We return to the Garden today, only to find that something dreadful has happened. The man and woman, covered with garments made of fig leaves, are hiding from God as he calls out to them. Sin has entered the garden, bringing with it guilt, brokenness, and shame.

An intruder—the User, the Accuser, the Cofuser—Satan himself used a serpent to tempt Eve with lies and innuendos. He convinced her that God was holding them back from reaching their full potential, and they could be like God if they ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eve ate some and gave some to Adam.

We watch as a beautiful relationship of total trust in the faithful God is replaced with suspicion. Even as the taste of the forbidden fruit lingered in their mouths, Adam and Eve’s eyes were opened. They saw that their life of sweet communion with God was broken. Moments before, their nakedness had reflected their innocence. Now it caused them shame. When given the chance to admit their sin, they blamed others.

Hundreds of years later the prophet Jeremiah spoke on God’s behalf about the human condition when he said, “They turned their backs to me and not their faces” (Jer 32:33). It’s as true today as it was then.

But let’s not leave the Garden too soon. We need to see how God responds to sin.

In Genesis 3:14-19, God outlines the consequences of the Fall to the deceiver and to both Adam and Eve. What is most stunning is in verse 15, as God addresses the serpent:

“And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”

We see here the suffering and sorrow that Satan caused Jesus, the offspring of Eve, and the victory that Jesus won at the cross when he crushed Satan’s head by becoming the sacrifice for the sins of the human race.

Jesus’ sacrificial death is foreshadowed when we see how God clothed his beloved children. The verse is short but the implications are profound. “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them” (Gen 3:21).

John Wesley explains this in his commentary with the following entry:

“These coats of skin had a significancy. The beasts whose skins they were, must be slain; slain before their eyes to [show] them what death is. And probably ’tis supposed they were slain for sacrifice, to typify the great sacrifice which in the latter end of the world should be offered once for all. Thus the first thing that died was a sacrifice, or Christ in a figure.”¹

The drama in the Garden is the story of our lives. Made to have fellowship with the wise and good Creator, we listened to lies about him. Seeking our own god-status, we turned our backs to him, rejecting him and going our own way. We lost the Garden. But because of God’s great love for us, he clothed us with the promise of a Savior who would destroy Satan’s power and pay for our sins.

You may be familiar with the painting of Eve and Mary. Under a fruit-laden arbor, they stand facing one another. Eve’s head is down and there is fruit in her right hand. Her left hand holds Mary’s hand as they seem to be feeling the stirring of the one whom Mary carries in her womb. With her other hand Mary touches the cheek of Eve. Around Eve’s legs wraps a serpent, but fear not! Mary’s foot is placed firmly on its head.²

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Ro 5:6-8).

This is our great hope! This is our victory! Hallelujah!

Ginger

Genesis 3 is where you will find the Fall of Man recorded  in the Bible

¹I found John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes to be very helpful as I prepared for this post.

²You can find the painting of Mary and Eve here