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Adam and Eve: the fall
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The story of the fall of Adam and Eve is one of sadness and yet of great controversy. It is the story of the first people and
the entering of sin into the world. It is also the beginning of the story of the future Redemption of humanity. This page will discuss
the events as they took place in the Garden at the time of the fall.
The story begins with God who created man and put him
in the Garden of Eden.
Man's job was to take care of the garden: "to dress it and to keep it" (v. 15).
In the garden was the tree of life
and the tree of knowledge of good and evil (v. 9). God tells the man not to eat of the tree of knowledge, or there would be consequences
(v. 16-17). Then God creates a helpmate ("help meet") for Adam, the woman Eve (v. 18).
Adam and Eve live in the garden for awhile. How
long? Long enough to appreciate the paradise after things begin to go wrong.
The story unfolds with the serpent who
from the start shows his true character (the enemy, great deceiver, father of all lies, charmer, adversary, and opponent). He
convinces Eve that if she eats of the tree of knowledge, she will become wise (v. 5).
Eve bites in to the forbidden fruit and
then, believing she is giving Adam a bite of wisdom, she shares it with him (v. 6). Adam and Eve have become obedient to
the serpent and in the process disobedient to God.
Adam and Eve's newly gained knowledge causes them to realize they are naked
(v. 7) and for the first time taste fear. When God enters the garden to greet them, they hide from His presence (v. 8). God calls for
Adam who tells God he has hidden from His presence because he realizes his is naked (v. 9-10).
The story continues
with God punishing the serpent while correcting Adam and Eve for their disobedience. Notice how the conversation God
has with Adam and Eve give away their character traits and flaws.
God asks Adam how he knows he is naked. "Hast thou eaten
of the tree, whereof I commanded thee thou shouldest not eat?" (v. 11). And Adam admits that he ate from the tree God told him
not to, the tree of knowledge.
Notice Adam's reply: "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I
did eat" (v. 12). The key words here are "whom thou gavest to be with me." Adam does not say that he misunderstood
God's original commands (Gen. 2:15-17), nor does he simply say "the woman gave me of the tree." Instead, he says, "the woman
whom thou gavest to be with me..."
Adam, first putting the blame on Eve ("the woman"), has inadvertently blamed God for
his eating the fruit: "the woman whom thou gavest to be with me." Only after shifting the blame for his actions on the woman and on
God who gave him the woman, he admits he own sin.
After Adam has shifted the blame for his sin, God asks Eve
what she has done. Notice Eve's reply: "The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat" (v. 13).
Eve could have said "Adam said
or did not say" as a reason for her having eaten from the knowledge tree since it was Adam who told her of the danger
of eating its fruit (as she did not hear this information directly from God) (Gen. 2:16-18). But Eve does not
hold Adam accountable for her sin. She admits she was deceived. ("beguiled" from Hebrew nasha': beguile, deceive,
seduce) (Strong 5377) ("to deceive by guile or charm, cause to believe what is not true; mislead; ensnare; practice deceit")
(American Heritage Dictionary)
The woman was mislead. She was lead to believe something that was not true. She admits that
she was "beguiled" and then admits that she "did eat."
Adam has blamed God and the woman. Eve has blamed the serpent.
Eve realizes
the serpent's deceptive intentions. By taking responsibility for her actions and not directing the blame to God or
Adam, she admits her own guilt and because of it recognizes who is responsible for causing the trouble. In admitting her
guilt and acknowledging the deceiver, Eve has shown to be "the mother of all living" (v. 38). All (Eve's children) who would
later find God through her Lineage (the future Savior) would find life through Him and in Him. ("he is not a God of
the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him") (Luke 20:37).
By calling Eve the mother of all living, Adam was prophesying
Christ's bride the church who would find life in their Savior.
Eve's mistake was that it took her being deceived to realize
the serpent was the deceiver. Her first believing the serpent caused her to doubt God's Word and because of it to doubt God.
Like Eve,
the bride (mankind enveloped in sin and rescued by the Savior) would realize the deception of the enemy and turn to the Lord for
repentance from sin.
Notice Paul's comparison of Eve with the church.
Let's
again look at Genesis 2.
God tells Adam to keep the garden (v. 15) ("keep" from Hebrewshamar: to protect, keep safe, as a watchman) (Strong 8104). Adam is to protect the garden.
God tells Adam
not to eat of the tree of knowledge and why (v. 16-17). Then God creates Eve (v. 18).
