Last Lord’s Day, there was a wedding. Because of that, we began to hear something about the family.
We find that family is not a human idea; that is to say, it does not originate with man. Family is a divine concept. It comes from God, because in the very beginning, when God created man, He created man with a family in mind. He created male and female, and the joining together of the male and female became the man of God’s heart. That is a family.
God Himself is the Creator of the family, and He Himself is the matchmaker. He brought Eve to Adam.
It seems that we have started on the family, and probably we should continue on. Therefore, this morning we will continue on the family.
Will you please turn to Genesis 2:25 through Genesis 3:19?
And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.
And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden?
And the woman said unto the serpent, Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat:
But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat.
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
And the Lord God called unto the man, and said unto him, Where art thou?
And he said, I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
And He said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
And the man said, The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: He shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.
Unto the woman He said, I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy conception; in pain thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
And unto Adam He said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
After God created Adam out of the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, man became a living soul. But God said, “It is not good for man to be alone.” So God made for him a helpmeet, his counterpart.
Out of Adam, God took a rib, and with that He built the woman. He brought the woman to the man, and immediately Adam said, “This is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man.” The two were joined together into one.
They were together in the garden of Eden. We know that the word Eden means pleasure. They were together, enjoying one another and enjoying the Lord in the garden of Eden.
The Bible says that they were naked, and yet they were not ashamed. All the living creatures that God made were clothed with either feathers or fur. How is it that when God created man, He did not give man clothing, so that they were naked?
Many believe that when God first created man, man was clothed with glory—not fur, nor feathers. Somehow God must have clothed them with glory. Because they were clothed with glory, they were not conscious of their nakedness. But, of course, after sin, that glory departed, and then they became conscious of their nakedness.
Yet I think there is also a spiritual significance here. The man and the woman were naked, and they were not ashamed. Why? Because their relationship with one another was such that they were open to each other. There was a transparent relationship between the man and the wife. They were so one with each other that there was nothing to hide. Therefore, they were naked, and yet they were not ashamed.
That was the relationship between the man and the woman whom God had created. Adam and Eve loved each other. They were of one mind, one heart, and one spirit. They were together, serving the Lord. They had nothing to hide from each other. Their relationship was perfect; it was transparent.
This was not only so between the two of them. The Bible says that God came to the garden to fellowship with them.
You know, brothers and sisters, sometimes we think that the essential ingredients of a family are a man and a woman. Of course, the man and the woman make up the family. But sometimes we forget that a family has another important ingredient, and that important ingredient is indispensable to the family: that is God.
We think a family is made up of a man and a woman, and if only the man and woman love each other, the family will be very happy and successful. But according to the Word of God, a family has another Person there, and the third Person is God.
God came into the garden to fellowship with them. God was not only the Creator of that family; God was one of the members of that family. Not only one of the members, but He was the Lord of that family.
Adam and Eve looked up to God. Adam and Eve were together, waiting upon God and allowing God to tell them what they should do. You find that their life together was a life under God. There was perfect harmony between Adam and Eve and that family with God. It was a family under God.
That is the original concept of the family. The reason why family today has become such a problem is because man forgets God as one of the family. When you leave God out of the family, things begin to disintegrate.
Even if on earth there is a family in which the husband and wife love each other and seem to be very happy together, is the family a success? From a human standpoint, it is a successful family. But from God’s standpoint, it has not arrived at the meaning of a family as God sees it.
God is part of the family. He is the Head, the Lord of that family. Because Adam and Eve looked up to God, they could live together in such peace and harmony. So this was the first family under God.
Before sin entered into this world, the first family on earth was a healthy family—a family according to God.
But then something happened.
One day, Eve was alone. She drifted away from her husband. Somehow she was found alone, and when she was alone, the serpent—Satan, the devil—came to tempt her.
You know, the garden of Eden was not a small garden. According to the description given in Genesis 2, we can imagine that the garden of Eden was a vast garden, a huge garden.
