^14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. ^15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring^a and hers; he will crush^b your head, and you will strike his heel.”

^{                16} To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

^{                17} To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. ^18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,

and you will eat the plants of the field. ^19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

^{                20} Adam^c named his wife Eve,^d because she would become the mother of all the living.

^{                21} The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. ^22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” ^23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. ^24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side^e of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Is there any doubt that we live in a sin cursed world? This picture sums up the majority of danger, disease and forms of death that we all face. I think it is interesting to note the top five causes of death from 1900 until now (from the chart below). The top three causes of death in 1900 are no longer among the top ten causes today. These are mostly infectious diseases that have either been eliminated or else greatly reduced. But what happened when we knocked these out of the top ten? Other causes of death quickly filled in the missing gaps.

 (Incidentally, from looking at this list, what is the primary or secondary cause for the top four causes of death in 2007? The answer is cigarette smoking. Smoking either causes or greatly contributes to each of these diseases. I have never preached a sermon against smoking, but this should be motivation enough to quit.) If researchers are able to one day cure cancer and heart disease, they will no longer be the top two killers, but then other causes of death will move up the list. This list looks very different in third world countries where AIDS and malaria are near the top. What I am trying to make clear is that there will always be a top five or top ten causes of death. Only two people in the history of the world have ever escaped death, Enoch and Elisha, and unless Jesus returns, you and I are not likely to be the third person.

Understanding our sin-cursed world begins to help us explain a troubling question asked by believers and nonbelievers: why is there so much suffering in the world? Let’s face it—the average person does not have a good answer to this question. Do you have a good answer? The people that you cross paths with every day often have this question at the forefront of their minds, whether or not they ever put it into words. If they asked you, what would you tell them? Because this question is so common and so difficult, most of us are scared to death of having someone ask us. By the time we are done with this chapter, my goal is that you would no longer be afraid of the question, but that you would actually anticipate this hard question and be able to confidently give an answer of hope.

1.      The pronouncement of guilt

In this chapter we have both an explanation for suffering and a solution to our suffering. The explanation comes at verse fifteen in the form of a pronouncement of guilt. Adam and Eve had sinned against God. They were guilty, and they knew it. Their futile attempt at covering their own sin (with leaves!) was evidence that they felt guilt. They were naked and ashamed. They tried to hide their sin and tried to hide themselves. The top five causes of death are the result of our sin. The top ten causes of death are the result of our sin. In fact, all causes of death and all suffering is the direct result of our sin. All of the things on this picture (above), and more, result from our sin—poisonous snakes, illicit drug use, electric chock, tidal waves and tsunamis, disease, war, oppressive governments, accidents, shark attacks, drowning, disabilities, the necessity of prescriptions, murder—it all ends in the grave. Paul rightly summed it up in Romans 5:12. Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.

We met some new friends over the Labor Day weekend who told the story of good friends of theirs from Kentucky. Last summer there were three brothers who worked construction together in the hot sun. After work, they all decided to go swimming in a lake. All of a sudden, one of the brothers got a terrible cramp and began to sink under the water. Almost simultaneously, the same thing happened to another brother. The third brother was much closer to one of the drowning men than the other, so he had to make a difficult decision to save one brother and let the other one drown. It took the rescue squad twenty three hours to locate his body.

What kind of an answer do you give to this suffering family? You could say, “Well, Genesis chapter three tells us that all suffering and death are due to our sin. Obviously, your son was a sinner and therefore, he deserved to die.” Now you tell me—is that a theologically correct answer? It is theologically accurate, but incredibly insensitive.  That is not how you answer the question of someone weeping over the body of their nineteen year old son. Some people who ask the question about suffering really are in the midst of great suffering themselves. We must be very careful how we talk to them. We have to be loving and very discerning in order to know how to answer each person. When someone asks, “why is there so much suffering in the world?” sometimes they are looking for a completely satisfying theological answer and sometimes they just want someone to listen to them and a shoulder to cry on. We must be able to tell the difference. Sometimes the only answer we can give them is to just be with them. After weeks or months they might be ready for a fuller explanation.

But in my experience, most people who ask this question are not in the midst of great suffering but ask the question because of intellectual doubts. They really want to know if you have any kind of answer, or, are you just as clueless as the rest of the world. So you begin in Genesis chapter three. Actually, we should begin in chapter one and two to show that God created everything as very good. Suffering and death is never to be laid at the feet of God. God created and we corrupted.

