We heard people saying that it is not fair for humanity to take the consequences of sin that we ourselves did not do, it was Adam and Eve, and not us eating the forbidden fruit. In fact, it was just eating the fruit and not like killing people, or an adultery act, or stealing money, etc. People did not like the story of genesis 3, and therefore many thought that it was absurd, and consider it just as a myth, and never exist.
We have here in Genesis 3 the account of the fall of humanity. It is a familiar story to most people, and let us have a closer look to Genesis 3, so that we know the severity of what man did in relation to God, and therefore we begin to realise it is not just about eating the fruit there. To understand Genesis 3, we also need to know the story that Moses has already put to us the event preceding the fall. Everything was good, in fact very good, that man has never sin (unlike us), and they are in a close relationship with God. Genesis 3 verse 8 seems to indicate that it was something usual that God walked in the garden in the cool of the day, otherwise man would not have any idea who is it. Man knew that it was the sound of God indicates to us, maybe that man talks and walks with God before the fall. It is a day to day thing, or to put it simply, that is just how things work (nothing unusual). And then after the creation of man, God (the bible stated in Gen 2:15-16) said to Adam (the man) and give a warning or command that the man can eat anything any fruit that God has created freely, but only the fruit of knowledge of good and evil, man shall not eat because it will bring death.
People might see this command as a tricky command and should not be put there if God is good, because that command makes man to fall, and therefore they can’t accept God of the bible. But what we often don’t realise is it is actually a warning for our good. Let’s see it with another example: a mother called his son on the phone: “hey son, mum has cooked for you all the food that you like and put it just there in the kitchen. There are spaghetti carbonara, chicken Caesar salad, mee goreng, fried chicken, roast pork, nasi goreng, but the one on the fridge which is roast duck, don’t eat it less you will get sick because it has been there for weeks.. I forgot to throw it out, and was in a hurry this morning before I go”. Of course God does not like this mother who forgets, and doesn’t have time to do what He wants to do, but the point is God warns us, and tell us the consequences upfront, just like that mother. Think this way: would you drink water that you know has poison in it even when you are very thirsty? I bet that if we have a clear mind, even when we are thirsty we won’t drink such water if we know it. The eating of that fruit will bring you death, said God to the man. But man still ate it! Wow! I can’t think how foolish man was, God told them that it will bring death and yet he still ate it??
Now, let’s have a closer look on how man fell. It was noted that satan in the form of a serpent was trying to deceive the woman. Satan tried to put a discontentment in the woman’s heart (verse 1), by focusing on what they can’t have or don’t have instead of the abundant things that God gave to mankind. “You shall not eat any tree in the garden” instead of “You can eat many trees in the garden”. Do we feel content of what we had? How do we see our lives? Did satan tried to tempt you with a similar way? Do you think unsatisfied to what you have, and so you let your desire to own you? Maybe you feel jealous, or pity yourself because of the money you earn? The situation you are currently at? You don’t have this, or that? You were thinking to justify an evil act that you are about to do whatever it is with good things but in fact at the bottom of your hearts you know it is wrong, and you should not do it. The woman then replied that she must not eat from the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, even to touch it. I don’t know why the woman added the word “touch” there where God did not command that way, maybe because that is the command Adam told the woman or she herself deliberately adds the word to stress more on the prohibition of eating the fruit from the forbidden tree. Which in any case, it was a wrong idea which could led her to any misleads: later on verse 6, it could be that after the woman take the fruit, she began to realise that she did not die which was far different to what she knew of from Adam, and so it led her to pursue deeper into sin. Satan then on verse 4 to 5 attempts to reveal more dissatisfaction in the woman’s heart, but this time satan tempted her to be God of herself. Satan tried to make the woman to gain freedom, that her life should be controlled by her and not by God. The same way today, satan tempts us to be God of ourselves. Do we realise that our sinful nature tries to dictate us to follow our own flesh desire? We feel annoyed when our spouse asks for our help to go to market to buy something while we are doing something we enjoyed? We live in a society where weekend is our thing, and therefore no one should disturb us because of any reason. People feel irritated when they receive a call about what happen at work (I’m not saying that you should work 7 days, but just want to let us be aware of what is actually behind such thing). We feel that weekend is for our comfort. Satan tells us that we could enjoy anything that we want - just ignore God, because we are the one that should dictate ourselves – as long as we feel good, we do it.
The woman then began to see that: yes the fruit indeed is pleasant to her eyes. It looks good, and she thought it must be good and ok for her. She began to live by sight instead of by faith and trust. How often the same thing drives us today doesn’t it? We thought that by taking that money should be ok, we thought that since you can justify such action, it should be ok. You thought it is ok to cheat a bit, for what benefit you will get out of it. It looks ok and not just ok, it brings benefit, so why not. What is more ridiculous is what Adam did that day. Adam was with Eve and not in somewhere in a cave sleeping, just like what I imagined when I was a kid. Adam was with Eve, he knows what was happening, and he knows when Eve about to eat the fruit. He did not even say a word, but seems like he was not there at all, where in fact he was there. Where were you Adam? And what were you doing there? Why you were not even saying a word to your wife?? I just can’t comprehend that. I think he was tempted as well, and therefore maybe he was letting Eve ate the fruit, and he examines her when she ate it, but hey she did not die, and so he ate the fruit as well. Or maybe he knows it was wrong, but then because she loves the woman so much, he partakes eating the fruit together with her out of his love to her. I don’t know and all of that is just my speculation. What matters is Adam, did not follow God more than anything else. So we see here, that it was not just about eating the fruit, it was more than that. The problem here is much bigger. It was the problem of trust, and that is big! When we are married, we will be able to understand that trust is a very significant thing. If you lose trust, your marriage is no more.
