Genesis 3

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭3:1-6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Satan is a deceiver, a liar and he tries to get us to doubt God’s goodness.  He was able to get Eve to believe that God was holding out on her, that something great would happen if she went against what God had commanded. Satan made sin look “pleasing to the eye.”  He still does this today. True freedom comes from obedience to God’s Word, and knowing what to do and not to do.  The restrictions God gives us are for our own good, helping us to avoid bad decisions and the consequences that come from them.

And they heard the sound 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 among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭3:8-9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Sin separates us from God, but we can’t hide from God.  Regardless of what we have done, we need to be honest and ask God to forgive us. He always will. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” ‭‭(I John‬ ‭1:9,‬ ‭NKJV‬‬). His love for us, proven by what Jesus did on the cross, provides the repair for our relationship with God.  

And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭3:11-13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

We should not blame others for our sins and our mistakes. We must accept responsibility for our own actions. We cannot have a strong relationship with God unless we have true repentance first. True repentance starts with admitting what you have done wrong, and asking God for His forgiveness and His help. He wants to be in a relationship with you, so He will always say yes to you when you turn to Him, confess what you have done, and ask for His help.

“And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭3:15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

God always had a plan for how to fix the sin problem.  The plan was for Jesus to crush Satan by overcoming sin and death through His resurrection. 

Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life. ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭3:22-24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

After the fall, Adam and Eve were banished from the garden so that they would not be able to eat from the tree of life and live forever.  It seems as if God was being cruel by doing this, but actually it was a blessing in disguise.  He did not want them (or us) to be stuck in this sinful world forever. He wants us to be with Him one day, after our mission on Earth is completed.