The visible serpent was the instrument or tool of a higher agent, namely, Satan or the devil. The serpent was likely beautiful to behold before God cursed him. 2 Corinthians 11:14 says that “Satan masquerades as an angel of light.”
Some translations of 2 Corinthians 11:14 say that Satan transforms himself. That is misleading because transformation is what Christ does for us.
Romans 12:2 says, “Be not conformed (Μὴ συσχηματίζεσθε – not schematized - this is the word used in 2 Corinthians 11:14) to this world, but be transformed (ἀλλὰ μεταμορφοῦσθε – but metamorphized) by the renewing of your mind...” The core difference lies in the source and depth of the change: συσχηματίζεσθε (suschēmatizesthe) refers to an outward, superficial conformity to an external pattern, while μεταμορφοῦσθε (metamorphousthe) describes an inward, radical transformation of one’s essential nature. The devil masquerades as an angel of light, but he is an angel of darkness. He is evil, cruel, and his venom destroys people.
In 2 Corinthians 11:3, God warns us via Paul, saying, “I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” Christ has done everything necessary for our salvation. We just need to receive Him and believe in Him. Salvation is simply trusting in Christ to save.
In John 8:44, Jesus referred to Satan’s deceptive work in the Garden of Eden, saying, “He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”
Adam and Eve had never disobeyed God up until this day. The temptation to sin came from a stranger. Though sinless and holy, they were free agents, liable to be tempted and seduced.
The devil wanted to sabotage Eve’s faith in God. The devil wanted God, the truth-teller, to be the liar and deceiver in Eve’s mind, and he, himself to be her liberator. When Eve quoted God’s Word to the devil, he flat out implied that God was a liar. Preposterous! You die? No way! God knows the truth, but He is keeping it from you. He doesn’t want you to be like Him. All devious lies! The devil’s about to break her heart.
“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 to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.” Genesis 3:6-7
Eve’s “imagination and feelings were completely won; and the fall of Eve was soon followed by that of Adam. The history of every temptation, and of every sin, is the same; the outward object of attraction, the inward commotion of mind, the increase and triumph of passionate desire; ending in the degradation, slavery, and ruin of the soul.” [JFBC]
Their eyes were opened in a bad way. Previously, they wore their own skins for garments as animals do. The temperature must have been set just right so that they neither experienced heat to sweat nor cold to be chilled. Now, they see their body parts which reproduce people as shameful. Animals and plants strive to reproduce. Reproduction of plants is what farmers want. Newborn animals is what zookeepers want. But when sin entered into the blood of humankind, it poisoned our race against ourselves, against God and against reproducing ourselves.
“And they heard the sound 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 among the trees of the garden.” Genesis 3:8
The Lord God walked in the garden with Adam and Eve. They were always happy to see Him before sin occurred. Now, they hide themselves from God. They knew they did wrong.
They needed someone to remove this curse of sin from them. Otherwise, they could never enjoy a good relationship with God again. Ephesians 2:14-16 speaks of Christ abolishing in His flesh the enmity between us and God. Christ removed the enmity when He atoned for our sins on the cross. Now, we who have believed in Christ have an enjoyable relationship with God.
In Acts 17:26. Paul preached that God “made from one the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the earth.” Every human being that ever existed and will exist was in a sense in Adam. We all started with him. God loved our forefather Adam even after he sinned, and He loves us as well. When we distance ourselves from God, He comes looking for us.
“Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ So he said, ‘I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.’ And He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?’ Then the man said, ‘The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.’” Genesis 3:9-12
Praise be to God that He did not turn His back on Adam and Eve. They betrayed His trust. They disobeyed His one commandment. They let someone else come between their relationship with Him. And who was it? A serpent! They had all the fruits and herbs they needed. There was no food insecurity. Why did they listen to the devil? That’s a good question to ask ourselves. We should keep our minds on God. The first commandment is to love God. Remaining in His love helps us avoid the sham offers of the evil one.
“And the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’” Genesis 3:13
Eve confessed her sin to God.
“So the Lord God 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. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.’” Genesis 3:14-15
Well, the devil used the serpent as his agent to speak to Eve. What happens to those whom the devil uses to do his dirty work? They end up on the ground eating dust. Eventually, the devil’s head is going to be crushed by the Seed of the woman.
Jesus is the Seed that God was referring to in this passage. Jesus bruised the serpent’s head in a symbolic fashion when He paid for humanity’s sin on the cross and when He conquered death by rising from the dead on the third day. The heel of Christ was bruised symbolically by Satan when Jesus was whipped, spit on, insulted and nailed to a tree.
“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.’” Genesis 3:16
Yes, birthing a baby still hurts a woman. The good news is that after the child is born, she has the joy of meeting the baby that she has been carrying around inside of her for 9 months.
