin had been fully satisfied and concluded.

Genesis 3:14

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.

Since the serpent has been the instrument of deception, God addresses him first in judgment.

God’s pronouncement of a curse on the serpent above all cattle, and above every beast of the field seems to say that all other creatures will suffer negative effects as a result of sin’s entrance into the world (see Romans 8: 22 , 23 ), but the serpent will be punished more severely than they.

Some suggest that the words upon thy belly shalt thou go imply that the serpent stands upright prior to this curse.

But this phrase may mean that the serpent’s crawling will now carry with it a meaning of contempt that was not present previously.

The idea of eating dust likely signifies humiliation or shame, which it does elsewhere in Scripture (see Psalm 72: 9 ; Isaiah 49: 23 ; Micah 7: 17 ).


Genesis 3:15

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.

“And I will put enmity between thee [that is, Satan] and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it [that is, Christ] shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel,” This is a tremendous statement that is given to us here.

The most prominent thought is not the ultimate victory that would come, but the long-continued struggle.

This verse reveals the fact that now there is to be a long struggle between good and evil.

This is exactly what you will find in the rest of the Scriptures.

The Lord Jesus made this statement in His day concerning this struggle: “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44).

“The devil” is Satan. The Lord Jesus Christ made the distinction between children of God and children of Satan.

John again mentions this conflict in 1 John 3:10: “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.”

Thus we have brought before us the fact that here is a conflict, here is a struggle, and here are two seeds in the world.

There will be the final victory—but the long—continued struggle is important to note.

Every man must face temptation and must win his battle.

Before Christ came, the victory was through obedience in faith.

After Christ came, we are to identify ourselves with Christ through faith.

What does it mean to be saved?

It means to be in Christ.

Man was one of three orders of creation: angels, man, and animals.

Animals were given no choice, but man and angels were given a choice.

Here you have, if you please, man’s choice.

He has made a decision, and he is held responsible for the decision that he has made.

Notice that it says “her seed.” It does not say the man’s seed. Here is at least the suggestion of the virgin birth of Christ.

When God went into that garden looking for man, He said, “Where art thou?”

Any anthology of religion tells the story of man’s search for God.

My Christian Siblings, that is not the way God tells it.

Let’s tell it like it is: Salvation is God’s search for man. Man ran away from Him, and God called to him, “Where art thou?”

God seeks out man, and He offers man salvation, but there is going to be a long struggle that will take place.

The enmity, or hostility, mentioned here is reflected to some extent in the aversion most people have to snakes.

But the language of this verse, especially toward the end, points to a deeper spiritual hostility that understands the seed of the serpent to be linked with Satan and all who carry out his evil intentions (compare John 8: 44 ).

Satan’s continuing desire is to ruin lives by deceit (just as he ruined Eve’s ), thereby thwarting God’s righteous purposes toward those created in His image (compare Revelation 12: 9).

In time, however, one seed (descendant) of the woman fulfills God’s purpose by dealing Satan a death blow. This is pictured here as striking the enemy’s head.

Jesus does this by means of His death on the cross (Hebrews 2: 14 , 15 ; compare 1 John 3: 8).

That Satan is to bruise his heel indicates that Satan inflicts a measure of suffering on the Son of God, but this in no way causes the kind of damage that Jesus inflicts on Satan.


Genesis 3:16

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.

This is the judgment upon woman. She cannot bring a child into the world without sorrow.

Isn’t it interesting that that should be true?

The very thing that brings joy into the life and continues the human family has to come through sorrow.

God turns His attention to the woman.

Childbearing was to occur as a part of God’s plan prior to the fall ( Genesis 1: 28), but now the process of multiplying through childbearing will be accompanied by a multiplying of sorrow, referring primarily to the pain involved in giving birth.

Some suggest that a part of this sorrow includes the understanding that any child will enter a world greatly tainted by sin.

Who can foresee what aspects of the curse of sin lie ahead for a newborn baby as he or she matures?

Despite a parent’s best intentions, a child will experience the sorrows of life in a fallen world— and for some that sorrow will be especially tragic.

Another consequence for the woman is stated, one that affects the relationship between husband and wife: and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

This has been interpreted in various ways.

One idea is that it means she will still desire her husband in spite of the pain of childbirth, and that he will use that to dominate her in the relationship.

It seems better, however, to view this statement as a description of the tension, in the sense of a power struggle, that will characterize the relationship between a husband and a wife as a result of the fall.

The harmony and unity that was so eloquently expressed by Adam when the Lord brought the woman to him ( Genesis 2: 23 ) will now be a struggle to maintain.

