davidbowerkingwood

Things Go Downhill Fast From Here On!

Last week we left Eve eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and I concluded nothing catastrophic immediately happened. Now why would I say nothing happened? Eve didn’t die spiritually at that point.

There are two major reasons I believe Eve was able to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil without any immediate repercussions.

The first is the command was given to Adam before Eve was even created; the second is Romans 5:12 where we read: “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned”

Everybody Dies

It was only when Adam ate all died, including Eve, because of Adam’s disobedience to a direct command from God. When Eve ate of the fruit nothing happened because the command had been given to Adam. I think it possible that Eve may have started eating the fruit long before she finally involved Adam.

Even if Adam was present at Eve’s first bite I suspect, had Eve died first spiritually, when she looked at Adam she would probably have gasped, “Adam, your naked!” It simply didn’t work out that way because it was Adam’s deliberate disobedience that killed them both along with all of the rest of us.

Only after Adam ate were their eyes opened and they realized they were naked. Their spiritual deaths were instantaneous and there is no way we can imagine the impact of their innocence becoming a sinful, fallen nature knowing good and evil; it must have been a terrible, terrible shock to their systems.

Adam and Eve Meet Fear

An early part of their new found knowledge was fear; when they heard God’s voice they were afraid because they knew they were naked. What a tragically sad reversal from what they had enjoyed from their creation; a harmonious oneness with God suddenly shattered by willful disobedience followed by fear! That will doubtless go down as the highest price paid in the history of man for a piece of fruit; you and I are still making payments on it.

Another sad precedent is then established when they both refuse to take personal responsibility by making excuses for their actions and then trying to blame someone else. We see that pathetic exercise from both Adam and Eve as yet another evidence of their fall.

The Curse

In Genesis 3:8 we are told, “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.” What a tragic change from fellowship with God, to a futile effort to hide from God.

In verses 9-10 we read, “But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

It would be easy for me to believe that our Lord was filled with sadness and sorrow at this point as He considered the future. I believe this manifestation of the LORD was the pre-incarnate Lord Jesus Christ and in His omniscience could see the sin, death, and destruction that would inevitably come.

After listening to their excuses the LORD begins a series of curses which are still in effect today. In verse 14 we read, “So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

This is generally thought of as the first of the Messianic promises in the Bible. Can you imagine our Lord Jesus pronouncing a curse that He alone could fulfill? By His death on the cross Satan had struck at His heel, but by His resurrection from the dead our Lord crushed the head of Satan.

By God’s grace I hope to conclude “The Fall” in the next blog.