1 “Now THE serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, Of the fruit 3 of the trees of the garden we may eat; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die; for 5 God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil. 6 And 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 the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day; and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the Lord God called unto the man, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, 10 I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I 11 was naked; and I hid myself. And He said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof 12 I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave 13 me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this thou hast done? And the woman said, 14 The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon 15 thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life; and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, 16 and thou shalt bruise his heel. 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. 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 18 sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat 19 the herb of the field; 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. 20 And the man called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the 21 mother of all living. And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife coats of skins, and clothed them.
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- 23 ever; therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden 24 of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the Garden of Eden the cherubim, and the flame of a sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
QUESTIONS.
(1) What was the character of the serpent? What question did he ask the woman? V. 1. (2) What reply did Eve make? Vs. 2, 3. (3) Did the serpent agree with what the Lord had said? V. 4. (4) What did he say would take place on the day that she should eat of the tree? V. 5. (5) What inducements did Eve have to induce her to eat? What influence did she have over Adam? V. 6. (6) What was the effect of their partaking of the forbidden fruit? V. 7. (7) Who appeared in the cool of the day? What effect did it have over the fallen pair? V. 8. Why? (8) What question did the Lord ask Adam? V. 9. (9) What reply did Adam make? V. 10. (10) What question did the Lord then ask him? V. 11. (11) What two persons did Adam blame for his sin? V. 12. (12) What did the Lord then say to Eve? Upon whom did she endeavor to place the responsibility of the sin? V. 13. (13) What curse did the Lord pronounce upon the serpent? V. 14. (14) What did He say He would place between the serpent and the woman? V. 15. Note 1. (15) What was the woman’s punishment? V. 16. (16) What did He say to Adam? Vs. 17-19. (17) What name did Adam now give to the woman? Why? V. 20. (18) What kind of clothes did the Lord now give to Adam and Eve? V. 21. (19) Of what was this a symbol?—Death. Note 2. (20) What was the knowledge that they received to make them as gods? V. 22. See also verse 5. (21) Did the Lord permit Adam and Eve to partake of the tree of life after they sinned? Why not? V. 22. (22) Did man remain in the garden? Why not? What then became his occupation? V. 23. (23) What did the Lord place at the east of the garden? What for? V. 24.
Suggestive Readings.—“Patriarchs and Prophets,” pp. 52-70. “Great Controversy,” pp. 531-556, 505-510.
NOTES.
1. God, knowing all things, did not consult with Adam and Eve with reference to the laying of the plan of salvation; but even before announcing to them their punishment, He lovingly pointed them13forward to the Life-giver, to the “Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.” In this promise, the “enmity,” is contained the whole plan of salvation, and that mighty struggle between the powers of light and darkness which will finally result in the utter destruction of sinners and Satan, of sin and death.
“When the Lord Jesus visited our earth, He brought with Him renovating energy. He put enmity between the seed of the woman and the serpent. But there is no enmity between fallen angels and fallen men. Both, through apostasy, are evil; and wherever there is evil, with no disposition to repent, it will always league with Satan against God.”—Review, Jan. 26, 1897.
“God declares, ‘I will put enmity.’ This enmity is not naturally entertained. When man transgressed the divine law, his nature became evil, and he was in harmony and not at variance with Satan. There exists naturally no enmity between sinful man and the originator of sin. Both became evil through apostasy. . . . It is the grace that Christ implants in the soul which creates in man enmity against Satan. Without this converting grace and renewing power, man would continue the captive of Satan, a servant ever ready to do his bidding. But the new principle in the soul creates conflict where hitherto had been peace. The power which Christ imparts, enables man to resist the tyrant and usurper. Whoever is seen to abhor sin instead of loving it, whoever resists and conquers those passions that have held sway within, displays the operation of a principle wholly from above.”—Great Controversy, pp. 505, 506. God’s love in the heart constrains the righteous, but, not being in the hearts of the wicked, it only restrains them.
2. “The halo of glory, which God had given to holy Adam to cover him as a garment, departed from him after his transgression. The light of God’s glory could not cover disobedience and sin.” When the plan of salvation had been announced to Adam and Eve, God made them coats of skins, in order to turn their minds back to Christ, through whom only they could be clothed with the robes of His righteousness.
2. How did Satan speak through the serpent? How through Eve? How does he speak through wicked men?
3. What addition did Eve make to the prohibition of God? Gen. 2:17; 3:3. Is this natural with people to-day?
4. Trace the different steps in the fall of Eve; in the fall of Adam. See “Patriarchs and Prophets,” pp. 53-58.
5. How did Adam and Eve first know that they had sinned? How do you know when you have sinned?
6. When was the plan of redemption laid? Was Adam consulted with reference to it? Rev. 13:8; Gen. 3:15.
7. What was Adam’s first nature? What is ours? What was his second? What may ours be?
8. What does the curse pronounced upon the serpent imply concerning his previous station? What was Satan’s original position?
9. Compare the temptation of Adam and Eve with that of Christ in the wilderness. Matt. 4:1-11. See “Redemption,” pp. 30-56, or “Great Controversy,” vol. 2, pp. 85-98.
10. What became of the Garden of Eden?
11. Is fallen man in the image of God? How may he be restored?
12. Why did Adam’s transgression bring death upon all his dominion?
13. What will be restored in Christ?
14. Trace the origin of Satan, and then consider his end. Eze. 28:11-19.
15. What in this lesson shows that the law of God is as immutable as His character? “Patriarchs and Prophets,” p. 70.
16. What in this lesson shows that the work of the Christian is aggressive—that Christ would come into this world to cast out Satan?
