Rather than paste a whole chapter of the Bible in here, I'm going to link to chapter 3 over at Bible Gateway. You can read it here and then come on back.
Oh that serpent was sneaky and deceptive! He wanted Eve to disobey God. He began by taunting her- "Did God really say you can't eat the fruit from the trees?" To which she replied "Of course we can eat the fruit from the trees- all except one." He opened a window that got her thinking about the forbidden tree. Eve then explained that death was the result of touching that tree, and the serpent told her that she would not die- instead, she would become wise like God Himself. Now God had told Adam and Eve that death would be the result of disobeying him. But the serpent convinced Eve that she wouldn't, in fact, die as a result. He twisted the truth to something she would listen to. It didn't take very long for the serpent to convince Eve to eat of the tree. He also never actually suggested that she eat from the tree...all the questions he asked brought her to her own conclusion.
Eve did eat of the tree and shared it with Adam. They immediately felt shameful, and since there was no way to hide what they had done, instead, they chose to hide their nakedness. They fashioned some fig leaves to cover themselves. Where they have been completely open and without shame or fear a few moments before, Adam and Eve now felt both. They felt shame at what they had done, and at being naked. And they felt fear from God, as we see then that they hid as God walked through the garden.
Notice both Adam and Eve's reaction when confronted by God about their wrong doing. Adam said that Eve made him do it, and Eve said the serpent made her do it. Neither of them confessed to doing wrong of their own accord. And of course, death was the result of their disobedience. Not physical death immediately, but where they could have potentially lived forever, God gave their lives a time limit. That may have been punishment, but it also may have been mercy. Mercy because he was sparing them from living forever with the knowledge that they sinned against Him. There was also the consequence of spiritual death. There was a closeness between God and Adam that was gone- partly because Adam sinned, and partly because he was not open with God about it. He blamed his wife, instead of confessing what he himself chose to do.
Adam and Eve had to leave their beautiful garden. And God didn't just make them leave it, he placed a flaming sword and cherubim at the entrance to keep anyone from entering again. The Garden of Eden had been placed somewhere in the Mid-East of the world as we know it. The Bible references the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers when talking about the garden. Imagine being in this lush green and beautiful garden full of growing things. And then you have to leave it and work the sandy ground on the outside. That was Adam's punishment. They were in paradise, and sinned, and had to leave it. As Adam and Eve toiled and worked hard from that moment on, I bet they regretted sinning in the first place. Part of Adam's curse was that they food he ate would be a result of the sweat of his brow. That meant he had to work for every bite of food from that point on, instead of just plucking it from a bush or a tree as he did before.
We can learn a lot from Adam and Eve. For me today, it's owning up to my mistakes personally. Not blaming it on someone else or blaming a poor decision on circumstances. I make the conscious choice to do what I shouldn't, and I need to confess my sins in that manner to God. As hard as that may be, it will be far better to confess and admit my sins up front rather than hide from them and cause a barrier in my relationship with God. Some 3500 years after they've sinned, and we're still learning from Adam and Eve.
Tomorrow, Cain, Abel, and Seth.
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