Adam, established by God as protector,
is commanded by God to protect the garden. Adam is instructed not to eat from the knowledge tree and is told the consequences
if he did, before God created Eve. As protector, Adam was to protect Eve and everything in the garden by keeping the instructions
God gave him. (Also read Eph. 5:25-32).
Whereas Adam was created as protector, God created Eve as a helpmate ("help meet") (v.
18). She as helpmate was to be Adam's friend and helper, to help care for the garden.
Recall back to Genesis 3:2-3. Eve
tried to help care for the garden by defending God when speaking against eating from the tree of knowledge: "God hath said, Ye
shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die" (Gen. 3:3). When Eve disputed with the devil on behalf of God, did
she accurately quote the command from God not to eat of the forbidden tree as it was told to Adam? (Compare Gen. 2:17: "of the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" andGen. 3:3: "God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die").
Was Adam incapable of protecting
Eve from the serpent? Was he not there to rescue his bride when she was being beguiled? Scripture says Adam was with Eve, watching
as observer to the whole scene.
Eve "gave also unto her husband with her." The key words here are "with her" showing that he was there when she ate
fruit from the forbidden tree (Gen. 3:6).
Adam did not protect Eve as instructed by God, and he did not do as he was
instructed in protecting the garden.
Because Adam did not keep God's command as protector of the garden, he let sin enter the
world.
("transgression" from Greek hamartano: sin) (Strong 264).
Eve was guilty of transgression (sin) by
deception of which Adam understood yet let occur.
(Translate
"in the transgression": had sinned).
By simple deduction, we understand that if both Adam and Eve sinned and only Eve sinned
by deception, then Adam who was not deceived knew and understood the consequences of his actions.
A modern day example of the
Adam and Eve scenario:
A husband has a wife who is in danger. Not aware that a man is about to attack her,
she thinks this man is trying to help her. Adam sees it happening and is aware this man will attack her, but he does nothing
to stop it. He does not try to protect her from her attacker.
In Adam's example, he not only did not make any effort to
protect Eve, but he also allowed himself to be put into danger by eating the forbidden fruit.
Why did Adam allow his
bride and himself to be put in danger? We do not know and since we can not witness the whole story of what
happened in the garden first hand as if we can not say. God gives us enough information so that we realize the consequences of
sin and the consequences of our own actions when we have sinned: "all have sinned" (Rom. 3:23), whether it be willingly or by deception.
What is important to keep in mind is that behind Adam and Eve's sin was the devil lurking, waiting for the right
opportunity to destroy mankind. The opponent is called the great deceiver and charmer for a reason. Jesus understood this and
how important it was to change the course for mankind because of it. Set from the foundation of the world, Jesus would
give His life as a ransom (Rev. 13:8) for mankind.
Through the story of the garden, we learn the danger of the opponent
(Rev. 12:9) and exactly how great is God's love (John 3:16).
As Eve is symbolic of the church, Adam is symbolic
of Christ. Jesus as the last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45-49) became our Savior, our Shamar (Psalm 121).
("keeper" from Hebrew shamar: protector) (Strong 8104).
A humble Servant of the
Father (Eph. 5:25-32; Mark 10:42-45), Jesus our Teacher taught the meaning of leadership by God's definition. Unlike Adam, Jesus protected
His bride by teaching her sin's disastrous effects and the enemy's corrupt and deceptive lies and by exposing
God's love found in His truth. Jesus protected His bride by giving His life for His bride to complete
this love.
If Adam would have risked giving his life for his bride, he would have tried to prevent sin from entering the
world. And in the process, he would have shown himself free from sin. He did not which is why Jesus had to do so.
With His
death on the cross, Jesus removed the sin the first Adam let enter into the world (Rom. 5:17). Through His death,
Jesus clothed His bride from the sin that caused her to be found naked in the garden (Gen. 3:10).
Jesus
our temple (John 2:19), our house from heaven, clothes us with His love.
The repercussions of Adam's having allowed sin to
enter the world was received to him and to all the generations of mankind through him. Adam's lineage and with it Adam's
bloodline would be carried down through his generations. Sin was carried down from generation to generation through Adam
because the force of life is in the blood (Lev. 17:11-14).
But Jesus was born free of sin because although Adam's
lineage was carried down through him, Adam's bloodline was not given to him. Why? Jesus was placed in the womb of His mother
Mary from God (Luke 1:35). Mary's having been born from the lineage of Adam did not effect her son Jesus because a child's
blood in the womb is not given from its mother (Baker) and because of it the bloodline is not carried down through
a mother. Jesus' blood was not tainted by sin. Having been born a God Man, Jesus' untainted blood could give atonement
to man (Lev. 17:11).