Just for an illustration, a wife told her husband to go home straight away from work, and ask him deliberately to go home via the freeway (or such specific way) and not going through other way. She did this because she suspects her husband having an affair to someone else. To cut the story short, she finds out that her husband did not go via freeway; instead he went via other road. Now the husband said to her wife that he did not do it because of traffic, and so he chose to go via other roads. The husband said “Come on Honey, it was just taking a different road.” Same as the problem with Adam, he could say “it was just eating the fruit”. But the reality is, it was not just about eating of the fruit, or taking a different road. The problem here is because the trust. Please note, it was not in any way that I made God the same as that suspicious wife, what I was trying to illustrate is the problem is often not of what we do, but the reason behind it. God wants Adam to not eat the fruit, not because of the fruit itself, He can give command on a different fruit if He wanted to, or different kind of command, but what God wanted was Adam’s loyalty, Adam’s faith and trust to each and every word that God said. The problem of trust is a big thing! And therefore humanity deserves punishment.
But wait, I was not there. It was Adam and not me. I may do differently if I were put to test. Well, to this I can’t really say, but the fact is Adam and Eve was the only people on the planet earth that never sin at that time, yet they chose to sin; unlike us where each and every nature of our flesh is to sin. Second it was God who chose Adam as the representative to humanity. We can’t say that we are not Australians just because we don’t agree with what our leaders had choose to take as an action, or did as a nation. No, we are still Australians regardless, and we were taken into account that we are on the same path as our leaders, because they are our representative. That is what representative is all about. But ultimately, if God was the one who choose, unlike us who is frail, we trust that He has wisdom far superior than ours.
Since then humanity rejects God. Mankind choose to fulfil their own desire, and think of themselves as God. Mankind did not trust God and that breaks God’s heart so much. We are the one that makes mistakes and despise God, but yet God has to be the one that seeks us. Genesis 3 verse 9 is very profound and this is what differentiates us (believer) and other kind of belief. God who was rejected, who was despised came to seek the lost. If God did not come to seek, humanity will never try to seek God. God came and asked Adam “Where are you?” so that Adam realise that he has done wrong, and to bring him to repentance by admitting his fault. Instead Adam kept blaming God because He is the one ultimately responsible for the sin he did. I can’t say much on how bad this has become, when Adam is the one that is wrong here, but instead He blame God to take responsibility. What a wretched man. And I can see that on me, who needs God’s saving grace. We are in need of God’s help! So Praise God for He came to seek us; and not just to seek but to save us as well from the eternal death.
We know from verse 15, which is a famous verse that God straight away after man fell in sin, He planned for salvation through the seed of the woman. Through one of the woman’s offspring will come the one: He who will crush the satan’s head – who is Jesus the Messiah. Humanity will be saved through the works of Jesus Christ. Satan can only strike Jesus’ heel, but Jesus will surely crushed Satan’s head and be victorious. What a grace!
Furthermore, we know in Genesis 2, God told Adam that at the day he ate that forbidden fruit, he will surely die. But what happen after in Genesis 3, we do not see any death except of the death of the animals. Can you imagine being the first human to see an animal died? I remember when I was a kid, my auntie killed a chicken, I can’t stand to see it. She killed it because she owns a restaurant and she was selling a fried chicken. So that chicken is killed for food. Can you imagine what Adam and Eve felt, they saw animal was slain, because of their sins. It might give them a bit of shiver I think. Because of what they did, at the very first time, they see animal has to be sacrificed instead of themselves. I don’t know about you, but I think if I were Adam, I will be speechless, I don’t know what I can say, and I will be trembled. I will also began to realise that I don’t die just like what I thought I would be. Some people might see that the death there was meant to be spiritual. Though it was true, that mankind since then had spiritual death, I do think that the warning that God gave to Adam was also physical and not just spiritual.
I kept wondering why, but the more I think of it, I can only come to an answer. That was Grace! Adam should and deserve death, but he did not experience physical death straight away, because of God’s grace. God’s plan is salvation, and mentioned that in verse 15 already as what I’ve mentioned above. God gave them a second chance to have children and to repent, to turn back to God. God planned that He will bless them with children, and from the offspring of the woman will come salvation. Notice that Adam gave the woman named “Eve” after the fall. It was Adam’s step of faith there that what God has said to them. Eve means the mother of living. In a way they have faith that Eve will have children just as God promised them.
God once again gave them a second chance, and not to experience physical death straight away and that is the exact reason why God drove them away from the Garden of Eden, so that they won’t take the tree of life. God did not want them to live forever by taking the tree of life in their condition at that moment, because to live forever in sin has only got 1 conclusion: Hell. God did not want that, He loves His people, and He had a plan, a plan of salvation for His people. Oh what a wonderful grace!
“The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)
If God still gives humanity time, it is not because God is slack or asleep, but instead He is patient because He wants humanity to repent. I remember a classic question that people often asked “Why do Bad things Happen to Good People?” Think about the suffering that we had. Think about all this act of terrorism everywhere. But when we ask that question, think once again, who are they that we call good people? Is there any good people? Do we consider ourselves as good people and so we ask that question to God? What’s clearly seen throughout the history in the Bible is that everyone have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). No one deserves to be called good, and so if bad things happen, that is normal. Everyone could get bad things. If someone gets bad things why couldn’t you? So I guess the more appropriate question is “Why do Good Things Happen to Bad people?” why it ever happen? And the answer can only be one:
T’was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
was blind, but now I see.
To God be the glory,
Paul
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