The Fall – Part 2

Satan has just tempted Adam and Eve and they both ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It is interesting that Satan never told them to eat the fruit. What he did was suggest that God was trying to cheat them. They decided to eat the fruit on their own. This is how Satan works. He gets us to doubt God’s character and then our lack of trust/faith fosters sinful thoughts and actions.

Now to our passage for today.

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. 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. 9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 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? 12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13 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. (Genesis 3:7-13)

Let’s work through the immediate result of their sin. The passage states that their eyes were opened. This is what Satan had told them. (Genesis 3:5) However, it wasn’t what they expected. They knew for the first time what sin was like. They had done evil against the Creator. And it wasn’t pleasant. It did not give them joy. Satan had accused God of cheating them, but the real cheater is Satan himself. He cheated them out of their perfect relationship with God.

Marriage: Leaving and Cleaving

Marriage is a great institution and one which has been established by God.  This is the primary passage in the Bible regarding the union between a man and woman.

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.  And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. (Gen. 2:24-25)

The first aspect of marriage is that it begins a new family.  The man leaves his parents and he and his wife start their own unique household.  This is not to say that the parents and other family members are forsaken, but that their union constitutes a newly formed family unit.

Marriage: Wedding rings over Bible

Marriage, rings over Bible

The second aspect is that there is a bond between the man and woman.  The husband cleaves unto his wife.  The Hebrew word for “cleave” means to “stick to” or “stay close to”.  Jesus elaborated on this theme when He said, “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” (Matthew 19:6)

The third aspect in this passage is that there is intimacy between the man and woman.  God reserves the expression of sex for marriage.  Our culture has moved away from this standard, but it is a timeless biblical standard which should be observed.  Sexual expression is a rite of marriage, so to speak.  As God instructs, “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.” (Hebrews 13:4)

Marriage is a God-ordained institution and as such, God defines it, not our culture.  This union is defined by God in the Bible as always between one man and one woman.  While this standard has been defined by our culture as narrow-minded, old-fashioned, and far worse, it has been the undeniable standard throughout the ages. 

A Fitting Help

As we saw in Genesis 1:26-27, God made man and woman on day 6 of creation.  In Genesis 2, we get more details of how the creation of woman came about.  At this point, God has created everything except the woman.  So every creature has a mate, except for Adam. 

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. 19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. 20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. (Gen. 2:18-20)

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The Breath of Life

As previously discussed, Genesis 1 is a sequential summary of what God created on each day of the creation week.  Genesis 2 provides additional details about the creation week.  Likewise in Genesis 2:7-9, additional information is given about the creation of man, including the breath of life God gave him.  

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. 8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. (Gen. 2:7-9)

Please notice a few things.  First, God made man from dirt.  The chemical composition of the human body is mostly oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen.  These elements make up about 96% of the human body.  The vast majority of the chemicals in common dirt are also these four elements.  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composition_of_the_human_body; http://organiclifestyles.tamu.edu/soilbasics/soilchemical.html)  Therefore, the biblical account is consistent with what we see in scientific research.   Continue reading