When we last left Adam and Eve they were hiding from the LORD God who was walking in the garden. They had been in the fig grove with the "tree who had evil knowledge". They were naked and unashamed when they went in, but they were naked and ashamed when they came forth. Why?
Satan had beguiled Eve, which is to say, he totally, wholly seduced her. That is why the apostle Paul would say in his second letter to the Corinthians, that he had espoused them (the church) to one husband, and he wanted to present them as chaste virgins to Christ. But he was fearful that they would become "spiritually" seduced, even as Eve was "physically" seduced by the serpent. You see, Eve was a chaste virgin before Satan seduced her.
2 Cor. 11:2-3
For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
The subject is virginity.
[3] But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
Has your mind been corrupted with fairy tale stories about "apples" and "snakes standing upright"? Or do you have the eyes to see and ears to hear the simplicity that is in Christ and His Word?
You must look up the word "beguiled" for yourself in Strong's concordance or a Greek dictionary. The word is exapatao and it means "to seduce wholly". Check it out.
You will also find later on, in verse 15, that God will put enmity between Satan's seed and Eve's seed, meaning their offspring, i.e. Satan's children and Eve's children. That which has transpired here is explained, in "simplicity", by the greatest teacher of all time, the Lord Jesus Christ. Will you believe Him or hang on to the apple tree?
In Matthew 13, Christ spoke several parables. Do you know why He spoke in parables? Do you think it was to make things obvious to the crowd He was addressing?
Matthew 13:10-13
And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Hey, what do you know, here are the disciples asking Jesus the exact question we were thinking of!
[11] He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Did we read that correctly? It was not meant that everyone should understand Him?
[12] For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
[13] Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Yep, we read it correctly. Unless you have eyes to see, and ears to hear, you will not understand the parables of Jesus. Let's test your spiritual senses. Christ gave this parable in Matthew 13. It is the Parable of the Tares. Read it carefully and then Christ Himself will explain it in detail.
Matthew 13:24-30
Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: [25] But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. [26] But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. [27] So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? [28] He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? [29] But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. [30] Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
After Christ speaks another parable, we learn that He is actually uttering things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. Do you want to learn a secret?
Matthew 13:35-36
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
Now look what happens!
[36] Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
The crowd is gone! The disciples come to Jesus, in private, and ask Him to explain the Parable of the Tares, the one we just read. Would you also like to ask Him to explain it to you? Then go for it!
Here is the simple explanation, from the Lord Jesus Christ, of the Parable of the Tares, to those who have been granted or have asked Him for eyes to see and ears to hear. Remember, this information, hidden from the foundation of the world, is not available to all. Blessed indeed is he or she that understands.
Christ's simple explanation:
Matthew 13:37
He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
[38] The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
The field is the world? Wow! This really is simple.
The tares are children of Satan? He has children? He has children.
Don't you dare try to spiritualize this away! This is not a parable! These children (seed) are those same seed (children) in Gen 3:15. God puts enmity between his (Satans's) children and her (Eve's) children. We will be meeting the first child of Satan when we get to chapter 4 of Genesis. His name is Cain. He is not listed in Adam's genealogy in chapter five of Genesis. I wonder why not?
[39] The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
The wicked seed was sowed in the fig grove, in the garden of Eden, at the seduction of mother Eve. (Hopefully the words of Christ are not too much for you. Remember, you can always believe that snakes stand up and talk.)
[40] As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
[41] The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
[42] And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
[43] Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Who has ears to hear, let him hear. Who has not ears to hear, let him slumber.
Now back to the Book of Beginnings.
Genesis 3:9
And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
Don't think for one minute that God didn't know where Adam was. You'll find He never asks a question that He doesn't already know the answer to.
[10] And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
Adam isn't facing reality very well at all, a problem common to many. We must all learn that we can't hide from our problems and our sins. Our Father knows!
[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?
The defendant is being questioned by the Judge.
[12] And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
Here we see one of the basic principles of "liberalism", which is simply "never, never, take responsibility for your own actions. Always blame someone else". In this case Adam points out that the "Manufacturer" of the woman is really to blame, i.e. the woman WHOM THOU GAVEST to be with me.
