Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.

Genesis 3

What should I learn from this chapter?

• What is wisdom?
  Wisdom and Foolishness are two sibling branches from the tree of “Choice” (the tree in the middle of the garden)
  
  • Foolishness is compelled by the pleasures of the flesh.
  • Wisdom knows the value of one thing over another. Wisdom is willing to reject the pleasures of the flesh for the desires of the spirit. Wisdom knows the value of one thing over another and chooses the best.
  • “Choice” is the tree of good and evil, wisdom and foolishness.

• Proverbs personifies Wisdom begging people to listen, to hear, and to do.
  
  • Proverbs 1:²⁰ Wisdom calls aloud outside (she does not keep her wisdom a secret);
    She raises her voice in the open squares (if you do not hear she will raise her voice).
    ²¹ She cries out in the chief concourses (she begs from the top of the walls, the head of the multitudes, where most people can hear.) At the openings of the gates in the city (where most people travel).

• The Tree of LIfe becomes an outcast in a forest full of fools.

The Temptation and Fall of Man

Genesis 3:¹ Now the serpent was more cunning (Lit. crafty) than any beast of the field which the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ) God (‘ĕlōhîm) had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God (‘ĕlōhîm) indeed said (Did He really really say?), ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

• To be “cunning” is like basket weaving, designing and manipulating others as a weaver would design an outcome until getting the product of his own desires.
• Manipulating others is the opposite of faith. Faith gives one hands and legs to do God’s work. Satan was “faith-less”.
• It all begins by questioning God and twisting His words.

– – – –

Genesis 3:^2-3 And the woman said to (answered) the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God (‘ĕlōhîm) has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”

• ►Note: The first commandment in scripture is “Do NOT eat of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden.” All other fruit in the garden was a virtual buffet. The first commandment was the law. To eat of the tree in the middle of the garden was to accept and absorb the law. The law is like the serpent ready to rise up and inject its venom if man is foolish enough to slip and fall even once. (The Law, like the serpent accuses man. In Hebrew Satan means “The Accuser”). Once is all it takes. But when a man uses the wisdom of the law to avoid such a disaster, then the law is a perfect blessing.

• Note: The first commandment is in Genesis, the first book of the Bible “Do NOT eat of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden”. The last commandment is in Revelation, the last book of the Bible, “Do NOT take the mark of the beast” Rev 14:11 . They both adhere to Satan’s demonic ways.

• We know Adam and Eve sinned and ate the fruit, but the story wasn’t over.
  • I Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

• Before Adam and Eve sinned, even before God created the heavens and the earth, God already knew all that would happen. The Father already had a solution: the death of His only begotten perfectly sinless Son. There is a plan for the resurrection of the dead.

• Eve claimed she wasn’t to even TOUCH the tree.

• Statistics: One out of every one person will die.

Genesis 3:^4-5 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. ⁵ For God (‘ĕlōhîm) knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God (‘ĕlōhîm), knowing good and evil.”

• Note: Satan already knew good and evil. He already had chosen evil.

• Satan is telling Eve, “God does not have your best interest at heart. God is lying to you and using you”. But who is the real liar?

• How often do we live with those who accuse others from the motives of their own heart?

• Why did the serpent Satan insert himself between God and man?
  • It’s not that Satan likes men. He just doesn’t want God to have them. Furthermore; he needs a fan club to worship him.

• Compare the interest of God in your life and the interest of Satan in your life. Satan takes lives, God gave His life.

• There’s no such thing as a spiritual vacuum, if you remove God, you get Satan.

Genesis 3:⁶ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave it to her husband with her, and he ate.

• Never confuse wisdom with knowledge. Never confuse being right with being wise.

• Adam was WITH HER! Nothing says he tried to stop her. But! Think of Adam’s position. He is thoroughly in love with Eve. If he doesn’t eat the fruit, he deserts Eve to her own consequences. If he does eat the fruit, he deserts God, their Benefactor. Feel the agony of that choice. Satan’s method of operation is to ensnare men between two unimaginable choices.

• Matthew 10:37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. (Likewise, husband or wife.)

• How can something that brings death make one wise? This is the same crazy concoction of reality found in addiction. It did not make her wise. It is an unnatural destructive addiction to pleasure.

• The definition of true Wisdom is comparing the value of one thing with the value of another thing, and knowing which one is the more valuable; then making a choice in favor of the most valuable. A bad choice is devoid of wisdom. (Think of Nabal whose name literally means “fool”. He filled that role perfectly. I Samuel 25 {There’s no fool like a Nabal fool}).

