Exposition of Exposition of Genesis 1-11Genesis 1-11

The Fall and its Aftermath – Part IIThe Fall and its Aftermath – Part II

Gen 3:14-24Gen 3:14-24

What We’ve Covered So FarWhat We’ve Covered So Far

• The Creation of the Heavens and the Earth – Gen 1:1 – 2:3

• The Creation of Man and Woman and the Garden of Eden – Gen 2:4-25

• Deception of the Woman and the Sin of Man and Woman – Gen 3:1-13

The Fall of ManThe Fall of ManGen 2:4 – 3:24Gen 2:4 – 3:24

(From The Literary Structure of the Old Testament by David A. Dorsey, p. 50)

The Curse on the SerpentThe Curse on the SerpentGen 3:14-15Gen 3:14-15

• Unlike the man and woman, the serpent is not asked any questions nor allowed to speak.

• In 3:1 he is described as more crafty than all the beasts of the field...now he is described as more cursed than all the beasts of the field.– Implies a curse on the other animals.

• He is condemned to crawl on his belly and eat dust all the days of his life.– Note: This is the original, “Eat my dust!” It speaks not

to the serpent’s diet, but to his humiliation among all the rest of the creatures.

The Curse on the SerpentThe Curse on the SerpentGen 3:14-15Gen 3:14-15

• The curse includes ongoing hostility between:– the serpent and the woman– the seed (offspring) of the serpent and the seed

(offspring) of the woman.

• The serpent’s “low position” sets up his being bruised on the head, and his bruising man on the heel.

• Protoevangelium and Corporate Representation

Consequences for the WomanConsequences for the WomanGen 3:16Gen 3:16

• Two ways to translate:– “I will greatly multiply your pain and your

conception.”– “I will greatly multiply your pain, especially in

childbirth.”

• Pain here involves more than the physical pain of childbearing; it includes the sorrow that accompanies the consequences of sin, especially death.

• The woman’s desire is for her husband, but he will rule over her (cf. 4:7).

Consequences for the ManConsequences for the ManGen 3:17-19Gen 3:17-19

• Man is addressed last, but also longest; he has the greater accountability!

• It is because he listened to (i.e. obeyed) the voice of his wife rather than the command of God that his punishment comes.– Punishment fits the crime. Man sinned by

eating, now eating will be more difficult...and a constant reminder of his disobedience.

Consequences for the ManConsequences for the ManGen 3:17-19Gen 3:17-19

• The curse itself comes upon the ground, but with significant consequences for man. In contrast to the delights of the Garden:– In wearying toil man will eat from the ground all the

days of his life.– In addition to the cultivated plants which man needs

to eat, the ground will also yield unwanted thorns and thistles...adding to the toil of labor (“sweat of your face”).

– “Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return” (3:19). The ultimate consequence is death!

Adam and Eve Driven from the Adam and Eve Driven from the Garden – Gen 3:20-24Garden – Gen 3:20-24

• Adam named his wife “hW"x;”, Hebrew for “life”, for she was the mother of all the “yx'”.– “Eve” is the English version, “Eva” the Latin.– Adam’s naming his wife carried with it his authority

over her (3:16; cf. 2:23).– Eve would continue to propagate the human race,

despite the Fall.• The Lord replaced the fig leaf coverings made

by Adam and Eve with animal skins.– This demonstrates God’s ongoing care for man

despite his sinful rebellion. They needed something more durable to cover their nakedness.

Adam and Eve Driven from the Adam and Eve Driven from the Garden – Gen 3:20-24Garden – Gen 3:20-24

• Since man has become “like one of us, knowing good and evil”, and lest he take from the tree of life and remain in his alienated condition forever:– God banishes the man and woman from the

Garden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken.

– He places both cherubim (angelic beings) and “the whirling, flaming sword” east of the Garden to guard the path to the tree of life.

The Fall and its AftermathThe Fall and its AftermathPart IIIPart IIIGen 4:1-15Gen 4:1-15