2.      The promise of rescue

You start in Genesis one, two and three, but you must never leave someone there. As we said the last time we studied this passage three weeks ago, right in the midst of the pronouncement of guilt, God offered a promise of rescue. A man would arise who will crush the head of Satan, but God knew that would be four thousand years into the future. I need something now! So immediately after the promise of rescue, God delivered a provision of grace. Satan led us into this mess but one day God would crush Satan’s head.

3.      The provision of grace

From our perspective, this promise was fulfilled through Christ two thousand years ago, but from Adam and Eve’s perspective, it was far into the future. Therefore, God offered an immediate solution to the present problem—a provision of grace (v. 21). The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. This is a simple verse that is literally pregnant with meaning. At least two things happened in this verse that are a foreshadowing of the death and resurrection of Christ. First there was blood to atone for their sin, which was a type of substitutionary atonement. As Hebrews 9:22 says, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Second, there were animal skins to cover their nakedness and shame. This is a symbol for being clothed with the righteousness of Christ, as Galatians 3:27 explains, “for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” Several animals would have been needed to have enough skins to cover Adam and Eve. The scene would have looked something like this.

Let me try to illustrate the significance of this even with a story about cats. Recently our family was taking care of a friend’s cats while they were away. There were about 25 cats running around waiting to be fed. (Many of you would solve this problem with 25 rounds from a 22, but their solution was a compassionate, but enormous supply of cat food.) On the last day, we arrived to feed the cats and Ethan and I found a dead cat that he had named “fluffy,” Fluffy was lying dead and stiff on the ground, and another kitten with multiple birth defects was lying still, wimpering and no doubt soon to be dead. Unlike his father, Ethan absolutely loves cats and he was sad to see this suffering and death, but he’s nine years old and he’d seen it before. But imagine if he had been only two years old and had never seen such things? Imagine him joyfully playing with fluffy one day and finding the cat stiff as a board the next? The tragedy and horror of such things is lost on those of us who are used to seeing this, but it would be horrifying to an innocent two year old.

Now if we could take the horror of this two year old’s experience and multiply it many times over we might begin to appreciate the disgust and dread that Adam and Eve experienced. They had never seen death. I am guessing that they had never even seen blood. They had known nothing but life and vitality and now they were wearing the skins of dead animals. Let’s take this even further. What did Adam do before Eve came along? He had given a special name to each of the animals. When Eve appeared, both were the caretakers of these animals. They cared for the land and they cared for the animals—and now they were responsible for their death. Do you see, it is much worse than just finding fluffy dead one day—they were actually wearing fluffy on their backs! We can only guess as to how they felt, but surely horror was one of their chief emotions.

When I started Genesis, I gave you several reasons why I am a young earth creationist and this verse offers yet more evidence. If the earth is billions of years old, then, like this picture illustrates, there would have been millions of years of pain, death, killing, disease, thorns, struggle, suffering and extinction. But is this how the Bible describes it? Romans five is the most extensive treatment on original sin in the N.T. We again go back to verse twelve. “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.” Where do you think Paul got his information about sin and death entering the world through Adam? Paul got his information from the same place we get it—Genesis three. Is there any evidence of sin and death prior to chapter three? There is not the slightest hint of sin and death, let alone millions of years of accumulated suffering and death.

But even more convincing, in the rest of Romans five, Paul linked the cause of death with the solution. “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17).  The world says, and unfortunately millions of Christians agree, that the story of Adam and Eve was merely a myth or perhaps a symbol of how sin entered the world. But if the Adam and Eve story in Genesis three was a myth, then what Paul says in Romans five does not make any sense at all. Paul would have had to have written something like this.

For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man (though you understand that I am speaking metaphorically. We really don’t know when Adam and Eve lived or even if there two such people with these names. The Adam and Eve story is God’s way of showing us that we have not obeyed his commands) how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ (But I am still speaking metaphorically. There may have been a man in the first century named Jesus who did wonderful things and who taught the people how to love one another and show forgiveness. Jesus is a good example for us to follow.)

