What Happened Next in the Garden?

or… how to get kicked out of Paradise

If you haven’t read my first post about the Garden, you might want to click here before you continue.

Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden in perfect fellowship with God; they had a direct personal relationship with Him, and they had a God-given purpose… to exercise dominion over the earth. So what went wrong?

Image via Wikipedia

God set the two of them up quite nicely, I’d say; who wouldn’t like their life? But God gave them one prohibition: They were not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. OK, so what’s the big deal; just leave the stupid tree alone!

: Image via Wikipedia”The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil”

Of course, that is not what they did. Satan wormed his way into the mix; the serpent. He coaxed Eve into trying the forbidden fruit, and it’s highly instructive how he did it

The serpent opens the dialogue by asking what seems like an innocent question:

“Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1)

Eve, who was not fooled by the serpent’s misquote replied:

“We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” (Genesis 3:2)

And now comes the key statement, the one that changed everything:

“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5)

“You will be like God”

Isn’t that how Lucifer got himself kicked out of heaven? (Hint: YES!)

The “original sin” didn’t happen when Eve ate from the fruit of that tree, it occurred when she liked the sound of that little statement from the serpent… you’ll be like God.

Image via Wikipedia"The Temptation and Fall of Eve" 1808

Then, of course she took the fruit. Now Adam hasn’t come into the story yet… but here he comes

“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. ” (Genesis 3:6-7)

What they had done was to rebel against God. I use the word “rebel” because not only did they disobey, but they did so because their disobedience was intended to make them just like God. They would make the rules, they would decide what was permissible; they would be in charge of things… they would be Kings!

The results of their rebellion are staggering. First, their access to God will be cut. Second, their relationship with God will be severed; they will be kicked out of the Garden, and finally:

‘To the woman he said,

   “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing;
   with pain you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
   and he will rule over you.”

To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’

   “Cursed is the ground because of you;
   through painful toil you will eat of it
   all the days of your life.
It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
   and you will eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your brow
   you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
   since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
   and to dust you will return.”’ (Genesis 3:16-19)