After the curse, her longing is for her husband but he rules over her in unloving ways. In Genesis 2:18, 20, Eve is a helper suitable for him. The word for helper in Hebrew is “ezer” and it is qualified by the word “kenegdo” translated as “suitable for him.” Eve was created to be a corresponding and equal partner for Adam. There is no sense of subordination stated or implied, or even hinted at, in this passage in Genesis 2:18, 20. God did not take Eve from the Adam’s skull bone to reign over him, nor from his foot bone to be walked on, but from his rib bone to be by his side. Sin corrupted the divine order. Sanctification by God restores it.
“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: cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.’” Genesis 3:17-19
Sin’s curse changed man’s paradise into a labor camp. Thorns and thistles represent the things that hurt us as we try to provide for ourselves and our families. The climate is no longer fixed to our comfort setting. We die.
“And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.” Genesis 3:20
She is the first reproducer of people. Eventually, one of her descendants, Mary, will give birth to the Messiah who gives us abundant and eternal life.
“Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin and clothed them.” Genesis 3:21
God clothed Adam and Eve. The word for atonement in Hebrew carries the meaning of having one’s sin’s covered by the blood of a sacrifice. God sacrificed animals, shed blood, to make a covering so that Adam and Eve would not be ashamed.
“Then the Lord God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of Us, 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’ — therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim 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.” Genesis 3:22-24
The very first exile takes place in this passage. Adam and Eve must leave the garden. God placed cherubim (winged creatures - angels) with flaming swords to keep Adam and Eve away. He did not want them to eat from the tree of life and live forever in a state of sinfulness.
“Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, ‘I have acquired a man from the Lord.’ Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.’” Genesis 4:1-7
Abel brought to God a sheep as an offering. Both sons must have known what God desired. God communicates with them. He spoke to Cain about his anger. God said to Cain, “If you do well, will you not be accepted?” Cain should have exchanged some of his produce with Abel for a sheep, but instead, he rebelliously offered to God that which was unacceptable.
“Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is Abel your brother?’ He said, ‘I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?’ And He said, ‘What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.’” Genesis 4:8-12
Cain, the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, killed his brother. The Lord tried to evoke a confession from Cain, but Cain lied to God, saying, “I do not know.” God knew that Cain murdered his brother. God cursed the ground on which Cain shed blood. Cain’s sin reduced him to a criminal and vagabond lifestyle.
“And Cain said to the Lord, ‘My punishment is greater than I can bear! Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him seven-fold.’ And the Lord set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.” Genesis 4:13-15
Cain appealed to God for a lighter sentence. God responded by setting a mark on Cain that indicated great vengeance from God if someone tried to kill him. In Ezekiel 9:4, the Lord set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sighed and that cried for all the abominations that were done in the city. This mark preserved them from the destruction that was coming to their city from God.
I have experienced many near death experiences. Have you? The Lord has preserved my earthly life way beyond the years that I expected to be here. “Thank You Heavenly Father!”
In Genesis 4:16-22, the Lord provides us a brief account of Cain’s life after he murdered his brother. God was gracious to him. God gave Cain a wife and a son. Cain built a city and named it after his son—Enoch. Enoch bore to Cain a grandson. Some of his descendants were noted for their music talent and others for their craftsmanship with bronze and iron.
“Then Lamech said to his wives: ‘Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; wives of Lamech, listen to my speech! For I have killed a man for wounding me, even a young man for hurting me. If Cain shall be avenged seven-fold, then Lamech seventy-seven-fold.” Genesis 4:23-24
One of Cain’s descendants, breaks rank, and instead of being content to have one wife, he has two. He also murders a young man for hurting him. He claims that he will be seven times more protected from revenge than his forefather Cain was, but that was just him talking not God.
Lamech’s name means, “Strong.” He used his strength to kill, and to take two wives. He’s the first person in history to takes two wives instead of one. The wives’ names are Adah (“Ornament”) and Zillah (“Shadow”). That’s likely how he treated them... as a trophy and as a shadow.
The Lamech of Cain’s genealogy is not the same as the Lamech in Seth’s genealogy recorded in Genesis 5:25-29. This Lamech commits murder and boasts about it. The Lamech in Seth’s genealogy bears a son named Noah and he says, “This one will comfort us.”
“And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, ‘For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.’ And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the Name of the Lord.” Genesis 4:25-26
This chapter ends on a good note. God gives Adam a son to fill the void that Abel’s death left behind. Seth and his wife provide for Adam a grandson named Enosh.
Men began to call upon the Name of the Lord. Praise God for praying men and women. Our world needs to welcome God to intervene on our behalf. Without Him, we resort to violence and hatred. So often, I pray that the Lord Jesus will return soon and cast death and the devil into the lake of fire and restore us sons and daughters of Adam back to paradise.
[JFBC] = Jamieson Fausset Brown Commentary
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