No man should interpret the language of this verse as a license to mistreat his wife.

He must honor God in the way he treats his spouse, a principle discussed by Paul, who uses Christ’s love for the church as a model ( Ephesians 5: 25 ).


Genesis 3:17

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.

Now addressing the man, God makes Adam’s blame clear: he hast hearkened unto the voice of [his] wife rather than to God’s voice.

Then the man’s punishment is pronounced: cursed is the ground for thy sake.

Like the woman, the man will experience his own version of sorrow; it will come in his efforts to bring forth food from the ground.

God had placed the man in the Garden of Eden “to dress it and to keep it” ( Genesis 2: 15 ).

This task was intended to be a source of satisfaction as the man worked in harmony with his Creator.

Now, however, such work will be much more of a drudgery or toil.

Thus the important tasks given for the man and the woman will still be done: children will to be born and crops will be harvested.

But the struggle to carry out these duties will always be a reminder of the high price of disobeying God.


Genesis 3:18

Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

Thorns and thistles were not originally in the creation of God, this being a result of the curse, which is a result of the sin of man.

This would not now grow freely, as originally intended, but only now with great care and great labor.


Genesis 3:19

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.

This is the judgment upon man. Death now comes to man.

What is death?

Physical death is a separation of the person, the spirit, the soul, from the body.

Ecclesiastes says: “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it” (Eccl. 12:7).

Man ultimately must answer to God.

Whether he is saved or lost, he is going to have to answer to God.

But Adam did not die physically the day that he ate. He did not die until more than nine hundred years later.

The whole point is simply this: he died s

Our Scripture Of The Week Is:

Jeremiah 11:10-11 KJV
[10] They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.
[11] Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.

God never promised to bestow blessings on his rational creatures, while they persist in wilful disobedience.

Pardon and acceptance are promised freely to all believers; but no man can be saved who does not obey the command of God to repent, to believe in Christ, to separate from sin and the world, to choose self-denial and newness of life.

In general, men will hearken to those who speak of doctrines, promises, and privileges; but when duties are mentioned, they will not bend their ear.

Evil pursues sinners, and entangles them in snares, out of which they cannot free themselves. Now, in their distress, their many gods and many altars stand them in no stead.

And those whose own prayers will not be heard, cannot expect benefit from the prayers of others.
Their profession of religion shall prove of no use. When trouble came upon them, they made this their confidence, but God has rejected it. His altar shall yield them no satisfaction.

The remembrance of God's former favours to them shall be no comfort under troubles; and his remembrance of them shall be no argument for their relief. Every sin against the Lord is a sin against ourselves, and so it will be found sooner or later.

Genesis 3:6

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.

You will find that this is the exact temptation that Satan brought to the Lord Jesus in the wilderness (see Matt. 4, Mark 1, and Luke 4).

First of all, he said to our Lord, “Make these stones into bread”—this was the appeal to the flesh, as the tree was good for food.

Then Satan showed the Lord the kingdoms of the world and offered them to Him—that was an appeal to the mind, as the tree was pleasant to the eyes.

Then finally he said, “Cast Yourself down from the temple”—this was an appeal to the religious side of man, as the tree was to be desired to make one wise.

I do not think that the Devil has changed his tactics today.

He uses the same tactics with you and me, and the reason that he still uses them is that they work.

He hasn’t needed to change his tactics, for we all seem to fall for the same line.

John wrote: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:16).

“The lust of the flesh”—that is, the tree was good to eat.

“The lust of the eyes”—the tree was good to look at.

“The pride of life”—the tree was to be desired to make one wise.

These things are not of the Father, but of the world.

Jesus said that these sins of the flesh come out of the heart of man, way down deep.

This is where Satan is making his appeal.

This is the method that he is using in order that he might reach in and lead mankind astray.

And he succeeded.

They were told that they would know good and evil—and what happened?

We now have the results of the fall of man.

This presents the lust of the eyes.

This presents the lust of the flesh.

This exemplifies the pride of life.

This constitutes the Fall of humanity.

This refers to the fact that evidently Adam was an observer to all these proceedings;

Some claim that he ate of the forbidden fruit which she offered him out of love for her; however, no one ever sins out of love;

Eve submitted to the temptation out of deception, but “Adam was not deceived” [I Tim. 2:14]; he fell because of unbelief; he simply didn’t believe what God had said about the situation;

Contrast Verse 6 with Luke 4:1-13; both present the three temptations, “the lust of the flesh,” “the lust of the eyes,” and “the pride of life”; the first man falls, the Second Man conquers.