• Sin as a metaphor: It is any indulgence or pleasure that is considered immoral or self destructive. Only God, who exists in all dimensions, can determine what is good or what is bad for man and his environment, what is right or what is wrong. Only God can see the consequences of choices, especially in the spiritual realms. Wisdom can ONLY come from God. The beginning of wisdom is the acknowledgment of God.

• Imagine the possible reaction of Adam and Eve at that moment: They took a bite of the fruit and didn’t die. Nothing had changed. Not a leaf had stirred. Did God lie? Can God be trusted? Their understanding of reality became shaken, and their concept of reality was uncertain. They ask each other, Who should they listen to, the serpent or God? Who was the most credible? These are the same questions men ask today, in different forms. Those things that men don’t understand, they will choose to reject. Then, in their arrogance, they believe the lies. Believing themselves to be wise, they become as fools. Could it have been that a seismic, catastrophic earthquake shook the spiritual dimensions beginning in heaven and ending in hell, invisible to them? Regardless, day after day, their bodies aged until finally, they were given over to death. God can indeed be trusted.

Genesis 3:⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened,

• Ironically, having one’s eyes opened means to see “Truth” as it really is, and yet it is this “eye opening” event of sin that brings about man’s spiritual blindness.

• Isaiah 44:18 They do not know nor understand; For He has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand.

• Jeremiah 5:21 ‘Hear this now, O foolish people, without understanding, Who have eyes and see not, And who have ears and hear not:

• Ezekiel 12:2 “Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, which has eyes to see but does not see, and ears to hear but does not hear; for they are a rebellious house.

• Revelation 3:18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.

Genesis 3:^7b and they knew that they were naked (vulnerable); and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

– – – –

• Note: Trees are symbolic of men.

► The tree of life was in the Garden of Eden. The tree that provides eternal life.

• Jesus represents the tree of life. The tree of life is the tree of pure, unadulterated love. The tree of life is only for the innocent. The tree of life needs no wisdom because love has no choice but to give itself freely to another, something sinful man cannot comprehend.

► The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil opens men’s eyes to choices, to be wise or to be foolish, unnecessary for those who are innocent but fatally toxic to the rebellious, leading to death.

• As a young child, without the knowledge of evil, I remember the horror I felt when I overheard adults discussing the murder of a child, and then I knew about evil; the world I believed in no longer existed. My eyes were opened, and I became traumatized. I knew I was vulnerable to being killed by another without the power to protect myself.
  
• The fig tree is symbolic of the nation of Israel. God’s intention was for Israel to be His example for humanity to understand that sin demands a law of justice! The law demands that something innocent must die for something guilty in order to cover the sins of man when the law can’t.

• Figs from Fig Trees are symbolic of nourishment and health, even a restoration. The barren fig is an omen of desolation.
  
• Rotten figs symbolize physical, moral, and spiritual corruption. (Jeremiah 29:17)

• See the parables of the Fig Tree: one which didn’t bear fruit, was cursed and died, the other which foretold the end of the age.
  • Matthew 21:18-20 and Matthew 24: 32-35

– – – –

Genesis 3:⁸ And they heard the sound of the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ) God (‘ĕlōhîm) walking in the garden in the cool (literally: Spirit) of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

• ►The separation between God and man has begun. They distance themselves from God in shame. God must separate Himself from their sin. “Holy” means to be “separate”.

• ►Hiding themselves:
  
  • They hid because they knew their nakedness made them vulnerable; it was their weakness. To be naked is to be ashamed of one’s weakness. To be clothed is to hide one’s shame. Mankind is now a “prey” for predators looking to destroy him. To be covered is to cover one’s sins (weakness) and be protected.
    
    Man now needs a covering of protection. God provides a blood offering by killing an animal to temporarily cover their sins (and bodies). By 31 AD, God provides a permanent solution: the blood offering of His own Son, Jesus.
    
    Something innocent had to die for something guilty.

• ►Genesis begins with man’s sin. Revelation begins with the “man of sin”.
  
  • I John 3:8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
    
  • II Thessalonians 2:3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,

Genesis 3:⁹ Then the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ) God (‘ĕlōhîm) called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

• God knows where Adam is. When a father loves his child He gently draws out a confession.

Genesis 3:¹⁰ So he (Adam) said, “I heard Your (God’s) voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

• Adam is ashamed of his weakness.

Genesis 3:¹¹ And He said, “Who told you that you were naked?

