Bible Study Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 and Matthew 4:1-11

These notes are for the Wednesday 10 am Bible Study at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, Orlando FL.  

No matter how you view Genesis – literal or not – the first great truth that shines through all interpretations is “God created.” 

The second is the universality of sin.  As Paul said in Romans, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” 

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
2:15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.

2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden;

2:17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die."

3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God say, 'You shall not eat from any tree in the garden'?"

The serpent is an interesting image.  “More crafty than any other wild animal.”  This is a play on words.   In Hebrew, the word for “crafty” is arum.  The word for naked is “arummim”.  The idea perhaps is that humans are exposed to the crafty elements of the world.

The ideas that the serpent is the devil has had a long history, but it may be just as well that we look at this serpent as any source of temptation – perhaps not evil itself, but any generic source of temptation.

The “apple” is a traditional fruit from the tree, but this is pure fiction.  Interesting perhaps, but fiction none the less.

In Europe, artists often depicted the forbidden fruit as an apple, largely because of a misunderstanding of the text.  In Latin, mălum evil and mālum, another Latin noun, means means apple. Incidentally, the larynx in the human throat being more noticeable in men it was frequently called an Adam’s Apple, from the ancient notion that it was the forbidden fruit sticking in Adam’s throat.

In the 1^st and 2^nd century, the forbidden fruit was often visualized as grapes.

When Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling, Eve held a fig, and the fig was the visual representation of the forbidden fruit for a long time.

Other times the forbidden fruit was considered a pomegranate, mushroom, wheat and for a time, sex.  The sexual imagery sometimes is seen today, but that makes very little sense because the first command God issued to Adam and Eve was “be fruitful and multiply.”

As the serpent tempts Adam and Eve, I love the way this story is woven together in Genesis.

God says what in verse 16? 

You may freely eat of every tree….

Then there is one exception.

The tempter comes along and asks a question.  Doesn’t lie, but states a question, “Did God say, ‘you shall not eat from ANY tree in the garden.’”

3:2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;

3:3 but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.'"

Is that what God really said?

There is an addition that the woman makes “Nor shall you touch it.”  Temptation comes from adding to, as well as taking away, from God’s word.

3:4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die;

3:5 for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

3:6 So 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 its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.

The woman is lured by the special fruit, its attraction as "good for food," its beauty as "a delight to the eyes," and its capacity "to make one wise" (3:6). She takes the fruit and then eats it (3:6).

Then the woman does something interesting – she gives it to her husband, who apparently was there all the time, but not involved in the conversation. 

I’m not sure why it is considered Adam’s sin, and why through one MAN all have sinned.  Seems that it should have been Eve’s sin and through one WOMAN all have sinned – but that doesn’t seem to be important to theologians.

3:7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

Notice that their eyes were not opened to some glorious, incredible knowledge.  They did not suddenly have the ability to speak Spanish, play the piano, or do complex mathematics.  They did not have great theological knowledge. 

Their eyes were opened simply to the mundane awareness that they were naked, ashamed, and now in need of clothing to hide behind.  In other words, they were open to their vulnerabilities.  They had been trusting in God, and now, knowing how vulnerable they were, looked to their own devices to cover their vulnerabilities. 

As a side point, my Dad was a textile executive.  He liked to say that according to the Bible, textiles was the oldest industry – he couldn’t very well say it was the oldest profession, because that was already taken by prostitution – but it was the oldest industry.  And history testifies that it is certainly among the oldest industries, dating back 5,000 years or more. 

Psalm 32
32:1 Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

In Genesis, man and woman try to cover their sins with fig leaves, but that does not work well.

Psalm 32 says, happy are those whose transgression is forgiven – whose sin is covered.

Only the forgiveness by Christ can truly cover our sins.

32:2 Happy are those to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

One way that people respond to their own sins is to deceive themselves.  They try to convince themselves that they were innocent. 

I John says, “if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us, but if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will cleanse us from our sins.”

In verse 3 of the Psalm, we see a grieving person feeling the agony of one’s sin.

32:3 While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.

32:4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah

In verse 5, the person speaks out – and it is interesting to see to whom the person speaks and what he says:

32:5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Turning to Matthew

Matthew 4:1-11
4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

4:2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished.

4:3 The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread."

Again – as in Genesis, there is nothing here that is not true – it is just a question:  If you are the Son of God…”

The command is to turn the stones to become loaves of bread.  Later, Jesus does indeed multiply bread from a small amount of bread in order to feed many people.  Jesus has the power, but instead of misusing his power for selfish need, Jesus resists and responds with a quotation from the Old Testament.

4:4 But he answered, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

This quotation comes from Deuteronomy 8:3:

“He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”

Jesus answers temptation with Scripture.

4:5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple,

4:6 saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'"
4:7 Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

This time, the tempter beats Jesus to the punch, using Scripture as part of the temptation.  We can use the Bible in terrible ways – or should I say, “Misuse.”  How are some of the ways we might misuse the Bible today?

Mark 16:17-18:  And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

Here is some recent news:

Middlesboro, Ky — Three days after pastor Jamie Coots died from a rattlesnake bite at church, mourners leaving the funeral went to the church to handle snakes.

Coots, who appeared on the National Geographic Channel’s “Snake Salvation,” pastored the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name church founded by his grandfather in Middlesboro, Ky. The third-generation snake handler was bitten during a service on Feb. 15 and died later at his home after refusing medical help. Now his adult son, Cody Coots, is taking over the family church where snakes are frequently part of services.

Snake handling gained momentum when George Hensley, a Pentecostal minister working in various Southern states in the early 1900s, recounted an experience where, while on a mountain, a serpent slithered beside him. Hensley purported to be able to handle the snake with impunity, and when he came down the mountain he proclaimed the truth of following all five of the signs in Mark. Hensley himself later died from a snake bite.

John 14:13: "And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son."

God is not a genie in a bottle. We often treat our prayers like the old show, “I Dream of Jeannie,” in which one of the characters was always trying to get a hold of the bottle so he could get all of his wishes fulfilled.  God is a good and generous God, but this does not mean that should, or can, pray for whatever we desire and believe that God is bound by some sort of contract to fulfill our request – or demand.

We are sinful people and don't even know what's best for us. Sometimes we pray with wrong motives. Praying random prayers that are self-centered is not God-honoring. We should seek his will when we pray. 

Another example:  Athletes who latch onto Philippians 4:13 ("I can do all this through him who gives me strength")?

In that passage, Paul is teaching on contentment.  That – not victory – is the key.  Paul is arguing that no matter what our situation is, we should learn to be content and to have peace.  This verse doesn't necessarily mean that Christ gives a player victory, but rather that the player can be content – win or lose - because of God's strength in him. It's not about God giving you the strength to hit a homerun as much as it is him working in you to be content no matter what happens in the game.

4:8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor;

4:9 and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."

This, to me, is the most interesting part of the temptation process, for it is tempting Jesus to have the very thing that he will have in God’s full time, but to rush that process so that Jesus has it sooner rather than later.

4:10 Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'"

4:11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.