The Fall
Adam answered,
“The womanYou gave to be with me—she gave me thefruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
“Eve, what have you done?” God asked.Eve replied, “The Serpent, he deceived me. And so I ate.”
– iBIBLE Chapter 2
Scripture reference: Genesis 3:12–13
God had pointed out Adam’s sin in the form of a question: “Have you eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil…the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?”
His sin was exposed, and he had nowhere to hide.
Instead of running away from the Lord again, as he did immediately following his eating the fruit from the tree, Adam decides to approach things differently. He plays the blame game.
First, he points toward Eve and explains, “The woman You gave to be with me—she gave me the fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Not only does he blame Eve for his own wrongdoing, but his words also implicate God as being the ultimate source of his sin. “The woman You gave to be with me…” If God simply had left him alone in the garden, this never would have happened, or so Adam seems to argue.
Too often, when we are caught in our errors, we seek self-justification, and we blame others for our faults. Sometimes, we will even try to blame God,just as Adam does here.
When God turns to Eve and asks, "What have you done?" She responds by blaming the serpent. Down the line, each gives account, blaming the next. The serpent, however, is rendered silent. There is no confession of sin, only a confession of fact; he was the one who deceived Eve. He had no one to blame.
Adam and Eve both miss a great opportunity here. They could have stood before the holy Lord, maker of heaven and earth, and cried out, "God be merciful to me, a sinner!" Instead, they both tried to justify their actions.What they did not realize is that God would be willing and able to heal and restore them.
Our Response
Being confronted with our sin hurts. It hurts our pride. It exposes our shame.
How often do we point the finger at God when we fall into sin? “If He hadn’t tempted me…I wouldn’t have…” “If He hadn’t put that person in my life, I wouldn’t have…” Even good things that the Lord has blessed us with can be
twisted.
The words of Scripture combat this kind of self-justification:
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” forGod cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. — James 1:13–14
When convicted of our sin, and the pit of our stomach turns in anguish, wemust seek the Lord and confess our wrongdoing to Him. Blaming others,including God, will do nothing to justify us. We need to be justified by theLord and His grace by trusting in Jesus Christ.
"Through a tree we were made debtors to God; so through a tree we have our debt canceled." —I renaeus of Antioch
God has offered us a solution to our sin, our sorrow, and our shame: JesusChrist, His only son, and His atoning death on the cross. Believe in Him,and trust in Him for your righteousness. There is no other way to be trulyrighteous; it must come as a gift from God.
God has offered us a solution to our sin, our sorrow, and our shame: Jesus Christ,
His only son, and His atoning death on the cross. Believe in Him, and trust in Him
for your righteousness.
A Prayer for This Week
Most Merciful God, we ask for forgiveness for our sins. For the wrong thingswe have done, the good things that we have neglected to do, and the thingswe cannot even remember, we know that need Your mercy. Just as Adamand Eve played the blame game, we are often tempted to do the samething. We pray for restoration, for forgiveness, and for You to lead us byYour grace. Help us to live lives that honor You, and help us to always lookto the cross of Jesus for our hope and peace. In Jesus’s name, we pray, Amen.