Let's go back to Genesis 3.
Genesis 3 14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. We read that
God put a curse on the serpent for his actions (v. 14).
God would see to it that the serpent's destructive actions were
later annulled. In v. 15, God gives a prophecy to be fulfilled by Jesus: "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and
between thy seed and her seed, it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."
This prophecy tells us several
things.
Enmity is defined as "deep-seated, often mutual hatred" ("Enmity") ("enmity"
from Hebrew 'eybah: hatred) (Strong 342).
The enemy's target of hatred would be for the woman. This prophecy is repeatedly
fulfilled in many ways through the centuries. Women have been treated as less than a man in her rights to humanity, often viewed as
an object for sexual desire with worth of soul as if she was a car or truck, categorized into sirenism as a means of having value
(the fall out of which is anorexia, bulimia, and low self-esteem), suffered abuse in forms such as domestic violence and rape, and
treated with the same worth of ownership by her husband or law as cattle. The enemy has also targeted women through convincing her
that she (or her soul) is not of the same value or worth as her male counterparts to God through misinterpreted information relating
to words such as subordination (with the meaning implied that she is of less value or worth) and the belief that somehow false
idol worship would be more than sympathetic to the needs of women, even though, ironically, false idol worship is nothing but inadvertent
worship of the enemy, himself, who beguiled Eve (the serpent).
Because the woman is symbolic of and fulfilled in the
church, the church has also reaped the hatred of the enemy. The enemy has targeted the believer with the same animosity, and
in many ways similar to, the woman.
This prophecy tells that through a woman's seed, there
would come the "Seed" and the enemy's greatest Opponent - the Messiah. The enemy would do everything he could to defeat the woman
and her "seed" to stop this prophecy from being fulfilled (i.e. attacks on God's saints since Abel) (Luke 11:45-51; Rev. 12).
From Eve's
lineage would come the Messiah. God chose the woman to be His "helper" (again symbolic of the church shown through Christ's
helpers in the gospel message) to defeat the enemy, And the enemy would have bitter hatred toward the woman because of it,
which is why the enemy's target of hatred is woman.
Jesus fulfilled this said prophecy through his death on the cross. Note here there were nails driven through His feet in
the area of the heals.
At v. 16, we learn the consequences of sin Eve would receive:"Unto the woman he said, I will greatly
multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he
shall rule over thee. "
God was telling Eve that her desire
(longing) for her husband would be because she was "taken" from Adam. Adam in return would rule over her. This verse is not a
reference to Adam having domination of Eve. Like so much of the garden story, it is a future prophecy. It is the prophecy
of the Savior-Ruler of mankind.
Eve would desire (long for) her husband with the same desire that the church would
long for her bridegroom the Messiah to whom she would have future hope. God was telling Eve that she would need a Savior fulfilled
in prophecy as Christ and the church. She needed a Savior in Adam (having been taken from him) and she (as the church) would
get that Savior later in a Messiah.
[The words "rule over" (from Hebrew "mashal": to rule) (Strong 4910) given to Adam for Eve is
a future prophecy of the type of leadership held by the Messiah. This same type of leadership is similar to that given Joseph
for his family in Egypt "a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt" (Gen. 45:8), not like that held by Pharaoh. The
Pharaoh was a representation of God the Father, whereas Joseph was a representation of God the Son. As the Son is leader over all
humanity and answers to the Father, Joseph who was leader of all of Egypt was under the command of the Pharaoh (Gen. 45:40).]
[InGenesis 45:8, the word "ruler" is from Hebrew "mashal." Notice its importance. Joseph was made ruler by the Pharaoh
of Egypt. God caused this to happen so that Joseph could protect his people from the famine that was about to come on Egypt
and countries near its vicinity. Joseph was a "savior" to his people, noted in what his own father calls him: "the shepherd,
the stone of Israel" (Gen. 49:24)(Gen. 49:24). Compare to John 10:1-2 and Luke 20:17-18, reference to Jesus. Joseph represented
the future prophecy of Jesus as "Mashal," Savior and Protector of humanity.]
