THE FALL

Genesis 3

Genesis chapter 3, about the fall of Adam and Eve tells about how Satan, disguised as a serpent comes to Eve and convinces her that the reason God doesn't want them to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is because it will make them as wise as He is and that God doesn't want that.  She eats of the fruit, Adam eats of the fruit, God finds out about it, there are consequences and than they are banished from the Garden of Eden.

I thought it was interesting that when Satan persuades Eve, he does it by one; putting doubt in her mind about God's intentions and love for her.  And two; he makes her want the one thing she can't have even though she has so many other things.  Isn't that so like us.  We always want what we don't have instead of appreciating all the good things we do have and being content with those.  The biggest battle is in your mind.  You have to decide ahead of time that God does love you, he has your best intention at heart and that you will be faithful to Him no matter what.  Otherwise you will be easily swayed and tricked.  You have to stay in a close relationship with God on a daily basis and remove yourself from situations or people who would cause you to fall to temptation.

I think it is kind of funny how Adam and Eve try to squirm out of trouble by playing the 'blame' game.  Adam blames Eve (she gave it to me) and God (the woman you gave me) and Eve blames the serpent (he deceived me).  I think it's funny because we still do it today.

The Tree of Good and Evil.  The Bible says that when they ate of it their 'eyes were opened'.  Satan said that this would mean that they would be like God.  God said in Chapter 2 that they would die.  I feel like that their 'eyes being opened' means that they were suddenly aware of sin for the first time.  Before, they were protected by God and lived in a world where there was no evil.  Not as far as they knew.  Kind of like a newborn baby.  Once they were aware of sin, God knew that the natural order of things would be that over time they would become more and more sinful beings.  Which is what we see happens in life.  From generation to generation our society become more and more decadent and will continue to do so until we are on the verge of destroying ourselves.  This is why they had to be banished from the Garden of Eden.  Not as punishment so much but because if they were to eat of the Tree of Life, they (we) would live forever becoming more and more sinful with no end in sight.  In a sense they did die. They died to an old way of life, they died to innocence.

The punishment for disobeying God was that Eve would have pain in childbearing and that her husband would rule over her.  This seems to be the first time that there is a division between man and woman and one being the head over the other.  Before this, they are equal.  As for Adam, he has to toil and sweat and work to live now whereas before everything was just there for the taking.

Someday when Christ returns and Satan is defeated we will live in a new world, reunited with God but evil will have been removed from the world.  Only good will exist and we will be able to live forever with no moral deterioration.  One we will understand when we die.  We'll be back in a land that is free from pain or hard work and heartache.  This is the new heavens and new earth revelation talks about.  I think that it is right here on this very earth we walk on today.   I'm not sure why the world didn't just start out that way to begin with but I have a feeling there is a reason.   There are many things we don't understand now but someday our 'eyes will be opened' even more and we will understand everything.  Until  then we  have to operate on the thought that God is wiser than we are and that He does love us and is looking out for our best interest.  Adam and Eve kind of took one for the team so to speak by giving us this lesson to learn from.

There is a song about the fall of Adam and Eve that I love called Adam.  It's an oldie and it's by Don Francisco who does a great job of writing Christian songs that tell a story.  Actually I love every song on this CD.  Here is the lyrics to the song:

Unashamed and naked in a garden that has never seen the rain,
Rulers of a kingdom, full of joy -- never marred by any pain,
The morning all around them seems to celebrate the life they've just begun;
And in the majesty of innocence the king and queen come walking in the sun


But the master of deception now begins with his discection of the Word
And with all of his craft and subtly the serpent twists the simple truths they've heard,
While hanging in the balance is a world that has been placed at their command
And all their unborn children die as both of them bow down to Satan's hand.

And just before the ev'ning in the cool of the day, They hear the voice of God as He is walking
And they can't abide His presence, so they try to hide away;
But still they hear the sound as He is calling:
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/d/don_francisco/adam_where_are_you.html ]
"Adam, Adam, where are you?
Adam, Adam, where are you?
Adam, Adam, where are you?"

In the stifling heat of summer now the gard'ner and his wife are in the field
And it seems that thorns and thistles are the only crop his stuggles ever yield
He eats his meals in sorrow 'til he sinks in to the dust whence he came
But all down through the ages he can hear his Maker calling out his name.

"Adam, Adam, where are you?
Adam, Adam, where are you?"

And though the curse has long be broken
Adams' sons are still the prisners of their fears
Rushing helter skelter to destrution with their fingers in their ears
While the Fathers voice is calling with an urgency I've never heard before
"Won't you come in from the darkness now before it's time to finally close the door!"

"Adam, Adam, where are you?
Adam, Adam, where are you?
Adam, Adam, I love you!"

More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/d/don_francisco/#share