Skip to main content

Adam & Eve's Disobedience (Gen 3:1-13)

'Now the snake was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He asked the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You shall not eat from any of the trees in the garden’?” The woman answered the snake: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, or else you will die.’” But the snake said to the woman: “You certainly will not die! God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know good and evil.” The woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and the tree was desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. When they heard the sound of the Lord God walking about in the garden at the breezy time of the day, the man and his wife hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. The Lord God then called to the man and asked him: Where are you? He answered, “I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid.” Then God asked: Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat? The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it.” The Lord God then asked the woman: What is this you have done? The woman answered, “The snake tricked me, so I ate it (Gen. 3:1-13).”'

Eve was filled with the ‘desire’ to be like God and Adam and Eve freely disobeyed God with full assent of their will.  After their eyes were ‘opened’, they hid in shame (cf. Gen. 2:25) from God and realized they were naked.  When God asked Adam if he had eaten from the forbidden tree, he blamed Eve who blamed the tempter who at that time was not the same as the Satan developed in later Christian tradition.  

Adam and Eve were created knowing only the goodness of God (Gen. 1:31).  Eve was tempted by the deceiver and her desire was awakened.  They both disobeyed God with full assent of their will.  Mankind lost its original holiness, and the relationship with God, self, others, and nature was broken.  Adam and Eve, who were accountable to God, wanted to be like God.  Their sin was against God.  They were incapable of making restitution to God because they were not of the same nature as God.  Hence God began his redemptive plan to bring mankind back into his friendship (Gen. 3:15).  This was accomplished in its fullness through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Rom. 6:4).

Almighty God, born with the stain of original sin our relationship with you and each other is broken.  Through our Baptism we became members of the Church born out of the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ.  Grant us the grace to not yield to the temptations born out of our disordered desires, and the love to obey all that you command.  This we pray through Christ our Lord.  Amen!

__________________________________

Reference:

Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, & Roland E. Murphy, (Eds.). (1990, 1968). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentis Hall, Inc.


Comments