Adam and The Fall

We’ve covered the tree. We’ve covered Eve, The Serpent and their parts in the fall. Let’s take a look at what the Bible says about Adam.

Genesis 1: 26-31

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”  So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.  God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.  And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

We see that Adam and Eve were created in the image of God, Gen 1:26; and, that God blessed them, Gen 1:28.  We also know that God thought everything was very good, Gen. 1:30.

We see that even before God called everything ‘very good’, He gave His word, meaning His commandments, to Adam.  Just to be clear, God’s commandments were part of His perfect, very good world.  The universe itself is held together by the word of God, literally.

So, now we move to Chapter 2.  Some people think this is an account of a second creation. A close reading reveals this is not the case. Chapter 1 is an overview. Chapter 2 gives us insight; a closer look at what went on in the universe God created in chapter 1.

Genesis2:15-17

"And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.  And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, 'Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.'"

This portion of scripture is just before Adam names the animals and discovers there is none other like him; just before God makes Eve.

Adam was given the commandment to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil directly by God. It was Adam’s responsibility to convey to Eve the importance of God’s word.  It was his responsibility to make sure Eve knew exactly what God said.

We also see that Adam was put in the garden to dress and keep it. To dress it would mean pruning, keeping things from getting too wild and such.  But, to keep it implies the garden needed guarding from something.  If you were to look at a medieval castle, you would see the keep as the innermost and most protected part of the castle.  This could mean that Adam just needed to keep wild animals from eating the beautiful garden but it could also mean that he was to guard it against those who would attempt to destroy that which God had created.

According to Isaiah 14:12-14 and Ezekiel 28:12-17, there was a rebellion in Heaven.  Evil was found in Lucifer’s heart and he attempted to ascend to God’s throne.  It appears that Satan considers Man as nothing more than collateral damage in his war against God. He would destroy God’s creation in order to deal a painful blow.  Don’t ever think you are more than this to the enemy of God. You are of no importance to him other than the damage he can do to God’s kingdom.  In our previous study, we saw the serpent at the tree of knowledge speaking with Eve.  There are some glaring problems:

• Where was Adam?  
  
• How did the serpent get in the midst of the garden?  
  
• Why was Eve speaking to the serpent alone?

Either Adam left the tree unguarded or he didn’t take the threat to his home and happiness seriously.  And, if he was there with Eve, why didn’t he interrupt the serpent?  Why didn’t he restate the actual commandment of God?  Better yet, why would he not attempt to end the discussion between Eve and the serpent?

Either way, Adam was remiss in his responsibilities and the only conclusion we can draw is that he didn’t believe God in the first place.  He didn’t believe that there would be dire consequences for his lack of concern.  It seems to always come down to belief.

So what now?  God came to walk with Adam in the cool of the day but Adam wasn’t to be found.  He was hiding from God.  He and Eve were now ashamed of their nakedness where they hadn’t been before.  They sewed fig leaves together to try to cover themselves.  

The bible says in Psalm 8:5 that God created man a little lower than the angels and clothed him in glory and honor.  Matthew 17:1-2 says that Jesus transfigured on the mount and his face did shine as the sun and his clothing was white as the light.  Revelation 3:5 says “He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments."  Revelation 3:18 encourages believers to buy from God gold refined in the fire and white garments that your nakedness will not be revealed. There are a lot of scriptures that refer to white raiment or clothes.

I believe that Adam and Eve were clothed in God’s glory until they sinned.  When they sinned, God’s glory fell away and they saw, for the first time, their true nakedness, without God’s covering.  The fig leaves were a feeble attempt to reconstruct what God had given them and they had forfeited. We see that the first consequence of sin is trying to cover it up.

Genesis3:9-10

And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, “Where art thou?”  And he said, "I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself."

We see here that the fear of God is the second consequence of sin. Adam heard the voice of God but, instead of running to God, he hid.  We also see how unlike God Adam had become. He had been created in the very image of God and had enjoyed the very presence of God; but, he had made himself so much less than that.  Now, he was nothing more than a pitiful cowering creature, hiding in the bushes.

Gen 3:11-13

And he said, "Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?"  And the man said, "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.  And the Lord God said unto the woman, "What is this that thou hast done?"  And the woman said, "The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat."

The third consequence of sin is to blame everyone and everything else.  We see this today, “His upbringing is the reason for his behavior.  “She was abused as a child.”  Someone or something else is always to blame for our shortcomings. 

The fact is, sin doesn't come from the outside.  It is within us.  We must remember what we learned in our study on the Gospel.  We are all sinners and we know it.  God's law is written on our hearts.  You may not be a drug addict.  You may not beat your kids, but you are no different than Adam and the presence of God would send you running for the bushes.  Don't worry, you are in good company.  The Bible says, there is none righteous, no not one.

We'll go deeper into the curse another time.  For now, we will end this study with the fact that God had to kill innocent animals, in a world that had never seen death, to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve.

                               

Genesis 3:21

The Lord God made garments of skin and clothed Adam and his wife.

Remember, Adam and Eve had been covered with the glory of God and then, they weren't.  They attempted to cover themselves, but fell short.  Only God can provide adequate covering. 

By sacrificing the animals to provide clothing for Adam and Eve, God shows us what is to come.  The Bible says in Leviticus 17:11 that blood is given unto us to make atonement for our soul, for it is the lifeblood that makes atonement.  This simple verse shows that something innocent must be sacrificed for the sin of man.  But it is also a promise that one would come whose blood would be the perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ.