The Depravity of Sin | Genesis 3:14-24
Read Genesis 3:13-24
In Genesis 3:1-13 we learned back on December 1st, 2024, that Adam and Eve disobeyed the only rule they had in the garden of Eden. God gave them paradise, they worked with God to serve creation, to name the animals and to worship God in the garden of Eden—the first temple of worship to God. But they sinned. They disobeyed. There is consequence to sin, there is repercussions, and there is a penalty to pay for disobedience.
Definition of Depravity: A) a corrupt act or practice, the depravities of war. B) The quality or state of being corrupt, evil, or perverted: the quality or state of being depraved.
Our world is depraved. It is sinful and imperfect. We have:
- Abortion: 1 in 3 women will have an abortion in their lifetime in Canada. 2019 there were 83,576 babies killed, 2020, 91,551, 2021, 87,595, 2022, 97,211. Over these 4 years 359,933 babies were killed before they were born. Source 1. Source 2.
- Russia has invaded Ukraine and that war is currently still going on (Feb. 24, 2022). As of 2024 18% of Ukraine is occupied (temporarily) by Russia, Ukraine has now started an offensive to control portions of Russia’s border, North Korean troops have been implicated in helping Russia (according to NATO and US intelligence). Source 1. Source 2.
- The world does not like Jewish people (God’s chosen people). Israel was attacked on Oct. 7, 2023, and the Islamic Hamas government is still attacking Israel. Anti-Semitism is on the rise once again. In Canada, 2023 logged 5,791 incidents of Anti-Semitism which was a record high (the highest amount of reporting was 2,799 reports in 2021) 77% in violent incidents (25 in 2022 and 77 in 2023). Source 1.
- In 2019 (Canada) of the 107,810 people aged 15 and over who experience partner violence, 79% were women. 44% of these women reported experiencing some kind of psychological, physical, or sexual ab use in the context of an intimate relationship. Source 1.
The Point: Sin has made Humanity depraved by nature; we are all imperfect; but God loves us so much He set up a path for us to be saved by Him; to be in relationship with Him.
- Sin did not enter the world because of God; it entered the world because of humanity’s disobedience. Sin and its consequences are humanity’s fault.
God asks Adam and Eve what they have done—their response is in Genesis 3:10-13.
Adam blames Eve, “The man said, ‘The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.’” Eve blames the Serpent, “The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’”
“Unexpectedly to Adam and Eve, since they were anticipating God’s immediate (and just) response to their sin, the Son did not call out to them in wrath, but in a tone of gentle and patient questioning. These questions are not, as some interpreters claim, reflections of an ‘immature’ early Israelite theology in which the concept of God’s omniscience is not yet fully developed. Instead, these questions are not being asked to give Him information He did not have, but for the benefit of the one being questioned…He wanted them to understand why what they did was so bad, so that it would serve as a deterrent for future sin.”
--The Moody Bible Commentary
As we notice Adam and Eve are blaming each other The author of sin is the serpent which is why God starts with his punishment.
- Sin must be punished because God is just. Sin has severed humanity’s relationship with God.
The Serpent’s punishment (Vs. 14-15), Eve’s punishment (Vs. 16), Adam’s Punishment (Vs. 17-19)
“This represents [Eve’s] unique role as the mother of all the living, that is, the first mother from whom the rest of human life would descend…God’s chastisement of the couple is completed by the end of Vs. 19 with Vs. 20 representing the immediate realization of one aspect of that chastisement, namely the man’s assertion of ‘rule’ or ‘mastery’ over the woman, represented by the act of naming Eve.”
--The Moody Bible Commentary
A part of God’s punishment is for Eve to be subjected to Adam—this is the beginning of God’s hierarchy of the home in God’s word. We are reminded of this in Ephesians 5:22-26.
“But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” –Romans 6:22-23
Sin has brought death into the world. Adam and Eve will no longer live eternal in this paradise which God had created for them to enjoy—remember, it was their actions, their disobedience that caused this to happen. --Genesis 3:21-24
“The goal of becoming God is the center of so many non-Christian religions, including Mormonism. But in our desire to be gods, we become like Satan. It was Satan who said, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God… I will be like the Most High (Isaiah 14:13-14). In contrast, we should be like Jesus, who came as a servant (Matthew 20:28).”
--Enduring Word Commentary
- The Goodnews of Salvation from Sin is ever present during God’s punishment for Adam and Eve. God delights in giving grace, mercy and His love to humanity.
God is grieved because of how far humanity has fallen into sin. He is grieved because He loves and cares for His creation—here He is not admitting that He made a mistake rather He is highlighting His grief of how much sin has destroyed and corrupted His once beautiful creation of humanity. (Gen. 6:5-6)
The good news and grace of God (Jesus Christ) is found in the punishments of sin that God gives to the Serpent, Eve, and Adam in Genesis 3:15-19:
The Serpent--“and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.” –Genesis 3:15. The serpent’s punishment is greater than Adam and Eve’s (remember he is the author of sin). God is even foretelling about His victory over Satan through this corrupted blood line stemming from Eve—the death and resurrection of the perfect Jesus Christ.
Eve— “In pain you will bring forth children;” – Genesis 3:16a.
“Whenever a woman is in labor, she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world.”– John 16:21
Adam— “By the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground because from it you were taken;” –Genesis 3:19a.
“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.” –John 6:54-55
“God sealed His response with a vivid act of forgiveness, and in so doing He established the pattern by which sin is thereafter properly atoned for (divinely forgiven).” –The Moody Bible Commentary
As we end the creation narrative, we conclude the narrative with Genesis 3, the whole narrative ends with God’s forgiveness for Adam and Eve’s sin—sure they are banished from the perfect temple of Eden, but God has already set up the path to redemption, the path to eternal salvation through His perfect work of atonement for their sins. God truly does love humanity, God wants to redeem humanity and He saves those who choose Him, who believe in Him, who accept His love and change their minds to follow Him.