Genesis 3:20-21

Additional effects on Adam and Eve 3:20-21

Adam and Eve accepted their judgment from God and did not rebel against it. We see this in Adam naming Eve the mother of all living, a personal name that defines her destiny (Genesis 3:20). He believed life would continue in spite of God’s curse. This was an act of faith and an expression of hope. He believed God’s promise that she would bear children (Genesis 3:16). His wife’s first name "woman" (Genesis 2:23) looked back on her origin, whereas her second name "Eve" anticipated her destiny.

1. Note that before God sent Adam and Eve out into a new environment He provided them with clothing that was adequate for their needs (cf. Romans 3:21-26). Their own provision (Genesis 3:7) was not adequate. He did for them what they could not do for themselves.

". . . he [Adam] had to learn that sin could be covered not by a bunch of leaves snatched from a bush as he passed by and that would grow again next year, but only by pain and blood." [Note: Marcus Dods, The Book of Genesis, p. 25.]

2. Furthermore, God prevented Adam and Eve from living perpetually in their fallen state (Genesis 3:22-24).