LESSON EIGHT

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Scripture to read: Genesis 2&3

Before man was created, there were no cultivated crops, and the land was watered by streams or mists rising from the ground. God creates man, forming him out of the dust of the ground and breathing the "breath of life" into him. Man becomes a living being. God places man into His newly planted garden in the region of Eden, a garden with abundant fruit-bearing trees. Two trees in the middle of the garden stand out. They have names: The Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

God places the man in the garden with specific work to do, such as maintaining the garden and naming the animals. God also issues a single, specific negative command: never eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, or you will die. God recognizes that some aspect of His creation is not good. It's not good for the man to be alone. There are no living things which complement Adam as animals of the same kind correspond to each other. So, God takes a rib from Adam and makes a helper and companion for him. Eve becomes Adam's wife. This is a fascinating action by God, one that is rich in symbolism. God obviously could have created Eve from dust, as He did Adam, but chose instead to form her out of Adam's own body.

Adam and Eve's relationship was unique in all of history. When they met, no sin yet existed in the world or between them. They remained unashamed of anything, including their own nakedness. In their innocence, they had nothing to hide from God or from each other. In that way, they truly existed in paradise, one beyond just the plants and animals of a garden. 

Satan is described as the craftiest of all wild animals. He takes possession of a serpent's body or assumes the form of a snake. The serpent approaches Eve with the single purpose of convincing her to disobey God by eating the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. His masterful temptation is so effective that she seems to make her fatal choice in the space of one short conversation. First, he casts doubt on what God did or did not command. Then, he draws the woman into thinking about the fairness of God's command. Then he flatly calls God a liar, questioning God's character and motives. 

Eve buys it all. The forbidden tree is beautiful, the food looks good to eat, and she believes the serpent’s lie that it will make her wise. Adam quickly joins her, and the pair are immediately crushed by their shame. This includes a sudden self-consciousness about their nudity. The "knowledge of good and evil" is achieved by the rejection of good and the embracing of evil. Adam and Eve attempt to hide from God, but he finds them anyway. They confess their sin, but even then, attempt to shift the blame. God confronts the serpent and Satan, delivering to him the first of the curses resulting from the fall. 

“Then the Lord God said to the serpent, 'Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all the livestock, And more than any animal of the field; On your belly you shall go, And dust you shall eat All the days of your life; And I will make enemies Of you and the woman, And of your offspring and her Descendant; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise Him on the heel.'” Genesis 3:14-15

The sentences pronounced for Eve, and then Adam, are heartbreaking in the way they continue to reflect our everyday human experiences.

“To the woman He said, 'I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, in pain you shall deliver children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.'  Genesis 3:16

Then to Adam He said, 'Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; With hard labor you shall eat from it All the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; Yet you shall eat the plants of the field; By the sweat of your face, you shall eat bread, until you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; For you are dust, and to dust you shall return.'” Genesis 3:17-19

Despite their disobedience and sin, God still provides for mankind. This begins with clothes made from the skin of an animal, the first sacrifice of life for a covering. But Adam and Eve cannot stay in the Garden of Eden. It is no longer for them. God banishes mankind from the garden and assigns an angel to guard the way to the Tree of Life. With that, the painful story of fallen human history begins. Where instead of God’s plan of eternal life we now must return to dust.