• Who shamed you, Adam? Note: Shame is rooted in the serpent; like a knife, it will cut the umbilical cord of dignity between God and man.
• Jesus’ words shamed Judas when Judas claimed he wanted to give Mary’s money that she used for His anointing to the poor (Matthew 26:12). This is about the same time Judas met with the High Priest to betray Jesus.

Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”

• The tree in the middle of the garden, called the tree of good and evil, could also be called the tree that demands a law. When obedience is broken, the law is demanded; it is a tree that curses those who cannot stay in perfect obedience. Satan, therefore, is symbolic of the Tree of the Law. The Law is perfectly good, and perfectly evil when it is a curse to men.

• In contrast, the Tree of Life, bears the fruit of Grace and gives life to all who partake of it. Jesus, therefore; is the Tree of Life.

Genesis 3:¹² Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”

• In other words, Adam is saying: “It’s YOUR fault…YOU gave her to me.” Also … “It’s Eve’s fault! She gave me the fruit.”

• Ever since the serpent came on the scene, words have been twisted. Truth, however cannot be twisted or marred in any way. Lies must be invented, but truth just is.

Genesis 3:¹³ And the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ) God (‘ĕlōhîm) said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

• “It’s the serpent’s fault!”

• Up until Gen 3:8, Eve was called the woman. From then on out, she is called his wife. She is put under his authority as part of the curse. Before Gen 3:8, she was under the authority of God.
• Now that a sinful man is over her, he becomes like the thorns of the ground to her. The man is cursed to fight the thorns of the ground, which will resist him while the woman is cursed to fight the thorns in their relationship. The thorns of the ground resist the man and the man resists the woman. Both will toil against each other and against the ground.

---

• Humor:
  
  “Marriage is like two jagged rocks thrown into a rock tumbler. They tumble while beating off each other’s rough edges, until years later God opens the door and removes two smooth and polished gems.”

---

Genesis 3:¹⁴ So the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ) God (‘ĕlōhîm) said to the serpent:

“Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.

• Did snakes once have feet?

• A beautifully preserved skull of a ‘Biblical Snake’ with hind legs was discovered in the desert in Argentina. Najash rionegrina is named after the legged biblical snake Nahash (Hebrew for snake in Genesis 3:14), in the Río Negro Province in Argentina, where the fossils were discovered. (It is determined not to be a lizard but an actual snake.)

• When Adam and Eve “fell” all creation fell with them. Now even the cattle and beasts are cursed.
  
  • Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
  • Romans 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.
  • Romans 8:20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope;
  • Romans 8:21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
  • Romans 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.

– – – – –

Genesis 3:¹⁵ And I (God) will put enmity (war) between you (Satan) and the woman (from the line of Eve all the way to Mary),

And between your (Satan’s) seed (descendants) and her (Eve’s) Seed;

But women do not have “seed”. In scripture only men have “seed”. Therefore; this is the first statement of a miraculous birth; that a virgin will give birth (have the “seed” of a Male Figure).

He (Jesus, Eve’s descendant from the virgin Mary) shall bruise your (the serpent’s) head (a deadly blow), and you (the serpent) shall bruise His heel (non-deadly: vain attempt to kill).”

• Concerning the heel: It is a non-deadly attempt to kill because it is a vain and an unsuccessful attempt to keep Jesus in the grave.
  • Psalm 2:1 Why do the (gentile) nations rage (the Romans),
  • And the people (the Jewish leaders) (consort together to) plot a vain (empty, impossible, useless) thing? (To kill Jesus and keep Him in the grave).
  • The Pharisees didn’t learn a thing when Lazarus was raised from the dead.

• Both Eve’s Seed and the Serpent Satan’s Seed appears during Jesus’ visitation (His first advent to earth).
  • The seed of Mary the virgin, is Jesus.
  • The seed of Satan the serpent, are the Pharisees and Jewish leaders who seek to kill Jesus.

• Genesis 3:15 is the first prophecy in scripture foretelling the redemptive plan of God.

• @Prophecy Fulfillment Alert: Gal 4:4-5, Matt 1:18 (Seed of a woman – virgin birth) (Old Testament prophecy fulfilled by Jesus)
  • Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

@Prophecy Fulfillment Alert: Heb 2:14, I John 3:8 (He will bruise Satan’s head) (Old Testament prophecy fulfilled by Jesus)

• John 8:44 You (Pharisees) are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
• I John 3:8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
• Hebrews 2:14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,

• The seed of the woman through the virgin Mary is Jesus and the seed of the serpent is the Jewish leaders but it is also: Judas who betrayed Jesus.
  
