God had created man and woman in his image, back in chapter 2, and had given them a paradise to live in; food a plenty, companionship, and a personal relationship with him. He also gave them meaningful work to do; tend and keep the garden, name the animals and in general take care of things. In return, all he asked of the duo was one thing, not 100, not even 10, only one thing, “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:16-17. Easy peasy, no problemo, they must have thought, until that fateful day. “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.” Genesis 3: 1-7.
That old serpent certainly had a way with words, because he got Eve thinking, not about what she had, but what she didn’t have. His deceptive words had her doubting the supreme authority of God, and desiring the whole enchilada, to be like God. Adam was standing right there, and instead of taking his rightful stand as the spiritual head of the family, and rebuking Eve, he took a bite, too. Alas, the rest is history. His fall, became our fall, as well. No more blessed , “all inclusive” resort living, he traded all that for curses. “To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life. thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Genesis 3:16-19.
If only Eve had resisted; if only Adam had stood up to her; if only they had confessed and apologized. If Only, indeed. But it wasn’t to be, and the curses that accompanied their sin, have been passed down to humankind ever since. Curses aside, the worse thing that came out of this blunder was the broken relationship between God and man. It says that God clothed them with skins, so some animal must have given its life indicating that this was the first blood sacrifice. Centuries have come and gone, filled with good times and more blunders, as man sought in vain to undo this debacle. If this mess was to be undone, someone was going to have to pay a hefty price, in blood. Thank God that someone, Jesus, was willing. As we walk through the old testament prophecies, and the new testament fulfillments these next weeks, let’s strive to truly allow him to open us up to the saving, restoring wonder of his coming, going and ultimate return.
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