A Help for the Understanding of the Holy Scriptures, Genesis · Chapter 3
CHAP. III.
NOw the ſerpent was more ſubtill then any beaſt of the field, &c.]
That it was the devil who in and by the ſerpent did ſeduce Eve, is plain enough in other places of Scripture. John 8. 44. Ye are of your father the devil: he was a murderer from the beginning. 2. Cor. 11. 3. But I fear leſt by any means, as the ſerpent beguiled Eve through his ſubtiltie, ſo your minds, &c. 1. John 3. 8. For the devil ſinneth from the beginning. Rev. 12. 9. That old ſerpent called the Devil and Satan which deceiveth the whole world. But why then doth Moſes ſpeak no one word of the devil, but onelyonly mentions the ſerpent? Surely for the ſame reaſon that before he had omitted the expreſſe mention both of the creation and fall of the angels, becauſe his purpoſe is to report the ſtory according to the outward viſible carriage of it▪ herein accommodating himſelf to the rudeneſſe and capacity of that infant Church, who had need of milk, not of ſtrong meat; and of this ſerpent it is ſaid, that he was more ſubtill then any beaſt of the field, to imply the reaſon why the devil made choice of this inſtrument rather then any other.
And he ſaid unto the woman.]
The ſerpent, ſpeechleſſe in himſelf, had his mouth opened by Satan, who cauſed him to ſpeak, or ſpake in and by him, as the Lord by an angel opened the mouth of Balaams aſſe. Numb. 22. 28. And the Lord opened the mouth of the aſſe, and ſhe ſaid, &c. Why the woman was not aſtoniſhed to heare a dumb creature ſpeak, is but a curious and cauſeleſſe queſtion: there is nothing ſaid here to the contrary but that ſhe might at firſt be afraid, and yet afterwards be imboldned to talk with him.
Verſ. 5. For God doth know that in the day that ye eat thereof, then your eyes ſhall be opened, &c.
That is, God knows that upon the eating of this fruit ye ſhall obtain a further, yea a divine, degree of knowledge, equall unto that of God himſelf, the Father, Sonne, and holy Ghoſt: and thus the ſerpent doth cunningly wreſt to a wrong ſenſe, the name formerly given unto this tree, but upon another ground.
Verſ. 7. And the eyes of them both were opened, &c.]
The eyes neither of body nor mind were opened by any virtue or e…ficacie of the fruit they had eaten: for why then were not the womans eyes opened ſo ſoon as ever ſhe had eaten, before Adam was ſeduced? no, this was another kind of opening the eyes, then that which the ſerpent promiſed, to wit, an enlightning of their conſciences to ſee the enormity of their ſinne, and the miſery whereto they had thereby brought themſelves.
And they knew that they were naked.]
Naked both in ſoul and body, which were bereaved of the image of God, deprived of his glory, and ſubjected to inordinate luſts, & thereupon to ſhame, according to that, Exod. 32. 25. Aaron had made them naked to their ſhame amongst their enemies. Queſtionleſſe they ſaw, and knew that they were naked before; elſe why is it ſaid, chap. 2. 25. that they were not aſhamed? but now they ſaw it with ſhame, which they did not before.
Verſ. 8. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden, in the cool of the day.]
There needs no ſcruple be made, either of the voice, or walking of God, if we conceive that he appeared in humane ſhape, as afterwards uſually unto Abraham. And that this was in the cool of the day, is added, not onelyonly to ſhew the time of the day (and it may be meant either of morning or evening; for in both cool winds are wont to ariſe) but alſo to imply by what means the voice came to them, to wit, by the whisking of the wind.
And Adam and his wife hid themſelves, &c.]
Being conſcious of their ſinne, and therefore fearing the Majeſtie of God, ſtricken with horrour and amazedneſſe they know not what to do, but do what they can to hide themſelves.
Verſ. 11. And he ſaid, Who told thee that thou waſt naked?]
As if he ſhould have ſaid, Thou wert naked before▪ without fear or ſhame; and therefore whence comes it that thou art now aſhamed? ſurely becauſe thou haſt eaten of the forbidden fruit.
Verſ. 14. And the Lord God ſaid unto the ſerpent, &c.]
Though Moſes names onelyonly the ſerpent, for the reaſons above mentioned, yet both are here condemned; the ſerpent as the inſtrument (even as a father breaks the ſword wherewith his child was ſlain) and the devil as the chief authour: and therefore is the judgement ſo expreſt, that whilſt all is fitted to the ſerpent in a literall ſenſe, ſome particulars (if not all) do moſt fitly alſo, though in a myſticall ſenſe, include the curſe in…licted on the devil.
Ʋpon thy belly ſhalt thou go, &c.]
Either becauſe he had extolled himſelf againſt man, his creeping and feeding on the earth (which before ſhould not have been ignominious) is accurſed and made reprochfull now; or (which is more agreeable to the plain meaning of the words) this going on his belly, and feeding on duſt, was not the naturall gate and food of the ſerpent before, but now he is adjudged thereto becauſe of this fact.
Verſ. 15. And I will put enmitie between thee and the woman, and between thy ſeed and her ſeed.]
This is ſpoken, 1. of the naturall Antipathy betwixt mankind, and thoſe deteſtable beaſts, the ſerpents; 2. of the naturall enmitie betwixt mankind and the devil and his angels (for though through Satans ſu…iltie, covertly inſinuating himſelf under another perſon, men do indeed cleave to him and ſerve him, yet naturally all men do abhorre and ſlie the devil as an enemy) 3. of that holy enmity betwixt Chriſt, together with all true believers the members of Chriſt, and the devil and his angels, together with all the wicked as they are the ſeed of the ſerpent▪ John 8. 44. Ye are of your father the devil, &c.
It ſhall bruiſe thy head.]
