Let’s look at Genesis chapter two. Allow me to set the stage for you.
Act One
Adam and God are on stage, Eve is offstage, awaiting her cue. The serpent is upstage, out of view, hiding under a rock. In the background on all sides of the main stage are trees and greenery; lions and lambs are seen hanging out, grazing side by side on the lush green foliage. And there is one particularly beautiful tree at center stage.
All is in order, and there is perfect harmony. God is the first to speak:
•••
The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
— Gen. 2:16-17
•••
Adam and God exit stage right. At this point Eve appears from stage left. She looks longingly at the tree, comes near it and reaches out as if to touch it, then pulls her hand back. The serpent slithers out from under his rock and approaches her. He has been watching her move across the stage, noticing how she looks at the tree.
•••
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
— Gen. 3:1-3
•••
Eve was not there when God told Adam not to eat of the tree in the middle of the garden (according to the scripture record, she was not created yet). Either Adam misspoke when he told her what God had said, or Eve heard wrong, but God did not say not to touch the tree.
So this is what I picture happening: The serpent proceeded to wrap himself around the trunk of the tree, showing her that he didn’t die from touching it.
The devil is in the details. I don’t know the origin of that saying, but it really rings true in this story. A small, seemingly insignificant detail. That is all it took for the serpent to get in Eve’s head. She fell prey to the original snake oil salesman. And having performed his bit part, the serpent slithered back under his rock.
•••
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
— Gen. 3:6
•••
And now this lovely little vignette turns into a game show. Adam and Eve are going to play “The Blame Game.” Who wins the blame game? Nobody ever.
Adam and Eve decide to go off script and chaos ensues, as the curtain comes down on this Garden of Eden.
Act Two
The curtain rises slowly, and the entire set has been cleared of everything green. Adam and Eve are now standing on a bare stage, the green earth that had been under their feet is now just dirt. The tree that had been center stage is gone, no longer a temptation. The lions in the background are now fighting, over the carcasses of the lambs they have just torn to pieces.
So when they hear God approaching, Adam and Eve come up with a plan. “Let’s hide.” Hide from God, like that’s going to work.
•••
The Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
— Gen. 3:9-13
•••
Eve blames the serpent but Adam does her one better: he blames the woman and God. Yikes!
This ad lib will end up costing them everything. Now let’s look at the consequences of flipping the script.
There is now a stench of death, rot and decay. Then comes guilt and shame. Pain and suffering appear right on cue.
But here’s the good news: The curtain will finally come down on Act Two when Jesus returns for His church.
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