Story 2 - The Forbidden Fruit (Genesis 3:1-24)

Satan was an angel who rebelled against God and was thrown out of heaven. Through attractive temptations, Satan lures us into following his kind of life and doing sinful things. Satan tempted Eve, and succeeded in getting her to sin. No one on earth is exempt from Satan’s temptations. He even tempted Jesus (Matthew 4:11), but Jesus did not sin. Being tempted is not a sin. We do not sin until we act on the temptation. God gives us blessings and rewards us when we resist temptation.

The shrewdest of the wild creatures that God had created was the serpent. One day, the serpent came to Eve and asked, "Did not God say you could eat of all the fruit in the garden?"

Eve answered, "We may eat the fruit of every tree except one. God told us that we may not eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If we do, we will die."

"You will not die," hissed the serpent. "God knows that if you eat fruit from this tree, you will become as wise as He, knowing everything, both good and evil. This is why He has forbidden you to eat it."

Eve looked at the delicious fruit again. It looked so good. How she wanted so much to be wise like God! She reached out her hand and took the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. She ate it. It was very delicious. So, she gave some of it to her husband, Adam, to eat. He ate it, too.

After eating the forbidden fruit, their eyes were opened, and they realized they were naked. They also knew that they had disobeyed God. How afraid they were! Because they felt shame at their nakedness, they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Toward the evening, Adam and Eve heard the Lord God walking in the garden. Since they were ashamed, they hid themselves among the trees. Soon, God called to Adam, "Where are you?"

Adam replied, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so, I hid."

"Who told you that you were naked?" God asked. "Have you eaten the fruit from the tree I commanded you not to eat?"

"Yes," Adam answered, and quickly he added, "But it was Eve who gave me the fruit to eat."

God turned to Eve and asked, "What is this that you have done?"

She replied, "The serpent tempted me, and I ate it."

To the serpent, God said, "Because you have done this, you will be singled out from all the wild animals of the earth. You will crawl on your belly in the dust for as long as you live. This will be your punishment. In addition, from now on, you and the woman will be enemies, and your offspring and her offspring will be enemies. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."

God was sorry that Adam and Eve had chosen not to obey Him. Because they had sinned, they could no longer be with Him. God knew they had to be punished for their disobedience.

To Eve, God said, "Because you have disobeyed Me, you shall have pain and suffering as you have children." Then to Adam, God said, "Since you listened to your wife and have disobeyed Me, I have placed a curse on the ground. All during your life, you will struggle to make a living from it. The land will grow thorns and thistles, but you will be able to eat its grains. However, now you will have to sweat to produce food until your dying day. Then, you will return to the ground from which you came. You were created from dust, and to the dust you will return."

God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and for Eve, his wife. Then, He sent them out of the beautiful garden. They now had to make a home for themselves. At the gate of the garden, God placed a mighty angel with a flaming sword. This angel prevented Adam and Eve from returning to the Garden of Eden and eating the fruit of the tree of life.

NOTE:

To sin is to go against God's will, either by omitting to do what God's law requires or by doing what it forbids. The transgression can occur in thought (I John 3:15), word (Matthew 5:22), or deed (Romans 1:32). Mankind was created without sin, but sin entered into the human experience when Adam and Eve violated the command of God and ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:16). Since Adam was the head of the whole human race, his sin affected all future generations (Romans 5:12-21). No person is free from sin (Romans 3:23), but God promised in Genesis 3:15 that He will send a Saviour which is Christ Jesus who will save us from our sins. It is only Jesus that can redeem us from our sin and give us the power to go and sin no more if we can confess and renounce our sins. May God Bless You!!