Both Adam and Eve, and even the serpent, were partakers of the first
sin and the fall of man. Each one of them got their own retribution.
* To the serpent:
(Genesis 3:14-15) The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done
this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on
your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I
will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her
offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
The message was not only for the serpent as an animal, but for
the “ancient serpent”, Satan. The last part of the punishment is considered to
be the first messianic prophesy in the Bible. It refers to the son of a woman
who will bruise the serpent’s head.
(Romans 16:20) The God of peace will soon crush Satan
under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
PUNISHMENT FOR THE MAN AND THE WOMAN
In the first chapter of the book of Genesis we saw that the
first words God spoke to man were to bless him, telling him to be productive. It
shouldn’t surprise us, therefore, that the punishment they received was
directed precisely to both man’s and woman’s productive capability. From this
moment on it would be obtained with effort and pain.
* To the Woman
This was the punishment for the woman:
(Genesis 3:16) To the woman he said, "I will surely
multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you."
* To the Man
(Genesis 3:17-19) And to Adam he said, "Because you
have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I
commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it
shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the
sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out
of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return."
THE EVICTION
God had clearly stated that the consequence for eating of the
forbidden fruit would be death. But, did Adam and Eve die after eating of that
fruit? There was no lightning falling down from heaven to consume them.
Nevertheless, they started the slow process of growing old and dying. The Lord
extends our lives to give us the opportunity to repent and return to Him.
Today, we go through the same process; with every sin committed
man progressively corrupts. We may not immediately feel the effect, but the
soul and the spirit start to perish gradually. The Lord continues to extend our
lives to give us the opportunity to repent. However, if we don’t, we will go
from bad to worse.
Even though Adam and Eve did not physically die at that moment,
they suffered the worst kind of death there is: separation from God.
(Genesis 3:23-24) Therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden
to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the
east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that
turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
Because of Adam and Eve’s rebellion, all of humanity and creation are left
subjected to sin.
(Romans 5:12) Therefore, just as sin came into the
world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men
because all sinned.
(Romans 8:19-24) For the creation waits with eager longing
for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to
futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the
creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the
freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole
creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And
not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the
Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption
of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not
hope. For who hopes for what he sees?
But not everything is lost… from that time God has contemplated
a “Plan of Redemption” to give man the opportunity to reconcile with him.
(Romans 6:23) For the wages of sin is death, but the
free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
There is the hope of redemption, through Jesus, our Redeemer.
THE CHERUBIM
At first glance, it seem that God does not want man to come back
to the Garden and to His Presence, since he placed cherubim to guard the way to
the Tree of Life.
(Genesis 3:24) He drove out the man, and at the east of
the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every
way to guard the way to the tree of life.
Yet, this is a very superficial interpretation of the text. The
message we see throughout the whole Bible is that God wants us to reconcile
with Him. But before we do, He is going to teach us how to return. He will
reveal the way; he will reveal the door.
The second time the Bible mentions “the cherubim” is in the
context of the Tabernacle:
(Exodus 25:18-22) And you shall make two cherubim of gold;
of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make
one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with
the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall
spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings,
their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the
cherubim be. And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the
ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. There I will meet with
you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on
the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you
in commandment for the people of Israel
The two cherubim are over the mercy seat of the Ark Ark
The Tabernacle is the map God gave us, to show us the way back
to Him. We can’t extend this issue in this particular study, but we will in its
due time, when we get to the book of Exodus. It will all make sense to us then.
There are many hidden treasures in the book of Genesis that may not be
understood until we continue in our study of the whole Bible…
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