How would you describe the difference between temptation and sin?
Genesis 3:1-24
Genesis 1:1–2:25 paints the world as ordered, balanced, and “very good.” Man was made in God’s image to govern and cultivate the earth in God’s name. But our world is full of violence, decay, and death, and men are immoral abusers of the land and creatures. What happened?
Read Genesis 3:1-24, looking for the overall point of the story. Observe the character traits that the humans and God each display.
2. The temptation of Eve gives us insight into some of the schemes with which the Enemy also attacks us.
- What was the serpent trying to achieve by asking “Did God really say . . .” (3:1)?
*Notice he says “any tree.”*
-introduce doubt-
-maker her feel stupid?-
-is it odd that she is talking to an animal?
Key – these are satans first words in the Bible. It is a direct contrast to what God said. He is the father of lies. Compare that to “in the beginning, God..”
- How might a modern person experience a similar temptation?
- What is the proper response to such a question (see Psalm 19:7-14; 119:11; Luke 4:4 [quoting Deuteronomy 8:3])?
Observe the contrast between what God really said and did and what Eve said in reply to the serpent’s question:
| God | Eve |
| “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden” (2:16) | “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden” (3:2) |
| “In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (2:9) | “the tree that is in the middle of the garden” (3:3) |
| “you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (2:17) | “God did say, ‘You must not eat . . . and you must not touch it’” (3:3) |
3. Eve forgot the tree of life and focused on the forbidden tree as the tree. She weakened God’s lavish provision of so many trees from which she was free to eat to keep her from being hungry or bored. And she amplified God’s prohibition to include even touching the tree.
What conclusions about Eve’s attitude toward God can you draw from these observations?
-She thinks God is a dictator keeping her from something fun-
4. a. Eve’s reply (see 3:3) shows that Satan’s first scheme worked. Observe his next words (see 3:4-5), and describe his second tactic to alienate Eve from God.
-God is controlling her. She should be her own god.
b. How might a modern person experience this temptation?
c. How should Eve have responded to the serpent?
5. a. Three good things—nourishment, beauty, and wisdom—attracted Eve to the fruit (see 3:6). What was wrong with pursuing these good things through the fruit?
b. How might a modern person make the same mistake?
-lust of the flesh
-lust of the eyes
-pride of life
5b Where is Adam?
Right there.
5c What was Adams first failure?
Let his wife take the lead in spiritual matters. He is not the spiritual leader of his home.
6. The couple’s actions and words in 3:7-13 reveal how knowing good and evil affected their inner natures. Why did they . . .
want to cover themselves (see 2:25; 3:7)?
hide from God (see 3:8-10)?
What does Adam do when he is asked why he is naked?
What does Eve do?
-each shift blame to someone else (see 3:12-13)?
For Thought and Discussion:
God showed Adam no reason for the command in 2:16-17. What might God’s purpose have been in giving the man a command without an explanation?
God promised that Adam would die if he ate from the forbidden tree (see 2:17). Why was death the necessary result of disobeying God (see John 1:4; Acts 17:28)?
What do you think the man should have done when the woman offered him the fruit?
Satan claimed that eating the fruit would make Eve like God (see 3:5). In what way was this true (see 3:22)? In what way was it a deception?
From this story, how would you define sin?
God said man would die when he ate the fruit. The serpent said he would not die. Which spoke the truth? How do you know? (See 3:7-10,19,22; 5:5.)
What evidence does 3:21-24 show of God’s plan to restore His creatures to their intended purposes?
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil (2:9,17).
It isn’t clear what this tree was, but the command in 2:16-17 was apparently the only restriction God gave Adam. The knowledge of good and evil (which may mean moral knowledge or discernment[1]) seems at first glance to be a necessary and desirable possession (see Genesis 3:22; Deuteronomy 1:39; 1 Kings 3:9; Hebrews 5:14). However, for reasons of His own, God forbade it. Derek Kidner believes that to speculate on the exact knowledge this tree conveyed and how it imparted this knowledge is to repeat Eve’s mistake. Eve felt she had a right to decide for herself whether the command was reasonable, but God wanted her to trust His judgment. Like Eve, we are told only that God empowered many trees in the garden to nourish human bodies—these were “pleasing to the eye and good for food” (2:9)—and one tree to inform human minds (see 3:6).
The tree of life (2:9; 3:22).
Most commentators agree that this was a second tree, and many believe it was or symbolized Christ. Again, we are not told how it was supposed to impart life; we assume that both trees figured in God’s loving intentions for His people. Observe that God did not forbid man from eating of the tree of life in 2:17. For further study, see Revelation 2:7; 22:2,14.
Serpent (3:1).
In many ancient cults, the serpent “was a symbol of deity and fertility, and the images of serpent-goddesses have been found in the ruins of many Canaanite towns and temples.”[3] Moses’ Israelite audience knew what the serpent meant to other nations, and Israel also knew that pagan gods were either demons or delusions exploited by demons. Therefore, the Israelites would have come to the same interpretation that the New Testament gives: the serpent was Satan in disguise (see John 8:44; Romans 16:20; Revelation 12:9). The serpent was a real creature, not just a symbol of evil or human weakness in a myth about every man’s encounter with temptation. Later pagan legends and rites about the serpent-goddess who gives power show this creature at the same work.
Clothed them (3:21).
Nakedness now signified shame, which the humans were unable to cover (see 2:25; 3:7). Some commentators find it significant that the covering of shame required an animal’s death, a foreshadowing of the sacrificial system to atone for (cover) sin.
Offspring (3:15).
“Seed” in KJV. Genesis 3:15 is a prophecy of Christ, the offspring of Eve who has crushed Satan and undone the effects of his temptation. Satan bruised Jesus in His crucifixion, but Jesus crushed Satan by canceling sin and so destroying Satan’s power of death (see Hebrews 2:14-15). Romans 5:12-19 and 1 Corinthians 15:20-26 further explain how Christ overcame Adam’s sin. As head of the human race, Adam passed on to his descendants his status as God’s enemy and his bent toward rebellion. But Christ became the “second Adam,” the representative head of all people who ally with Him.
Genesis (LifeChange Book 16). The Navigators. Kindle Edition.
Genesis (LifeGuide Bible Studies) Hummel/Hummel God’s Creative Call
The Gospel Project – https://www.gospelproject.com