Genesis 3:7

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.

“And the eyes of them both were opened”—this refers to their conscience.

Before the fall, man did not have a conscience; he was innocent.

Innocence is ignorance of evil.

Man did not make conscience.

It is an accuser that each one of us has living on the inside of us.

“And they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” Have you ever noticed that the fig tree is the only tree that is specifically mentioned?

(The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is not an apple tree. I do not know what it was, but I am almost sure it was not an apple tree.)

These fig leaves concealed but did not really cover.

Adam and Eve did not confess; they just attempted to cover up their sin.

They were not ready to admit their lost condition.

This is the same condition of man today in religion.

He goes through exercises and rituals, he joins churches, and he becomes very religious.

Have you ever noticed that Christ cursed the fig tree?

That is quite interesting.

And He denounced religion right after that, by the way; He denounced it with all His being because religion merely covers over sin.

In this temptation Satan wanted to come between man’s soul and God.

In other words, he wanted to wean man from God, to win man over to himself, and to become the god of man.

The temptations of the flesh would not have appealed to man in that day, anyway.

He was not tempted to steal or lie or covet.

He was just tempted to doubt God.

What was the trouble with the rich young ruler?

He did not believe God.

In the parable of the tares, the tares are those who would not believe God.

Notice Satan’s method.

First, Eve saw that the tree was good for food; second, it was pleasant to the eye; and third, it was to be desired to make one wise.

Satan works from the outside to the inside, from without to within.

On the other hand, God begins with man’s heart.

Religion is something that you rub on the outside, but God does not begin with religion.

May I make a distinction here: Christianity is not a religion; Christianity is Christ.

There are a lot of religions, but the Lord Jesus went right to the fountainhead when He said, “Ye must be born again.”

He said to the Pharisees who were very religious on the outside, “Make the inside of the platter clean.

You are just like a mausoleum, beautiful on the outside with marble and flowers, but inside full of dead men’s bones.” What a picture!

And Adam and Eve, instead of confessing their sin, sewed fig leaves together as a covering.

May I say to you, there is really no new style in fig leaves.

Men are still going to church and going through religious exercises and good works instead of confessing the sin of their hearts.

This refers to the consciousness of guilt as a result of their sin.

This refers to the fact that they had lost the covering light of purity, which previously had clothed their bodies.

Now, the sinners clothe themselves with morality, sacraments, and religious ceremonies; they are as worthless as Adam’s apron of fig leaves.


Genesis 3:8

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.

It may seem odd that God is described as walking in the garden, since “God is a spirit” (John 4: 24).

The language is most likely a way of portraying the closeness that has characterized the relationship between God and the two humans to this point.

One may assume that Adam and Eve’s “walk” up to now has pleased God, and they have welcomed the opportunity to walk with Him whenever He comes into the garden. That situation is about to change.

Adam and his wife no longer welcome the sound of God’s approach.

The trees of the garden that have been given to them for their pleasure and enjoyment ( Genesis 2: 16 ) are now used as a shield to hide behind.

The two are trying to avoid having to face the Lord.


Genesis 3:9

And the LORD God called unto Adam , and said unto him, Where art thou?

God already knows where Adam is, of course. God asks Where art thou? because Adam needs to know that God desires a word with him.

Religion will separate you from God—and Adam is lost.

Adam is lost, and it is God seeking him and not man seeking God.


Genesis 3:10

And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

Adam’s admission of being afraid signals the end of the closeness that has characterized the relationship that he and Eve have enjoyed between themselves and God to this point.

The nakedness that had produced no shame previously ( Genesis 2: 25 ) is now a source of shame.

Adam is not fully naked at this point since both he and Eve have clothed themselves as found in verse 7.

But even though Adam has covered his physical nakedness, he senses that he has not covered it enough to be comfortable in the presence of God.

It is tragically, painfully clear at this point that the serpent has lied.

Yes, the eyes of the two humans are open as the serpent had promised ( Genesis 3: 5 , 7 ); but “knowing good and evil” (v. 5 ) is not the pleasurable experience that the serpent had led them to believe it would be.

Adam “knows” he is guilty of the evil of breaking God’s commandment; he “knows” he can no longer be close with God.

It would have been far better for him simply to have trusted and obeyed God than to possess the bitter knowledge that he has acquired through disobedience.


Genesis 3:11

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?

Again, it is not information that God seeks as He questions Adam. Rather, the questions are designed to get Adam to realize something.

The second of the Lord’s questions goes straight to the heart of the matter: has Adam disobeyed the clear command gi

Our Scripture Of The Week Is:

John 10:10 KJV
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Jesus has made two analogies about His ministry using a topic very familiar to His listeners: shepherding.

