3:1 Now the serpent was more a subtil than any beast of the
field which the LORD God had made. And he b said unto the
woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of
the garden?
(a) As Satan can change himself into an angel of light, so
did he abuse the wisdom of the serpent to deceive man.
(b) God allowed Satan to make the serpent his instrument and
to speak through him.
3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the
garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall
ye touch it, c lest ye die.
(c) In doubting God's warnings she yielded to Satan.
3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely d
die:
(d) This is Satan's chiefest subtilty, to cause us not to
fear God's warnings.
3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your
eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, e knowing
good and evil.
(e) As though he said, God forbids you to eat of the fruit,
only because he knows that if you eat of it, you will be
like him.
3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree [was] good for food,
and that it [was] pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be
desired to make [one] wise, she took of the fruit thereof,
and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he
f did eat.
(f) Not so much to please his wife, as moved by ambition at
her persuasion.
3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they g knew
that they [were] naked; and they sewed fig leaves together,
and made themselves aprons.
(g) They began to feel their misery, but they did not seek
God for a remedy.
3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the
garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife h hid
themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the
trees of the garden.
(h) The sinful conscience flees God's presence.
3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was
afraid, because I [was] i naked; and I hid myself.
(i) His hypocrisy appears in that he hid the cause of his
nakedness, which was the transgression of God's
commandment.
3:12 And the man said, The woman whom thou k gavest [to be]
with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
(k) His wickedness and lack of true repentance appears in
this that he blamed God because he had given him a
wife.
3:13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What [is] this [that]
thou hast done? And the woman said, l The serpent
beguiled me, and I did eat.
(l) Instead of confessing her sin, she increases it by
accusing the serpent.
3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, m Because thou
hast done this, thou [art] cursed above all cattle, and
above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou
go, and n dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
(m) He asked the reason from Adam and his wife, because he
would bring them to repentance, but he does not ask the
serpent, because he would show him no mercy.
(n) As a vile and contemptible beast, (Isa 65:25).
3:15 And I will put enmity between o thee and the woman, and
between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy p
head, and thou shalt q bruise his heel.
(o) He chiefly means Satan, by whose action and deceit the
serpent deceived the woman.
(p) That is, the power of sin and death.
(q) Satan shall sting Christ and his members, but not
overcome them.
3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy r
sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth
children; and thy desire [shall be] to thy husband, and he
shall rule over thee.
(r) The Lord comforts Adam by the promise of the blessed
seed, and also punishes the body for the sin which the
soul should have been punished for; that the spirit
having conceived hope of forgiveness might live by
faith. (1Co 14:34).
3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the
voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I
commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: s
cursed [is] the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou
eat [of] it all the days of thy life;
(s) The transgression of God's commandment was the reason
that both mankind and all other creatures were subject
to the curse.
3:18t Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee;
and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
(t) These are not the natural fruit of the earth, but
proceed from the corruption of sin.
3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God u make
coats of skins, and clothed them.
(u) Or, gave them knowledge to make themselves coats.
3:22 And the LORD God said, x Behold, the man is become as one
of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth
his hand, and y take also of the tree of life, and eat,
and live for ever:
(x) By this derision by reproaches Adam's misery, into
which he was fallen by ambition.
(y) Adam deprived of life, lost also the sign of it.
