We saw in the last lesson, in Genesis chapter 3 verse 15, the promise
of the Saviour.
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.”
As we said before, the sin of each one was an individual act, and the
punishment also is individual. We, too, will be judged individually. We
shall stand before Jesus, one at a time. We will stand or fall on our own
belief in Him. Not what our parents believe, or not what our husband or wife
believe, but on what we believe. God has no grandchildren, just children.
In verse 16, God established the order in the family here on earth. A
husband should rule over his wife in the flesh. As I said before, we are all
responsible to God for our spirits. this Scripture, (that woman shall suffer
in childbirth as her punishment for leading her husband into sin) has to do
with the flesh, not the spirit.
God did not curse the woman or the man in the judgment that He spoke on
them. He would provide restoration for them through the Saviour, Jesus
Christ. They would each be allowed to accept that salvation.
Christianity places woman on the same level with man as regarding the
gospels. Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither
bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in
Christ Jesus.”
Also, we read the wife is in subjection to the husband in the flesh.
Ephesians 5:22 “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the
Lord.” Ephesians 5:23 “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as
Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.”
These Scriptures are trying to help us understand how Jesus is the
husband of the church. He is the groom; we are the bride of Christ, if we
are believers in him, both male and female.
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;”
God was displeased with Adam because he listened to Eve, instead of
Him.
God will not allow us to put anything, or anyone, ahead of His commands
to us. The favorite excuse of many women for not coming to church is, “My
husband wouldn’t bring me”. Come without him,if you must. He will soon come,
too.
In His punishment for Adam, He cursed the ground (not Adam). The ground
even today produces only what man works and gets from it. Before, it
voluntarily grew. It produces the amount man puts out in effort to make it
produce now.
Genesis 3:18 “Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee;
and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;” 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.”
In these verses above, God told man, that through much opposition from
the earthly things, shall he earn a living. I believe it also means that the
devil will oppose him on every side, trying to alienate him from God.
The story of the thorns and thistles growing together with the wheat
until the end showed that a man will be surrounded in this world by people
controlled by Satan. We will have to grow with the Lord in spite of their
trying to choke off Christianity.
Man’s body truly will return to the earth, because it is of the earth.
The spirit of man will not return to the earth, but will be with Jesus in
heaven (if we choose to believe in Jesus). God has reminded man of his
humble beginning. Just through belief in the Lord Jesus Christ can mankind
rise above this humble beginning.
Genesis 3:20 “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the
mother of all living.”
This verse above indicated that there were no other people living
(except Adam’s family), because Adam said his wife was the mother of all
living.
Genesis 3:21 “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make
coats of skins, and clothed them.”
God loved Adam and Eve. The above Scripture indicates the first animal
was sacrificed for man. God, Himself, provided the sacrifice, as He did with
Abraham when he was about to sacrifice his son, Isaac. God provided the
sacrifice. God’s concern was still the needs of mankind.
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:” Genesis 3:23
“Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the
ground from whence he was taken.” 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.”
In verse 22 above, the word “us” indicated more than one. Verse 22,
verse 23, verse 24, were not really intended as a punishment for man, but
really so that he would not eat of the tree of life, and live forever in his
body that suffered and aged. Jesus is the Tree of Life, and when we eat of
that Tree, being pardoned, our spirits will live forever with Him. Our
earthly body will be changed into a heavenly body to house our spirits.
This heavenly body will be free of pain, and free from the ageing process.
Adam and Eve were doomed to a life of toil and pain; yet, they were
looking for a better life beyond the grave where they would be restored to a
better place than Eden.
The divine presence in the Cherubims and the flaming swords showed the
majesty and authority of God. He could exclude whomever He would. Through
Jesus Christ, mankind will be able to re-establish his right to the Tree of
Life in heaven. It is interesting to note the symbolism of the swords. The
Bible is spoken of as a two-edged sword. God is also spoken of as a
consuming fire. The flaming swords, The Bible, is the only entrance into the
Tree of Life. Through the Bible, we learn that Jesus is the Tree of Life,
and only belief in Him can purchase our eternal life with Him