Genesis 2:15-17

The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, “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 2:15-17


Commentary: Some say, including Satan, that GOD lied when He said man would die if he ate of the fruit of the forbidden tree because Adam and Eve remained alive. But they indeed experienced death. The Garden of Eden was GOD's first temple. A temple is where GOD dwells. GOD placed man in the garden, in His temple -- where GOD dwelt. This is the picture of life. When man disobeyed, GOD removed him from the garden, from the temple, from the place where GOD dwells. This equated to death, spiritual death. Therefore, Adam and Eve indeed experienced death. This is why all their descendants, including every person currently living, is born dead -- spiritually dead.  
This is why the perfect GOD had to come to our world and defeat death by dying on cross and rising from the grave. In this act of pure love, and by the power of GOD's Holy Spirit He can now dwell in His new temple, the temple of those who acknowledge he/she is born into death and is in need of a Savior, Jesus the Christ. This cannot be accomplished on our own, but only through GOD's power. 

Genesis 3:14-15

Then the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

- Genesis 3:14-15


Commentary: This is the first recorded prophecy, and it was foretold by GOD. He was in control. He still is in control. He will always be in control. In spite of the fall of mankind, in spite of the serpent tempting the woman, GOD is in control. And from this beginning He knew He would have to make the greatest sacrifice. Not because He wasn't aware of man's or the serpent's pending actions, but because GOD is in control. In that control, in His plan, He knows the serpent -- Satan -- is defeated through Jesus the Christ, in spite of the seeming victory of Satan by the death of Jesus -- hence, the "strike your heel" reference. "He will strike your head, ..." A strike to the head is an image of GOD's victory over Satan, over darkness and over evil and over death. This is the first hope given to man. The first two humans were now GOD's ambassadors, to proclaim this hope to their offspring for generation to generation, looking forward to the coming of this hope. The hope of Jesus the Christ! The one who defeated death by His resurrection so we do not have face everlasting death but may have everlasting life.