God had warned man that in the day he would eat of the fruit of the forbidden tree he would surely die. (Genesis 2:17) Yet, this does not seem to be the case. Man has eaten of this fruit but Adam will live a total of 930 years. Has the unchanging God Whose Word shall always stand changed His mind? It is indeed true that man died spiritually when he fell into sin. However, his physical death was meant too when the warning was given. It seems to this writer that two things must be borne in mind to come to the proper interpretation of this matter: (1) the seed of death (physical) begins its work at the moment he falls; and (2) the grace of time is immediately given man.

What a sorry spectacle is revealed to us right after man has fallen! Instead, of seeking communion with his God and rejoicing in it, he seeks to hide from the all-seeing eye of God. Evidently God had approached man "in the cool of the day" before this. Now when they notice the approach of God to them, they hide.

God calls out: Where art thou? The communion has been broken. The One now looks for the other. Man cannot succeed in hiding himself and therefore answers. And — what an answer! He has hidden himself because he is ashamed of his nakedness. He does not dare to appear before the holy eye of God in his nakedness. He had not realized his nakedness before and was not ashamed. What has happened? God asks if he has eaten of the fruit of the forbidden tree. Only that act would have "opened his eyes" to his own nakedness.

The man's reply to God's question is factually cor­rect. The woman gave him of this fruit and he ate. However, his answer is also full of insinuations. He does not accept full responsibility for the act. He ac­cuses the woman with whom he is one flesh. He also implicates God. Who gave him this woman. The woman follows the man's example in part. She too does not accept full blame but blames the serpent.

God does not ask the serpent why he has done this because in the serpent He is not dealing with a re­sponsible moral creature. The curse is pronounced on the serpent. This curse will distinguish the ser­pent among all the beasts in that his locomotion shall be on his belly. Because of this form of move­ment he will eat the dust of the ground. We do not know how the serpent moved about before but it is evident that a change came about because he had been used to tempt man to sin.

The 15th verse of this chapter has usually been singled out as one of the most important statements in the Old Testament. And indeed it is. These words have been called "the mother promise." It is the mother of all promises. Here, in the middle of the catalog of woes which are to come on man and on the creation, we hear the first mention of grace. Notice the instructive form in which it comes. God will put enmity between the serpent and the woman and be­tween their descendents. When there was friend­ship between the two the worst possible event took place. That friendship was destructive to man. In His care of the human race God will now set the two at enmity toward each other. Man must maintain that enmity because friendship in this relationship will only hurt him more. It is, therefore, first of all an enmity between men and serpents. That is the clear teaching of the text. It is an enmity which will continue throughout the ages, but the outcome is not left in doubt. The serpent will bite the heel of man but man will crush the head of the serpent. The words are spoken to the serpent. Reference is made to the woman and her seed. The victory, however, is ascribed to one person — "he shall bruise thy head" — and the damage is done to one — "thou shalt bruise his heel." Here is a definite reference to a Savior to comp from the seed of the woman. Here is the first glimmering of light in the midst of this dismal situation. God's grace, unasked for, im­mediately makes its appearance. Man will have to wait a long time for this "Conqueror" to appear, but, appear He will!

The curse pronounced upon the serpent is devas­tating. He will be destroyed. The judgment which falls on the woman and the man is severe — but it does not end in destruction. First God addresses the woman. The judgment which falls on her is centered on the increase of pain she will experience in bring­ing children into this world. When the man and woman had been created He commanded them to be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth. The coming of children was to be an unmixed blessing. Now, after the fall, she will bring them forth with in­tense pain. Will she then simply decide not to have children and thereby escape this pain? No, the Lord has given His command to be fruitful and to multi­ply, and that command will stand. "Thy desire shall be to thy husband." Her in-created desire will cause her to bear children even though this will cause her great pain. The husband shall also rule over her. She had been made for man as his helper. Since creation the man was the head of the woman. This was not a relationship in which to one would lord it over the other but simply the divine order. Now things have changed. He will rule over her. Where the word of God did not come among men, the woman virtually became the slave of man. Sin disrupted all human relationships.