This is ſpoken, 1. of mens deſtroying ſerpents; 2. and eſpecially of Chriſts deſtroying the kingdome and power of Satan, For as much then as the children are partakers of fleſh and bloud, he alſo himſelf likewiſe took part of the ſame, that through death he might deſtroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil, Heb. 2. 14. whereby alſo all believers do become conquerours over thoſe ſpirituall enemies of their ſouls.
And thou ſhalt bruiſe his heel.]
This is meant, 1. of the ſerpents lying in wait to ſting and hurt mankind; 2. of the devils aſſaulting Chriſt in his temptations, a…flictions, death and buriall; and the faithfull in their temptations and troubles, which to him and them is but as the bruiſing of the heel.
Verſ. 16. Ʋnto the woman he ſaid I will greatly multiply thy ſorrow and thy conception.]
That is, thy painfull conceptions, or the ſorrows of thy conceptions, faintneſſe, ſick fits, perill of abortion, &c.
Thy deſire ſhall be to thy husband.]
That is, thy deſire ſhall be ſubject to thy husband, upon his will and pleaſure all thy deſire muſt depend. For in this ſenſe the ſame phraſe is uſed, Gen. 4. 7. concerning Abels ſubjection to Cain, as the firſtborn. It istrue by the law of creation the woman ſhould have lived in ſubordination under her husband & ſhould have been governed by him: for Adam was firſt formed, then Eve, 1. Tim. 2. 13. and 1. Co…. 11. 9. Man was not created for the woman, but the woman for the man: but being here denounced as a chaſtiſement for ſinne, it implyeth a further degree of ſubjection then that which ſhould have been by the law of Nature and Creation; as indeed by reaſon of the corruption of our nature it is made every where ſomewhat irkſome and hard to be born, but amongſt ſome a very yoke of bondage.
Verſ. 18. And thou ſhalt eat the herb of the field.]
And ſo neither the herbs or fruits of Paradiſe.
Verſ. 21. Ʋnto Adam alſo and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skinnes, &c.]
This may be meant of the Lords doing this preſently, before they were turned out of Paradiſe, by the miniſtry of angels, or how elſe it pleaſed him, to wit, that by the skinnes of ſlain beaſts he made them garments, and ſo clothed them therewith; or rather, that the Lord taught Adam and Eve, and gave them directions how they ſhould of the skinnes of beaſts make themſelves garments for the covering of their nakedneſſe, and to ſhelter their bodies from the injury of the weather: for ſeeing there is no queſtion to be made, but that the Lord did immediately teach them the worſhip of offering ſacrifices, as ſignes and types of that reconciliation and atonement which was to be expected in the promiſed ſeed (and therefore we reade, in the following chapter, of the Sacrifices that were offered by Cain and Abel) it cannot be thought improbable that withall direction was given to make them coats of the skins of the beaſts ſlain. However by this kind of clothing choſen for them, they were taught betimes not to have ſo much reſpect to delicacy as to uſefulneſſe in attiring themſelves; 2. in the ſpoils of thoſe dead beaſts to wear the remembrances of their own mortality, yea of that brutiſh condition whereinto by their ſinne they were fallen. And to this that bitter taunt ſeems to have reference in the following verſe, Behold the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil, &c.
Verſ. 22. And now leſt he put forth his hand and take alſo of the tree of life, &c.]
Some Expoſitours conceive that the fruit of the tree of life being eaten by man ſhould have prevented all decay of naturall ſtrength, and have made him immortall, or at leaſt have kept him in perfect health and ſtrength untill he was taken up from earth into heaven; and that either by means of a created power and efficacy, which to this end and purpoſe God had given to this fruit, or by an extraordinary and ſupernaturall bleſſing, which God had ordained ſhould go along with the eating of this fruit: and hence they ſay it was that when Adam and Eve had ſinned, God now reſolved to turn them out of Paradiſe that they might not taſte of the tree of life, either in mercy, to prevent their living for ever in miſery; or in judgement, that the curſe of Death which God had threatned as the reward of ſinne might not be prevented by eating of this fruit. But this conceit is juſtly rejected by the beſt Expoſitours. It was no wayes poſſible that any created food ſhould fruſtrate Gods decree, that Death ſhould be the wages of Sinne. Whatever effect might have followed upon the eating of this …ruit, had man continued in the ſtate of Innocency; yet when his body was dead becauſe of ſinne, as the Apoſtle ſpeaks, Rom. 8. 10. it was not the eating of this fruit that could make his dead body to live for ever. The true reaſon why the Lord caſt Adam out of Paradiſe to prevent his eating of the tree of life, was doubtleſſe that having by his diſobedience and ſinne made himſelf liable to death, he might not now meddle with this ſacramentall ſeal of life and ſalvation, which now becauſe of ſinne he had nothing to do with: OnelyOnly as before the Lord had upbraided them for their vain affectation of being like unto him in that ironicall expreſſion, Behold the man is become as one of us to know good and evil, meaning that by his ſinne they were become moſt unlike him; ſo in theſe words ironically he upbraids him after the ſame manner for that certainty of death he had brought upon himſelf, determining to caſt him out of the garden of Eden, Leſt (ſaith the Lord) he put forth his hand and take alſo of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever; not becauſe there was any danger of his living for ever, but in deriſion of any ſuch hope or expectation, if happily he ſhould entertain any ſuch motion, as formerly of gaining an increaſe of knowledge by eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Verſ. 24. And he placed at the Eaſt and of the garden, &c.]
Where was the entrance into Paradiſe, there at the Eaſt end of the garden he placed Cherubims and a flaming ſword, that is, Angels armed with a flaming ſword; for Moſes uſeth this word, that he might ſpeak to the capacity of the Jews, who had Cherubims figured in their temple to repreſent the angels.