But Adam and Eve were always together. They worked together. They walked in the garden together. In everything, they were together. And when they were together, the enemy could not find an opportunity to come in and tempt them.
So the enemy was waiting for a time when he could find that the family was separated. Adam and Eve were supposed to be together, and yet they were found separated. When Eve was away from Adam, and Adam was away from Eve, they were not together. That gave opportunity to the tempter.
A family divided gives the enemy opportunities to attack.
When Eve began to take her independent course—or when anyone in a family begins to be independent, not rightly related as God designs it—the husband goes his way, or the wife goes her way. When they are not rightly related as partners of the grace of God and begin to take independent actions, you find the enemy gets an opportunity to come in.
Divide and rule: that is the tactic of the enemy.
In Ecclesiastes 4, Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 4:9, “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor.”
Two are better than one. Why? They have a good reward for their labor. Not only that: by working together, their labor will be more prosperous. They will produce more. But in enjoying the fruit of their labor, they enjoy it better.
Now, to eat alone or to eat together—there is a difference. Even if you may be eating the same thing, yet if you share it with others, if you eat with others, the food seems to be better. It is better for two to labor and to enjoy the reward of their labor.
“For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, and hath not another to lift him up.” It is very human for us to fall. But if there are two, then when one slips, the other will lift him up. Now, if you are alone, if you fall, you fall flat.
Again, “If two lie together, then they have warmth: but how can one be warm alone?” You have mutual support, mutual help, and you receive the warmth there.
“And if a man prevail against him that is alone, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” The enemy can attack one person, but two can withstand the enemy.
So, brothers and sisters, God created the family. It is His desire that the husband and wife should be one in mind and one in spirit, together and rightly related one to the other under God. When this is the case, no one can stand against them.
But somehow you find Eve was away from that. Probably she was driven by curiosity.
You know, I do not know whether a woman is naturally more curious than a man. Probably that is true. A woman is made with a more emotional temperament, and being more emotional, she may be more curious. A man, generally speaking, is more of the mind and therefore colder, not so curious.
I wonder whether it was curiosity in Eve. She knew that God had said, “Of all the trees in the garden you may freely eat; but there is one tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, of which you shall not eat.” And she became curious about it.
I do not believe that in the beginning Eve had the intention of eating that fruit. She was not thinking of eating the fruit. That would be awful—to think that she could rebel against God’s command. It did not come to her mind at all. She was just curious, that is all.
“Why is it that God does not allow us to eat of that tree? What kind of a tree is this?” So she just drifted away from her husband and had a good look at that tree.
But while she was looking at the tree, Satan came. Curiosity, sometimes, is good; but sometimes it is very troublesome. If we are curious and it leads us to forbidden ground, then it is really troublesome.
So there was Eve. She was standing under that tree and was just curious about it. While she was there, the tempter came and said, “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden?”
Man in the garden lived by the fruit of the trees. That was their food. Satan came through an evil thought and said, “Did God say you cannot eat of any of these trees?” In other words, God was very hard. He did not want you to live.
Eve said, “Oh, no. God said we can eat of all the trees, but this one tree God said we cannot eat, and we cannot touch it.” She was tempted. God only said, “You shall not eat,” but she added to it and said, “You cannot touch it.”
In other words, she took in the temptation and was beginning to doubt God. God, after all, was not that lovely. He had kept back something from them. He was not as good. He was hard.
So Satan came in and said, “No, you will not die. You will not die. On the contrary, if you eat of that tree, your eyes will be opened, and you will be as God.”
And Eve looked at the tree. It was good to look at. It would give her wisdom to know good and evil. She would be as God. You find that immediately she forgot God. She was only thinking of herself—how to make herself God.
She was tempted. She took the fruit and ate it. Not only did she eat it, but she gave it to her husband, and he ate. Immediately they discovered that they were naked, and they were ashamed. So they took fig leaves and made aprons to cover themselves.
Now, brothers and sisters, we often think of the fall of man in terms of individuals. In other words, how did man fall into sin? But this morning, we would like to see how man fell as a family—the fall of man in relation to the family.
