Originally posted 1/7/25
This is the second article in a series about the “7 C’s of history”.
Everything was perfect in the Garden. God communed with Adam and Eve in the Garden. Can you imagine what it would have been like to “commune” with God? God gave few instructions. In Genesis 2:15-17 we read, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 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.””
It was paradise until it wasn’t. That leads us to the second “C” which is corruption. It all began with Eve doubting that God was who he said he was. We always focus on eating the forbidden fruit, but it began with doubt. Genesis 3:1-5 reads, “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.”” The serpant was crafty in getting Eve to doubt God. He still does that to us today. He makes us doubt God’s promises.
Eve doubted God. God created and communed with her, yet she doubted God. She saw the forbidden fruit and she wanted it. She wanted it and she took it. Genesis 3:6-13 tells us, “ 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. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.””
The consequences were immediate. Their eyes were opened and they realized that they were naked. Their first response when they heard God was to hide from him. Don’t we still try to hide from God when we sin? It strikes me that Eve and Adam were quick to blame others. Neither one was willing to take responsibility for their choice. Eve blamed the serpent. Adam blamed God. God didn’t need Adam and Eve to tell him what they had done–he knew. The reactions of Adam and Eve are so similar to the way we react to sin. We want to avoid the consequences. We do not want to take responsibility for the choices we have made. We find it easier to blame others than ourselves. Some even blame God when things go awry.
When you tell a child that there is something they cannot have, it becomes the very thing that is wanted. It happens with adults too. God gave them one restriction in the garden and they blew it.
I have always wondered what would have happened if Adam and Eve had confessed and taken responsibility for their disobedience. If they had confessed, would God have restored them?
Adam and Eve were no longer able to commune with God in the garden. God removed them from the Garden forever. In Genesis 3:23 tells us, “therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he laced the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.”
The paradise of the garden will not be experienced again until Christ returns. In the meantime, we need to commit our ways to the Lord. Be quick to confess when we stray. Obedience is still the best way. Obedience requires a great deal of trust. We will all sin and fall short (Romans 3:23). However, if we confess our sins, God will forgive us. (1 John 1:9).
The next C is Catastrophe. I’ve written about this topic previously. You can read about the flood here.
The image is from www.freebibleimages.org
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