In the movie, A Simple Plan, three men (two brothers and a friend) accidentally happen upon a downed airplane in the snow-laden woods in the middle of winter. Searching the airplane, they discover a large bag containing four million dollars. They assume it is stolen since they haven't heard anything about it in the news. Although they know it is wrong, they devise a plan to keep the money for themselves. They will hide the money in the older brother's house. If, after winter thaws and the plane is discovered, there is no mention of the money, they will divide the money among themselves. If they discover anyone is looking for the money, they will burn it. This simple plan which sounds foolproof in the beginning unleashes a series of events that is devastating to all three of the men and many others in their lives. The story highlights the tragic and unintended consequences of one immoral act. Sin never stands alone. Given enough time, it always bears bitter consequences.

In the same way, the bitter and unintended consequences of Adam and Eve's disobedience are vast. Their sin wreaks havoc in their relationship to God, one another, themselves, and their environment. Every sphere of life - family, work, culture, and community - is adversely affected. As the story of Genesis progresses, sin's consequences will extend to the larger created order (the narrative of the flood), and to national life (the tower of Babel).

The first few chapters of Genesis describe how death encroaches upon life. Paradise is lost through human sin. It will only be regained through the abundant grace of God - grace that is greater than human sin.

Alienation (Genesis 3:7-13)

Things fall apart because of sin. First, Adam and Eve experience the fragmentation of the self: "the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked" (Genesis 3:7a). Their conscience is awakened and they experience the self-condemnation that arises from wrong-doing. Prior to this, they lived at peace with themselves. Now, their conscience accuses them - bringing guilt and shame. Their personal well-being is threatened by their accusing consciences. Even if their sin had escaped the notice of everyone else, they cannot escape themselves. Thus, the self begins to disintegrate.

Second, they find themselves alienated from one another (Genesis 3:7b). They attempt to hide their guilt and shame through their own desperate attempts at clothing themselves. The intimacy they once experienced is shattered. They cannot afford to be completely open and vulnerable to the other any longer. They feverishly attempt to create a mask to hide their true condition from one another.

Third, they find themselves alienated from God (Genesis 3:8-11). Communion with God, which was once a pleasant experience, now becomes an unwanted threat. Against their better judgment, Adam and Eve attempt to hide from God. Like a child who hides under the table with a bag of candy to escape the notice of his parents, Adam and Eve attempt the impossible - to escape the notice of God.

It is important to note that God does not hide from Adam and Eve; they hide from God. God graciously pursues the wayward children, revealing a pattern that will stretch through the entire biblical story and come to its climax in Christ - God seeks sinners. Contrary to popular opinion, God does not express overwhelming wrath to the lost, but rather, patience, kindness, and stern-but-loving personal confrontation. God is not pictured here as an angry judge but as a disappointed parent. As we will see, even God's judgments are parental in nature - strict, but laden with mercy.

God graciously confronts Adam and Eve with gentle probing questions: "Where are you?" "What have you done?" "Who told you that you were naked?" "Why did you do it?" Through these questions, God invites them to admit their transgression, and perhaps even repent of it. God does not ask these questions because God does not know the answers. God is merely trying to get them to admit their sin. This same courtesy is not afforded the serpent. Ephraim points out, "For where there was room for repentance, there was questioning; but one who is a stranger to repentance is simply given the judge's sentence."

Tragically, God's questions are met with self-justification, accusations, blame-shifting, and the refusal to accept personal responsibility.

Adam blames both Eve and God for his actions: "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate" (Genesis 3:12). In an effort to exonerate himself, Adam puts his relationship with his wife at risk revealing a pattern which continues to this day. In order to justify ourselves we often are willing to sacrifice our relationship with others.

Adam does not just blame Eve. Adam subtly blames God for his predicament: "the woman you gave me." This victim mentality continues into the present. It seems that everyone wants to blame God for their own personal choices. However, there is a noticeable gap in this argument. Even if his wife did give him the fruit, this does not explain the fact that Adam personally chose to eat it - in direct opposition to God's command. Tragically, the "Wow!" of Genesis 2:23 is gone - sacrificed for the sake of self-justification.