First of all, you find that the fall begins with the separation of the husband and the wife. It begins with Eve taking her own course. They were divided, and that is the beginning of the fall of the family.
When a family is divided in heart, when one goes in one direction and the other goes in another direction, and each takes his or her independent action, that is the beginning of the fall of the family.
A family should be together under God. That is the protection; that is the glory of the family. But when a family becomes divided, with each going off in his or her own way, you find that this is the beginning of the fall of the family.
Number two: God set a divine order in the family. Adam, being created first, was the head of the family. Eve was made, or built, out of Adam; she was to be the body of the family.
Adam was set by God as the head of the family. Eve was set by God as the body of the family. The head without a body cannot do anything; the body without a head has no direction. So Adam and Eve were together as the man, as the family. That was God’s divine order.
But here you find, in the fall, that divine order was upset and reversed. When Satan tempted Eve, Eve did not say, “Well, I will go back to Adam and consult with him and see what he says.” If she had done that, she would not have been deceived.
But she took it upon herself. She was independent. More than that, she took the initiative. She ate the fruit, and she gave the fruit to her husband to eat. That order was reversed.
Instead of Adam being the head, Adam allowed Eve to be the head of that family. So you find that in the fall there was the reversal of the divine order.
In 1 Timothy 2, we are told that Adam was not deceived; it was Eve who was deceived and fell into transgression. But when you come to Romans 5:12, it says that sin entered into this world by one man, and that one man was not Eve, but Adam.
What does that mean? So far as history is concerned, the woman was deceived and fell into transgression. But so far as God’s interpretation and God’s judgment are concerned, God held Adam responsible.
Eve was deceived. Adam was not deceived. Adam ate the fruit with his eyes wide open. He knew it was a violation, a rebellion against God. He knew that, but he did it anyhow. Why? He loved Eve.
He was willing to give up God, but not give up the woman. Do you call that love? Later on, you will find that this is selfishness. This is not love. He wanted Eve for himself—not because of Eve, but because of himself.
But anyway, you find that when Adam sinned, he sinned deliberately. Eve was deceived, but Adam was not deceived. He sinned deliberately before God, and being the head of the family, God held him responsible.
So, brothers and sisters, you find that this is the story of the fall of the first family. What happened there was independence and the reversal of the divine order.
Immediately after they did it, the glory departed from them. They saw that they were naked, and they tried to cover themselves.
In the cool of the day, God came into the garden, but they hid themselves among the trees. Why? Even the fig leaves, the aprons of fig leaves, could not hide their nakedness from God.
So God said, “Man, where are you?” And Adam said, “We are here, hidden among the trees, because we are naked.” God said, “Who told you that you are naked? Have you eaten of that forbidden tree?”
Then notice what happened. Instead of Adam standing out and saying, “I am sorry. I did it,” he said, “Lord, the woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave it to me.” Is that love?
A man, being the head of the family, is supposed to protect the woman, to give his life for the woman he loves. But here, when it came to the real issue and God began to inquire what had happened, Adam said, “Oh, that is the woman. That is the one.” Is that love? No.
He showed that when he ate the fruit for Eve’s sake, actually it was his selfishness. He wanted Eve for himself.
Whenever sin enters into the world, you find there is separation. Sin not only separates us from God; sin separates the family from each other.
Not only was the glory with which they were clothed lost, but the love that bound them together faded away. Man became selfish, trying to protect his own self, covering himself up. Love was very much lacking in that family.
God asked the woman, “What did you do?” And the woman put the blame upon the serpent: “It is the serpent that deceived me.” Of course, God proclaimed His judgment upon the serpent. But after that, you find God pronounced a judgment upon the family.
Because of the fall of the family—the loss of glory and the loss of love—that family was broken up, you know. God began to pronounce His judgment upon that family.
But, dear brothers and sisters, notice this: even when God pronounced judgment upon the family, He did not take away from the family His original purpose.
Thank God. God is a God of purpose, and when He purposes a purpose, He will never change. No matter what happens, He will never change His purpose. He may change His ways, but He will never change His purpose.
