Any sinner can comprehend God is Creator, and give Him due credit. Only those touched by the Spirit can comprehend the Fall. The mind can grasp the fact we are fallen, but cannot fully embrace the meaning of something which is fundamentally a spiritual truth. You and I come before God utterly exposed to His wrath, with not a scintilla of merit, not a shred of extenuation. The only proper approach is on our faces in shame, not daring to look. Our spirits know this, but our minds cannot own it without the spirit. A great many people in history pass over Genesis 3 as fable, myth, mere cultural artifact.
On the surface, the narrative is easily dismissed. It falls completely outside what humans can discern for themselves intellectually. People who demand we see here snakes originally having legs and capable of speech are no wiser than that. The word "serpent" is merely a symbol for Satan. No other explanation is offered regarding his existence. However, it is noted nothing we can experience on this earth will rise to the danger in facing him. If, after that introduction, all you see are two trees and some deception, you have missed most of it. Nor can you afford to tie yourself up in the mere words of the dialog. This is an utterly spiritual event told in parabolic language.
God had provided for the needs of His people. A marvelous gift was their innocence. Satan took advantage of this innocence for reasons we are not allowed to speculate. Don't pick over whether Eve correctly states God's commands; she knew what was required of her. Satan contradicts the command, insinuating God had less than honorable motives. Notice the triad of elements in temptation: an appeal to the fleshly lusts, an appeal to human curiosity, and pride. We see these again when Satan tempts Jesus (Luke 4:1-13), and when Apostle John explains things to a bunch of Hellenists (1 John 2:15-17) who lack the rich cultural heritage tied to Scripture. All human temptation appears tied to one or more of these elements. God provides for all human need, far more than we can use or think to ask, but any attempt to step outside the bounds of His provision is sin. We aren't denied anything right or proper for our real needs, since the Creator surely knows that better than our feeble minds can discern.
Whatever literal event lies behind this narrative, it's far more important we nail down the spiritual principles. Mankind was made to commune with God. Sin prevents that. It causes man to become aware of unworthiness, causes him to hide, and all sorts of slippery excuses come pouring out. The curse on Satan is symbolic. Snakes do crawl on the ground and appear to eat dust, but what matters is Satan is doomed to do no better than devour human souls. Without giving us the background, we can easily make out Satan had previously lived a much better existence, but it is from this spiritual turning point we see he is not permitted to partake of heavenly splendor and greatness. It is implied he was an eternal being, designed for a higher purpose. That Satan stirs up evil among humans is his punishment. Eventually, he will be destroyed, having done only token damage to God's plans. Here we see the first promise of redemption.
We can't know exactly what things were like for the woman before the Fall, largely because we can't comprehend it, and dare not assume our logic alone can penetrate the mystery. However, we see the woman was genuinely deceived. She faced something for which she was not designed. A critical element in being fallen means women will suffer great sorrow from the one thing which should be most joyful, sharing and bearing in family life. God did not make her a lesser being in a patriarchal world; sin did that. Without redemption of the spirit, this is where women belong, and nothing on this fallen earth could be better for her than such a role. Only spiritual redemption can change that.
For man, we see he was not designed to perform hard manual labor to live, consuming his whole being. We safely assume he could have prevented Eve choosing to take the wrong path, but did not. It was his responsibility. Instead, he went along with it. Now all creation would resist his efforts to scrape an existence from the dirt, of which he is but a part. Only by the grace of redemption could he expect God to lighten that burden. Whatever path God offers will be the only path.
As a token of future redemption, God provided the sacrifice of blood which provided a better covering than fig leaves. They would need it in the cold cruel world outside the Garden of God's grace. Notice there is a provision for life outside, which included the ritual provisions of the sacrificial worship system. It's effects are quite limited. The curses describe a form of death, but there is room for God's love to work and bring us back. The Garden of Grace is closed off, that place of eternal Life, but it remains there within reach, beckoning. The path is through a death chosen, the flaming sword of revelation, the wrath of God. If we flee it in fear, it will eventually overtake us. If we reach out to embrace it, the Garden is on the other side. We can once again walk with God.
This is as clear a statement of separation as can be offered. Only those with spiritual perception can grasp the existence of Two Realms so clearly depicted here. There is life outside the Garden, if you can call it life. True Life is inside, where the Tree of Eternal Life grows. Symbols which communicate truth, but also block the way of return for those unable to face the Truth.
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By Ed Hurst
27 March 2009
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