Genesis 3:7

In speaking of the consequences of the first sin committed by Adam and Eve, the Bible says in Genesis 3:7, “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.” The first consequence to sin that is mentioned is the personal shame and guilt experienced by Adam and Eve. They lost the innocence and the happiness associated with being free from sin. A guilty conscience is a terrible burden for people to bear. The cure for a guilty conscience is to turn to Christ for forgiveness. Those who look for another means to escape their sins will never be free from sin. They will die in their sins and pay for their sins in eternity.

Another terrible consequence to sin is loss of fellowship with God. To be separated from God is a terrible thing. The Bible says in Genesis 3:8-10, “And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” What is interesting here is that God was still seeking Adam, and it was Adam who was hiding from God. Man tends to hide from God and to run from God. Jonah did it also. If only people understood that it is the love of God that is leading them to repentance, perhaps they would stop running and allow the Lord to speak to them. Right now Jesus is seeking lost souls so that He can save them. Jesus said in Luke 19:10, “The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

God speaks to Adam and Eve after they sinned, and the Bible says in Genesis 3:11-13, “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? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 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.” Adam and Eve both sinned, and they both used the same excuse. They wanted to blame someone else for their failure. Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the devil. It is not a valid excuse to say, “The devil made me do it.” You are responsible for your own actions. In order to get your heart right with God and to have your sins forgiven, you must take responsibility for your own actions. No one can make you do anything, not even the devil. “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Some people try to blame their parents for their on poor choices or sinful actions. But you will never be properly related to the Lord unless you take full responsibility for your own actions. Jesus spoke of a man who admitted his own sinfulness, and Jesus said in Luke 18:13-14, “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

The Bible says in Genesis 3:14-15, “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 thou shalt 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, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:15 is the first verse in the Bible that promises the coming of the Messiah. The devil tempted and man sinned, but God already had a solution: a Savior would be sent to save all who believe. The phrase “her seed” speaks of One who will be born of a woman and who will “bruise” the head of Satan. Galatians 3:16 refers to a similar promise about the “seed” of Abraham. It says, “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.” The Bible says in Galatians 4:4 about Jesus, “But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law.” Why did Jesus come into the world in the way that He came two thousand years ago? Why was he “made of a woman”? The reason that Jesus was born of a woman is because of the promise made back in Genesis 3:15 that “her seed” would bruise the head of Satan. Yes, Satan bruised the “heel” of Christ by the crucifixion. But even the crucifixion was used by God to bring salvation to mankind.

The Bible says in Genesis 3:16-17, “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. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast harkened 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.” It is important to notice that concerning these judgments on Adam an Eve that the word “sorrow” is used three times. The Garden of Eden was a wonderful place to live, but outside of the Garden of Eden it was not so wonderful. Do not have the wrong expectations about life. Life is difficult and it’s dangerous and there are many sorrows, and it will be that way until Jesus takes His believers to heaven. Even Jesus said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

The word that is translated “sorrow” comes from the same word as that which means “hurt, pain, grieve, toil.” In child-bearing there can be great pain. Of course, there is physical pain for a woman. And then there is the sorrow that can come later because of what might happen to the child. In the course of human history many, many children have died before they reached adulthood through disease, accident or violence. What a great sorrow this is for the parents. It may very well be the greatest suffering of life: for a parent who truly loves their children to see something terrible happen to them. All of this suffering and sorrow can be traced back to the Adam and Eve and when they disobeyed God. Every human being will have their share of sorrow in this life. Even Jesus is called “a man of sorrows and well acquainted with grief.”

The first judgment pronounced to Eve had to do with her children and the bearing of the children. The second judgment pronounced to Eve had to do with her husband. God said that her “desire” would be to her husband. The word “desire” means “longing.” When Eve was initially created, she was created as a co-equal with Adam. They were partners, involved in the same work in the Garden of Eden. But after the sin took place, their relationship changed somewhat. She now has a longing and a desire towards her husband that she did not have before. Eve now has a dependence upon Adam for the first time. A woman who refuses to have this type of attachment to her husband is not following the pronouncement that God made to Eve.

God also says to Eve that Adam “shall rule over thee.” The word that is translated “rule” is very clear in its meaning. It is used many times in the Old Testament and it means “to rule, to have dominion, to reign.” The word is used of a person in authority who has others under his authority. A woman who refuses to put herself willingly under the leadership of her husband is not following the pronouncement that God made to Eve. Of course, the husband should use loving guidance and not be an autocratic ruler; but it does mean that he has the final authority. The husband-wife relationship should be a loving relationship. “Husbands love your wives.” In the husband-wife relationship both should submit to the other. “Submitting yourselves one to another.” But the husband is the final authority. God said to Eve that her husband would “rule” over her. The Bible says in Ephesians 5:22-23, “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body.” Knowing that this is God’s will for a woman to allow her husband to “rule,” makes it even more important that a woman make the right choice in a husband. The Christian woman should ask the Lord for wisdom to marry a man who will love her and who will give the proper consideration to her needs when he makes decisions.

Adam sinned because he “hearkened unto the voice” of his wife. The words of God should be the most important words that we all listen to. Unless we hold the words of God in the highest regard, other words will eventually get our attention and lead us astray. Because Adam sinned against God, judgment was pronounced to Adam. The joy of living in the Garden of Eden was taken away. Adam and his descendents were told: “cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow thou shalt eat of it all the days of thy life.” In this verse the emphasis of the word “sorrow” is “toil.” Life on the earth for human beings will now be a life characterized by hard work. This is explained in Genesis 3:18-19 that says, “Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, til thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

For Adam and Eve the world in which they lived was no longer a garden. It now contained “thorns” and “thistles.” In order to “eat bread” it would require “sweat.” Hard work is the will of God for human beings: all human beings. Anyone who does not work hard is considered slothful, and laziness is sin. It says in Proverbs 15:19, “The way of a slothful man is a hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain.” Proverbs 18:9 says, “He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.” Proverbs 19:15 says, “Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.” Lazy people look for excuses not to work. It says in Proverbs 22:13, “The slothful man sayeth, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.” It says in the New Testament in Second Thessalonians 3:10, “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.” Do not feel sorry for those who are capable of working but who refuse to work. They are refusing God’s will for man in this life. Let them bear the consequences of their decision to not work. Even those who are financially independent should still work and accomplish things. That is the will of God for every human being.

In the last part of Genesis 3:19 God said to Adam, “From dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return.” God had warned Adam and Eve that death would be the result of disobeying God. Of course, what God said would happen, did happen. They did not die physically the moment that they sinned, but they did die spiritually. And the principle of physical death began to work within them. Life is a wonderful thing, and death is a terrible thing. The world is teeming with life, but that life is now controlled by the principle of death. You will die and everyone that you know will die. “It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment.” Thank God that Jesus came to die in our place, so that we can have everlasting life. It says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

The sin of Adam and Eve brought judgment, but God still loved His creation just as He continues to love us when we fail. And so by the grace of God there is a future. Things change, but we must accept the change and go on by faith hoping and trusting in the grace of God. We must make the best that we can out of what is given to us.

The Bible says in Genesis 3:20, “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.” We are all related to Adam and Eve; even Jesus is related to Eve because He was born of a woman. From Adam and Eve we receive our sinful nature. We find ourselves with the same need that Adam and Eve had when they were cast out of the Garden of Eden. We need the grace of God, and we need the Savior. Believe in Jesus and you can be saved from your sins.

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