Sabbath School Lesson for April 2-8, 2022
Lesson 2 Overview
It was such a simple test for our first parents. With an abundance of food in the Garden, abstaining from just one tree should not have been that hard. This week we explore the unfortunate event that sent our planet spiraling out of control, away from the Creator who had just celebrated its creation. In Genesis 3, we will learn about…
- the serpent (Sunday)
- the forbidden fruit (Monday)
- hiding from God (Tuesday)
- Satan’s fate (Wednesday)
- man’s destiny (Thursday)
Our loving God had a backup plan already set in motion to provide an escape for His erring children. Shortly after the need became evident, God became the first evangelist by hinting of this plan’s existence. The Seed would step in to battle Satan and this Seed would be victorious in the end.
Memory Text: ” ‘And I will put enmity [feelings of hostility] between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed [the Messiah]; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.’ “ Genesis 3:15 NKJV
God had just addressed the consequences for the serpent, which has been identified as Satan. So, this bruising was obviously the result of the battle between unseen, but very real beings, representing good and evil. In the middle of the awful consequences laid out before them, God gave Adam and Eve a promise that would carry them through their disruptive lives ahead.
Sunday: The Serpent
Genesis 3 begins with a description of the serpent as being subtle, meaning he was crafty, shrewd, sly, and prudent. In other words, he was one of the more intelligent animals in the Garden, a place where God had declared every creature good. Adam and Eve already knew the serpent to be a wise and beautiful creature, sparking their immediate interest when he introduced his bewildering statements and suggestions.
As they later discovered, however, the serpent had been the chosen medium to convey the plotting of Lucifer, a fallen angel who had rebelled against God. Bible writers have verified the identity of this serpent. It’s clear that he was the tool used by God’s enemy to lead humanity away from God. See 2 Corinthians 11:3 and Revelation 12:9.
A cunning line of argument was used by the serpent in the Garden: quoting God’s words, asking questions, and then implying a different meaning. These were the same tactics used by Satan when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness. It seems to be a common line of attack for many of the temptations we all face. All we can do is claim the victory Jesus achieved, and through His power, stand up to the challenge before us.
One thing we can be sure of is that Satan and God are literal beings. Just because they are unseen by us does not mean they don’t exist. This cosmic battle we are witnessing is more than an abstract principle of evil versus good in the universe. Ephesians 6:12 could not be plainer. We wrestle “against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in high places.”
Discussion Questions:
Genesis 3:1, 2 Corinthians 11:3, and Revelation 12:7-9
- Who was speaking through the serpent?
- Why do you think Satan chose this creature to entice Eve?
Monday: The Forbidden Fruit
We know Satan to be a liar. John 8:44 says he’s the father of lies. Lying began with him on this planet, as he stealthily used the serpent to convince our first parents to go against God’s will and eat the forbidden fruit. The fruit itself may have been harmless, but the ideas and thought processes that led to eating it was where there was danger.
The serpent first asked Eve a question that made her wonder whether she had misunderstood God. Then he was bold enough to openly question God’s intentions and even propose an opposite outcome if she chose to eat the fruit. The two outcomes have become the basis for all of Satan’s deceptions ever since. They consisted of the ideas of achieving immortality and of being like God.
Most ancient religions, and even those in modern times, have ties to our human desire to live forever. They counter what God said would be the result of sin. God plainly says we all will die because of it. Only God gives immortality through His Son’s death and resurrection. Our resurrection occurs when Christ returns for all of us (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17). Death is often spoken of in the Bible as sleep–even those “who sleep in Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 4:14). Satan has been very successful in confusing our understanding of what death is.
Even before Eve took and ate the fruit, she decided that the fruit was “good” (Genesis 3:6). This evaluation sounded similar to God’s announcing His creation as “good”. She was already thinking like God by replacing His judgment with her own. Once again, culture and religions have caused us to assume greater powers than granted us by God. Like Satan, we not only want to be like God, but to BE God in our own spheres of influence.
Discussion Questions:
Genesis 2:16, 17 and 3:1-6
- How were immortality and being like God twisted by the serpent’s argument?
- In what ways do these two lies continue today?
Tuesday: Hiding Before God
Adam and Eve were suddenly making decisions that showed their ambiguity about what was expected of them in the Garden. They realized that God’s light no longer covered them, and they tried to hide their nakedness with fig leaves. The enormity of what they had done was sinking in, and they incorrectly decided that they could and should hide from God.
