What was going on in the garden?
People around the world have heard and debated the story of Adam and Eve. We use it to make jokes, to argue for which sex is greater, to debate the validity of evolution versus creation, and so on and so forth. There is great mystery surrounding the story and great truth within the story. The story is foundational to Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Someday, we will have answers to all of our questions.
One thing we do know is that Adam was created first and was placed in the Garden of Eden where he communed with God. And that even though Adam enjoyed this freedom, God still gave him limitations.
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 of it you will surely die.” Genesis 2:15-17
But Adam could not do it alone (as one of our ladies put it, Adam was running around saying “I can’t find anything!”), so God created woman. It is important to note that we were not designed to go through life alone. God created man and woman to be together.
But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.” Genesis 2:20-22
Now, when I was a kid, I was thoroughly convinced that women had more ribs than men. Well, this isn’t true. This taking of the rib signifies the connection between man and woman. Also, the rib is one of the bones that surrounds the heart, signifying the deep love that can exist between man and woman. As one of our ladies shared, the rib also signifies that man and woman were to walk beside each other. If God had used a piece of the skull, man would have control over woman. If God had used a piece of the foot, man would walk all over woman. But God used a piece of the side.
Adam and Eve lived in perfect harmony and were completely open to God. Remember, God had instructed them not to eat of the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” meaning that they did not have a concept of evil in the world. This will become very important later.
The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. Genesis 2:25
Nakedness here is not so much about sexuality as it is about innocence. Before they knew about evil, they were like children who are comfortable running through the house (or even into the yard) without a stitch of clothing on. It also means that they were fully exposed to God and felt like they had nothing to hide. Ironically, we are always fully exposed to God, no matter how hard we try to cover up.
But Eden was not as perfect as they thought it was. There was evil present.
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?’” Genesis 3:1
I used to work in a Mom and Pop ice cream shop. Everyday, the owner experimented with new flavors–flavors that had to be sampled. Seriously, we were told to taste everything at the beginning of our shift so we could make good recommendations to customers. I would get asked if I ever got tired of ice cream and I could honestly say no. Sin tastes as good as ice cream. And there is the temptation to taste it everywhere, all the time. It began with an innocent sounding question “Did God really say, you must not eat from any tree in the garden?” (Genesis 3:1) The serpent had seen how happy and at peace Adam and Eve were and he just couldn’t resist destroying it.(1)
It is widely accepted that the serpent is Satan. Some questions we had in our study group, though, did Satan take the form of just that serpent, or do all snakes embody Satan? How did Satan get into the Garden of Eden? Did God know he was there? Next week, we will explore some of these qualities of Satan and try to discover some answers.
Back to temptation, even though temptation is around us, being tempted is not sin. We must pray for the strength to resist temptation because we know it will come. And if we ask, God will give us the strength to do so.
I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Phillipians 4:13
Second, Run! Eve could have left when the serpent approached her (I would have!). We can just avoid the situation by removing ourselves physically. Recovering alcoholics don’t usually hang out in bars because there is too much temptation there. Remember Sam Malone of Cheers? It was an important part of the story that he was a recovering alcoholic and had the strength to still serve drinks.
One can argue that Eve didn’t know to run because she didn’t know about evil. She hadn’t yet eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We have the advantage (or is it a disadvantage) of knowing that evil exists and we should watch out for it. But , do all of us have that advantage? I used to work with victims of sexual assault and I met many a girl who did not understand what was happening around her and found herself in an unsafe situation. I spent two years trying to teach young ladies that not everyone is looking out for your best interest and the safest choice is to avoid the situation entirely.
Third, when confronted with something that we know is wrong, stand up and say no.(2) Eve understood this and did tell the serpent that it was wrong for her to eat from that tree.
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 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.’” Genesis 3:2-3
Yet, she was convinced to do so anyway.
That brings us to one huge question. Did God know that Adam and Eve would fall? Did he plan for this fall—so he could glorify us through Christ, or did He put them in the garden to see what would happen and then had to go to Plan B.? And, would it have happened eventually anyway? Wouldn’t Satan had just kept trying until he wore Adam and Eve down? Was this even the first time that he had approached one of them? Because Satan knew about a very important loophole in God’s design of man—free will.
Simply put, God gives us the ability to sin. Life would be so much easier if He would just tell us what to do and make us do it. But, then our love for Him would be meaningless. Kind of like when I have to ask my husband to wash the dishes. It’s still a nice thing but it doesn’t win him brownie points if I have to ask him to do it. Moses explained it to the Israelites shortly before they ended their wilderness wanderings this way.
This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. Deuteronomy 30:19-20a
We work very hard to justify sin—just this once, it won’t hurt anyone, you’re only guilty if you get caught.
As soon as the serpent tempted Eve, she forgot about all the good things God had given her. What about all the other trees in the garden? She was free to eat from any of those. But she focused on the one thing she couldn’t have—the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
How do you feel when you focus on the things you don’t have? How often do you crave sweets when you are dieting? How much do you like your old car when your neighbor gets a shiny new one? How satisfied are you with your job when your coworker gets a promotion? And when you dwell on the things you don’t have—you become negative and are tempted to sin to get them—you binge on sweets, you neglect your tithe to increase your car payment, you stab someone in the back to get ahead.(3)
The serpent made it sound like a deal Eve just couldn’t pass up.
