Genesis 3c Commentary
Adam’s punishment is yet another blessing reversal. The blessing of prosperity that hangs on Adam’s shoulders through work is reduced to toil. Work won’t produce for Adam. Only by sweat shall Adam produce enough food.
Moses’ prayer that the LORD blesses the work our hands has this background. We donkey it endlessly with very little success. Output weighs far less than the input.
The ground becomes hostile. It produces thorns. Thorns choke development – whatever little development we achieve after endless toil.
…And the LORD ordained it that way for humanity – for men! What disobedience achieved for us! What lust, needless lust achieved for us!
The mystery of Genesis is unlocked by the New Testament. Jesus is referred to as the “last” Adam. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 45.
Like the first Adam, Jesus faced temptations. The comparison is taken to the extreme when you think of the difference between a plush garden and the wilderness. Adam sins in an environment of plenty – needless “stupidity”. On the other hand, logic would forgive Jesus if He turned stone into bread; He was very hungry. Adam wasn’t hungry; he wasn’t in need of food.
Here is one man, the created man, the seed who overcame the serpent’s craftiness.
Matthew 4 and Luke 4 parallel Genesis 3. The serpent loses the plot in the New Testament. That’s humanity’s greatest news!
Ponder it; let it sink. Adam was commanded but he ignored the command. He didn’t even think about it. On the other hand, Jesus constantly remembered the commandments with the statement, “It is written”.
The strength of Jesus’ argument against the temptations was God’s written commandment. It won the day for him (consequently Him)!
He wasn’t done yet. Jesus needed to free the rest of humanity from Adam’s mistake. He died the death that humanity needed to experience. The symbols are now clear. We now understand why Adam and Eve didn’t vanish immediately. The generosity of the LORD God is extreme. Someone dies instead of them!
Again, the perfection of the LORD God is such that there is never a need for a second Boardroom decision on anything. Yes, Jesus dies instead of Adam and Eve; instead of you and me. The symbols pointed to salvation through the one and only Way – the living water, the tree of life, the bread of life, the light of the world… Jesus becomes the “everything” the LORD God plans or planned.
He wore a crown of thorns for a reason. Remember the curse against the ground! Jesus took the punishment of thorns on his own head – paying the penalty fee several times over! It should be enough to have thorns choke your vegetables! Should they choke your head? Ponder the handsome price that Jesus paid!
The mystery of Genesis is fully explained by the New Testament. We experience it. We live it. We can live the ultimate generosity – the extreme generosity of the Creator God.
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