Quick recap from two weeks ago:  A walking, talking serpent comes to Adam and Eve and convinces them that God is holding out on them, and ultimately offers them something THEY ALREADY HAVE – V5, “God knows that when you eat, you will be like him…” – remember, they were already image bearers of God, so a clear picture that the enemy will often try to convince you that you’re not who you were – and when they ate, their eyes were opened and they realized they were naked – first response? Cover their nakedness – SHAME – hear God walking? Hide out of GUILT and FEAR – the language of the enemy is guilt, shame and fear – he wants to keep you in bondage by reminding you of your past, and convincing you that there’s no life on the other side of your sin – go back and listen for more from two weeks ago.

This morning, we are going to see the result of sin, its consequences and how it sets the stage for the rest of the Bible – But we will also see a beautiful picture of a pursuant God, who comes looking for Adam and Eve, and is filled with grace and compassion – And we will spend a bit of time comparing the stories of Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel – Genesis 3:14-24.

V14 – This is the first of 4 consequences received from their disobedience – first, he deals with the tempter – remember, the serpent was very human-like at the beginning of the chapter, able to walk, talk and reason with Adam and Eve – And while we have to look at the entirety of the Bible to fully understand, this is Satan, who is in the garden – “In the beginning” in chapter one, is really the beginning of the earth and mankind – before the creation account, we find later in the Bible in Isaiah 14:12-15, the account of Satan trying to usurp God’s throne and is cast down to earth – then we see a parallel passage in Revelation 12:7-10, where John sees a vision of eternity past, when Satan is at war with God, and he and 1/3 of the angels are cast out of heaven.

All of that to say, this first consequence is directed toward the serpent, but it is not the first time God has executed punishment on Satan, just the first time we see it in scripture – and look at the punishment: no more walking around, you will slither and eat dust – another reminder that we get the narrative wrong when it comes to God vs Satan – they are not equals in ANY WAY – And here is a great reminder – God chops his legs out from under him and renders him ineffective – Who has continued to give us revisionist history? The enemy! He is the minister of propaganda, and very good at it, but as a follower of Jesus, he only has the power that you give him.

V15 – This verse is referred to as “protoevangelium” or “first gospel” – enmity between her offspring and Satan – “he will crush your dead and you will strike his heel” – before God deals with man and woman, he announces to the enemy that he will ultimately lose – his head will be crushed by a Savior – 1 John 3:8, Jesus came to destroy the works of the enemy – “you will strike his heel” is a picture of the suffering of Jesus on the cross – How cool is it that Sin infects mankind, and immediately God declares victory?

V16 – 2nd consequence, woman will endure pain in childbirth, she will desire her husband will be ruled over by him – here is a good place to compare the stories of Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel – Genesis 3:16 and Genesis 4:7 in the Hebrew are almost exactly the same – So, this consequence is that because of sin, the relationship between man and woman is thrown out of whack – Genesis 1, made EQUALLY in God’s image, but here, sin, or DESIRE has caused chaos in this relationship – Men are naturally made stronger, and sin causes a man to DESIRE dominance over woman – Women, because of sin, you will use DESIRE to manipulate men with your body – but again, when you compare with Genesis 4:7, it is now a picture of mastery over sin – “sin is crouching at your door – it DESIRES to have you, but you must master it."

What happened when SIN entered the picture? Part of the image Man bore from God was PASSION – Sin corrupted God-given PASSION and made it flesh-driven PASSION – God-given, purpose driven PASSION has now become self-driven, all about me PASSION – this consequence is that man and wife will struggle to not seek power in their relationship, but live in God’s perfect design for their lives.

V17-19 – 3rd consequence is the consequence doled out to man – remember, he was placed in the garden to work it, to preserve and protect it – now, what was easy will become difficult – the provision will now be difficult to come by – the words “painful toil” and “sweat of your brow” denote the difficulty by which provision will come – and, it is the first time we see the shift from immortality to certain death – “to the dust you will return.”

Again, Cain’s consequence is the same as Adam’s – Genesis 4:12, “when you work the ground it will no longer yield its crops” – this is another picture of the result of sin – Why important? While your situation may be unique to you, ALL SIN ends the SAME – There is a cyclical nature to sin and its consequence that is spelled out here in chapters 3 and 4 of Genesis.

V21 – Here is where God tips his hand – after doling out consequences to the serpent, man and woman, he is so angry that he…clothes them – God’s grace is on full display here in Genesis 3 – he kills an animal and creates clothing for them – Hebrews 9:22, without shedding of blood, no forgiveness for sin – will see as a theme throughout the Bible: blood sacrifice for the covering of sin – their guilt and shame are covered by God – And what happens to Cain? Genesis 4:15, God marks Cain – In both stories, God makes provision for sin through covering.

So important – God pursued Adam and Eve earlier in chapter 3:9 – “Where are you?” – God has not withdrawn his love – in fact, he pursued Adam and Eve in their sin – And look in Genesis 4:9 – “Where is your brother, Abel?” In both cases, God continues to pursue IN SPITE OF their sin – The nature of God is that he is BOTH JUST and GRACE-FILLED – He pursues, and he covers our guilt and shame through the shedding of blood.

V22-24 – Adam and Eve are banished from the garden to no longer eat from the tree of life, which would ultimately lead to death – same thing happens to Cain – Genesis 4:14, “today you are driving me from the land…” – the cyclical nature of the consequence of sin- SIN ultimately leads to DEATH.  – Romans 6:23

In Romans 5:12-17, Paul gives a clear picture of both SIN and its PROVISION – Sin and death entered the world through ADAM, but in JESUS, ALL SIN has been defeated for ALL TIME! If you are discouraged by original sin, then be ENCOURAGED that God made PROVISION for sin through the shedding of blood on the CROSS.

CLOSE:

1. There is consequence for sin. Always. We said it last week, but let me remind you: you have the free will to do whatever you want. But you don’t get to choose the consequence.

2. The cycle of sin is consistent. Our self-focus causes us to create our own stories of how unique our situation is, but in the end, we see that ALL SIN leads us out of God’s perfect design and into wandering away from God’s presence.

3. The enemy has already been defeated. He is a con artist, a minister of propaganda, but God has already defeated him. He was defeated in the garden, and again at the cross, the resurrection, and Jesus, when he returns, will give final judgement.

4. God pursues in spite of your sin. God is not done with you because of your sin. In fact, he continues to pursue you. “Where are you” is an invitation to come back to him. And ultimately, the cross is his pursuit of you and me.

5. God covers your guilt and shame through the shedding of blood. He made animal skins in Genesis 3, made sacrifice throughout the OT, and ultimately made peace through the cross.