Gen. 4:1

That brave new world began here. It began with Adam and Eve having left the Garden. One would think that they'd take time to "stop and smell the roses," as they say today. After all, this enormous planet was all theirs. True, they were no longer in Paradise. But, they could look at the incredible Creation around them, the amazing animals, the beautiful sky with its protective layer to shield from harmful radiation, and many other things. And, in doing so, they could celebrate the glories of Creation, and call on the Lord. They could praise Him for their great salvation. After all, He forgave them for bringing sin into the world.

Instead, we don't see mention of people calling on the Lord till the end of this chapter. They're too busy. We see the start of farming, industry, music, and other things. We also see many not-so-nice things. Why? Because people got so busy they forgot about God. In the very next breath, it seems that the first husband and wife were already having children.

Of course, Eve - like others - thought about God. She quickly states that she had gotten a man from the Lord. This is, at least, better than the line of Cain, which refuses to accept God's ways. In this, she set the stage for one of her sons, Seth, to learn about God, and for people to call on the name of the Lord when his son is born. Also, there's no doubt that Adam and Eve taught their many children ((gen. 5:4) all about Creation and the Fall. This is how Abel knew how to sacrifice.

Still, it is so easy for any of us to become so busy - even in doign the Lord's work - that we forget to realize He is the one holding everything together. It's only through Him any of us could function. We should do far more than just say, "Okay, that one's done" at the end of what we do. We should give thanks to the Lord.

Gen. 3:24

We see first that God drove out the man. Obviously, Eve was driven out, too. But, the mention of Adam shows that he was left to start his own family. He had a choice, whether or not to follow God’s path for him. This happened, of course, but on another level, it is also symbolic of how we must live our lives. We have a choice, whether to seek God and do according to His will, or to act on our own.

At the start of the chapter, people could still fellowship with God at any time, and there was no separation. Now, a very short time later, people could not automatically do that. They were separated from God by sin.

Of course, God is everywhere. Just like today, He was always working in peoples’ hearts to get them to do what was right. And, His incredible creation – along with other things mentioned as we considered this chapter – would remind mankind of what he had lost. And, of the incredible power of God to save him from his sin by simple faith.

Martin Luther once said that the story of the Resurrection is told in the rebirth of nature every spring. The seasons probably weren’t quite as noticeable there as they are in less equatorial places on Earth today. However, there was still an incredible variety of creatures. There was the incredible expanse of land and sky. Eventually, Adam and Eve came to another place that was very impressive – the sea. Even if it wasn’t an ocean, that large body of water still told them something about the incredible power of God.

This let them see how small and insignificant they were against the incredible planet they lived on. That, Creation, and even some specific creatures – such as the caterpillar which became a butterfly – would remind them, hopefully, that they should not abandon God. He hadn’t abandoned them. He had removed a blessing because of their disobedience. But, they could still multiply on the Earth. They could still see that they needed God’s guidance as they built a world.

Just as we need to see that we, too, need God’s guidance in our lives.

Gen. 3:23

To protect people from themselves, God drove them out of the Garden of Eden. But, it was also a logical consequence to the fact that they hd disobeyed God. We see something interesting, then, in this verse. We learnt hat Adam was driven to the ground from whence he was taken. As noted, Adam had been placed in the Garden. He was not made there originally. At all times, the great things God provides us are a gift. Even to Adam, who had been taken from some ordinary part and placed in Eden.

Notice, however, that nothing is said about his position with God. It didn’t change when he lost the blessing of Eden. In the same way, we lose blessings and rewards if we mess up once we are saved. But, we will never lose our salvation. God only required that Adam come forth to receive forgiveness. Then, God sacrificed that lamb, and clothed Adam and Eve. He never made them go back to their own, failed fig leaves.

Gen. 3:22

God gives us freedom within the rules. He loves us so much, He gives us freedom to explore the consequences, even if we do wrong sometimes. However, He also does things to protect us, though, when it’s important.

This was clearly one of those times. Whereas God – the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost conferring, hence the term “one of us” - knew good and evil, and always did good, He knew that people would sometimes choose evil. That would mean bad things for the evildoer, or for others. God wanted people to turn to Him so they would always choose good. However, there was a problem.

The way thigns stood now, Adam and Eve would slowly get older – much more slowly because of the protective layer of water which was mentioned. They would die, but by trusting God to change them on the inside, they could still live for Him without sin. In other words, they wouldn’t have those tendencies to do bad things.

However, there was still that tree of life. People had to be shielded from it, because if they weren’t, they might eat of it. Oh, the horror of a body that decays, but never dies! Oh, the horror of always having to live with sin! They would have lived forever, but without the cleansing power of God.

