Saved by Grace: Recent Episodes
Brian Poindexter
However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.
Genesis 3:7-13 NKJV coverings. [8] 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. [9] Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" [10] So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself." [11] 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?" [12] Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." [13] And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” 3:8 God appeared, as before, in tones of goodness and kindness, walking in some visible form (perhaps Shekinah light as He later appeared in Ex. 33:18-23; 34:5-8, 29; 40:34-38). He came not in fury, but in the same condescending way He had walked with Adam and Eve before.
3:9 “Where are you?” The question was God’s way of bringing man to explain why he was hiding, rather than expressing ignorance about man’s location. Shame, remorse, confusion, guilt, and fear all led to their clandestine behavior. There was no place to hide. See Psalm 139:1-12.
3:10 Your voice. The sound in verse 8 probably was God calling for Adam and Eve. Adam responded with the language of fear and sorrow, but not confession.
3:11 Adam’s sin was evidenced by his new knowledge of the evil of nakedness, but God still waited for Adam to confess to what God knew they had done. The basic reluctance of sinful people to admit their iniquity is here established. Repentance is still the issue. When sinners refuse to repent, they suffer judgment; when they do repent, they receive forgiveness.
3:12 The woman whom You gave. Adam pitifully attempted to put the responsibility on God for giving him Eve. That only magnified the tragedy in that Adam had knowingly transgressed God’s prohibition, but still would not be open and confess his sin, taking full responsibility for his action, which was not made under deception (1 Tim. 2:14).
3:13 The serpent deceived me. The woman’s desperate effort to pass the blame to the serpent, which was partially true (1 Tim. 2:14), did not absolve her of the responsibility for her distrust and disobedience toward God.
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 shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
[15] 𝕬𝖓𝖉 I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it h shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
3:14 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙩. The cattle and all the rest of creation were cursed (see Rom. 8:20-23; cf. Jer. 12:4) as a result of Adam’s and Eve’s eating, but the serpent was uniquely cursed by being made to slither on its belly. It probably had legs before this curse. Now, snakes represent all that is odious, disgusting, and low. They are branded with infamy and avoided with fear. Cf. Isaiah 65:25; Micah 7:17.
3:15 𝘼𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙝𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙩, God turned to the spiritual serpent, the lying seducer, Satan, and cursed him. bruise your head . . . bruise His heel. This “first gospel” is prophetic of the struggle and its outcome between “your seed” (Satan and unbelievers, who are called the devil’s children in John 8:44) and her seed (Christ, a descendant of Eve, and those in Him), which began in the garden. In the midst of the curse passage, a message of hope shone forth-the woman’s offspring called “He” is Christ, who will one day defeat the serpent. Satan could only “bruise” Christ’s heel (cause Him to suffer), while Christ will bruise Satan’s head (destroy him with a fatal blow). Paul, in a passage strongly reminiscent of chapter 3, encouraged the believers in Rome, “And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly” (Rom. 16:20). Believers should recognize that they participate in the crushing of Satan because, along with the Savior and because of His finished work on the cross, they also are of the woman’s seed. For more on the destruction of Satan, see Hebrews 2:14, 15; Revelation 20:10.
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 shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
[15] 𝕬𝖓𝖉 I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it h shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
3:14 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙩. The cattle and all the rest of creation were cursed (see Rom. 8:20-23; cf. Jer. 12:4) as a result of Adam’s and Eve’s eating, but the serpent was uniquely cursed by being made to slither on its belly. It probably had legs before this curse. Now, snakes represent all that is odious, disgusting, and low. They are branded with infamy and avoided with fear. Cf. Isaiah 65:25; Micah 7:17.
3:15 𝘼𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙝𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙩, God turned to the spiritual serpent, the lying seducer, Satan, and cursed him. bruise your head . . . bruise His heel. This “first gospel” is prophetic of the struggle and its outcome between “your seed” (Satan and unbelievers, who are called the devil’s children in John 8:44) and her seed (Christ, a descendant of Eve, and those in Him), which began in the garden. In the midst of the curse passage, a message of hope shone forth-the woman’s offspring called “He” is Christ, who will one day defeat the serpent. Satan could only “bruise” Christ’s heel (cause Him to suffer), while Christ will bruise Satan’s head (destroy him with a fatal blow). Paul, in a passage strongly reminiscent of chapter 3, encouraged the believers in Rome, “And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly” (Rom. 16:20). Believers should recognize that they participate in the crushing of Satan because, along with the Savior and because of His finished work on the cross, they also are of the woman’s seed. For more on the destruction of Satan, see Hebrews 2:14, 15; Revelation 20:10.
𝕲𝖊𝖓𝖊𝖘𝖎𝖘 3:16 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 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣...𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣. This is a constant reminder that a woman gave birth to sin in the human race and genetically passes it on to all her children. She can be delivered from this curse by raising godly children, as indicated in 1 Timothy 2:15 (see notes there). Your desire . . . he shall rule. Just as the woman and her seed will engage in a war with the serpent, i.e., Satan and his seed (v. 15), because of sin and the curse, the man and the woman will face struggles in their own relationship. Sin has turned the harmonious system of God-ordained roles into distasteful struggles of self-will. Lifelong companions, husbands and wives, will need God’s help in getting along as a result. The woman’s desire will be to lord it over her husband, but the husband will rule by divine design (Eph. 5:22-25). This interpretation of the curse is based upon the identical Hebrew words and grammar being used in 4:7 (see note there) to show the conflict man will have with sin as it seeks to rule him.
