But now comes Satan, that wicked one, who always tries to spoil what God does; he seems to have said to himself, something like this, “I’ll see what I can do to ruin the beautiful creation God has just finished; I’ll bring in sin and sorrow and death there, and rob God of His pleasure in that happy couple.” So he came in one day, O so slyly, and said to Eve, “Yes, has God said you shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” Poor Eve little knew what an enemy that person was that was speaking to her, or she would have been more careful about answering him; in fact she should never have listened to Satan at all. It should have been enough for her to know that God had said that there was one forbidden tree; all the rest were free to them to take the fruit and nuts growing so thickly and so beautifully from their branches. But Eve even added to what God had said, for He had not forbidden Adam and herself to “touch” but only to “eat” the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan now said to her, “You won’t die; God knows that when you eat that fruit you will know more: you’ll be as gods, knowing good and evil.” This was partly true, for Satan mixes his lies with some things that are true; it was true that their “eyes” would be “opened”, they would know good and evil; but in getting to know evil in addition to the good which only they knew before, Adam and Eve changed from innocent beings into sinners, fell under the power of evil, or sin, their very natures becoming sinful. Of this dreadful prospect Satan told Eve nothing, of course. She looked at the fruit, it seemed to be good for food even though God had said they must not eat it, and had told them they would die as a penalty for eating; it was “pleasant to the eyes” too,—beautiful; and she wanted to be wise as Satan had said; she wished to have that which he made her think God had selfishly kept back from them, and so, listening to Satan and turning away from God, Eve ate, and Adam coming up did the same.
Now a change came over Adam and Eve; they knew they had done wrong, they felt they couldn’t meet God again as they had before; they were indeed sinners. Satan had deceived Eve and God was right. The first thing they did though, was to sew for themselves clothes made out of the thick shiny leaves of the fig tree, feeling that they could no longer meet God openly as they had before. Yet when His voice was heard, walking in the garden in the cool of the day, Adam and his wife hid among the trees; the fig leaves wouldn’t do, they were afraid.
When God spoke, Adam’s answer showed that he was in his heart away from Him; “The woman Thou gavest me,” he said, “she gave me to eat,” as much as to say, “It’s all your fault.” Eve, too, throws the blame on another, Satan,—”The serpent beguiled me and I did eat.” How sad all this was,—having done wrong, and then to try to excuse themselves even at the expense of God. It shows what hearts we have, surely, because we are children of Adam and Eve, and have the same sinful nature.
In the face of the ingratitude of His disobedient creatures, God at once speaks of a Saviour. (Verse 15). There should be enmity between the woman’s child, which we know could only be the Lord Jesus; and Satan, whose “head” would be bruised though he should bruise the Lord Jesus’ “heel.” These things were made true in principle at the cross. The Lord Jesus won the victory over Satan there, though He was made to feel the hatred of Satan in all that Satan, and men led by, him, were permitted to do to Him. By and by Satan will be put in that dreadful hell that was made for him, but he will have beside him all those who are not saved.
God now turns to Eve, first, and then to Adam, both of whom had been listening, no doubt, to the words. God had spoken to Satan, and tells them of the results they and their children would always feel of their disobedience; they should have sorrows all their lives, and death would surely come just as had been foretold; Satan was proved a liar, and God their only true friend. God is your only true friend, too; have you believed what He has said and taken the Lord for your own Saviour?
The story ends with God sending Adam and Eve out of the garden they couldn’t be in any longer, but now fitted with clothes of animal skins instead of fig leaves. In this way God showed the need for blood to be shed; sinners can only be received by God on the ground of their lives being forfeited, and someone having died for them. The Lord Jesus has died for us.
Turn over the pages of your Bible to the Epistle to the Romans, 5th chapter, 6th, 7th and 8th verses which tell us that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Have you thanked Him for doing that? O what trouble and sorrow, what sin and sadness that first sin of Adam and Eve brought on us all! But we are all sinners ourselves, and not only the children of sinning first parents; we need to be saved, each one of us. Are you saved?