Downloads
Picture a phone with a badly cracked screen. Does it still work? Sort of. You can still see the picture, but the cracks run through everything. And you can't fix it by sticking a sticker over the crack.
Genesis 3 is the moment the world got its crack. This is part 2 of the Bible's big story: The Fall (its symbol is a crack). In part 1, God made a very good world. Now we find out why the world we live in is both beautiful and broken. But don't stop reading at the bad news, because right in the middle of it, God makes a promise.
What you'll learn
- What happened in Genesis 3 and why it's called "the Fall"
- What sin really is, at its heart
- The first promise of a rescuer, and who it points to
What happened
God had given Adam and Eve a beautiful garden and everything they needed. There was just one tree they weren't to eat from. Then a serpent appears. (Later in the Bible, the serpent is linked with Satan, the enemy of God, in Revelation 12:9.)
The serpent doesn't force anyone. Instead, he gets them to doubt God:
"Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’’" (Genesis 3:1)
Look at his tactics:
| What the serpent does | Where | What it is really saying |
|---|---|---|
| Twists what God said | 3:1 | "God is mean. He's keeping things from you." |
| Says God's warning is false | 3:4 | "God isn't telling the truth." |
| Offers to make them like God | 3:5 | "You can be in charge. You don't need God." |
Eve eats the fruit, and gives some to Adam, and he eats too.
The heart of sin
The problem wasn't that the fruit was poisonous. (And by the way, the Bible never says it was an apple!) The problem was trust. Adam and Eve decided they knew better than God about what was good for them.
That's what sin is at its heart: running our lives our own way instead of God's way. It's not just about breaking rules. It's about not trusting God and wanting to be in charge ourselves. And the Bible says this isn't just Adam and Eve's story. Everyone has turned away from God in some way (Romans 3:23). We all hide, we all blame, and we all want to run our own lives.
Four broken relationships
At creation, God made four good relationships: with him, with each other, with the world and with ourselves. In Genesis 3, every one of them breaks.
| Relationship | At creation | After the Fall | Verse |
|---|---|---|---|
| With God | Close, trusting | They hide from God | 3:8–10 |
| With each other | Partners, together | They blame each other | 3:12–13 |
| With the world | Caring for the garden | Work becomes hard, the ground fights back | 3:17–19 |
| With ourselves | No shame | Shame and covering up | 3:7 |
Then comes the biggest result of all: death comes into the world (3:19), and Adam and Eve are sent out of the garden (3:23–24).
But notice what God does. He doesn't wait for them to come back. He comes looking for them:
"But the LORD God called out to the man, ‘Where are you?’" (Genesis 3:9)
God already knew where they were. His question is an invitation to come out of hiding and be honest.
The first promise
Right in the middle of the bad news, God speaks to the serpent and makes a promise:
"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." (Genesis 3:15)
Here's what it means:
- There will be a long fight between the serpent and the woman's family.
- One day a child from the woman's family will crush the serpent's head: a deadly blow.
- The serpent will strike his heel: he will be hurt in the process.
There's one more act of kindness. Before Adam and Eve leave the garden, God himself makes clothes for them (3:21). Even now, he is caring for them.
Key words
- The Fall: the moment in Genesis 3 when people turned away from God and everything broke.
- Sin: running life our own way instead of God's way; not trusting God.
- Serpent: the snake in the garden who tempts Adam and Eve to doubt God.
- Shame: the feeling of wanting to hide because something is wrong.
- Offspring (seed): a child or descendant.
How this points to Jesus
Christians have long seen Genesis 3:15 as the first promise of Jesus. Jesus was born into the human family, the "offspring of the woman". On the cross he was wounded (his "heel" was struck), but by dying and rising again he defeated sin, death and the devil (he "crushed the serpent's head"). The rest of the Bible is about how God fixes what broke here, and it all leads to Jesus.
Think about it
Why do you think the serpent started with a question instead of a lie?Show answer
A question makes you doubt without seeming like an attack. It got Eve wondering whether God could really be trusted, which opened the door to the lie.
Is sin mainly about breaking rules, or about something deeper?Show answer
Something deeper. At its heart, sin is not trusting God and choosing to run life our own way. Breaking rules is what happens because of that.
Why do you think God asked "Where are you?" when he already knew the answer?Show answer
It was an invitation, not a request for information. God was calling Adam and Eve to come out of hiding and be honest with him.
Take it further
This week, look out for signs of the "crack" in the world: in the news, at school, or in your own heart. Then look for signs that the world is still good and beautiful. Both are true. Your worksheet helps you work through what happened in Genesis 3 and the four broken relationships.
If you'd like to, you could pray: God, I'm sorry for the times I've wanted to run life my own way. Thank you that you came looking for Adam and Eve, and that you promised a rescuer. Thank you that you still come looking for us. Amen.