𝕲𝖊𝖓𝖊𝖘𝖎𝖘 3:16 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 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣...𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣. This is a constant reminder that a woman gave birth to sin in the human race and genetically passes it on to all her children. She can be delivered from this curse by raising godly children, as indicated in 1 Timothy 2:15 (see notes there). Your desire . . . he shall rule. Just as the woman and her seed will engage in a war with the serpent, i.e., Satan and his seed (v. 15), because of sin and the curse, the man and the woman will face struggles in their own relationship. Sin has turned the harmonious system of God-ordained roles into distasteful struggles of self-will. Lifelong companions, husbands and wives, will need God’s help in getting along as a result. The woman’s desire will be to lord it over her husband, but the husband will rule by divine design (Eph. 5:22-25). This interpretation of the curse is based upon the identical Hebrew words and grammar being used in 4:7 (see note there) to show the conflict man will have with sin as it seeks to rule him.
𝕲𝖊𝖓𝖊𝖘𝖎𝖘 3:17-19 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.
[18] 𝕭𝖔𝖙𝖍 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field.
[19] 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.”
3:17 𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙙. The reason given for the curse on the ground and human death is that man turned his back on the voice of God, to follow his wife in eating that from which God had ordered him to abstain. The woman sinned because she acted independently of her husband, disdaining his leadership, counsel, and protection. The man sinned because he abandoned his leadership and followed the wishes of his wife. In both cases, God’s intended roles were reversed.
3:17-18 𝘾𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙖𝙠𝙚. God cursed the object of man’s labor and made it reluctantly, yet richly, yield his food through hard work. Weeds and thorns would henceforth infest the ground. Pain, weariness, and sweat would make life difficult. Adam was thus condemned to a life of labor, tilling the cursed earth.
3:19 𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙. I.e., to die (cf 2:7). Man, by sin, became mortal. Although he did not physically die the moment he ate (by God’s mercy), he was changed immediately and became subject to all the sufferings and miseries of life, to death, and to the pains of hell forever. Adam lived 930 years (5:5).
𝕲𝖊𝖓𝖊𝖘𝖎𝖘 3:17-19 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.
[18] 𝕭𝖔𝖙𝖍 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field.
[19] 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.”
3:17 𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙙. The reason given for the curse on the ground and human death is that man turned his back on the voice of God, to follow his wife in eating that from which God had ordered him to abstain. The woman sinned because she acted independently of her husband, disdaining his leadership, counsel, and protection. The man sinned because he abandoned his leadership and followed the wishes of his wife. In both cases, God’s intended roles were reversed.
3:17-18 𝘾𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙖𝙠𝙚. God cursed the object of man’s labor and made it reluctantly, yet richly, yield his food through hard work. Weeds and thorns would henceforth infest the ground. Pain, weariness, and sweat would make life difficult. Adam was thus condemned to a life of labor, tilling the cursed earth.
3:19 𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙. I.e., to die (cf 2:7). Man, by sin, became mortal. Although he did not physically die the moment he ate (by God’s mercy), he was changed immediately and became subject to all the sufferings and miseries of life, to death, and to the pains of hell forever. Adam lived 930 years (5:5).
𝕲𝖊𝖓𝖊𝖘𝖎𝖘 3:20-21 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
[21] 𝕬𝖑𝖘𝖔 for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
3:21 𝙏𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙣. It is appropriate that those bearing the guilt of sin should cover themselves. God Himself demonstrated this when He killed animals to use their skins as a covering for the fallen couple. This was a graphic object lesson showing that only God can provide a suitable covering for sin, and that the shedding of blood is a necessary part of the process (Heb. 9:22). The first physical deaths should have been the man and his wife, but it was an animal-a shadow of the reality that God would someday kill a substitute to redeem sinners.
𝕲𝖊𝖓𝖊𝖘𝖎𝖘 3:20-24 𝕬𝖓𝖉 Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
[21] 𝕬𝖑𝖘𝖔 for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
[22] 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"-
[23] 𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖋𝖔𝖗𝖊 the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.
[24] 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.
3:22 𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙪𝙨. See note on 1:26. This was spoken out of compassion for the man and woman, who only in limited ways were like the Trinity, knowing good and evil-not by holy omniscience, but by personal experience (cf. Is. 6:3; Hab. 1:13; Rev. 4:8).
3:22-23 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧. See note on 2:9. God told man that he would surely die if he ate of the forbidden tree. But God’s concern may also have been that man not live forever in his pitifully cursed condition. Taken in the broader context of Scripture, driving the man and his wife out of the garden was an act of merciful grace to prevent them from being sustained forever by the tree of life.
3:24 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙪𝙗𝙞𝙢. Later in Israel’s history, two cherubim or angelic figures guarded the ark of the covenant and the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle (Ex. 25:18-22), where God communed with His people. flaming sword. An unexplainable phenomenon, perhaps associated directly with the cherubim or the flaming, fiery Shekinah presence of God Himself.