This was not a good answer! You can't con our Father, who probably shook His head in sorrow and disappointment as He turned to the woman.
[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.
Hey, it's not my fault! I have an excuse. The serpent seduced me.
Another really bad answer! God now turns to Satan.
[14] And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
"Because thou hast done this..". Done what? I think we covered that. He seduced Eve.
Notice that no question was asked to this "scum of the earth". Why give him the opportunity to reply with a smart aleck answer? God moves directly to the sentencing.
You should be able to document by now that the "serpent" God is speaking to is Satan, the Devil himself (Rev. 12:19). He was beautiful, charming, witty and very, very likable (Ezek. 28). He was a "tree to be desired". He was also a pervert. It is he whom our Father curses above all other living beings. He did not curse little old snakes.
The statement "upon thy belly shalt thou go" is an Hebrew figure of speech. It is a statement of degradation that implies the utmost humiliation, for prostration was ever the most eloquent sign of subjection. (If you are fortunate to have a Companion Bible, it will document this for you). We have a somewhat similar saying in English, "he's lower than a snake's belly".
The same statement of degradation applies to "and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life". This figure of speech is much like Psalms 72:9 which says "his enemies shall lick the dust". They will not literally get on their hands and knees and lick the ground with their tongues, but they will be so utterly defeated that no words could literally depict their overthrow and subjugation. But a picture, portrayed by a figure of speech, is worth a thousand words.
If the teachers and preachers of God's Word would pay attention to the figures of speech, which are easily identified in the "fixed" languages of Hebrew and Greek, much misunderstanding and confusion could be eliminated.
Here's How Traditions are Made:
If there was a verse in the New Testament that read "The Apostle Paul got in hot water", there would now be churches that would require their parishioners to do as Paul and follow his example, i.e. get into a pool or tub of water that is hot.
If you looked up "water" in Strong's concordance it would say "H2O, that substance which forms lakes and rivers and seas, rain, etc.". The would-be scholars would then debate how much water you should get into, how far you should be immersed, and exactly what degree of temperature constitutes hot as opposed to warm.
Thus "getting into hot water" would become a tradition of the church, despite the fact that the phrase is a figure of speech which means "The Apostle Paul got into trouble", and has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with water!
For those who have an interest, the great scholar E.W. Bullinger, has a work in which he classifies the 217 figures of speech and has given some 8,000 passages of Scripture to illustrate them. Without paying close attention to "Figures of Speech", no study of the Bible can be complete. Of course if you have a Companion Bible it notes the figures of speech for each passage in the parallel columns.
The LORD God now continues with the sentencing of the guilty ones. He is still addressing Satan:
[15] And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
And so it would come to pass that Christ's heel was bruised when His feet were nailed to the cross at Calvary, but as it is recorded in Hebrew 2:14 He shall destroy Satan, whose name is "death".
God has also said that He would put enmity (Webster: positive, active, and typically mutual hatred or ill will) between Satan and Eve and between HIS SEED and HER SEED.
Did you notice that there is no mention of apple seeds.
[16] Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
Conception? God is talking about conception and bringing forth children? What brought up that subject? What does conception have to do with apples anyway? Why didn't He say, "I will make your teeth hurt every time you bite fruit"? Hello!
While we're on the subject of conception, did you know that Eve had twins?
I often say to friends and acquaintances when the opportunity presents itself, when perhaps the subject of church or the Bible comes up, "Remind me sometime and I'll tell you what really happened in the garden". It always provokes curiosity, and it seems that the interest in that type of scandal is ageless, if you know what I mean. In any event, many have been driven into studying the Word of God when the traditions of men have been exposed.
The truth of the seduction in the garden, has been covered up, hidden by the cloak of the "fig" apron, and has been replaced with fairy tales about "apples" and "upright snakes". Satan has succeeded in deceiving those who read into taking the words which are written as literal "to the letter" instead of seeing the "truth" contained in that which is figurative and symbolic. He tried that "trick" on Jesus Christ Himself, when he tempted Him in the wilderness by quoting (misquoting) the Word of God, implying the literal letter (read Mat. 4:1-11). Christ didn't "buy it" and neither should you.
