The Bible: One Bite at a Time Expository Sermon Series Notes Genesis to The Revelation Sid Galloway © 1999

Genesis 3:7-8 A Disordered Family always becomes Dysfunctional

Audio Tapes # 25 & 26 - April 16 & 23, 2000         (Notes Updated ..... April 22, 2000)

Zoo Creation Tours available on request for Homeschool groups, churches, etc..

Review: (Gen 1-3:1) Creation See the notes on the Web

Genesis 3 Previous Outline points:
I. The Serpent (Gen 3:1 a)    
II. The Seducer's First Ploy (Gen 3:1 b)
III. The Woman's Deception (Gen 3:2-3)
IV. Denying God & His God's Word
      A. Denying Death (Gen 3:4) "You will not_______"
      B. Denying the Only Deity (Gen 3:5) "You will be _______"
V. Temptation in 3-D (Gen 3:6)

The Text: Genesis 3:7-8 (Strong's #'s in parentheses)

"Then the eyes of both of them were opened,
and they knew that they were naked (5903 `eyrom = naked, from 6191 `aram = subtle, crafty = same root for the term in Gen. 1:1 describing the serpent as crafty).
and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings (2290 chagowr = girdle, armor, from the term 2296 chagar = gird, yet once translated in 2 Sam 22:46 as "be afraid")
And they heard the sound of the Lord God
walking (1980 halak = to go, to walk) in the garden in the cool (7307 ruach = wind or spirit) of the day,
and Adam and his wife hid themselves
from the presence (6440 panim = faces) of the Lord God among the trees of the garden."

Exposition and Commentary -

VI. A Dysfunctional Family is a Disordered Family (Gen 3:7-8)
A. Sin Exposed:

- "Then the eyes of both of them were opened,
and they knew that they were naked;
- God is a God of order, not chaos and rebellion (1 Cor 14:33).
- God's perfect order was disrupted and no longer functioned as He designed it.
Entropy (decay), described as the Second Law of Thermodynamics became dysfunctional.  The rebellion of Adam (Gen 3) and the subsequent escalation of "entropy" (disorder, death, & decay - dysfunctional 2nd law of thermodynamics) is the reason for imperfections as well as the selfish competition, violence, pain, suffering, fear, and death we see in the "wild kingdom" now.  *  The second law of thermodynamics was functional before Adam sinned, such as in the process of digestion, chemical processes, etc., but death and disease were not.
Instead of exercising God's delegated authority over the animals as God commanded, Eve followed the voice of a serpent. Then Adam followed his wife, instead of serving as her God ordained authority.
Was Adam with her when she sinned, or did he come up later?
The Lord chose not to answer this question for us in Scripture. So we can't be sure. But even if Adam was not with her when the serpent tempted her, he clearly failed when she offered him the fruit.

- Nakedness and the desire to cover their uro-genital region became the focal point of their shame for at least two reasons:

1st - They knew that being fruitful & multiplying would now produce ungodly seed, which would ruin God's beautiful creation. It is unlikely that they were embarrassed because of each other's sexuality, and no other humans existed to cause concern. The marriage bed is undefiled even for sinners (Heb 13:4).
2nd - They knew (possibly by a shocking experience) that the waste their bodies were now producing was foul decaying (corrupting) matter, and thus a shameful reminder of separation from God. The term "corrupt" and its many forms is perhaps the most common description of sin's rotting effect on creation (Romans 8; 1 Cor 15). This second reason is rarely discussed by the commentators possibly due to the influence of evolutionary theory that denies the "very good" nature of God's original creation. So many doubt the Bible's claim that Eden was a place of harmony among all creatures, with no death, decay, or anything disgusting or even unpleasant. Do you really believe the Bible's Word about this?
Another reason for the reluctance to discuss this is its gross and graphic reality. But please remember that God is not shy about talking of such matters, especially when He confronts us about how bad sin really is and how disgusting its effects on His creation actually are:

* [God said to Ezekiel] “And you shall eat it as barley cakes; and bake it using fuel of human waste (dung) in their sight.” Then the Lord said, “So shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, where I will drive them.”

Isa 64:5-6 "You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness,
Who remembers You in Your ways.
You are indeed angry, for we have sinned—
In these ways we continue;
And we need to be saved.
6 But we are all like an unclean thing,
And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; ..."

Philip 3:8-9 "Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish (dung - KJV), that I may gain Christ 9and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith ...."

Prior to sin, even the bacteria were under God's perfect control and functioned in harmony with Adam and Eve's bodies to process their food very differently from today. Yes their anatomy was apparently the same as ours (except for the absence of a navel), yet their waste was not something to be embarrassed or ashamed about. Now the disorder of entropy brought decay and death. Even today we observe that as soon as a body dies and is no longer able to overcome the effects of entropy, and the bacteria almost immediately begin producing foul smelling decay (corruption). The change in Adam's body and the rotten substance the body now produced had to have been a shameful shock to him & Eve, after living in God's fragrant garden of Eden. So they weren't just wanting to cover their sexuality, but also their excretory organs.

** Medical Note: Even new born babies today begin life passing "meconium" stools, which have very little unpleasant odor. After six children and many diapers, my wife and I appreciate those initial days. After the accumulation of external bacteria, things change dramatically!

- Mat 6:33-34; 22:36-40; All sin originates with a heart attitude that places self above God and others. It is self-love out of order. Sin is choosing to love self above God and others. The heart motive that God desires is J.O.Y. (Jesus First, Others Second, Yourself Last).
- Sin is exposed and known by its fruit: separation, decay, death.
     * Prov 14:12 The way of man leads to death, decay, and destruction.
     * James 1:13-15 When sin is full grown, it brings forth death.

