A Commentary on the Book of Genesis, Chapter Three

Publisher Marketing: One cannot study any of the opening chapters of the book of Genesis without quickly getting into some very weighty issues. There is, of course, always the first chapter that talks about Creation. But there are other issues as well. For example, who wrote the book of Genesis? Not everyone will agree that it was Moses. Plus, when if he did write it did he actually write it? As will be seen in that part of this text, the higher critics have argued against Moses for a reason that will be shared at that time. However, other critics have also argued against Moses as being the author of the first five books of the Scriptures by speaking about something that has been called the Documentary Hypothesis. Each of those matters will be discussed in identifying the author of the book of Genesis and the date of authorship. Then, after settling the Moses-authorship question, the next topic to be addressed will be Moses-content question. The conclusion from those discussions will be that the opening chapters of the book of Genesis should be interpreted literally. Next after those preliminary issues, the actual study of the third chapter of the book of Genesis will begin. As part of the discussion of verse one, the belief of dualism will be considered. Also the belief that Satan cannot make anyone do the wrong thing will be presented. The three mistakes that Eve had made when talking to the devil will be stated. The extent of her guilt in eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil will be discussed. Was she less guilty than Adam, as guilty as he, or guiltier than he? Then, the exact moment when each of them had actually sinned against the Lord will be presented along with the sin nature and the possibility that some sins might be worse than others. In that part of the discussion, though, it will be shown that all sin is sin. So no sins are any worse or any better than any others. From there, the discussion will continue with the immediate results that Adam and Eve had felt right after eating the fruit. At that time, the belief that God might have possibly come to them in a very severe storm cloud will be considered. But whether or not that belief is true, the consequences of sin will be discussed as they applied to the serpent, to the devil, to Eve, and to Adam. Each of the four had suffered for their respective parts in the first human sins. Also as apart of that discussion, the very important verse fifteen about the seed of the devil and the seed of the woman will be examined. That is clearly one of the more important verses in the whole chapter. However, following that, verse sixteen will also be examined because it is equally important. What had the Lord actually meant when He had told Eve that her desire would be to Adam and that he would rule over her? Did Eve condemn all womanhood to be under the thumb of mankind just because of her sin? Those questions and more will be answered in that part of the text. The two final sections of this text will look at what the Scriptures say should be the relationship between men and women and between husbands and wives. They will also look at the three separations that had resulted from the sins of Adam and Eve. Then, the last section will make some final comments. It will show how a person can be eternally saved. It will explain what happens to very young children when they die. It will show that human beings not separated from God will someday again have access to the tree of life. In conclusion, this text as always has been written to honor the Lord, to exalt Christ, and to teach the saints of God.