Moses 2-5. Scripture Study/Questions

Scripture Study

Read the passage Genesis 3:1-24 and discuss the following questions together.

1. Why did eating fruit lead to man’s fall? What is the nature of sin?

Answer: The sin of the first ancestors was not in the fruit itself, but in the act of eating the fruit, which was clearly disobedience to God's command. There are two aspects to this. First, they disobeyed and did not believe. God had clearly said, "You shall not eat it, for in the day you eat it you will surely die!" Second, they did not obey God's supreme authority in their hearts and wanted to be like God, which was actually exalting themselves.

2. What means did the snake use to tempt people to sin? Try to analyze Eve’s experience of failure and find out the typical process of human sin.

Answer: The way the serpent tempted Eve was to deceive Eve with half the truth. God said to Adam, "In the day that you eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you will surely die." (Genesis 2:17) But the serpent said, "You will not surely die" (Genesis 3:4). On the other hand, the serpent said to Eve, "In the day that you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:5). In their hearts, people want to be equal to God, so they justify themselves by saying that the fruit is "good for food"; they replace God's command with their own thoughts. Unfortunately, after they ate the fruit, their eyes were opened (Genesis 3:7), but they only saw that they were naked. Moreover, even if they knew what was good and what was evil, they did not necessarily have the ability to choose good and reject evil. What's more, after eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they were not only not as good as God, but their relationship with God was severed, and they were driven out of the Garden of Eden and lost God's presence. (See Kuang Bingzhao: Genesis, Vol. 1, p. 329, Tiandao Bookstore) We can see how the Bible describes Eve's mentality when she saw the fruit before she sinned (see 1 John 2:16):

(1) “Lovely, able to make one wise,” (the lust of the flesh)

(2) “It is pleasing to the eyes,” (the lust of the eyes)

(3) “You will be ‘like gods,’ knowing good and evil.” (Pride of this life)

The beginning of sin is that people leave what they should do and seek better things outside of God to satisfy themselves (the angels fell, and they also left what they should do - Jude 1:6 "did not keep their original position"). It can be said that the main reason for people to sin is that they are still not satisfied with the good things that are already there, and they seek good things outside of God's provision.

3. What consequences did Adam and Eve’s sin bring? Try to observe and explain the changes in their relationship with God, with humans, and with creation.

Answer: (1) The consequences

To women

Blessings before the Fall	The Curse of the Fall
Be fruitful and increase in number, and fill the earth (Genesis 1:28)	The pain of childbirth will increase (Genesis 3:16)
A Helper to Her Husband (Genesis 2:20)	She longed for her husband but was ruled by him (Genesis 3:16)

 

For men

Blessings before the Fall	The Curse of the Fall
Freedom to Eat the Fruit of the Garden (Genesis 2:16)	A life of toil to earn a living (Genesis 3:17)
Living beings without death (Genesis 2:7, 17)	Facing death and returning to dust (Genesis 3:19)

 

(2) Changes in the relationship with God, with man, and with creation:

*Relationship with God:

After the fall, man was described as "having become like us (God)" (Genesis 3:22). In fact, man was created to be like God (Genesis 1:27 "created in the image of God"). Ironically, the original "likeness" was the presence of God and being placed in the Garden of Eden; but after the fall, the "likeness" was separation from God and being driven out of the Garden of Eden.

*Relationship with people:

According to the above chart, women were originally helpers of men, and they had a close relationship with them. However, after committing sin, they "desired" their husbands. "Desire" does not mean "love" or "admiration", but rather "overcome" or "control" (such as in Genesis 4:7, sin "desired" Cain). After the fall, women were unwilling to be helpers of their husbands, but wanted to replace their positions. However, the husband also changed from seeing her as a relative of his own flesh and blood to someone who wanted to "rule" her. It can be seen that after committing sin, the original love relationship of people was destroyed. In fact, when sin entered the world, human sin became increasingly serious. (Genesis 4-11)

*Relationship with creation:

The Bible points out that Adam's work in the garden was to "tend" and "guard". The word "tend" can also be translated as "worship", which shows that Adam's work in the garden was a kind of worship, a life of enjoying God's presence, and had nothing to do with making a living; the earth also worked naturally. But after the fall, God still used these two words as punishment.

First, God wanted Adam to "cultivate" the earth (the original text is the same as "tend") in order to make a living (Genesis 3:19, 23), showing that after the fall, work has no connection with worshipping God, let alone a kind of enjoyment; and the earth is also implicated by man's sin, so that man has to "sweat his face" just to make a living. Secondly, God originally asked man to "guard" the Garden of Eden, but now the cherubim are "guarding" the Garden of Eden to prevent people from entering again.

4. Genesis 3:9 describes God calling Adam. How could an omniscient God not know where Adam was? Why did God still call him? What comfort does God's action bring to people trapped in sin (see verse 21)?

Answer: On the one hand, God wanted Adam to return from hiding from God to facing God; on the other hand, God also wanted Adam to step out of evading responsibility and face the consequences of sin. God's actions show His love for man. Although man was trapped in sin and dared not face God, God still took the initiative to find man and made clothes of skin for him to wear.

5. Do you think Adam and Eve could have avoided sinning when they were tempted?

A: Of course, otherwise they would not be responsible for the sins they committed. Today we have become new creations in Christ and can also choose not to sin when faced with temptation. There are several aspects of this passage that deserve our attention:

(1) Have firm faith in God’s words and do not doubt or despise His commands and will.

(2) Have absolute faith in God’s love and do not waver easily;

(3) Be mindful of the temptations of the body and eyes, and guard against pride and self-righteousness;

(4) Understand that only by relying absolutely on God and not on our own wisdom can we overcome temptation.

6. Have you ever faced temptation in your life? How did you deal with it?

Answer: (This is a sharing question, there is no specified answer.)

7. Share some examples from your personal experience of overcoming temptation.

Answer: (This is a sharing question, there is no specified answer.)