(26) Adam and Eve: Consequences of Disobedience – Lesson 26 2025
Genesis 3: 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. KJV
Adam was WITH Eve in the Garden of Eden. He ate of the fruit of The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil that God had commanded him not to eat. Adam is recognized in God’s Word as committing the original sin that brought both physical death and spiritual death – separation from God- into the world.
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 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. Genesis 2:16-17
You may read that the reason Adam is charged with the original sin rather than Eve is because Eve was deceived, however, God had spoken the direct command to Adam and he freely chose to disobey.
What I believe is that God considered Adam and Eve as being one. Eve was directly taken from Adam and the two of them God considered as one. God named them Adam as stated in Genesis 5:1-2.
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. KJV, NKJV, ASV . . .
Genesis 3:7-8 KJV
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; … 8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
After their eyes were opened, Adam and his wife (Eve) hid themselves from the presence of God.
9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11 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? Genesis 3-9-11 KJV
THE BLAME GAME BEGINS and has grown to epidemic proportions today!
Adam blames both God and Eve
God’s question “Where are you?” was an invitation for them to confess and repent. They responded in ways very familiar to us. First, they felt shame, resulting in their hiding from God. Second, they felt fear and made an attempt to escape God’s presence.
12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. Genesis 3:12 KJV
Third, they felt guilt, but compounded their sin by shifting blame. Adam blamed both Eve and God (“the woman . . . you gave to be with me”). Eve blamed the serpent (“the serpent deceived me”).
13 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. Genesis 3:13 KJV
16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. Genesis 3:16 KJV
Eve (woman) will struggle in domestic life. Difficulty will be common in the role as a mother – multiplied pain in childbirth, and as a wife – marital conflict with her husband.
The phrase “thy desire shall be to thy husband” refers not to sweet marital communion but to ongoing struggle (the identical Hebrew phrase appears in Cain’s struggle with sin in Genesis 4:7). The battle of the sexes had begun.
Then to Adam He said, 17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. Genesis 3:17-19 KJV
By eating the forbidden food, Adam let go of his headship over his wife and his dominion over the creation. Besides domestic struggle, Adam (man) will now struggle to eat, and his labor will include toil. The domain of man is cursed and will no longer yield its fruit easily.
In contrast to the serpent’s promise that “you will be like God,” Adam is told he was made from dirt and to dirt he will return in death. Man was initially to have dominion over the ground, but now the ground will resist and finally devour him. God’s promise that “you shall surely die” is tragically true. He died instantly in terms of his spiritual relationship with God, and he began to die physically.
“In Genesis 3 man distorts, denies, and defies God’s Word-reducing it to an alternative viewpoint, while man is the judge of what is “true for me.” This rebellion against God’s Word is responsible for all our woes-our alienation from God, our self-deception, our broken relationships with each other, the failure of animals to respond to our dominion, our toil to raise food from the ground, the “groaning” creation, and our own physical death.” Answers in Genesis: Answers Magazine-Lessons From the Fall
Next week’s lesson will discuss the judgement of the serpent.