The Adamic Covenant (Genesis 3:1–24)

 

The Adamic Covenant (Genesis 3:1–24)

God gave Adam a covenant—often called the “primitive gospel." In it, God promised that the offspring of the woman (singular) would crush the head of the serpent, while the serpent would strike his heel. This was a prophetic sign pointing to Jesus Christ, who would one day die on the cross and rise again, defeating the power of death for the sake of those in Adam.

Why did God give this covenant to Adam? It was to bring salvation to Adam, who had fallen into sin. God said to Adam: “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (Genesis 2:16–17)

But the woman was deceived by the cunning schemes of Satan and ate the fruit. She also gave some to her husband, Adam, and he ate it too. That moment marked humanity’s fall into sin. Why? Because God had said, “the day you eat of it, you will certainly die.”

Adam didn’t die physically that day, but he died spiritually. The evidence? He and the woman hid from God, who was walking in the garden. The intimate relationship they had with God was broken. So, the Adamic Covenant was given to restore that broken relationship.

The Father of Lies Tempts the Woman

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1–5)

The Hebrew word for serpent here, “nachash,” can mean a shining one, a whisperer, or someone who practices divination. It represents Satan, the deceiver. He twisted God’s words and convinced the woman that God was keeping something good from her—that He didn’t want her to become like Him.

But the truth is, God did want humanity to become holy like Him: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (Leviticus 11:44)

God created humans in His image and in His likeness so that they could reflect His holiness in united relationship with Him. Satan, however, tempted them with the idea of becoming “like God” without God. But we were never made to be independent of Him. We were made to live in complete dependence on God’s grace.

Jesus put it this way: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (John 17:20-21)

The Woman Eats the Fruit and Gives It to Adam

6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. (Genesis 3:6–7)

This short passage carries devastating consequences. The woman listened to the serpent and ate the forbidden fruit, then gave it to Adam, who ate without any protest. Both failed and yet each had a chance to resist.

The woman, though still not yet fallen into sin, felt intense confusion and inner turmoil as she listened to Satan’s lies. She could have chosen to trust God's words instead. (If even the woman without sin was tempted and failed, how much more vulnerable are we!)

Adam, on the other hand, did not face direct deception. He simply took the fruit and ate it, even though he had received God’s command. He should have stood firm and rejected it out of reverence for God's word.

As a result, their eyes were opened, but not in the way Satan promised. They became aware of their nakedness and felt shame. They sewed fig leaves to cover themselves. Before this, they had been naked all along and felt no shame (Genesis 2:25). What changed? They had stepped into the role of judge—deciding good and evil for themselves instead of trusting God's judgment.

This is the essence of sin: when people try to take God's place and make moral decisions on their own. King Saul is a good example. He judged David as a threat and pursued him for years out of jealousy. It all started when David killed Goliath and the people sang, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” (1 Samuel 18:6–9)

By eating the fruit, Adam and Eve gained the knowledge of good and evil—but not the way God intended. That knowledge is meant to come through relationship with God, because only God is truly good.

So How Do We Trust God in Real Life?

It starts with believing that God is always good like Abraham did. He didn’t know where he was going when God told him to leave his home, but he obeyed anyway. That’s trust.

Jesus told us to love our neighbors as ourselves. When we refuse to judge or condemn others, we’re choosing to trust God’s justice instead of our own.

To live by faith is to continually depend on God’s word, God’s goodness, and God’s grace.

Who Told You That You Were Naked?

“8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.” (Genesis 3:8-14)

God came looking for the people who had sinned. He asked who told them they were naked and why they had done such a thing. Ashamed and afraid, they hid from His presence. But when God confronted them, they admitted they had eaten from the tree, deceived by the serpent.

God then cursed the serpent—Satan, who had tricked them into sin. When Scripture says the serpent will “eat dust,” it symbolizes humiliation, defeat, and shame. The devil, by opposing God and refusing to submit, lives under constant curse. The Bible says, "God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble." (James 4:6)

The Adamic Covenant

 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)

This is the first declaration of the gospel—often called the “primitive gospel.” God cursed the serpent first. He declared there would be enmity between Satan and the woman, and between Satan’s offspring and hers. Ultimately, one particular “offspring” (singular) would crush the serpent’s head, though the serpent would strike his heel.

This offspring refers to Jesus Christ. The promise, which starts dimly here, becomes clearer over time. It is called “progressive revelation.” In Genesis 22:18, God says to Abraham: “Through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed”—and again, the word “offspring” is singular.

This verse is cited in multiple New Testament passages:

 “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” (Romans 16:20)

“14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants.” (Hebrews 2:14–16)

Revelation 12 describes this war between the woman and the dragon. The woman is in labor, about to give birth. A great red dragon appears, ready to devour her child. The child is a male, destined to rule the nations with an iron scepter, and is caught up to God. The dragon is unmistakably Satan, and the child refers to the church built on the blood of Christ Jesus. As Acts 9:4 shows, Jesus identifies Himself as the church.

Thus, this covenant in Genesis 3 foreshadows Jesus’ death on the cross. Satan bruised His heel by crucifying Him, but Jesus crushed Satan’s head by rising from the dead and ruling eternally. As 1 Corinthians 15:25 says, “For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.”

God’s Prescription

“16 To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor 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 fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from 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 named his wife Eve, 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.” (Genesis 3:16–21)

To the woman, God gave pain in childbirth and a desire for her husband, who would rule over her. To Adam, He gave the burden of lifelong labor, thorns, and sweat—until he returned to the dust.

But notice this: even after their sin, God made garments of skin and clothed them because they acknowledged eating the forbidden tree. That act required the death of an animal—it involved a sacrifice. Hebrews 9:22 says, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” This shows both God’s mercy and the cost of sin. Adam was forgiven not because he excused himself, but because he admitted his sin and relied on God’s promise.

God’s “curse” was actually a prescription for redemption. He gave them burdens not to destroy, but to awaken them to their need for Him. Life isn’t a picnic—it’s a journey full of suffering, pains, and learning and seeking. And in the midst of hardship, we are drawn to depend on God.

Sin is trying to determine good and evil for ourselves without God. But no one’s life turns out exactly how they want—whether rich or poor, people still face struggles. Divorce, domestic violence, and suicide all prove that we need help. And God calls us to Himself through these pressures. In the midst of pressures, anyone who turns to Him finds grace.

Adam and Eve Are Sent Out

“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 of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” (Genesis 3:22–24)

God expelled Adam and Eve from Eden, but He did not destroy the garden and  the tree of life. He placed cherubim—angelic beings—with a flaming sword to guard it. This tree ultimately symbolizes Jesus, the source of eternal life.

We see the tree again in Revelation: “1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” (Revelation 22:1–2)

Because of Jesus—born of the woman, crucified, and risen—we can now be restored to be united with God. We can drink from the river of life and eat from the tree of life. That’s our eternal hope! Hallelujah! Amen.

May 4, 2025
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Scripture quotes are from the NIV.