The first relied on the idea that sheep instinctively listened only to the voice of their particular shepherd, and no other. This, Jesus implies, is why His religious critics reject Him: they are part of another flock, one ultimately owned by the Devil (John 10:1–6; 8:42–47).

In the second application, Jesus claims to be "the door," meaning the single narrow opening in sheep pens of that era. This was the sole means by which sheep were able to come and go.
Jesus' detractors, then, are like thieves and robbers who are trying to take sheep without using that door.

Here, Jesus begins His third and most detailed analogy. He has already compared the hypocritical, tradition-bound religious leaders to thieves. The purpose of a thief, so far as the flock is concerned, is only to wreak havoc; the robber causes mayhem for his own selfish gain.

In the same way, ungodly people who claim to be spiritual cause suffering in others for the sake of their pride and greed (Titus 1:11; 1 Timothy 6:5).

In contrast, Jesus seeks to not just preserve life for the sheep, but to provide it. In the prior analogy, Jesus claimed that as the one and only door, He was the means by which a person could "be saved."

That Greek term, (So-the-se-ta) sōthēsetai, suggests rescue, protection, and healing. Here, Jesus deepens that claim by saying that His purpose is not only tied to life, but to an abundant life.That "abundant" life means something more meaningful than material wealth and prosperity (Colossians 3:2–3; Matthew 6:25–32).

It begins with salvation from an eternity of suffering the penalty of sin (Romans 6:23).

An abundant life is, first and foremost, eternal life (John 17:3).

The abundant life means gaining a heavenly perspective (Romans 12:2), leading to a growing trust and knowledge of God (2 Peter 3:18).

It means blossoming into a life full of the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22–23).

While false teachers and false religions offer shallow, temporary relief, only Jesus brings truly everlasting life and spiritual abundance (John 14:6).

Instead of saying, “Ye shall not surely die,” what he said in effect was, “Ye certainly shall not die. Why, that is just absolutely impossible!”

He questions the love of God and the goodness of God: “If God is good, why did He put this restriction down?”

The serpent implies that God is not righteous when he says, “You will not die.”

And he questions the Holiness of God by saying, “You’re going to be gods yourselves, 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.”

The thing that Eve did was to add to the Word of God.

The liberal and the atheist take from the Word of God, and God has warned against that.

The cults (and some fundamentalists, by the way) add to the Word of God, and God warns against that.

There are those who say that today we are saved by law.

They argue, “Yes, it is by faith, but it is faith plus something else”—and they are apt to come up with anything.

The Word of God says: “Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent” (John 6:29).

How important this is!

The serpent very subtly contradicts God, and he substitutes his word for God’s word.

The Book of Romans teaches the fact of the obedience of faith.

Faith leads to obedience, and unbelief leads to disobedience.

Doubt leads to disobedience—always.

It is time to open our hearts, minds, and souls to the Word Of GOD.



Our scripture will be coming from:



Genesis 3:4-5 KJV

[4] And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

[5] 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.



Now it is time for our verse break down:



Genesis 3:4
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

Ye shall not surely die — He proceeded, not only to assure her of perfect impunity, but to promise great benefits from partaking of it.

Proclaims an outright denial of the Word of God; as God had preached to Adam, Satan now preaches to Eve; Jesus called Satan a liar, which probably refers to this very moment [Jn. 8:44].

The first part of the book of Genesis is general history (also called primeval history).

As Moses introduced new people or nations throughout this section, the emphasis very quickly moved to the person or entity that he intended to feature at that point.

For example, the accounts of the first sin and the first murder are set forth in Genesis 3 and 4.



Genesis 3:5
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.

your eyes shall be opened — His words meant more than met the ear. This caused Eve to be inquisitive.

In one sense her eyes were opened; for she acquired a direful experience of “good and evil” - of the happiness of a holy, and the misery of a sinful, condition.

But he studiously concealed this result from Eve, who, fired with a generous desire for knowledge, thought only of rising to the rank and privileges of her angelic visitants.

This suggests the attainment of higher wisdom.

This, in effect says, “You shall be Elohim.” It was a promise of Divinity.

God is Omniscient, meaning that His knowledge of evil is thorough, but not by personal experience.

By His very Nature, He is totally separate from all that is evil.

The knowledge of evil that Adam and Eve would learn would be by moral degradation, which would bring wreckage.

While it was proper to desire to be like God, it is proper only if done in the right way, and that is through Faith in Christ and what He has done for us at the Cross.