The woman is more honest in her response: "The serpent tricked me, and I ate" (Genesis 3:13). She still shifts the ultimate blame from herself to the serpent, but at least she is willing to admit that she ate the fruit.

This account reveals our tendency to make excuses for our own behavior and shift the ultimate blame to others, instead of acknowledging our own personal responsibility. Even when our behavior is exposed as sinful by God, we tend to refuse to repent and instead evidence our deep-seated desire to justify ourselves and our actions. Like the Fonz, we find it hard to admit, "I was wrong. I'm sorry." We find it difficult to be naked before God and true to ourselves. Through patient and probing dialogue, God desired that the couple would repent, but the first couple chose to remain blind to their failure. Instead, they chose to blame others - even God, if it would get them off the hook!

Conflict (Genesis 3:14-15, 17b)

Forced into the role of judge, God reveals the conflicts the will now characterize human existence as death encroaches upon life. Because of sin, human life will be lived in the context of a hostile and dangerous spiritual conflict between two seeds (Genesis 3:14-15).

This spiritual conflict will take place in the context of a hostile and dangerous physical environment that bears the weight of human sin: "cursed is the ground because of you" (Genesis 3:17b).[1] The cursed ground no longer yields its fruit with abundance. It is harder to subdue. Instead of submitting to human efforts, the ground will now resist humankind's rule and, tragically, will eventually swallow humans whole (see Romans 8:20-22). From the beginning it is clear that human sin has devastating effects on the nonhuman world.[2]

The curse that comes about through human sin is in direct opposition to God's original intent of blessing (Genesis 1:28-30). Thankfully, God's blessing continues in spite of the curse. God's blessing remains active - marriage, reproduction, and harvest will continue - but because of the curse, pain and turmoil will accompany human efforts to sustain life, bear children, and produce food.

Because of God's commitment to blessing, God's grace and mercy is evident even in God's judgments. The consequences of sin are devastating, but God's blessing remains because of God's mercy.

Sorrow, Domination, Struggle, and Toil (Genesis 3:16-19a)

As a consequence of sin, pain will now accompany the blessing of human childbirth. The pain is not limited to actual childbirth, but is experienced from conception to birth. Old Testament theologian John Walton's paraphrase of Genesis 3:16 is insightful: "I will greatly increase the anguish you will experience in the birth process, from the anxiety surrounding conception to the strenuous work of giving birth." The pain relates to the anxiety that accompanies the entire process - including anxiety over whether one will be able to even conceive a child. Even today, our modern technology has not completely removed conception anxieties, concern for the health of a child in the womb, or survival during delivery.

However, there is a blessing hidden in the announcement: Life will continue, but only in the context of great pain. The birth of children is necessary for human survival - for the continuation of life. In giving birth, a woman brings forth new life, triumphantly challenging death. God's original blessing has not been lost, but the climate has changed considerably. The pain the woman experiences in childbirth will make it impossible to forget the consequences of sin. However, the miracle of children will make it impossible to forget God's blessing in spite of sin.

As a consequence of sin, power struggles will now accompany the blessing of marriage. Domination and oppression (rather than loving and cherishing) will always remain real possibilities in a world where every man looks out only for himself. The woman's instinct to bear children puts her in a vulnerable position to her husband and will open up the possibility of male dominance.

The basic idea here is that woman's desire, which renders her dependent, is traceable to her need to fulfill her maternal instinct... For now let us recall what sociologists have called the principle of lesser or least interest: In a relationship involving two partners, the one with the greater need of the other is the more vulnerable, while the one with the lesser interest in the relationship is in a position of dominance.[3]

The blessing of marriage will continue, but only in the context of power struggles. The reality of dominance and oppression will make it impossible to forget the consequences of sin. However, the possibilities of a healthy marriage will make it impossible to forget God's blessing in spite of sin.

