Genesis 3:6-13

Satan, who was a fallen angel, was attempting to remove God from His rightful throne by overtaking the universe and destroying His most prized creation, man.  The eternal God had called into existence the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1) and then created human beings to rule over His creation and fill the earth with people (1:26-28).  Not only was man created with a unique relationship with creation, but also a unique relationship with God.  After breathing the breath of life into man (2:7), God placed Adam in the garden and gave him a command to abstain from eating the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (2:15-17).  If he would disobey God and eat from this tree, he would experience death as punishment (2:17).  Although no reason is given for prohibiting the fruit from this tree, it is best understood as a test of Adam and Eve’s obedience to God.  Satan was well aware of God’s command and sought out Eve while she was alone.  He took on the form of a serpent and began calling into question the very words of God causing Eve to doubt God’s goodness and motives (3:1-5).  ”So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.  She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate” (3:6).  The apostle Paul later reveals that through Adam’s action, “…sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:15).  This first disobedience made all men sinners by nature and caused spiritual death to fall on every human being.  Sin has continually made it impossible for man to find fellowship with God.

As soon as Adam and Eve ate from the tree, “…the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings” (3:7).  Attempting to cover their bodies was man’s first effort to relieve the guilt and shame from disobeying God.  When they heard God walking in the garden, they hid themselves but God called out to them and Adam responded by saying that they were hiding because they were naked (3:8-10).  God then questioned them to see if they had eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (3:11).  Adam, the first to speak, blamed Eve for his disobedience (3:12) and Eve, in turn, blamed the serpent (3:13).  Neither Adam nor Eve wanted to admit their sin, so they blamed each other.  The refusal to acknowledge their sin would withhold forgiveness since God would soon establish repentance as a necessary element in avoiding judgment.  Confessing sin is the key to mercy.  ”He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).

Dear God, help me to admit when I’m wrong so that I can experience Your mercy and forgiveness.