All sin is disobeying God. And all sin has consequences. If you don't do your homework, you're going to get in trouble with your teacher! You may even fail that class.
But, when Adam and Eve sinned, something else happened. The consequences weren't just a one time thing. And the consequences didn't only effect them.
Genesis 3:8- And they heard the voice 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 amongst the trees of the garden.
Never before had they been afraid of God. They probably looked forward to the visits that God made before they sinned. But now, it was different. There was this awful feeling inside! So they hid from God.
Genesis 3:9- And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
Do you think that God didn't know where Adam really was? I'm sure God knew. Perhaps he was wanting Adam to confess what he had done, and to realize that there was a problem.
Genesis 3:10- And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
This was only half the truth. Adam didn't hide because he was naked. He made an apron of fig leaves. There was more going on in Adam's heart, and God wanted Adam to realize it.
Genesis 3:11- And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
Oh no! God knew! Adam was trapped. He could come forward and tell God the truth or he could try to get out of it. Hmmmm- What do you think he did?
Genesis 3:12- And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
Adam blamed Eve! He took the fruit because he loved her. He sinned because he didn't want to lose her. But now he was blaming her! Sin does that. It wants to justify the reason why. It tried to make us feel like we didn't really do wrong- it was someone else's fault.
Genesis 3:13- And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
Oh boy! Eve is now blaming someone else!
God had to put a stop to this. They weren't understanding that they needed to confess their sin. Instead of admitting that they did wrong and asking for forgiveness, they were trying to get God to focus on someone else. So, God started with the consequences.
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: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Before this curse, snakes were different. But now, God made them to slither. The snake flicks it's tongue to help him navigate and he gets dust in his mouth when he does it- just like God said in Genesis.
But, God also cursed Satan. He told Satan that there would come a time when he would bruise the Son of Man. But, there was also a time coming when the Son of would bruise Satan.
Then God turned to Adam and Eve.
Genesis 3:16- Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
God told Eve that now it would hurt to have children. They would get skinned knees and broken bones. They would disobey and rebel. They could even get sick now.
But that wasn't all. She now had to obey a husband that was no longer perfect. The man who blamed her for his sin. That wasn't going to be easy!
Genesis 3:17-19- And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Taking care of the Garden of Eden was easy. But it wasn't going to be easy anymore! Now, man had to work hard to get the food to grow. He had to sweat! But there was more. God cursed the ground, too.
Romans 8:22- For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
The earth doesn't like sin. It makes the earth sick! Not only did the earth have to grow thorns, but man was doomed to die and be buried in the earth.
But that wasn't the worst thing that Adam and Eve had to see.
