Forum 4
"God instructed our first parents in regard to the tree of knowledge, and they were fully informed relative to the fall of Satan, and the danger of listening to his suggestions. He did not deprive them of the power of eating the forbidden fruit. He left them as free moral agents to believe His word, obey His commandments, and live, or believe the tempter, disobey, and perish. They both ate, and the great wisdom they obtained was the knowledge of sin and a sense of guilt. The covering of light about them soon disappeared, and under a sense of guilt and loss of their divine covering, a shivering seized them, and they tried to cover their exposed forms." --The Story of Redemption, p. 37.
"…She took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons." Genesis 3:6, 7.
First visible result
The loss of their covering of light made them recognize their nakedness and have a sense of guilt. God called to them, and Adam replied a moment later: "I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." Genesis 3:10.
At this point, God put a question to them, making them understand clearly that if they saw themselves as naked, it meant that they had eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. "Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?" Genesis 3:11. This question was asked by the Lord, not because he needed the information, but for the conviction of the guilty pair.
Second implicit result
Adam's sinful act was the result of an inner battle in which rebellion against God--the decision--expressed itself by his seizing the forbidden fruit. At first sight, it was very small and insignificant; but the consequences were enormous. His feelings and inner thoughts were troubled. Before acting, Adam went through a terrifying psychological struggle with covetousness, pride, selfishness, and revolt. Then, after carrying out the deed, his character had changed. If Adam acknowledged his transgression, it was not to repent of his disobedience but to make God responsible for what happened: "The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." Genesis 3:12. The one who, because of love for Eve, decided to sacrifice God's approval, paradise itself, and an eternal life of joy now didn't hesitate to make his companion and his Creator responsible for his actions. Such is the power of sin!
He excused his sin: If I have sinned, it is because of her; and since You are the one who gave me this woman, You are guilty for what happened. If it had not been for this woman, I would never have sinned. He absolutely refuses to accept his own responsibility and simultaneously shows a complete lack of compassion for her who has gotten into trouble with him.
And what does Eve do? "And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." Genesis 3:13. Why did You create the serpent? Why did you let him into Eden? Such were the reproaches Eve uttered against God. Like Adam, she blames God for their joint disobedience.
"The spirit of justification originated in the father of lies;… Instead of humbly confessing their sins, they try to shield themselves by casting the blame upon others, upon circumstances, or upon God.…" --Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 58.
The same type of thinking is found in every individual--trying to escape his own responsibilities. "Guilty, but not responsible" seems to be the motto.
God acts
What does God do? Even though it was only Satan's instrument, the serpent was cursed. Since it was used by Satan, the serpent had to share his punishment. This shows us that God punishes the tempters who are used as Satan's instruments. That is a warning to those who are friends of sin and want to avoid punishment by pretending that they personally have done "nothing wrong."
"The warning given to our first parents--'In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die' (Genesis 2:17)--did not imply that they were to die on the very day when they partook of the forbidden fruit. But on that day the irrevocable sentence would be pronounced. Immortality was promised them on condition of obedience; by transgression they would forfeit eternal life. That very day they would be doomed to death." --Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 60.
In the death sentence against the sinner, God showed that balance, happiness, peace and justice must be safeguarded. It was impossible to allow a hotbed of sin and revolt to develop and spread for eternity. When Adam yielded and took the forbidden fruit, he planted within himself a self-seeking nature. While God had created him in His own image, that image was now marred. What is of interest to us is, "Adam could not transmit to his posterity that which he did not possess." --The Great Controversy, p. 533.
Therefore, his children also came into this world "in his own likeness, after his image." Adam and Eve's sin changed their psychological makeup, leaving them with the disposition to sin further. This tendency also included the phenomenon of heredity.
Not only was man's nature affected; all creation came under the curse of sin. Now man would have to work the land in the sweat of his face. We should not understand this to be simply a decrease in the fertility of the soil. "For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now." Romans 8:19-22.
Like the earth which brings forth its fruit amid thorns and hard labor, so woman would also bring forth children with hard labor which begins even with conception and continues with the care and concern she has for her children for her entire life; this is true for the father as well. All this reflects the results of sin and underscores the fact that help and hope came alone from God. In every trial, He designs our good. Like Adam and Eve, it is often in difficulty and hard labor that we learn our most valuable lessons about life.
"They were informed that they would have to lose their Eden home. They had yielded to Satan's deception and believed the word of Satan, that God was lying. By their transgression they had opened a way for Satan to gain access to them more readily, and it was not safe for them to remain in the Garden of Eden, lest in their state of sin they gain access to the tree of life and perpetuate a life of sin. They entreated to be permitted to remain, although they acknowledged that they had forfeited all right to blissful Eden. They promised that they would in the future yield to God implicit obedience. They were informed that in their fall from innocence to guilt they gained no strength but great weakness. They had not preserved their integrity while they were in a state of holy, happy innocence, and they would have far less strength to remain true and loyal in a state of conscious guilt. They were filled with keenest anguish and remorse. They now realized that the penalty of sin was death." --The Story of Redemption, pp. 40, 41.
A solution
After this curse, seeing themselves condemned to a life of suffering and labor and finally to be reduced to dust, Adam and Eve heard a word of hope. "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel." Genesis 3:15. God showed that there was a solution. And why should there be a solution? Because, as grievous as their sin may have been, it was very different from that of Satan. The latter had sinned with full awareness of what he was doing, but Adam and Eve had been the tempter's victims.
"But even as a sinner, man was in a different position from that of Satan. Lucifer in heaven had sinned in the light of God's glory. To him as to no other created being was given a revelation of God's love. Understanding the character of God, knowing His goodness, Satan chose to follow his own selfish, independent will. This choice was final. There was no more that God could do to save him. But man was deceived; his mind was darkened by Satan's sophistry. The height and depth of the love of God he did not know. For him there was hope in a knowledge of God's love. By beholding His character he might be drawn back to God." --The Desire of Ages, pp. 761, 762.
So, this solution did not mean lessening the gravity of the sin, but it showed that the fall was different; man did not create evil but was seduced by it.
| Discussion questions |
| 1. |
Compare and/or contrast Adam's attitude toward his wife before and after he ate of the forbidden fruit. |
| 2. |
Compare and/or contrast the state of mind and attitude of both Adam and Eve before and after the fall. |
| 3. |
What other examples can you think of, either in the Bible or personally, which demonstrate how an individual rationalizes sinning? What is the result? |
| 4. |
Discuss man's ideal of working for "the good life," in comparison with what God intends to accomplish in and through man by giving him something to do in a "life of good works." |
| 5. |
Discuss some of the possible actions and effects that might be taken toward someone who has violated a trust (e.g., ignore him, kill him immediately, rationalize and excuse his actions, change the rules, etc.) |
