The Garden of Eden

After creating Adam from the dust of the ground and breathing life into him, the Lord God planted a garden in the east, in Eden. This was no ordinary garden but a paradise of indescribable beauty and abundance. God made all kinds of trees grow there—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. Rivers flowed from Eden to water the garden, and the land contained gold, aromatic resin, and onyx. God placed Adam in this garden to work it and take care of it, giving humanity the dignity of purposeful labor in perfect conditions.

In the middle of the garden stood two significant trees: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God gave Adam complete freedom to eat from any tree in the garden, with one exception. The Lord commanded, 'You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.' This command wasn't arbitrary restriction but loving protection, and it gave Adam the freedom to choose obedience or rebellion.

God declared it was not good for the man to be alone, so He created Eve from Adam's rib to be a suitable helper and companion. Adam and Eve lived in perfect harmony with each other, with creation, and with God. They were naked and felt no shame. They walked with God in the garden in the cool of the day, experiencing unbroken fellowship with their Creator. This was paradise—the world as God intended it, without sin, death, pain, or separation from God.

But the serpent, identified later in Scripture as Satan, was more crafty than any other creature. He approached Eve and began his temptation with a subtle question that cast doubt on God's goodness: 'Did God really say, "You must not eat from any tree in the garden"?' This distorted what God had actually said, making God's command seem unreasonable. Eve corrected him but added to God's command, saying they must not even touch the fruit—showing she was already beginning to see God's word as restrictive rather than protective.

The serpent directly contradicted God's clear warning: 'You will not certainly die. For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.' This was the core temptation: the suggestion that God was withholding something good from them, that they could become like God on their own terms, and that there would be no consequences for disobedience. Eve looked at the fruit with new eyes—it appeared good for food, pleasing to the eye, and desirable for gaining wisdom.

Eve took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to Adam, who was with her, and he ate it too. The Bible doesn't record Adam protesting or defending God's command; he was present and passively complicit. Immediately their eyes were opened, but not in the way the serpent promised. Instead of becoming like God, they became aware of their nakedness and vulnerability. Shame entered human experience for the first time, and they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves—humanity's first attempt to hide the consequences of sin through their own efforts.

When they heard God walking in the garden, they hid among the trees. God called out, 'Where are you?'—not because He didn't know their location, but to give them opportunity to confess. Adam explained they were hiding because they were naked and afraid. God asked the penetrating question: 'Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree I commanded you not to eat from?' Adam blamed Eve and implicitly blamed God ('the woman you put here with me'), and Eve blamed the serpent. Neither took responsibility for their choice.

God pronounced judgments on all three: the serpent would crawl on its belly and be crushed by the woman's offspring (a prophecy of Christ), Eve would experience pain in childbirth and conflict in marriage, and Adam would toil to produce food from ground that was now cursed with thorns and thistles. Death entered creation. Yet even in judgment, God showed mercy. He made garments of skin for Adam and Eve—requiring the death of an animal, foreshadowing the sacrifice that would cover sin. He sent them out of Eden and stationed cherubim with a flaming sword to guard the tree of life. Paradise was lost, but the promise of redemption through the woman's offspring had been planted.