  • Psalm 41:9 Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me.
  • John 13:18 (Jesus Identifies His Betrayer) “I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.’
  • The heel of Satan indwelling Judas wounds Jesus’ heel. But the heel of Jesus destroys the serpent’s power and will ultimately cause him to be thrown into the eternal lake of fire.

• Judas and the Jewish leaders were murderers and liars who were like their father, the devil, also called Satan.
  
  • Who is the seed of Satan? It was (and is) those who commit the unforgivable sin. For details describing the unforgivable sin and the seed of Satan Click on Topic: “The Unforgivable Sin” ~Barbara Grover

Genesis 3:¹⁶ To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.”

• Two curses: Pain in birth and pain in marriage.
  
  • BIRTH: Although the verse addresses a woman in labor, what can bring forth more pain than one’s own family?
    
  • The pattern of pain during a birthing process is also used to describe God giving birth to the nation Israel, bringing pain to God.
    
    •  Isaiah 66:8-9
      Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her children.
      Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?” says the Lord.
      
  • MARRIAGE: The word “desire” has been interpreted by men as “to manipulate”. Women do not want to manipulate their men, but rather, they desire to please and promote him because her status is reflected by her husband’s status. But if men believe women are manipulative, then his thought patterns create a union of enmity. The woman becomes his enemy. He will relate to her in an abusive, antagonist manner.
    
    However, when a woman’s only experience is abusive, then a woman will default to manipulation to preserve herself. She will also carry it into her next relationship.

“A man’s worst fear is to be laughed at (shamed and manipulated). A woman’s worst fear is to be killed (by her husband) (which is the worst kind of abuse).” ~Gavin DeBecker “The Gift of Fear”

• For a husband or a wife to abuse their spouse (since they are “one”) is like a body with a stroke. One side can function, but the other side is damaged.
• Or it can be compared to Siamese Twins when one side is dead and the other side lives.
• It is NOT up to the abuser to decide if he or she is abusive; rather, it is up to their suffering mate.
  
  ”Oh, how I grieve to hear pastors (of the flock) teach so erroneously concerning women. To “desire” their husband is not that they are more manipulative; think about Jacob, the most manipulative man described in scripture.
  
• “The Wife Beater’s Bible” was printed by a printer who inserted his own comments on how he interpreted scripture on disobedient women. He, like others, set women up to be abused, the ewes of their flock. In this regard, they are led by Satan and become like the worthless shepherd who tears the hooves from the sheep.” ~Barbara Grover
  
  Concerning the line of authority, scripture tells men to learn to understand their wives. If they marry an abused woman, he must be aware of her very specific needs. An abused woman is more likely to hurt her husband emotionally and an abusive man is more likely to kill his wife physically.
  
  • Proverbs 31:10-31 The Virtuous Wife: Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil All the days of her life.
  • I Corinthians 7:3 Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband.
  • Ephesians 5:23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.
  • Ephesians 5:28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.
  • I Peter 3:7: A Word to Husbands: Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.
    
    Note: Both men and women, husbands and wives, are part of the believing Bride of Christ. For a husband to abuse his wife is akin to demonstrating that Jesus could abuse His Bride, when He gave His life for her.
    
    The man is symbolic of the flesh, while the woman is symbolic of the spirit in a union. A man who abuses his wife, without nurturing her, abuses his own spirit. The flesh and the spirit are one.
    
    Concerning God’s line of authority, we learn:

Genesis 3:¹⁷ Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:

• Some Christian men conclude from this verse that they should not listen to their wife. This only results in destroying a marriage. A house divided against itself cannot stand. (Mark 3:25)

• Why would a Christian man want to destroy half of his own self, since Jesus taught that when God made them male and female, He made them ONE (Mark 10:8).
  
• Just as the man is cursed to be plagued by thorns, so the woman will be plagued by trying to please her husband. The man must wrestle with the ground and the woman must wrestle with her husband. This is the curse. The thorns resist the man. The husband resists his wife. (But that is NOT a Christian marriage!)

• And if a man’s home is his castle, why would he keep his wife out, whom he thinks is his enemy, while opening the gates (which are meant to protect) to destructive outsiders like adultery, sexually transmitted diseases, drugs, and pornography? These are the Trojan horses teeming with demons. To partake in fornication and/or adultery is spiritually taking on the demons of others.

