In Genesis 1:31, after God had created Adam and Eve, He surveyed all His work and “It was very good.”
“The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Genesis 2:8-9 (NKJV)
“Then the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 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,”” 2:15-17
Genesis 3:1-6 Through the twisting of God’s truth by the serpent, Sin enters Eve’s heart, Adam followed suit. This brings to mind a question that I believe must be answered, or at least explored. Why were Adam and Eve at the forbidden tree, and why were they discussing God’s instructions about it with the serpent unless they were already considering the forbidden fruit? It seems that they were so easily persuaded because they already wanted it, they just needed a push.
Perhaps this is why we fall so easily into sin; it is in our nature (since Adam and Eve) to want what God forbids, or our parents, or society, or ... Satan can’t cause us to sin, he only encourages us to do what we are already considering. One of God’s most precious gifts, our free will, works against us unless we place our faith in Jesus. Only by surrendering our will to that of God are we able to defeat the rebellious spirit that lives within us all.
3:16 God curses Eve and Adam: Eve, and all women after her, are cursed with the extreme pain of childbirth, and a dependence upon their husbands. Adam, and all men to come after him, are cursed with having to work with considerable effort to provide for themselves and their families.
What a tragedy; from being the crowning glory on God’s creation, the caretakers and beneficiaries of the most luscious garden imaginable; to being evicted and struggling just to eat and live! From “very good” to cursed by God and expelled from His presence; all for one piece of fruit.
