Genesis 3:7-13

⁷ “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. ⁸ And 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 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” ¹⁰ And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” ¹¹ He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of 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 fruit of the tree, and I ate.” ¹³ Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Eden was perfect!

Everyone would like to have a perfect life. To be a perfect person; have perfect parents; be married to a perfect person; have perfect children; a perfect home; a perfect job; and a driveway that shovels itself. We all dream about perfection!

Adam and Even had perfection and could have had all of these perfect things in a perfect world! They “did” have that; and, they “could” have kept all of that!

They lived in a Perfect Place! You and I have never experienced perfection so we cannot imagine that – but, it was perfect. The air and water were perfectly clean; flora and fauna did exactly whatever they commanded it to do… and, the bluegrass in their yard grew to be 2 ¼ inches high and no higher. There were no weeds anywhere on earth!

They had Perfect Pets! The animal kingdom was in complete submission to them. Nothing to fear; no yapping dogs and no hair-shedding cats; and no skunks. No getting up from the couch to let them outside. Perfect!

They were Perfect People! He was a perfect man and she was a perfect woman. No flaws, no problems, and neither of them had parents or siblings… perfect! No sickness; no suffering; and no funerals!

They were a Perfect Pair! They had a perfect marriage. No baggage; no hang-ups; no bad habits; no credit card debt; and no one else with whom to be compared!

Then, disaster! In order to taste the fruit of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they sinned it all away!

And what did they get in return?

As the Lord allows this coming Lord’s Day morning, I will go verse-by-verse (surprise, surprise!) through these seven verses and take an in-depth look at what happened to Adam and Eve because of their rebellion and sin.

REMEMBER: Their sin not only affected them; it affected all of their progeny, including you and me!

What does it mean that, “the eyes of both were opened…” and they now knew by personal experience what it was like to sin?

What role did this sin play in God’s dreadful judgment in the days of Noah?

What does it mean that they were “naked” before God and what does that mean to us today?

The most instructive lesson in these verses is the fact that the first – the very first – thing they did was to “work” on a way to “cover up” their sin! Mankind has spent the last 6,000 years trying to work on a way to cover up our sins. It did not work for them and it will not work for us!

“For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” Romans 3:20

The birth of man-made self-help religion marks the beginning of the most damnable error in the history of the world! Multitudes, (multitudes!) of professing Christians will find themselves cut off from God because they fell into this ancient trap. Their baptism, their church membership, their giving, and all of their other “good works” cannot cover up the nakedness of their guilt before God.

And what else did they get in return for the experience of knowing good and evil? Separation and alienation from God and the reality of lostness!

They also got a life of fearing and avoiding God. From that day to this humans spend untold effort, time, and resources trying to put off their personal confrontation with the One True and Living God. That day of confrontation is surely coming to every person – both saved and unsaved. How awful the future that awaits the unbeliever in the presence of God.

And, with what are they armed to face HIM? Excuses. Mere excuses. “The woman… the serpent…” Excuses.

Genesis 3 is one of the most pivotal Chapters in God’s Word. We have already spent three weeks here and “we ain’t done yet!” I hope you will read through, pray through, and think over these verses as you prepare to hear the Word of the Lord on Sunday.

I hope to see you Sunday with your Bible in your hand, a smile on your face, and your family and friends by your side!