[In Hebrew, there are different names given
to different types of rules. Important here is to understand the definition of "mashal" because it designates
the humble servant-leader found in Christ. If this verse was a reason according to interpretation that man "became" a dominating leader
to his wife, then how could the leadership of Christ be beautiful by foundation (Rev. 13:8). It was man's designated role of leader
to his wife that was prophecy of Christ and the church. In the way it was meant to be, it was both honorable and good because Adam
was to lead in a way that would serve his wife as a protector in order to please the Creator. Wife and husband have dominion
together (Gen. 1:26) as servants that care for the earth and humanity.]
Only man's defiled definition of "leadership"
became the woman's "rule" by worldly standards. This is not how God meant for it to be.
The consequences of sin and what Eve would suffer are found in this
prophecy. Brought in sin's self-desire is sorrow and pain, an emotional pain Eve would suffer (not physical). "Thou shalt bring
forth children." Eve gave birth to not just one child but two (Gen. 4:1-2). The events as they were to play out
with her children would bring her much sorrow. A reference to Cain and Abel and what would take place, this was the beginning
of "the enmity" between the deceiver and the one who was deceived.
In v. 17-19, we learn of the consequences Adam paid
for his sin:
Adam was to suffer the curse of the ground which was later fulfilled in the last Adam Christ
who faced the curse of the law when taking on the sins of mankind (Gal. 3:13).
Although "because thou hast harkened
unto the voice of thy wife" may have been a rebuttal for Adam's passive actions in the garden, it does not mean (as sometimes
interpreted) that God put particular blame on Eve for sin nor does it mean that man is not ever to listen to the voice of his
wife (hear her opinions on matters). God has on other occasions in Scripture told husbands to listen to their wives such as when God
tells Abraham to "harken unto" Sarah (Gen. 21:12).
[Eve was taken from Adam's rib (Gen. 2:21-22). She was not taken from his
head to domineer over him nor from his foot to be belittled by him but from his side to be equal with him as his partner (helpmate).
(Genesis 2:21: "rib from" Hebrew "tsela," rib, that which is curved. God took curve out of man and with it made woman.) (Strong 6763).]
In
what God told Adam, we learn that God "cursed the ground" for his sake. Thorns and thistles is the price that Adam payed for
his sin. Reminiscent of the crown of thorns placed on Jesus' head?
God gives forewarning to Adam, Eve, and the serpent. With
Eve were placed the consequences of sin, with Adam came a curse of labor, with the serpent a curse on his head. Made
lower than all beasts of the field, his harvest reaping for tempting man to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree is the dust of the
earth.
The tree of knowledge has since the fall become a representation of sin, carnal wisdom, and all that which
can be acquired through greed. It is that knowledge through which corrupted self-knowledge is taught and the fruit of selfishness
is put into practice. The tree of knowledge is symbolic of "worldly" kingdoms (Dan. 2:31-33, Dan. 2:37-43; Ez. 28:1-19).
From the
tree of life springs forth the salvation of humanity, eternal life, and the knowledge acquired in Jesus. In its fruit is
found works of sincerity, kindness, compassion, and honesty and the godly qualities of faith, hope, and love. It is symbolic
of the Kingdom of God (Ex. 19:6; Dan. 2:34-35; Dan. 2:44-45; Ez. 28:25-26; John 14:6; 1 Cor. 13; Rev. 21:2-6).
Adam and Eve
chose the tree of knowledge and because of it acquired knowledge taught by the enemy. Sin has since infiltrated the world for generations.
Had they waited for the right time for God to teach them, they would have tasted the tree of life. Because of their choice
made in their actions, they could only look at the tree of eternal life from which they were to walk away, until Christ would
be born to make things right.
Jesus fought the battle against the enemy not with swords or any weapon of violence. He fought
the battle with a weapon of righteousness through His words and with the gift of His life. He won the battle at the
Cross and for all time and united the children of God back to their Father.
There was a reason the enemy chose Eve to tempt.
Eve was created as the receiver of life from God and giver of life to the world. By attacking Eve, the enemy tried to destroy God's
divine plan for humanity. But unlike the enemy, God's wisdom is divine. The story of the fall will play out after the fall
when God sent in to the world His son as a plan of divine redemption.
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Further
Scripture study:
John 14 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Revelation 12 1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: 2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. 3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. 5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. 7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. 13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. 14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. 15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. 16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. 17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Works Cited "Enmity." American Heritage Dictionary. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018, https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=enmity Baker, Lemuel. Misunderstood: Difficult concepts of the Bible. Xlibris Corporation, 2012. Strong, James. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Hendrickson Publishers, Incorporated, 2009.
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