The next passage concerning women, and the reason that we struggle with Biblical Womanhood in the first place, is the fall of man in Genesis 3. Since there is a lot to cover, this chapter will be split into two parts. The first covers the fall and the second covers God’s judgment.
1: Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
We later understand the serpent to be the devil. He first questions what God has told Eve about His commandment. This is important for us to note because we often find ourselves today questioning “did God really say that?” We have His Word right in front of us, but often we find ourselves questioning if that’s what He really said, especially if it is something that we don’t like or a sin that we want to condone. One thing to note is that he doesn’t specify a specific tree, but instead insinuates that they cannot eat from any tree in the garden.
2-3: And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'”
Eve said that they were actually able to eat from any tree except for one specific tree. That was true , but she added an extra stipulation to God’s command which was that was that they shouldn’t touch that specific tree as well. Adding that extra bit may be helpful in keeping away from sin, but it isn’t actually what God commanded. Sometimes putting up boundaries is important in keeping us from sin, especially if we know where our weakness lies. For example, if I make chocolate chip cookies, I know that I’m inclined to eat way too many so I only bake a dozen and freeze the rest of the dough to cook at a later time. But it can also add extra rules to follow, such as the many rules that the Pharisees and Sadducees added to their laws.
4-5: But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
This is in reference to Genesis 2:16 “and the Lord commanded the man saying, “you may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.'” The devil took the original meaning and twisted it to a similar meaning. God was speaking of the death innocence and the entering in of sin and spiritual death whereas the devil spoke of physical death.
6: So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
The woman decided to obtain wisdom from the world rather than from the One who created the world. It is easy for us to be deceived by the “wisdom” of this world and miss the true wisdom that God will freely bestow upon those who ask (James 1:5). Also note how the husband was with her, yet he said nothing and ate as well. It was a joint fall.
7: Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
The first thing that they noticed was their nakedness. It refers back to Genesis 2:25 which said that “the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” The first thing that the wisdom of the world brought to them was shame.
8: And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking into the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
I find it interesting that they tried to hide from God. They knew Him well and walked with Him in the garden before, so they knew that they couldn’t hide, but they still tried.
9: But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
God knew where they were and gave them a chance to come and repent.
10: And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself.”
He skipped over the eating of the forbidden fruit and jumped straight to the reason for hiding.
11: He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree which I commanded you not to eat?”
God knew what had happened and is asking again, specifically this time, in order to give Adam and Eve a chance to repent.
12: The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”
Wrong answer. This is the first recording of the blame game that is still played to this day. However, as women we should note how we can influence our husbands to sin and should strive to influence them towards righteousness instead.
13: Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.
Better, but still the wrong answer. How so? She still pushes the blame onto the serpent. It is the same as the man’s, yet more subtle. She is not repenting and saying “forgive me for I have sinned,” and is instead saying “the serpent tricked me into eating so it’s his fault and I’m only responsible because I was tricked.” Yes she was tricked, but she is fully responsible for her actions. She knew what God had told her, and her husband with her, yet they both still disobeyed. This is the reason that we should constantly be studying God’s Word. It is easy to be deceived by teachings that sound pretty, but are poison disguised as sweets.
What have we learned about Biblical Womanhood from this chapter?
- God commanded the men to lead. Adam was to teach Eve God’s law. We can see this through God speaking to Adam His command before Eve had been created. As women, we should listen to those in headship over us.
- We should also study God’s Word so that when we are tempted, we can come out victorious.
- We should remember that we can influence our husbands to sin, or we can influence them in righteousness.
- We should remember that we need to own up to our mistakes and as God for forgiveness, as well as any others that we may have sinned against.
Next week we will cover the curses that God bestowed on them, but we will also see God’s promise for a Savoir.
Rerouted 