Do you see how this strips the passage of all meaning and all power? When he wrote about our salvation through Jesus Christ, Paul assumed that Genesis was a literal, historical event. God created everything as very good. Adam and Eve chose to willfully usurp God’s authority and disobey his command. Even though Eve was the one who sinned first, because Adam was the representative head of the human race, God laid the blame for sin and death at his feet, not Eve’s. Moreover, Paul used the historical accuracy of Adam and Eve to build a greater case for Christ. The key phrase is “how much more.” For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. This is a little bit like saying, “If you enjoyed watching the Packers’ on your high definition, wide screen TV, how much more would you enjoy watching them from the front row of the 50 yard line at Lambeau.” If the first part about watching the Packers on TV is not true, then the second half cannot be true. In the same way, if Genesis three is not true then Romans five is not true either. If Adam and Eve is a mythical story, then all we have is a mythical Savior.

We can see how this has great relevance to the age of the earth. If death came into existence through Adam and Eve, then the earth cannot be older than approximately six thousand years. The age of the earth is not the most important fact to glean from this chapter, but I hope you can see that it is the starting point. Furthermore, it’s worth repeating a point I made a few weeks back. If you are tempted to claim that it is not fair that we inherit our guilt through one man, Adam, then you must also complain that it is not fair that we inherit our salvation through one man, Jesus Christ. In one very real sense, it is not fair. It is fair that we inherited a sin-cursed world, but it is not fair that innocent blood had to be shed to cover our sin. God’s wonderful provision of grace came first by the blood of innocent animals. Adam and Eve were literally wearing the skins of their pets on their back. Remember that they had tried to atone for their own sin. They tried to cover their guilt with leaves. This was man’s solution, not God’s. In God’s mercy, he did not leave them with a covering of leaves, but he covered them skin. It was a sacrificial, substitutionary sacrifice. The animals died so that Adam and Eve would not. The animals died in their place—they died for them.

Adam and Eve could not have understood the full significance of God’s atonement and covering, but the meaning should not be missed by us. This historically accurate and true story shows us how Christ atones for our sin by his blood and how he covers us with his righteousness. In every sense, Genesis preaches the gospel. An excellent N.T. summary would be found in 2 Cor. 5:21.   “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him, we might become the righteousness of God.” I have often referred to this verse as the “gospel glove” because it has five parts, like the five fingers of a glove. ¹God made him ²who had no sin ³to be sin for us, ⁴so that in him, ⁵we might become the righteousness of God. Let’s break this down into five parts and look at it.

1.      God made him—Who is guiding salvation? Who has determined that our salvation would be complete and effective? God made him. God is sovereign over salvation. Adam and Eve fell into sin a long time ago, but longer still, from eternity past, God’s plan has always been to send a Redeemer. If there never was a time when God was not, then in the same way, there never was a time when God did not plan to send the Son.

2.      who had no sin—the sinless perfection of Christ is the core of the gospel. The first animal sacrifice in the Garden of Eden was a provision of grace, but it was not sufficient by itself. The sin that destroyed the first couple and everyone who came after did not affect the Son.

3.      to be sin for us—There is no way that Adam and Eve understood salvation through Christ, but I am convinced they did understand that the animals died on their behalf. Their sinful choice led directly to the death of the animals they were now wearing. Christ’s atonement was a substitutionary atonement. His perfect sinless body carried the weight of the sin of all who believe.

4.      so that in him—there is more to the gospel than removal of sin. Adam and Eve were given a blood atonement for their sin and a covering for their nakedness. So too, the blood of Christ atones for our sin and we get something else…

5.      we might become the righteousness of God—the righteousness of Christ is far more than a covering—it is a perfect righteousness credited to our account. We sing about this dual aspect of salvation in the old hymn, Rock of Ages.

Be of sin the double cure

Saved from wrath and made me pure

So, how do you answer the question about the problem of evil? Suffering and death exist because sin exists. God created, we corrupted, Christ rescued us from corruption. The problem of evil is answered with the gospel. Yesterday afternoon I received a call from some old friends from our years living in Michigan. She was telling me about some mutual friends of ours that they had visited over the summer. These friends had two young boys and had adopted an adorable baby girl from Guatemala. In the last year they had torn down their small house on the lake and built a 5,000 square foot home. They had always been very active in their church and the husband was part of the leadership team in their megachurch. Despite all of these blessings, three days ago the husband took his own life. What do you say to the family? How do you answer their tough questions? They probably do not want a full, theological answer right now, but one day they will. You don’t do it simplistically or easily, but in essence, you give them the gospel—God created, we corrupted, God rescued. May we be ready to give an answer to the hope that lies within us.

Rich Maurer

September 13, 2009