Genesis 3
Games in the Garden

How are you living in dependence on God? Are you seeking your power (security/significance), possessions, and pleasure independently of Him?

God, You've revealed Yourself to be my All in All. Help me deeply depend on You. Amen.

If you're a kid, learn from your parents. If you are a parent, teach something worth learning. 

Heavenly Father, may I embrace Your wisdom and eschew sin. Amen.

This chapter is so chock full of crucial concepts that we'll stroll through it in a leisurely pace to gather rosebuds while we may, which will reach full bloom throughout the rest of Scripture. Where there's a lot of ink, stop and think, that's the emphasis. Moses is writing this for the folks exiting Egypt and approaching the promised land. The happiness and blessedness of the Exodus generation, depended upon their faithful obedience to what God had Revealed. Problems arose in Paradise, resulting in what's called “The Fall” because of a failure to faithfully follow God's Word. Same thing today. Do whatever it takes to grasp the principles in this passage, because they are the path to understanding the rest of Scripture, and your life.
Here's what you'll find in Chapter 3:

• Top trick of Satan and his will for our lives
• Our major motivations and deadly desires
• Where do we get our sense of worth and value?
• Why we are tempted to sin and what to do about it
• "Hide and Hurl" or "Name and Claim It" 
• What we lost in the Garden and how to gain it back

See Digging Deeper for distortions in the diabolical dialogue, and ssssecret sssstuff on the sssssnake.

What motivates you? Where do you get your sense of worth and value? 

Doubting the Goodness of God is demonic. If we don't sanctify our desires for power, pleasure, and possessions, they will ensnare us. If we don't get our worth and value from pleasing God, we'll seek (and find) it in all the wrong places. (See Deadly Desires Series, and "It Ain't Gonna Reign No More" on Truthbase.net for survival and revival tips.) 

Giver of all that is good, help me trust that You will give what's best, when it's best, and protect me from the folly of failing to wait for You to fulfill your promises. Amen.

"Name it and Claim it." When aware of our sin(s) we need to call it what God calls it (unfaithful rebellion), and claim the solution/forgiveness He offers (but then we're getting ahead of ourselves). Fig leaves are so out of fashion.

Heavenly Father, thank You for pointing out my sin, so I can be freed from it, and have intimacy with You. Amen.  

What happened to Genesis 2:17 “the day you eat...surely die”? Adam talks and plays Hide'n Go Seek with God, gets a new wardrobe, and is looking very much alive. In fact, he goes on to live a bunch more years.

Exactly what did Adam and friend lose?  

How does Salvation reverse the effects of The Fall? See below.

Genesis 3:1 Satan: "Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?"
Genesis 2:16 God: "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat.”
Genesis 3:2 Eve: "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden."
Genesis 3:3 Eve ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’"
Genesis 2:17 God: "in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
Genesis 3:4 "Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die.’"
Having a Quiet Time in the Garden was pretty simple. “Good Morning Lord, thanks for life today! Nice job on the oranges. Ok, let's see what Your will for me is today. Hmmm, Genesis 2:17 “Don't eat the fruit.” Hey, I read that yesterday. Check. Got it. Thanks for watching out for me. Help me not eat the fruit. Amen. OK, catcha latter."
"Hey Eve, what's for dinner? Apple pie you say. What's that? Sounds delicious."

Question: If Adam clearly saw the consequences of his actions, would he have bitten the bait?

What Adam and Eve lost:

• Right to live forever, 
• Holiness/unhindered relationship with God, 
• Glory/dominion.

What we gain back in Salvation through Christ:

• Justification: sins forgiven, debt paid, spiritual rebirth, heaven rather than the lake of fire, fait acompli,
• Sanctification: progressive growth in our relationship with God becoming more holy and Christlike,
• Glorification: restoration to pre-Fall glory when Christ rules over the earth with His faithful followers.

You can't hear “well done, good and faithful servant” unless you've done something, been good, and faithful and a servant. See the first of the Seven Relationship/Discipleship Passages (Ephesians 2:8-10) for more on the different aspects of salvation. 

God in a nutshell: Sovereign ruler who sets the rules, specifying consequences, which we are free to reap. He means what He says, will always follow through on His promises, but is gracious in dealing with us. He tries to bring us to an awareness of our sin.  

Us in a nutshell: We're given commands with the expectation we would obey them. We can choose to do wrong and suffer the consequences. We have pre-Fall, innate desires for Power (security/significance), Pleasure, and Possessions, which we pursue to get worth and value, when we don't get it from pleasing God. We tend to minimize the consequences of obeying/disobeying God, as well as hide our sin and hurl at (blame) others. We're not that cute and cuddly, but for some reason, God loves us.

Note resources in the comments above.
C.S. Lewis' book Screwtape Letters has opened a lot of eyes to the workings of our adversary.

Since Satan's major weapon is deception, see: Lies We Believe (that keep us bound to sin);

If you want help on Spiritual Warfare, see Defense Against the Dark Arts (sermons and self-study guides that will equip/arm you to escape and stay free).

Neil Anderson's book Bondage Breaker gives additional help in living victoriously, for those who like things spelled out, and his book Victory over Darkness gives lots of case studies for those who live vicariously (learn from the experiences of others).

The Parthenon Code: Mankind's History in Marble, is a little technical but fascinating, demonstrating the perversion of the Genesis account.