The Bible, Simplifiedਨਮੂਨਾ

By placing the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the garden, God gave Adam and Eve a choice:

1. They could choose to trust in God’s plan for the world and believe he knew what he was doing.

2. Or they could take things into their own hands, choosing for themselves what was good and what was evil.

Instead of forcing them to make the decision he wanted them to make, God gave them a choice. This is called “free will.” He didn’t create robots. He created humans to partner with. There can be no love without freedom.

Then we are introduced to a very strange being inside the garden. The Bible describes him as a serpent. But this serpent was standing upright, and he could talk.

This serpent approached Eve, questioning God’s rules and whether he had really said what they could and couldn’t eat. The serpent convinced Eve to start doubting God’s instructions by saying: “You will certainly not die . . . In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4–5).

That’s all the serpent had to say. The allure of this secret knowledge overpowered what God had said in the past. So Eve gave in to temptation, ate from the tree, and gave some fruit to Adam as well.

In this moment, everything changed for all of humanity. We call this the fall of humanity because it’s the point in the story where sin entered the world, and mankind—having taken things into their own hands instead of relying on God—was left to their own devices. Evil began to take over, leading to the introduction of cancer and hurricanes and abuse and war. Everything evil that we experience today in the world is because of sin and its consequences from generation to generation.

Immediately after the fall, Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden and heaven was separated from earth. This was a big deal, because had they been allowed to stay in the garden, they would’ve had access to the Tree of Life—and eating from it would have locked them into their sinful state for all eternity. By kicking them out, God put bumpers in place to protect them from themselves.

But God promised to send a deliverer who would one day make everything right again.

Prayer

Father, please help me choose to live in a way that pleases you, and please continue to protect me from myself. Thank you for sending Jesus as my deliverer. Amen.