re that their consciousness of nakedness suggested the need for a covering, not because the fruit had poisoned the fountain of human life and through some inherent quality had immediately corrupted the reproductive powers of the body, nor because any physical change ensued in consequence of the fall; but because, with the destruction of the normal connection between soul and body through sin, the body ceased to be the pure abode of a spirit in fellowship with God. So the man and the woman stood ashamed in each others presence, and endeavored to hide the disgrace of their spiritual nakedness, by covering those parts of the body through which the impurities of nature are removed. This is where the origin of shame is first recorded. Not in the sense of physical corruption, but in the consciousness of guilt or shame before God, and it was this consciousness that was really at work. This is evident form the fact that they hid themselves from God among the trees of the garden, as soon as they heard the sound of His footsteps. Commentary 3-Wycliffe Bible Commentary Now the serpent was more subtil 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 every tree of the garden?Wycliffe states that the narrative presents the seducer as one of the animals, which was much more subtil than the others. He had the power of speech and talked freely with his victim. He was wily, insidious, and crafty. These are definitely characteristics of which Satan possesses, which is exactly who Wycliffe identifies the serpent as. The method of deceit the serpent chose to use was to distort the meaning of Gods prohibition and then hold it up to ridicule in its new form. The tempter, Satan, feigned surprise that God should be guilty of issuing such a command. So, he sought to break down the womans faith by planting in her mind doubts, suspicions, and false pictures of G...
