My perspective on things that happened in the Garden of Eden has changed immensely.
I was doing some studying on a simple question I had about Eve and came across this idea, which literally blew my mind.
Ready? Here you go.
It’s all related to Adam’s position in the Garden. It’s all related to one simple thought … where was Adam when Eve was being tempted by the serpent? What if he was standing right next to her?
Changes things, doesn’t it?
I was just pondering why the serpent chose Even to confront, and not Adam. What was it about her that he thought was easy to deceive? What did he see as a weakness in the woman that made him think it was a done deal?
Look at this familiar Scripture:
Genesis 3:6
She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was WITH her, and he ate it, too.
See that? “WITH” her.
How have we missed this for so long? Or how have I missed it? Maybe you already knew and no one told me.
I always saw the pictures portraying this event as Eve and the serpent … always heard the talk about how Eve was deceived … like Adam was missing or walked up after the fact.
But, Adam was equally deceived. Actually, he wasn’t simply deceived, he was disobedient.
And, here’s why: God’s instructions to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was given directly to Adam. Not Eve.
Mind blown again.
Look:
Genesis 2:15-17
The Lord God placed the MAN in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.
Eve wasn’t created at this point when God gave instructions to Adam.
We can all assume that Adam told his wife what God had said.
But, of course, Eve questioned and doubted what God may have really said since she wasn’t there to get it first-hand and didn’t trust the interpretation of her husband.
That’s why it was so easy for the serpent to deceive her. When the serpent said, “Did God really say that?” Eve didn’t know. She wasn’t there. Fruit looked good to her so … obviously she thought Adam was mistaken.
Adam knew EXACTLY what the Lord had said, but ate anyway.
1 Timothy 2:14 says this,
Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.
What should Adam have done?
Simple, right? Tell Eve “No, don’t eat!” Or even better, stood up to the serpent and kicked him out of the Garden, told him to leave his wife alone, gotten a stick and beat him with it … something … anything besides stand there and do nothing.
First mistake:
Adam did not stand up and fulfill His God-given authority over Eve.
Second mistake:
Adam did not stand up against the enemy. He did not protect his wife and all mankind.
Third mistake:
Adam succumbed to what his wife thought he should do instead of doing what was right.
Now, before you get all crazy, thinking I’m blaming the entire fall of man on Adam, I know that Eve had her part in it too. After all, she did take the first bite.
First mistake:
Eve should’ve trusted her husband to know what God said and his ability to trust the voice of God.
Second mistake:
Eve should have never doubted God or thought that God would not have the best planned for her. God was not hiding anything from her. He knew what was best and still does.
Third mistake:
Yep … Eve should’ve submitted to her husband. Pretty sure this is where the struggle with submission began. Obviously.
But, just think of how different things would be if Adam had just taken his place and rebuked Satan and his wife.
Wow. Mind blown again.
How much can we learn about the importance of obedience, trust, and submission through this whole thing? A LOT!
And, how much do we see this same struggle today within marriages and men versus women?! Again A LOT!
Same struggles in the Garden are the same ones we face today.
I hope that one day, you and I will get beyond the Garden and not stay stuck there making the same mistakes and choices over and over again..
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