Now the Lord pronounces sentence upon the man. The judgment which falls on him centers about his ability to provide for the physical needs of both him­self and those who are dependent on him. It deals with his work. The ground is going to be cursed for his sake. As the crown of all creation he has dragged nature down with him when he fell. The ground brought forth in abundance in the garden of Eden. He was called to tend the garden but the tending wasn't "toil." He could find his full enjoyment in the assignment his God had given him. He will now in­deed eat of the produce of the ground but it will de­mand his "toil." Not only will the ground yield the fruit of what he has planted but it will also bring forth thorns and thistles. It will produce, of itself, what he cannot use and these thorns and thistles will hinder that which he has planted for food. Men­tion had only been made of the fruit of trees as man's food prior to this but now the herb of the field is mentioned as his food. Man must till the soil and plant and wrest his livelihood from the ground. It will take hard labor. In all his work to make a living he will be reminded of the sin he has committed. He will have to work hard, as long as he lives to keep body and soul together. This will take so much of his time that little time will be left for his spiritual needs. And what will be the end of the matter? After life-long hard labor he will return to the ground! He was taken from the dust of the earth and shall return to the dust. What a sad ending for this jewel — this crown — of creation! Your eyes shall be opened! This is no allegory — this is history — these are the stark facts!

So far reference has only been made to his part­ner as "the woman" but the man, Adam, now gives her a proper name. She is called Eve, derived from the word "life," because she is to be the mother of all men. The marriage bond has received two severe blows. The man accused his wife of responsibility for the fall and a part of the curse was that the husband would rule over his wife. Amid these difficulties they must now continue and become the parents of the human race.

To clothe their nakedness the Lord now gives them more substantial covering. Coats of animal skins are now given them thereby also making it clear that the life of animals may be taken for the benefit of man.

The closing verses of this chapter present some difficulties in interpretation and have, consequently, been interpreted in various ways. What does the Lord mean when He says: Behold the man is become as one of us (as God), 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...? Is this irony? Was Satan right when he told man that the eating of the forbidden tree would give him this knowledge? Cer­tainly it was not the knowledge which would help man. But, he does have experiential knowledge of evil now. He had apparently not eaten of the fruit of the tree of life. These two trees stood as opposites over against each other. Man was allowed to eat of the tree of life — and he should have done so. In­stead, he eats of the forbidden tree. The one would give life — the other gave death. After he has eaten of the forbidden tree and has suffered the conse­quences, he must not be allowed to eat of the tree of life. The eating of the one rules out the eating of the other. Unending life under the curse of sin would be unbearable.

To prevent his eating of the tree of life God "drives" man out of the garden of Eden. The place which He Himself had formed for man, the place of unparalleled beauty, the place where man had direct communion with his Maker, is no longer to be his home. He is sent out into a hostile environment. The curse pronounced on him goes into effect at once. Eden lies behind him and the future looks dark.

Not only is man driven from his first home but the Lord also reveals that there is no turning back. He places angels, Cherubim, at the east of the garden of Eden to prevent man's return. They are armed with "the flame of a sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." No one shall break through this guard and this garden has not been found to the present day.

God has given hope to man (vs. 15) but this hope will not be realized in a return to the garden of Eden. Man will have to be instructed by his God con­cerning a new way of atonement and life.

Questions for Discussion:

1. Did man die as soon as he fell into sin? In what sense? Explain.
2. Guilt drives away from God — e.g. — Adam and Eve hiding. What does this teach us concerning unconfessed sins? Discuss.
3. Do you think our first parents understood vs. 15 as a ray of hope? If they did, do you think they realized it would take so long to be fulfilled? Why did it take so long?
4. Why does the sentence on the woman center about childbearing and the sentence on the man about his work? Which is the more severe?
5. Would endless life be a blessing or a disaster in man's present state?