(Genesis) Genesis 3 Introduction — J. Vernon McGee

Genesis 3 and the Setting of the Fall

And we want to consider now chapter 3, more or less, in depth. And we're spending a lot of time in these opening chapters because they are all important. And God is covering a great deal of ground in a very brief period of space, by the way.

The Serpent's Subtlety in the Temptation

In this first section here, we have the, I think, very obvious fact of the setting for the temptation of man. Now let me read, beginning with verse 1. Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made, and he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden.

Innocence, Righteousness, and the Necessity of Temptation

Now this creature here, we find, well, we raise a question, why the temptation? And frankly, we're going to have to go back to chapters 1 and 2. Man was created innocent, and man was not created righteous, if you'll notice.

Now what is righteousness? Well, righteousness, it's innocence that's been maintained in the presence of temptation. You see, temptation will either develop or destroy you, do one of the two. And the Garden of Eden was not a hothouse.

Man was not a hothouse plant. Character must be developed, and it can be developed only in the presence of temptation. And therefore, man was created a responsible being, and he was responsible to glorify, to obey, to serve, and to be subject to divine government.

Humanity's Responsibility Under God's Command

Man didn't create himself, I don't think anyone claims that, but God created him. And God was not, I think, arbitrary in this. God, you will recall, had said to man, "...but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.".

And it wasn't the only tree to eat of. It would have been a very arbitrary statement if man would have starved to death if he hadn't eaten of the tree, and then be told he'd die if he did eat of it. There were an abundance, we're told, of trees there that bore fruit.

So that man didn't need to eat of this tree at all. Now, will you notice that man appears here on the scene, a responsible creature. Now we have here the temptation and the fall. And in this first verse I read, we are introduced to the serpent.

Satan's Use of the Serpent

And immediately the question can reasonably be answered, well, where in the world did he come from? How did he get in the Garden of Eden? And I have something to say to you at this connection that as far as I can tell from the Word of God, friends, the serpent was there not as a slithering creature, and we're not told how he came there.

We're just told he was there. You see, the Word of God leaves a great deal out, but he was a creature that could be used of Satan. And Satan used him. Well, isn't that exactly the method that he uses even today?

Satan as an Angel of Light and the Ancient Serpent

Paul said to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 11 -14, no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. And we find out that, especially in the book of Revelation, where more is said about him there than anywhere else, it is said the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world.

He was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. This creature was not a slithering snake as we think of it today. That's not the picture that the Word of God gives of him at all.

We're told in Revelation 22, he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan bound him a thousand years. So this is a creature with tremendous ability. Now, there's no record of his origin here at all.

The Serpent's Origin in Isaiah and Ezekiel

Now, I do not want to be dogmatic yet, but I am when we get to it. Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, I think, give us the origin of this creature and also how he became the creature that he was. Now, why in the world, and I want to read this next verse now and ask the question first, why in the world did the serpent approach the woman?

Why the Serpent Approached the Woman

Why didn't he approach the man? Let me read. And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

Eve's Secondhand Knowledge of God's Command

Now, you see, woman was created last, and she got her information from the man. You see, God had told Adam when he created him that he could eat of every tree of the garden, but of this one he was not to eat of.

So the woman had gotten her information secondhand, got it from man. And so he approached woman first, and frankly, I think that woman was created in a finer way than man was created, but also one who probably was open to this type of thing more than a man would be.

Eve's Inquisitiveness and the Spread of Cults

Actually, I think a woman really has a nature that probably is more inquisitive than a man. Also, she is the one today that you find goes into the cults and isms more than anyone else and leads man into it.

In fact, most of the founders of cults and isms have been women.