B. Man's Religious Rituals Begin (Works added to faith FAILS):

- and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
- Isa 61:10 "Robe of Righteousness"    vs.    Isa 64:6 "filthy rags"
- Man's Wrong Way = Self-righteousness either apart from God's grace or with the help of God's grace.
  * The way of Cain - Gen 4
  * The way of the Pharisees - Matt to John
  * The way of Lucifer & all nonBiblical religions is the same:

The Tower of Babylon; Spiritism; Pantheism; Hinduism; Buddhism; Islam; Catholicism; Liberal Protestantism; Jehovah's Witnesses; Mormonism;
Evolutionary Biology; Evolutionary Psychology (Ethology);
New Age Philosophy; ..............

- God's Right Way = Grace alone through faith alone in the person and finished work of Jesus Christ alone.

* Gen 3:21 "Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them." Man's religious rituals are insufficient. Man's works are no better than "filthy rags" before a Holy God. But God in His infinite mercy and grace and love provides does the work that man cannot.
God covered man in the bloody skins of an animal as the first picture example (type) of the blood (the life - Gen 9) of Messiah that would be necessary to pay for sin (Rom 3:23; 6:23).
Where did the animal skin come from? Did God kill the animal?
Most commentators imply that God directly killed the animal, but the Scripture does not tell us either way. Remember that even with Jesus was not killed directly by God the Father. The Father turned His back on Jesus (the separation we deserved), and man killed Him. Perhaps the violence that rapidly infected the animal kingdom (wild kingdom after sin) resulted in this death. God may have merely taken the skin of a dead animal, and did not personally kill it. None of these possibilities negate or contradict the later practice of sacrifice that man was to perform as a remembrance of sin and a prophetic play of the coming Messianic atonement. God instituted many permissive allowances after sin and entropy entered creation, including the eating of meat (Gen 9:3).
* James 2:19

C. The fruit of the flesh grows (attitudes and actions have consequences):

- "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."
- The description of God "walking" with them is so casual that it indicates it was a common regular occurrence, and that God met them in the personal form of a Father with His children. But this time the intimate fellowship was broken. A separation was occurring and they "hid themselves from the presence (panim = faces) of the Lord God".
When my children were toddlers and sat in our laps, they were sometimes pull our face around to their's in order to be as intimate with us as possible. But in the garden after sin, Adam and Eve could not even look into God's face.
- Romans 10:9-17 says that when the heart believes (submissive faith), then the presence of God produces greater faith. But Gen 3:8 demonstrates the tragic truth that when the heart is in sin, the presence of God produces fear (Isa 6; 59:2; John 3:16-20; 1 John 4:18-21).
- James 1:13-15 Desire - Temptation - Sin - Death
- Why didn't they drop dead in the "day" they ate the fruit? The Hebrew language in Gen 2 literally said, "dying you will die".

(An interesting fact to consider: The Bible says that a 1,000 years is as a day to the Lord, and even though some of the first people lived over 900 years, none lived over 1,000.)

Immediately following their sin, entropy began and the process of dying progressed. Devolution became the natural state of creation, not macro-evolution.
Disorder, partial chaos, genetic mutations (all of which cause a decrease in information by the way), competition ("thorns and thistles") all began to increase. Now today the world is filled with disorder in spite of our desperate efforts to stem the tide of decay. As God pulls back His Hand in the face of man's pride, everything from societies, to the environment, become a massive mess. And the Bible seems to predict that the last of the last days during the tribulation, God will pull back His merciful and gracious Hand until the fragmentation of the entire universe increases at an exponential rate (Mat 24; Luk 21; 2 Pet 3; Revelation 5-19).
- 1 Peter 5:5-9 tells us that even an individual who pridefully disobeys God is saying in effect: "I don't need you God or your rules". "I can be my own protector and provider."
They are stepping out from under the hand of God and His most common discipline is the response of HAVE IT YOUR WAY. He allows the person or nation to stand on its own against the onslaught of the world - the flesh - and the devil. The result is increasing trials, struggles, and either a hardening heart or a humbling of the heart.

- 1 John 1 Jesus came that we might have intimate fellowship with God and one another again, forever (John 17:3).
- A believer has a relationship with God as their Father. That relationship will never be ended. God does not abort His children. But a believer's sins can cause a break in their intimate fellowship with their Father, until they repent and seek His face (1 John 1).
- 2 Thess 1:9, The consequence of sin is separation from God, and so for unbelievers, the final Lake of Fire where even death and Hell will be cast (Rev 20:14), is total and absolute separation from God. Dr. J. Vernon McGee says the Lake of Fire is where the self-existent God is not.

- Do you feel like your life or your family are dysfunctional? If so, then is it possible that your home is not in order (beginning with your personal relationship with God)?
- Are you sure that you've been born-again? Do you really known God as your personal Father? If you're not sure, then see . . .

"The Good News for Children & Ph.D.'s

 

- If you are a child of God, have you lost the intimate fellowship you once had with Him who is your loving Father, through Jesus His Son?
- Have your eyes been opened lately to the sinful thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors that expose you for who you really are? (Prov 20:11)
- Have you tried to cover up your sin by legalistic rituals or liberal rationalizations?
- Will you rest in the sufficient work of Jesus Christ to cover your sins and walk (stoicheo = march on) in humble submission to His Lordship?
- Will you place yourself in the right order (rank, role, and responsibility) under God's mighty Hand?
- If you're a husband will you take the lead of your home, as Christ rules over the Church?
- If you're a wife will you joyfully submit to your husband and show Him the respect commanded by Ephesians 5?
- If you're a child, will you respectfully honor and obey your parents as unto the Lord, for His glory?