Of course, in John 3:16 and elsewhere, we see that those who believe on Jesus to save them have everlasting life. It’s yours now if you trust in Him! You don’t have to wait to have your sins cleansed. You are cleansed, right away. All your past, present, and future sins are forgiven.

That wasn’t the situation here, of course. God hadn’t yet come in the flesh, in the person of God the Son, Jesus Christ. People had to believe by faith that God would, in the future, redeem them, and thus save them from their sin. This is why Gen. 15:6, as we’ll see later, says Abraham believed in the Lord, and He counted it to him for righteousness. His faith let Christ’s righteousness be imputed to him. Still, he had to die to receive that full blessing, because he always had that sin nature while he was alive.

That’s why the tree of life was a huge problem, now that sin was in the world. The sin nature that Adam and Eve now had would never go away, as long as they lived. If they lived forever, they could have all faith, and have their sins washed away, but they would live forever on a fallen world. They would always feel that decay that comes from sin. They would always feel be able to feel pain and suffering.

God could let them have the freedom to choose to sin in the first place. He had the remedy already available – the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ, which washes away all of our sins. That problem can be solved, by our choosing to allow God to make us new on the inside. Then, He comes and lives inside us, through His Holy Spirit.

Once our bodies get old and die, if we’ve trusted in that precious Redeemer to make us new on the inside, we go to live with God in Heaven someday. We don’t have to suffer or feel pain or anything bad anymore. All is perfect in Heaven, and for His children, like it was supposed to be when God made the world.

But, here on earth, we have a sin nature. And that’s why it was vital that God get us away from that tree of life. Because, the earth had already been contaminated with sin. All the violence and depravity and selfishness of this world mean that it can never be a perfect place. It couldn’t be even if everyone god saved, though it would be a whole lot better. No, the only place that is perfect is Heaven. In fact, Revelation 21 shows that this world will perish, and a new Heaven and new Earth formed, in order to finally eliminate all the ravages of sin that have taken their toll on this one.

In order to get to that perfect, awesome Heaven – a place so incredible one can’t even imagine how awesome it will be - we need to either die or be caught up in the air with Jesus in the Rapture. Life on this world will always have sin in it. So, God removed the tree of life, for our own protection.

Gen. 3:21

God next made coasts of skin, and clothed them. There are several interesting points to make concerning this.

First, despite what some commentators say, this appears to be a theophany. That is, a preincarnate (before the virgin birth) appearance of God in bodily form.

Normally, a theophany is called “the angel of the Lord.” Here, though, Moses has just spent an entire chapter discussing the Fall, and God’s reaction to it. It would not have the same power had Moses used “the angel of the Lord” before this, and it would be confusing if he were to suddenly switch to that term here.

So, was it Jesus, in preincarnate form, before? That is less certain. We know that God came down in “the cool of the day,” but He could have come down just as He looked down upon Sodom to see how great their sin was. He could have easily spoken in an audible voice from heaven when correcting Adam and Eve, just as speaks from Heaven at other times, and those to whom His words are not directed merely hear thunder, such as Paul’s Damascus Road experience.

Int his verse, He does something only possible with physical hands, barring some divine miracle. And, the beauty of the Genesis account is that it is so simple – too simple for many, as God has used the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. (1 Cor. 1:27) it is too filled with awe and wonder for the humanist, and for the pagan, has none of the really flashy and confusing things. The story of Creation is very simple – God made, man sinned, God promised a redeemer. It is much more plausible that God would simply come to Earth, in preincarnate form, and make these coasts.

. The beauty and simplicity lets us see our promised Redeemer work. Thousands of years before He took our sins away for good - through His death on the cross and resurrection - He covered the sins of the first man and woman. Their first realization of sin was nakedness. Now, the reminder of God’s blessing would be with them through clothing. It was not sinful for them, as husband and wife to see each other naked. But, the very fact they knew that concept showed that sinful, carnal nature was there.

We see, then, that God Himself covered their sin. It was the shedding of blood that caused that to happen. We don’t know if it was a lamb, but I believe it was. It carries the same symbolism as would come down through history. All the lambs slain from the beginning pointed to the ultimate sacrifice, when Jesus, the Lamb of God, died to pay the sin debt for the world. He didn’t just cover our sins, He washed them away.

This shedding of blood became known as the only proper sacrifice, a picture of how they were to give to God. The Lord would later inspire Moses to write that the life of a thing is in its blood (Lev. 17:11), and the author of Hebrews to write that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. (Heb. 9:22)

But, every single one of those sacrifices, starting with this lamb could only cover. Jesus, however, took it all away, so it would be on us no more. Hallelujah!

