Satan, the serpent in the garden, established himself as the archenemy of God and man when he tempted our first parents to believe him instead of their Creator.  This set into motion their destruction and that of all God’s creation.  But God intervened.  His first act of rescue was by the power of His word.  He cursed the serpent, […]

In this text we continue to gain insight into the effects of sin.  Guilt and the alienation that follows are the fruits of sin.  Both are revealed by Adam and Eve as they try to hide from God or cover their nakedness or shift the blame, just as all mankind will do after them.  But God does not […]

First shame, then fear.  These effects of sin were known first in the human race by Adam and Eve when they chose their own desire over the wisdom of their creator.  Their fear drove them away from God, but God continued to pursue them, as He had done all along.  This God can pursue us as well in […]

What is shame?  When did it first appear in human history?  The text describes the consequences of that deadly sequence in the story of Adam and Eve which brought it about, temptation, enticement, disbelief, grasping, consequence.  When Adam and Eve sinned, their eyes were opened to their failure.   When they tried to cover their shame, even that was a […]

Why do we sin? Why do we do evil things? Our text answers with a description of the first rebellion against God and His Word.  This historical account is significant not only because it tells of the tragic first sin in a pristine world, but because it reveals to us the nature of the evil desires […]

The trees of the garden in Eden were a mark of God‘s generosity to our first parents Adam and Eve.  But doubt in God’s goodness was instilled in the mind of Eve when the serpent deceived her by questioning the veracity of God‘s word and the integrity of His motives.  In this text we get a glimpse […]

God’s good creation in Eden was all our first parents would ever need or want, but when they were tempted by Satan in the form of a serpent, they caved and set into motion a future world history corrupted by sin.  Satan succeeded because he was cunning and able to deceive Adam and Eve.  If we are […]

In this final reading of our text we explore three additional purposes for marriage.   The first of these is procreation.  Children are a blessing from God and together with parents form the family, the first fundamental institution of society.  From the family derives two additional institutions, government and the church.  All these reflect the glory of God.