Creation Lesson #6 (Genesis 2:5-17 ; 3:1-7)

In this lesson we are going to look at some of the verses that deal with the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve’s responsibilities in the Garden of Eden and their temptation and fall.

Verses 5-6:

One of the main things to see in these verses is there was no rain before the flood of Noah. God used a mist from the earth to water the earth.

Verses 8-17:

The Lord planted a garden eastward in Eden and put Adam there. In verse 9 we see that God also put the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden.

In verses 10-14 the Bible speaks of a river going out of the garden to water the garden and it parted into four heads. The names of the rivers are Pison (verse 11), Gihon (verse 13), Hiddekel (verse 14), and Euphrates (verse14). This information gives us a good idea of the location and size of Eden.

• The river Euphrates is easy to locate on any map. And the River Hiddekel is now called the Tigris River.
• This shows us that Eden at least went as far north as modern day Iraq or even into Turkey.
• The river Gihon is connected with Ethiopia therefore this could be the Nile River.
• The river Pison is the only one not clearly located. It would most likely be in Northern Arabia or Southern Palestine.
• With this information it could be said that the land of Eden is a triangle with a southwest border in Africa and a southeast border in Northern Arabia and a northern border in Iraq or Turkey.

In verses 16-17 we see the command that God gave Adam and Eve regarding what they could and could not eat in the Garden of Eden.

• Notice they could “freely” eat of every tree of the garden. This would have included the Tree of Life. The word freely is what Eve left out of her quote in chapter 3.
• They could not however eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
• The Bible says that the penalty for eating the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was death.

Before we get into the temptation of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:1-7, we must consider a very important fact concerning the word of God. Genesis 3 is one of the most important chapters in the word of God because it shows man why he is a sinner in need of a Saviour, Jesus Christ. This is the reason that men have been trying to do away with the creation account according to the Bible. If they can say we came into existence some other way, then we would not have been born in a sinful state as a result of Adam’s sin (Romans 5:12).

Verses 1-5:

The word “subtil” means very crafty or sneaky, very good at deceiving people. We must remember that Satan is said to appear as an angel of light.  (2 Corinthians 11:3) So it is no wonder that Eve was not necessarily scared off immediately by his presence.

The first thing out of Satan’s mouth, was “Yea”. That is the same as saying yes. Satan is the father of “positive thinking”. Modern day preaching and teaching from churches today is all positive, but that is not scriptural. While the Bible has a lot of positive things in it, it is also negative things to say as well. And while God is positive, he is also negative. Modern Christianity in America has made God all positive, but we must remember that God is balanced. While it is true that God is a gracious and merciful God, he is also a holy and just God. He cannot and will not overlook sin. He will judge and punish sin one day.

Steps to getting Adam and Eve to Sin:

1) Questioning the Word of God

*Any and all temptation will have one key element that is always the same. This element is that the word of God is always questioned during a temptation to sin.

*It is important to note that the first one to question the word of God is Satan. Let us look closely at the text to see how Satan questioned the word of God.

• He asked Eve if they could eat of every tree of the Garden. You say but God plainly told them that they could not eat of every tree of the Garden. So to show you how subtil Satan is look at Genesis 2:16 here God said that they could eat of every tree but gave them one exception in Genesis 2:17 .
• So, Satan knew the exception and played on the wording of the verses.
• Note Eve’s response in verse 2&3. She said that they could eat of the trees of the garden but not of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
• Now on the surface it looks like a good answer. But when compared to what God actually said we see she omitted the word freely, she added the neither shall ye touch it, and changed “thou shalt surely die” to lest ye die.
• God gave three warnings in the Bible against adding to, taking away, or changing his word. Deuteronomy 4:2 ; Proverbs 30:6 ; Revelation 22:18,19
• If you have any doubt about whether Satan knows the word of God look at his answer in verse 4 and compare with Genesis 2:17. Satan quotes it right.
• Also, in verse 4 we see that Satan is a master at half-truths. Adam and Eve did not drop dead physically the moment they ate, but they were definitely changed spiritually as well as physically. Remember that a half-truth is a lie. And Satan is the father of lies. (John 8:44)
• So, what we have seen so far is that Satan will get you to question the word God, and when we start adding, changing and taking away from God’s word we are on the path to sin.

2) Putting you against God

• In verse 5 we see that Satan told Eve that God was keeping something from them or not allowing them to have and know something.
• Satan does the same thing with people today especially young people. He makes them think that obeying God’s word keeps them from having fun or being popular or many other things. When in reality all it does is keep you out of trouble and help you live a good life. Proverbs 3:1-10.

3) The actual Temptation

• In verse 6 we see that the temptation concerned all 3 categories of sin.
• In 1 John 2:16 we see the 3 categories of sin are Lust of the Flesh, Lust of the Eyes, and the Pride of Life.
• Note how this matches with verse 6. Good for food (Lust of the flesh), pleasant to the eyes (Lust of the eyes) and a tree to be desired to make one wise (Pride of life).
• Any sin that can be committed will fit into one of those categories.
• Jesus was tempted in those same three categories Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13.

This is the reason why Hebrews 4:15 says that Jesus was tempted in all points just like we are, yet without sin.

Creation Lesson #6 (Genesis 2:5-17 ; 3:1-7)

Handout

1)  What verse in chapter 2 shows us how God watered the ground since there was no rain before the flood of Noah?

2)  What are the names of the 4 heads of the river that came out Eden?

3)  Which trees could Adam and Eve eat of in the Garden?

4)  What was the penalty for eating of the Tree of knowledge of good and evil?

5)  Why is Genesis chapter 3 such an important chapter in the word of God?

6)  List 3 things we see about Satan from verse 1.

7)  Give an outline for the steps that Satan used to get Eve to sin.