The Pulpit Commentary — Genesis — Section 140

Its essential wickednc,~s, as consisting of (1) unbelief, revealing itself ir. diaobedienco, (2) ~<'lfis!rn<'ss, making self the centre of all things; (3) desire, lovo of the world; g-r;it1ficnt1on of the senses, the funcfamentnl elements in all sin, c<>rreaponding to the thrPc fnnda~entnl_ ~lemcnts of_ man's bein13· nnd consciousness-spirit, soul, body (?f. AnhC'rlcn ~ 'Dn·rne ~vclabon,' Part I.,§ 3, eh. ix.). 4. Its and results. (1) A d1srovcr.v of si.n. "Their eyes were opened," as the devil said, and na he meant, 'l'h<'_Y folt that they had tnllen, and that they hn~ lost their purity. It is impossible to srn and not to ha,e tlus knowledge and feel tins loss. (2) A consciousness of gitilt. " They kn_ew that _they w~re naked." Sin r~ports its~Jf quickly to the conscience, and conscience quickly d1sco,·crs to the gmlty soul its true po.sition ns nn unpro- tected culpri_t before th~ bar of God. (3) A sense of shame, which impelled them to H'C'k a covermg for their persons. "They sewed fig lea,es together and made thcm- ~ch-cs girdles." A picture of men's fruitless efforts to find a coverii;g for their guilty rnt1ls. Le,SSons:-1. The responsibility of man. 2. The duty of guarding against tempt. ntion. 3. The contagious character of moral evil. 4. Tho havoc wrought by 11 single sin. IIOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 1.-Tlte tempter. I. Wno TEMPTS? 1. Not the mere serpent. 2. A higher power of e,il. 3. This higher power a person. 4. The leader of the fallen angels. 11. \VHY PERMITTED? Easy to see why moved,· why permitted, a mystery. But we may note-1. That the intercourse of mind with mind is a general law of nature. To exclude the devil, therefore, from gaining access to man mig·ht have involved ns great a miracle as preventing one mind fron1 influencing another. 2. That the good as well as the evil angels have access to us. Can we estimate their influence, or be sure that .Adam's position or the world's would have been better if both had been excluded? 3. That possibly by this sin under lemptation we were saved from a worse sin apart from temptation. 4. That God magnifies his grace and vindicates l1is power against the devil's in raising fallen man above l1is first place of creature- sl1ip into that of sonship. III. WJIT EMPLOY TIIE SERP~T? 1. Because not permitted to assume a higher form-his masterpiece of craft, 'an angel of light" (2 Cor. xi. 14), or his master- piece of power, a mighty prince (Matt. iv. 1). 2. Because o.f all animals the ocrpcnt seemed the fitteot for liis purposc.-\V, Vers. I-7.-T!te moral clULOs before the moral restoration. Hitherto the moral nature of man may be said to be absorbed in his religious nature. He has held inter- course with his Creator. He has ruled earth as" the paragon of animals." 'fbe intro- duction of a helpmeet was the commencement of society, therefore of distinctly moral relations. It is in the moral sphere that sin takes its origin, through the help- rncet and as a violation at the same time of a direct Divine commandment, and of that ~ocial compact of obedience to God and dependence upon one another which is 1he root of all true moral life. The woman was away from the man when she sinned. Her sin was more than a sin against God ; it was an offence against the law of her being as one with her husband. There ai;e many sugge~tive points in the vers~s (1- 7) which we may call the return of man s moral state rnto chaos, that out of 1t may come forth, by Divine grace, the new creation of a redeemed humanity. I. As it is only IN TIIE MORAL SPHERE Tll.AT SIN IS POSSIBLE, so rr IS DY THE CONTACT 01' A FORMER COllRUPTl0N WITH MAN that the evil principle is introduced into the world. The serpent's sul>tleiy represen~ that evil pr\nciple already in op_er_ation. . .. II. While the wl10le transaction is on the lme of moral and religious respons1b1hty IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DISCONNECT THE ANIMAL NATURE Jl'ROM TIIE FIRST TEMPTATION. Tlie serpeut, the woman, the tree, th_e eating o~ fruit, the pleasant1_1ess to taste. and biglii, the effect upon the fleshly feelmge, all pomt to the close relation of_ tl!o am_mal and the moral. There is nothing implied as to the nature of matter, but 1t IS plamly taugl:t that the effect of a Joas of moral and spiritual dignity is a sinking back into t!ic lowe:_r grade of life; aa man is less a cliild of God he is rn< re akin to the beasts 1.1,:,t J>C:r:::!1. ea. 111. 1-7.) 'flrn BOOK OF GENESIS. G3