Gen. 3:20

Adam’s world had been turned upside-down like nobody else’s could have been. And yet, he chose to consider the life that could come. Indeed, many writers believe that this name, Eve,” was a step of faith. Many say it points to Adam’s believe that this promised Redeemer would come from the womb of Eve.

Adam had named her before, of course. The name “woman” was descriptive – she was bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh. But, it was still a name. The description remained, but the name changed, just as it does elsewhere in Scripture. A change had been made in their relationship, of course – they would no longer have it perfect. There would be problems between them now, which they would have to overcome. However, another change had come, too. Eve was now the “mother of all living.” Whether this was stated by Adam, or a commentary by Moses, it shows a certainty that many would come forth from her. A large group, known as the human race, emerged. And, in the end, the promised Redeemer came, too, so all who came to Him could have eternal life. Because, Jesus Christ was God in flesh, born of a woman.

Gen. 3:19

That toil and sweat of the brow from our work comes at us just as it came at Adam. This verse points to more than just the thorns and thistles of work. It points to the fact that will be so evident later on. Eternal rewards are the only ones worth earning.

Consider Adam’s situation. He learns that he will have to work much harder to get any yield from the land now. He will do this in sorrow his whole life, realizing what once was. Yes, he would be able to get the herb of the field eventually. But, even when he did, it would seem so fruitless to him at times. The toil and sweat of his brow would make labor so tiring. And, after all that labor, what would he get? A physical body that would grow old, decay, and die.

God knew this. He didn’t want Adam to be surprised. He wanted him to be forewarned. He doesn’t always tell us every consequence of wrong actions. However, He tells us the important ones in His Word. The fact that Adam would have to toil and sweat now wasn’t mentioned specifically. It was, instead, a part of that warning back in Gen. 2:17 that he would surely die. This is because that phrase, literally translated, says, “dying, you will die.” In other words, the process of death would begin right away, and that process would continue until, at long last, Adam returned to dust. This verse, then, is telling Adam just how that would happen.

Of course, some work is more joyful than others. When Paul Harvey, the great radio commentator, passed away, there was a clip of him stating something to the effect that he’d never “worked” a day in his life. It was always so much fun.

That, however, is an element of God’s grace. It shows that God, in His perfect love, has created each of us with interests that, if we hone them, will grow into lifelong work that we’ll love. We’ll love it because God has matched us to that work. Paul Harvey still worked, of course. But, he had found that one specific thing which he could do that brought him pleasure. This is not a sign of salvation per se; plenty of saved people toil in unhappy situations, and plenty of unsaved love their jobs. What it means is that God loves us, and it’s one of the ways He shows that love to us. There is always that reminder – through how we age – that our bodies are but dust. However, he provides us with grace, so we can have life, and have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)

So, why didn’t God give Adam a job like He gave Paul Harvey, one where Adam could say that he “never worked a day in his life?” He might have. Adam’s attitude may have changed to where he grew to love farming. We don’t really know much about Adam’s life, unlike later Bible figures, except that he and his wife had numerous sons and daughters (Gen. 5:4), and that he died at 930 years. Perhaps he said with satisfaction, like King David, “I have never seen the righteous forsaken.” (Ps. 37:25) However, even if he was pleased with what he did, and enjoyed it a lot, he would come to realize something else very important.

That other important thing is the last part of that verse. He would return to the ground. Even if he was the greatest farmer, the greatest inventor, or whatever, it would all be for naught. Yes, Adam could receive God’s forgiveness. He would then have the certainty of that promise of a Redeemer. However, that would be for the hereafter. The only thing remembered on earth would be that he’d lived. Whatever he cultivated, all the things he had done in this life, would be treasures on earth. Ones that moth and rust can corrupt, and thieves can break forth and steal. (Matt. 6:19) He would not be taking it with him into the next life. That frail, physical body would simply return to the dust.

It is, therefore, vital that we lay up treasures in Heaven, where they can’t grow old or be stolen. (Matt. 6:20) This verse applies just as much to us as it does to Adam. We, too, have physical bodies that will return to the ground. However, we also have that promised Redeemer, Jesus Christ. He longs for us to turn to Him. He longs for us to be born again, through what He did for us on the cross, dying and rising from the dead. And, then, He longs for us to build those treasures iN heaven, so we don’t have to be empty-handed when we approach the throne of God. We can have crowns to lay at His feet. We can have wonderful, eternal blessings that go beyond this world, into eternity.