His ways with Adam and Eve changed, but even in the judgment, God’s purpose was not changed. How do we know? God told the woman, “Because you have sinned, therefore you shall bear children. You shall have pain in travail and in pregnancy.”
When God first created man and woman, God said that they should be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth. In order to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, that is, of course, the work of the husband and the wife. But the woman bears the responsibility.
She is to conceive, she is to travail, and she is to give birth to a child. That is the work God has given to the woman to fulfill. In fulfilling it, she fulfills the work of God.
God did not take that away. God did not say, “Now, from now on, you will not serve My purpose anymore.” No. The woman is still to conceive, to travail, to be pregnant, and to give birth. She is still to fulfill the original purpose God put upon her—a work to be fulfilled, but with pain.
In the garden of Eden, if man had not sinned, there would have been labor, but no pain. But because the woman was deceived and was independent, God put pain upon the woman when she travailed and gave birth.
But God also said, “Thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” Why? Because the divine order that God first set between the man and the woman was upset in the fall.
But God came in and said, in clear words, that divine order was to be maintained. Somehow God put in the woman a desire for her husband. Even after the fall, God put in the woman a desire for her husband, and if you desire your husband, you give your husband the opportunity to rule over you.
In the beginning, the divine order between the husband and wife was there, though nothing was said. Out of love, that order was maintained. Eve had no need to be told, “You are to submit yourself to your husband.” She did it out of love.
But love was lacking, and God came in and proclaimed it as if the woman were under a kind of obligation. Naturally, the woman would desire after her husband, and the husband would rule over her—not so willingly, but it was to be done. That order was to be kept.
Number three: because the woman was deceived and fell into transgression, salvation shall come from the woman. The seed of the woman shall crush the serpent’s head, and the serpent shall bruise His heel. We know who the seed of the woman is: Christ Jesus.
Out of the woman, in the fullness of time, God sent His Son to be born of a woman, under the law, that He might deliver us out of the curse of the law and might bring us into sonship.
Here you find that the promise was given to the woman, and it was to be fulfilled through the woman. In judgment, there is mercy.
How gracious is our God. Even though God put woman under His judgment, yet it was not hopeless. It was to restore her to the place where God first put her.
God’s judgment is not for destruction. God’s judgment here is for restoration, that the woman may be restored to the place that God first meant her to be. Is that not beautiful?
Then God turned to the man and judged him. Because he sinned, God said, “The earth shall be cursed for thy sake. With toil thou shalt eat thy bread. The earth will grow thorns and thistles, and you will have to labor hard in the sweat of your face to earn a living.”
I wonder whether it was because, you know, working in the garden before the fall was a pleasure. It was not toil at all. You worked in the garden, and it was a pleasure. But now work was to be toil. You had to sweat to earn a living.
God did not take away the duty of the husband. On the contrary, God put upon him the duty: “You have to work to support yourself and your family.” By doing that, he may still be the head.
So, dear brothers and sisters, you find that even in God’s judgment, God does not put aside His purpose. On the contrary, through the judgment, He is trying to bring both the man and the woman back to the family that God had in His mind.
So, dear brothers and sisters, thank God.
When you come to the New Testament, you see that man is to be restored as the head of the family: to provide for his family and to bring up the children in the discipline and admonition of the Lord.
And the woman is to be restored to her place in the family as a helpmeet—to support and to build up the family.
You find that family life is to be fully restored in the redemption of our Lord Jesus.
So this morning we will just stop here and have a very brief view of the first family, its fall, and its judgment.
Our heavenly Father, how we praise and thank Thee that Thou hast created family, and Thou dost have a purpose for that family: that through the family the earth might be subdued and Thy kingdom might come upon this earth.
O Lord, how we praise and thank Thee. Thou dost love us so much that even if our families have fallen, through Thy redemption Thou wilt restore them to Thy glory.
O, we just praise and thank Thee. May Thy Word sink into our hearts and be living and operative in us and in all families. We give Thee all the praise, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.