The Serpent

Jason Martin / General Adult

From the Beginning... / Disobedience / Genesis 3

Sowing distrust

Read Genesis 3:1.

1. Who / what is this serpent?

2. What does this mean by crafty?

1. Serpent

a. it was created - not some sort of equal god (made)

Revelation 12:9 ESV

9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

1. not getting into timelines right now, but this is NOT before the Genesis 3 events.

i. devil - diablos - slanderer

ii. satan - accuser

2. Crafty / cunning

a. Did God actually say?

i. Sowing doubt by twisting words

b. Is God withholding something good?

c. Can God be trusted?

One thing leads to another

Read Genesis 3:2-5.

1. After the serpent cunningly twisted God’s words to Eve, that seed of doubt started a chain reaction.

a. Eve lies

b. the serpent lies with some truth mixed in

The root of all sin

Read 1 John 2:16

1 John 2:16 ESV

16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.

Read Genesis 3:6-7.

1. All of sin traces back to one or more of these things

2. Adam was with Eve and let her eat - then also ate

a. They already has experiential knowledge of good. Up to this point, all of creation was good.

b. Now having disobeyed the LORD, they had experiential knowledge of evil

3. The first thing they felt was shame

The Presence

Read Genesis 3:8-11

1. They heard the sound of YHWH walking

2. they hid (tried to) from His Presence

a. - but He came looking for them

3. the knowledge they got was not what they had hoped for

The curse

Read Genesis 3:12-21

1. God asked man, then woman - He did not ask any questions of the serpent

a. they blame-shifted

b. sin fractures relationships

2. The Proto-Evangelion

a. offspring theme throughout Scripture

3. Death has entered God’s creation

a. work becomes painful and frustrating

b. dust + God’s breath = life

c. dust + sin = death / back to dust

d. the first sacrifice / covering

Exile

Read Genesis 3:22-24

1. “one of us”

2. cherubim

3. flaming sword

1. “one of us” seems to be members of the Divine Council, like satan

2. Cherubim

a. were given the vocation of guarding access to God

b. they are important in the Tabernacle and Temple also

3. Flaming Sword

a. it’s vocation was to guard the path to the Tree of Life

b. fire becomes associated with the Presence of God

c. Many people interpret the flaming sword as the Shekinah Glory

d. it is -at minimum - a type of Christ Who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life

The Great Reversal

• God decides good & evil - humans decide

• trust - suspicion

• obedience - rebellion

• life - death

• God’s Presence - hiding

• blessing - curse

• garden paradise - exile

Genesis 3 doesn’t abandon the themes from Genesis 1-2, it corrupts them. The rest of Scripture is God restoring them.

Exported from Logos Bible Study, 11:00 AM August 14, 2026.