“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:4-5
In today’s language, we might say “no one will get hurt.” He even continues to say that she will benefit—“you will be like God.” Who wouldn’t want to be like God? So Eve does the next logical thing—she ate the fruit. And because she loved her husband, she gave some to him too.
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. Genesis 3:6
Before you blame Adam for blindly following (or not speaking up), remember that he did not have knowledge of evil either. It is important to remember that our sin is toxic to those around us as well. We may think that no one else will get hurt, but they do.(4)
Almost immediately, Adam and Eve felt the consequences of their sin.
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 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. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” Genesis 3:7-10
Once their eyes were open, they knew they had done wrong and they tried to cover up and tried to hide from God—but he found them, and he knew what he had done.
And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” Genesis 3:11
This verse is amusing to me. I see God as the parent who knows exactly what you have done but wants to hear you say it anyway. It is possible that my kids will be able to trick me someday, but it is impossible for us to trick God. He knows the dark places of our hearts, and even though he has given us the freedom to choose sin, he also makes it clear that there are circumstances for that choice.
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Galatians 6:7-8
And the “fall of man” begins once Adam is discovered.
The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Genesis 3:12-13
Immediately, Adam turns on Eve and starts blaming her—the fall of man begins internally. (5) Boldly, he also blames God—“the woman YOU put here with me.” Eve passes the blame onto the serpent. God doesn’t buy into this passing of blame but offers punishment to all of the guilty parties.
So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 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 3:14-15
According to this scripture, the serpent used to have legs. He wasn’t created to crawl on his belly—this was a consequence of sin. This punishment would make life more difficult for the serpent as far as getting around but it would also make it more difficult to approach humans to tempt them because it made him in a word, creepy.
Interestingly, some snakes today have vestigial legs—stumps (called spurs) near their tails that have no purpose. If you look at the backbone of a snake (really, who hasn’t?) you will see these two offshoots near the tail. Evolutionists argue that these legs decreased over time because they weren’t being used. Creationists argue that these are evidence of the change God forced upon them.
To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” Genesis 3:16
Remember, Eve did not have children until after she left the Garden of Eden. So my question is, would childbearing in Eden have been painless or would it have been nonexistent? If Adam and Eve were immortal in Eden, there would have been no need for children. To me, scripture suggests the latter.
Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. Genesis 3:20
Think of the ways women were treated harshly in the past (and in some ways in the present) in the US and even today in other countries. This story has often been used for justification for that treatment. Eve continues to receive blame for death entering the world.
But, God reserves harsh punishment for man. Remember, Adam should have known better because he had received the command directly from God, and he had the option to say no when Eve offered him the fruit.
To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 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.” Genesis 3:17-19
I think of Adam every Spring when I am fighting with the ground. How wonderful would it be you could plant something with the confidence that it and only it would grow.
But even though God hands out curses, he also shows grace.
The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 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.” So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 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 3:21-24
There are some who argue that God’s promise in Genesis 2:17 would have given him the right to kill Adam and Eve right there.(6) But instead, He allowed his love for Adam and Eve to temper his reaction and He gave them a second chance outside of the garden.
And listen to the compassion in these verses. He clothed them. God knew that leaves were not adequate protection for the harsh elements outside of the garden of Eden. He had every right to throw them out without preparing them, but he didn’t. He equipped them to survive outside of the garden.
He also gives a reason for this punishment. He realized that if Adam and Eve had given into temptation once, they would be likely to do it again. And that temptation would leave them to discover the “tree of life.” God knew that eternal life in a world full of evil would be an eternal punishment, so He had to banish them from the garden to protect them.
But there is a way back.
For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:22
And, through Christ, we are forgiven no matter what. Even if we continue to sin after we are saved, we are still saved—I believe that you can’t lose your salvation. But, to be fully redeemed is to want to do what is right, and God promises us the strength to do so.
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “no” to ungodliness and to worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. 1 Titus 2:11-14
I believe that God had this plan all along. (My struggle is whether he had planned all along to have to use it or not.) Jesus is in the curse that he gave to the serpent.
“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
The offspring of woman He speaks of here is Jesus. Remember, Jesus was fully human and fully divine. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit. Mary carried him, gave birth to him and raised him. So, the lineage of Jesus traces through Mary all the way back to Eve. Although Satan would strike at Jesus’ heel causing him to suffer and die, Jesus would crush the head of Satan through the victory of the resurrection. And we have a promise that someday, He will do it permanently.
The God of peace will soon crush Satan underneath your feet. Romans 16:20
1 Amber Albee Swenson, Bible Moms (Sisters, Oregon: Trusted Books, VMI Publishers), 2007, p. 14
2 NIV Study Bible, Genesis 3:1-6
3 NIV Study Bible, Genesis 3:1-6
4 NIV Study Bible, Genesis 3:6-7
