Fall

Genesis 3:6-19
6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.

8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14 The Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,
Cursed are you more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you will go,
And dust you will eat
All the days of your life;
15 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
16 To the woman He said,
“I will greatly multiply
Your pain in childbirth,
In pain you will bring forth children;
Yet your desire will be for your husband,
And he will rule over you.”

17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’;

Cursed is the ground because of you;
In toil you will eat of it
All the days of your life.
18 “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
And you will eat the plants of the field;
19 By the sweat of your face
You will eat bread,
Till you return to the ground,
Because from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return.”

Theologian R. C. Sproul graphically describes the nature of sin.

“Sin is cosmic treason. Sin is treason against a perfectly pure Sovereign. It is an act of supreme ingratitude toward the One to whom we owe everything, to the One who has given us life itself. Have you ever considered the deeper implications of the slightest sin, of the most minute peccadillo? What are we saying to our Creator when we disobey Him at the slightest point? We are saying no to the righteousness of God. We are saying, “God, Your law is not good. My judgement is better than Yours. Your authority does not apply to me. I am above and beyond Your jurisdiction. I have the right to do what I want to do, not what You command me to do.”

“Cosmic treason!”

Tragically, that’s what happened in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve chose what they wanted to do, not what their Creator commanded them to do, plunging the human race into sin. The punishment for cosmic treason fits the crime. The sentence is the death penalty. God told Adam that they day he ate of the tree he would surely die. Death in the Bible does not mean annihilation or cessation of existence. It means separation. Death exists in three aspects: physical, spiritual, and eternal. The moment Adam and Eve at the fruit of the tree they died spiritually. They were separated from God and the garden. About 900 years later, they died physically as the soul was separated from the body. Finally, all who refuse to accept God’s atoning sacrifice through Jesus Christ experience eternal death or the “second death” (Rev 20: 6) as they are eternally separated from God in hell. When the first couple sinned, death in all three of its awful aspects was unleashed on the human race and all creation.    

Thankfully, the fall did not catch God by surprise. God, in His sovereign foreknowledge, already had remedy for the plight of humanity. Amid sin, death, and judgment, God announced the future rise of a redeemer from the seed of the woman who will crush the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:15). God promised a rescuer who will bear the curse for those living under its pressing burden. This promise of a rescuer could aptly be called “Christmas in the Garden of Eden.” Thank God for this shining ray of hope in the darkness.

Think about the world around you. How has our "cosmic treason" affected us physically, spiritually, and eternally?

Has there ever been a day without hope? What does this tell us about God?

Father, forgive me for my sin, my cosmic treason. I admit I deserve the punishment. Thank you for providing the way to salvation through Jesus Christ. Thank you for being our eternal God of hope.