So, here we are – chapter three of Genesis. Before you go on, I want you to think about how good it has been for us. Remember what we've studied and learned so far and enjoy God's creation. Enjoy Gods's intention. Enjoy God's purpose for you. See what He has for you and see all that He has provided for you, and see that He is good.
Starting with Prayer
BLESS ADONAI who is blessed. Blessed is Adonai who is blessed now and forever. Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Sovereign of the universe, who has chosen us from among the peoples, and given us the Torah. Blessed are You, Adonai, who gives the Torah.
God, thank You for making a way. In all Your intentionality and in all Your glory, You have created me, You have placed me in a sacred space, and You have given me purpose. And, in my darkest moments, in my weakest moments, You call me back. You come searching for me. You draw near to me, and You make a way back toward Your kingdom. Thank You for the Word we are about to study. I pray you open our hearts, prepare our minds, and calm our souls, so that we can receive Your Word with delight. In Jesus' name I pray, AMEN.
Today’s Reading
Genesis 3:1-7 from the Complete Jewish Bible translation
3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any wild animal which Adonai, God, had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You are not to eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat from the fruit of the trees of the garden, 3 but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, ‘You are neither to eat from it nor touch it, or you will die.’” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “It is not true that you will surely die; 5 because God knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it had a pleasing appearance and that the tree was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her; and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together to make themselves loincloths.
Read all of Genesis 3 for context
from the Complete Jewish Bible translation
3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any wild animal which Adonai, God, had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You are not to eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat from the fruit of the trees of the garden, 3 but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, ‘You are neither to eat from it nor touch it, or you will die.’” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “It is not true that you will surely die; 5 because God knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it had a pleasing appearance and that the tree was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her; and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together to make themselves loincloths.
8 They heard the voice of Adonai, God, walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, so the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Adonai, God, among the trees in the garden. 9 Adonai, God, called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I ordered you not to eat?” 12 The man replied, “The woman you gave to be with me — she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.” 13 Adonai, God, said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me, so I ate.”
14 Adonai, God, said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all livestock and wild animals. You will crawl on your belly and eat dust as long as you live. 15 I will put animosity between you and the woman, and between your descendant and her descendant; he will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.”
16 To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pain in childbirth. You will bring forth children in pain. Your desire will be toward your husband, but he will rule over you.”
17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to what your wife said and ate from the tree about which I gave you the order, ‘You are not to eat from it,’ the ground is cursed on your account; you will work hard to eat from it as long as you live. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat field plants. 19 You will eat bread by the sweat of your forehead till you return to the ground — for you were taken out of it: you are dust, and you will return to dust.”
20 The man called his wife Havah [life], because she was the mother of all living.
21 Adonai, God, made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
22 Adonai, God, said, “See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, to prevent his putting out his hand and taking also from the tree of life, eating, and living forever — ” 23 therefore Adonai, God, sent him out of the garden of ‘Eden to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. 24 So he drove the man out, and he placed at the east of the garden of ‘Eden the k’ruvim and a flaming sword which turned in every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.
Jenn's Two Cents
Chapter three makes my heart sad. Notice that we are two months into the year and we have taken our time to revel in God's creation. God has meticulously prepared a place for humankind who was made in His image and likeness to worship and guard the sacred space of Eden.
Each step of the way, He saw that His creation was good. When He created ha'adam and placed him in the garden, He saw that it was not good that the human should be alone. And so, He created ezer kenegdo.
This is what was good. The garden is where humanity communes with God unblemished. "They were naked and were not ashamed (v.25)."
At the core of this story is temptation. We're going to dig into this some more as we go through the verses.
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3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any wild animal which Adonai, God, had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You are not to eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat from the fruit of the trees of the garden, 3 but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, ‘You are neither to eat from it nor touch it, or you will die.’”
Enter ha nachash (הַנָּחָשׁ), the serpent, whose cunning words initiate the fall of humanity. The Hebrew word for serpent, nachash, carries connotations of cunning and deception, setting the stage for the serpent's role as the tempter.
And, notice how he approaches Eve. He questions God's command.
We see the enemy do this in the New Testament with Jesus in Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13. After fasting in the wilderness for forty days, Jesus is tempted by the devil himself. The devil presents Jesus with three temptations: to turn stones into bread to satisfy His hunger, to throw Himself off the pinnacle of the temple to test God's protection, and to worship the devil in exchange for all the kingdoms of the world. However, Jesus resolutely rejects each temptation by quoting Scripture and reaffirming His allegiance to God.
Central to these temptations is the manipulation and distortion of scripture. Satan, in his cunning, quotes from the Bible, twisting its meaning to suit his purposes.
Satan says to Jesus, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." This is a distortion of scripture, as Satan implies that Jesus should use his divine power to satisfy his own physical hunger. Jesus responds by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, affirming that true sustenance comes from God's word rather than physical bread.
Satan takes Jesus to the highest point of the temple and tells him to throw himself down, quoting Psalm 91:11-12, which speaks of God's protection over his people. However, Satan twists the meaning, suggesting that Jesus should test God's protection. Jesus responds by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16, stating that one should not put the Lord to the test.
Satan shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor, offering them to Jesus in exchange for worship. Satan's offer reflects a distortion of God's plan for Jesus' kingship. Instead of waiting for God's appointed time, Satan tempts Jesus with a shortcut to power and dominion over the earth. Jesus responds by reaffirming the commandment to worship and serve only God, as taught in the Tanakh, like in Deuteronomy 6:13.
Do you see the importance of discernment and understanding the true intent of God's word? Do you see the difference in Eve's response and Jesus' response?
These two accounts of temptation show us the necessity for understanding scripture in its true context. It warns against the dangers of cherry-picking verses to justify personal desires or agendas, or misrepresenting God's commands. Instead, it calls us to delve deeper in the Word, seeking wisdom and discernment to distinguish truth from distortion.
My prayer is that I am teaching my kids to be able to hear a distortion of scripture and, like Jesus, stand firm against the distortions of the enemy, armed with the truth of God's Word.
My prayer is that you, ezer, are able to hear the distortions of this world, of our own desires and circumstances and to truly be rooted in the truth of God's Word.
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