As a consequence of sin, toil now accompanies the blessing of harvest. The man experiences his own unique "labor pains."[4] His experience of tilling and keeping the land will be met with relentless toil (Genesis 3:17b, 19a). Thorns and thistles will obstruct the land's fruitfulness. He will bear fruit only by the "sweat" of his brow. Fatigue and weariness will accompany his labor.

The blessing of food will continue, but only in the context of great toil. The pain of survival will make it impossible to forget the consequences of sin. However, the good of an abundant harvest will make it impossible to forget God's blessing in spite of sin.

In every case, God's blessing remains, for God is determined to bless humankind. However, human participation in God's blessings is now mixed with sorrow, pain, conflict, and difficulties. All of the blessings are necessary for survival (marriage, children, food). Walton summarizes:

With death now an imminent threat, survival hangs in the balance. This includes day-to-day survival, which must be secured by an adequate food supply, and survival of the race, which must be secured through reproduction. The need to secure survival adds an urgency that did not previously exists. What was enjoyed as blessing now becomes essential to stave off extinction. The blessing has not been lost, but the climate has changed considerably.[5]

While sharing in God's blessing, humankind will be forced to remember its fall into sin. We are haunted by paradise, while death encroaches upon life.

Death (Genesis 3:19b, 22-24)

Where once life reigned, death now holds dominion. Death is the destiny for all. It is impossible to escape. Its dark shadow frustrates all human hopes and prospects, mocking any sense of ultimate meaning and purpose. The fear of death causes us to frantically seek our own survival, regardless of the harm it brings others.

The sentence of death begins with Adam and Eve's expulsion from the garden. The first couple is banished from access to the tree of life, making death inevitable. In some sense, the tree represents "possibilities for life not entailed in the breath of life."[6]

Adam and Eve are now liable to death and begin to die. Death should not merely be considered to be one moment at the end of life, but rather, the process that leads to the end. Their expulsion from the garden is no less than a "death penalty." As Chrysostom writes, "Just as in the case of human tribunals, when someone receives the sentence of beheading and is cast into prison, even if he stays there a long time his life is no better than that of dead people and corpses, being already dead by reason of his sentence."[7]

Death is the ultimate consequence of sin. In the biblical account, death is not natural or normal. It is not divinely instituted. It does not belong to the divine order of creation. It represents an abnormal estrangement from God, others, and creation itself. In the sacred scriptures, death is the first and last enemy of humankind. Its stark reality will make it so that we will never be able to forget sin throughout all generations, for death touches everyone.

But like all of God's judgments, there is a blessing hidden in this sentence of death: Death puts an end to sin. It effectively stops the spread of sin. Like all that has preceded it, the angel barring the way to paradise is an expression of the curse and blessing. Paradise on earth is no longer a possibility. But life ruled by death is not God's final world. A new kind of life will be unveiled through God's grace: Bruce Waltke writes, "Physical death is both bane and boon. It renders all activity vain but delivers mortals from eternal consignment to the curse and opens the way to eternal salvation that outlasts the grave."[8]

God binds sin, death, law, and evil powers together in the early chapters of Genesis. Thankfully, God overcomes all these enemies of humankind at the cross. In light of the resurrection, death is not the final word.

The Hopeful End (Genesis 3:20-21)

The end of the account offers hope to humankind by revealing God's mercy to the wayward couple. While the story is filled with death, a ray of hope is revealed. Hope is evident in Adam's naming of Eve - the mother of the living, not the dead (Genesis 3:20). This act displays Adam's trust in God's promise of redemption (Genesis 3:15).

God's mercy is displayed in that God provides adequate clothing for Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21).

Genesis 3 is a chapter of change. Many things shift because of human sin. However, one thing does not change - God's character and purpose. God remains a giving, loving and gracious God. God's determination to bless drives God's purpose to redeem a fallen humanity. Sin and death will not be the final word in the divine story. Life will reign through Christ - the seed of the woman who will crush the seed of the serpent and the death and destruction unleashed through human sin.

The consequences may seem unbearable, but God's grace is greater than sin.

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© Richard J. Vincent, 2008