In as much as the flower of the fig is hidden within its casing, it is the very reason that the word "fig" is still used to symbolize something that is "hidden" from view. I hesitate in saying this, but if you would like a real education about the word "fig", then go to the library or obtain an unabridged Webster's Dictionary, look up the word "fig", and read all of the various definitions. I'll quote just two of the many definitions of this "f" word from that source:
Webster's New Twentieth Century Unabridged Dictionary:
A fig for; a phrase shortened from "I don't care a fig for," expressing the speakers contempt for the object or person mentioned.
fig, v.t. 1. To insult with ficos or contemptuous motions of the fingers. 2. To put, as something useless, into one's head.
Whether you check it out or not, know this: The traditions of men qualify as "something useless" in one's head. Enough said.
We now return to the garden of Eden. Our Father has been "spelling out" the consequences earned from man's first sin. Adam has fallen from grace. Here's what he's got coming:
Genesis 3:17
And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
I know this is the 1990s. But like it or not, Adam was placed in authority and God held him responsible for allowing this carnal event to transpire. Worse yet, he not only permitted it to happen, he participated as well, the exact circumstances of which I will leave to your own speculation and imagination, trusting that you will use good common sense and wisdom. Sometimes those who are "street wise" have an advantage in understanding the realities of the flesh man.
[18] Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
Hey, it's time to plant wheat and corn for food, pal, and don't forget to pull the weeds or they will choke out the crop.
[19] In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
You had it made right there in the garden of Eden, Adam. Perfect utopia. But you blew it! Dad's no longer going to provide everything for you "on a silver platter". Go find out what it is like to have to work for a living. Then of course, you're going to die, son!
[20] And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
Obviously, Eve is no more the mother of all the different races than she is of Adam. Remember, our Father created the races on the sixth day and Eve was not formed until the eighth day (if you've just joined our study please refer to the previous lessons for a more detailed explanation).
The name "Eve" means life-giving in the Hebrew tongue. Now, it has just been pronounced in the previous verse that man shall die. But our Father, in His infinite love for His children, had already prepared a way in which we could "live". It is called the plan of salvation.
That plan provided that it would be through this woman, EVE (and her offspring), that the only Way to life, the Messiah and Savior, Jesus Christ, should be born. This is the primary reason that Satan wanted to destroy the woman, to destroy the plan of God, to prevent the Messiah from being born, and instead, have his own born. That's why he was there, in the garden.
Plain and simply then, all people, all races, will either eventually accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, or they will no longer have life. They'll be gone! Therefore Eve IS the mother of all living in that she IS the mother (grand) of Him.
[21] Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
Adam and Eve now needed a covering, because of sin. We all need a covering, because of sin!
Here we see animals being used (sacrificed) to provide that covering. This beginning of "blood sacrifice" would continue down through the ages until the supreme sacrifice, of that unblemished Lamb of God, paid the price on the cross, to provide our covering once and for all.
And guess what? Because He did pay the price, we now get to wear the gospel armour (Eph. 6) as full protection from that fiery dart-throwing serpent. I don't know about you, but this Knight really likes the fit.
[22] And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
Man had become as one of whom? As one of the Elohim, God and the host, i.e. God and His sons, the angels. They certainly knew the difference between good and evil from the "world that then was" which God destroyed at judgment. That's why we have the plan of salvation, of restoration (see lessons 1 and 2).
[23] Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
Start plowing, Adam! It is for that purpose you were created, i.e. to "till the ground". God will eventually use this man's descendents to cultivate civilization, the real purpose for which he was created, using His "sword", as both the plow and the seed. It was to be the destiny of the race of eth' ha Adam. History documents it thoroughly. God's Word is true!
[24] So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
That Way, the path to eternal life through that "tree of life", would now be withheld until Jesus Christ, the Messiah walked the earth. And in due time, right on time, as was first prophesied in Gen. 3:15, He did come and walk among men! It was God's most precious gift to His children. How can we not pour out our hearts in love to Him when we see how much He loves us? Do you see?
Well, we didn't quite make it far enough in today's study to meet Eve's twins, the two seed lines. But they are "next up" in chapter four of this incredibly fascinating Book of Genesis. What a thriller it is! See you tomorrow.
Continuation of study...