But God saw their plight and went looking for them anyway. He had some good news and some bad news that they desperately needed to hear. There must have been longing tenderness in God’s voice, as He called out to them, “Where are you?” Adam answered and a serious conversation began.
God asked them what had happened and who had caused this disturbing situation. Of course, God knew who was behind it, but the answers from Adam and Eve showed their lack of moral clarity, as they both blamed all the wrong people. Adam blamed the woman (whom God had given to him, implying God’s involvement), and Eve blamed the serpent (whom God had also made). They were clearly off-target in their accusations, and God knew, of course, it would not be easy to untangle the lies they had been exposed to by His enemy Satan.
Hiding from our mistakes and when caught, blaming others for them, is the standard way we humans deal with our faults and misbehavior. Only when we honestly look at the options God has provided can we pick ourselves up and go forward, fighting the good fight of faith with dignity and resolve. Only with God’s help can we recover and move on toward the eternal destiny God has so graciously provided.
Discussion Questions:
Genesis 3:7-13
- Why did God ask questions, like “Where are you?” and “Who told you that you were naked”? Didn’t He already know?
Genesis 3:7, Psalm 104:1, 2, and Isaiah 61:10
- How were Adam and Eve clothed before their Fall?
- How can we be clothed today and why is it important?
Wednesday: The Fate of the Serpent
Genesis 3:14, 15 consists of God’s pronouncement of doom for the serpent. God knew that Satan was behind the serpent’s actions, however, so the consequence of v. 15 was specifically meant for His enemy, the one responsible for the whole affair.
There would be hostile feelings between Satan and God’s people (Revelation 12:7). The Seed, who would come to be known as the Messiah, would do battle with Satan. The result would be bruising–with the heel of the Seed bruised (His crucifixion), and the head of the serpent bruised (a final, fatal outcome for Satan).
How merciful of God to address the serpent’s fate with its promise of a Deliverer, before He delivered the consequences for Adam and the woman. Up to this time, she hadn’t even received the name Eve, which meant “the mother of all living”. That meant she would be the mother of the Seed as well, an honor that must have sustained her through some of the guilt-ridden, trying days ahead.
Discussion Questions:
Genesis 14, 15, Romans 16:20, Hebrews 2:14, and Revelation 12:17
- How do these verses explain the fate of Satan and the role of the Seed (the Messiah) in God’s plan of salvation?
Thursday: Human Destiny
The pronouncement against the serpent was identified as a curse (Genesis 3:14). But the term “curse” was not used to describe the consequences of Adam and Eve’s disobedience. God outlined how their lives would be changed from that time forward to prepare them for what lied ahead. It must have felt like a curse, but their fate was not something God desired. It was not His original plan.
The woman would experience pain during childbirth. Suffering of any kind would have been unheard of in God’s perfect Garden home. Also, the equality and oneness that she and Adam were meant to have would be altered. The love and trust they once had for each other would be greatly marred, and she would find herself in a lesser, subservient role in the relationship.
Adam would likewise find that the ground from which he had been made would experience changes. This “curse” of the earth, as it was called, would make it harder for him to provide sustenance for his family. His toil of working the ground and fields, that would now contain thorns and thistles, would be endured throughout his lifetime, ending with a return to that ground from which he was made.
Despite their shaky futures, Adam and Eve were given a glimmer of hope that was not offered to Satan. Looking forward to that Seed was a thought that must have sustained them in the lowest moments of their new realities outside the Garden.
Discussion Questions:
Genesis 3:16, Ephesians 5:21, 33
- What might be the reasoning behind a painful childbirth for Eve and all women?
- How would the couple’s relationship be changed?
- In what ways should a Christian marriage be different from that of the world?
Friday:
Sometimes we fail to see the justice of God as equal to His mercy. But the way He reached out to Adam and Eve, calling for them in the Garden after they had sinned, showed that His government was totally fair and transparent. He allowed them to share their story, giving them an opportunity to reflect on their actions, and finding out for Himself how repentant they might have become.
This investigative work on the part of God is typical of any reputable justice system. Finding out the facts of a crime is part of the process we all value before judgments are made and sentences served. We find this kind of investigative work many times in the Bible stories we encounter. The way He went searching for Cain after Abel’s murder, the way He found Noah and determined that the earth needed a Flood to cleanse it, the way He came down and saw the Tower of Babel being built, and how He met with Abraham before destroying Sodom and Gomorrah.
God is totally transparent and He thoroughly investigates problems before making decisions. His justice is just as reliable and evident as His love and mercy. Truly, God’s character of grace is amazing…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHTSCJ77SM8
Next Week: Cain and His Legacy
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