Genesis 3:¹⁸ “Cursed is the ground for your sake (because of you);

In toil (hard work, sweat) you shall eat of it (from it) all the days of your life.

• Life is now hard for Adam and Eve; if life gets easy man’s sin nature tends to bend toward misusing God’s blessings for his own sin filled purposes.

Genesis 3:¹⁸ Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,

• When Jesus emptied Himself of His Godhead, He became a man and as a man, He endured the curse of the thorns when the Roman soldiers put a crown of thorns on His head.

• Jesus hung naked on the cross.
  Thistle is a symbol of desolation or wilderness. Thistles grow in any naked piece of land. They love to takeover in a vacuum of greenery. God is where life is (greenery), but troubles (thistles) spring up in a vacuum.

• Thorns are also the beginning of man’s redemption being part of the crown of thorns wrapped around Jesus’ head. The ram whose head was caught in thicket of thorns when Abraham began to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice represented Jesus and his crown of thorns. [Ref Genesis 22:16]
  
• He who wore the thorns destroyed the curse of the thorns.
• Jesus is the perfect husband for His bride having reversed the curse.

– – – – –

• The husband who struggles with provisions from the ground deserves respect from his wife and likewise the wife deserves respect from her husband. The aim of both should be to reverse the curse each for the other.

– – – – –

• When God cursed the ground, He cursed man because man was created from the ground.

Genesis 3:¹⁸ And you shall eat the herb of the field.

Genesis 3:¹⁹ In the sweat of your face (stress) you shall eat bread (literally: bread/meat/food) till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust (red clay) you shall return.”

• Gen 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

• In Hebrew the root of “adom” or “Adam” is “dom” meaning “red” for either red wine or red blood. By adding an “A” to “dam or dom” you have man.
  
  • Example: Jesus would be speaking Hebrew during the Last Supper when He said:
    Matthew 26:28 For this is My blood (dom) of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (Jesus, holding the cup, was speaking on two levels. The listener would hear either a cup of red wine or a cup of red blood).

Genesis 3:²⁰ And Adam called his wife’s (‘iššâ) name Eve (ḥaûâ h2332 To Exist, To Be), because she was the mother of all living.

• Eve is the mother of ALL living. This excludes theories of other wives predating Eve or other children.

• Eve is called the mother of nations.
  • Gen 2:23 And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman (Isha h802), Because she was taken out of Man (‘îš.”)
    Isha=wife, female
    Ish=husband, man
    
  • ḥaûâ=Chavvâh, causatively from h2331; life-giver (breath); Chavvah, the first woman:—Eve.
  • Traditional Jewish exegesis such as Midrash (Genesis Rabbah 38) says that Adam spoke the Hebrew language (making it the global language before the Tower of Babel) because the names he gives “Eve” is Isha (Book of Genesis 2:23) and Chavva h2332 (Genesis 3:20) – which only make sense in Hebrew.

• Hebrew therefore is the first language of the world, and the Hebrew alphabet is a living language.

Genesis 3:²¹ Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God (Yᵊhōvâ ‘ĕlōhîm) made tunics of skin, and clothed (covered) them.

• The first death in scripture was for the skin of an animal. Perhaps a lamb since it is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world; a Lamb without spot or blemish.
  
  • Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.
  • Daniel 7:9a “I watched till thrones were put in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool.

• The words “white”, “wool” and “snow” all symbolize purity.

• Romans 4:7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered;

Genesis 3:²² Then the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ) God (‘ĕlōhîm) said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us (plural),

Genesis 3:²² to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— ²³ therefore the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ) God (‘ĕlōhîm) sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.

Genesis 3:²⁴ So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim (angels) at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life (vs the tree of good and evil).

---

Questions:

1. What is God’s line of authority? Does it include abuse?
2. Name at least one of Satan’s Tactics.

---

Symbolic Dictionary for Genesis 3:

Eyes Opened: To see something unseen
Fig Leaves: Temporary Protection, like the law
Fruit: From Above
Ground: World, Worldliness, Base
Herbs: Vegetables, Of the Ground, Worldly
Man: The Physical Representation of a marriage (whether good or evil)
Naked: Vulnerable, Needing Protection
Sea: Sea of People masses flowing like water
Seed: Fruit of the Parent, Descendant
Serpent: Lying Predator, Satan
Skin: Covering
Thorns: Curses
Trees: Men/Nations
Tree of Life: Giver of Eternal Life
Tree of Good and Evil: Choices – Obedience vs Disobedience, The Law
Woman: The Spiritual Representation of a marriage (whether good or evil)

---