Questions about original sin, Adam & Eve, and the Garden of Eden

The following questions were all submitted by a Bible Fellowship in a Far Eastern nation. At the time, the Fellowship was studying Genesis, so all of their questions pertain to events in the Garden of Eden. Most of the questions ask WHY Adam and Eve did such-and-such -- what were they thinking, and so forth? These are legitimate questions, even though the Bible simply does NOT answer them. In view of the Bible's silence on these matters, Bellgamin's comments are only OPINIONS, although Bible references are considered wherever possible. Accordingly, you should read the following, not as a "school solution," but as a stimulus to your own thinking.

Question: God told Adam that he would die if he ate the forbidden fruit. Did Adam really understand what death is, since he had not seen anyone die before? Maybe he thought death was not horrible and therefore he ate the fruit to see what would happen. Why did he eat the fruit?

God first spoke to Adam in Genesis 1.28. God said, "Be fruitful and multiply..." Obviously Adam understood every word (including "death") that God spoke to him right from the very beginning. Accordingly, it is clear that God created Adam & Eve with the ability to understand God when He spoke to them. People normally learn language during their childhood. Since God created Adam & Eve as adults, it would seem that God endowed them with language abilities. As to why Adam ate the fruit... 1 Timothy 2.13-14 tells us that Eve was deceived by the serpent, whereas Adam was NOT deceived. Perhaps Adam thought God was lying when God said that eating the fruit would cause death. Moreover, Adam may have decided he did not want to obey and serve God, but instead wanted to be independent of God. Finally it seems evident that Adam WANTED to know good and evil, and was fully convinced that the fruit would give him this knowledge. In Genesis 3.22, it is made clear that Adam was correct - he did come to understand good and evil.

Question: Did God tell Eve about the forbidden fruit directly and personally?

Genesis 2.16 clearly states that God commanded the MAN (Adam) not to eat the fruit, and warned him that eating the fruit would cause death. The Bible is silent as to who told Eve but, from her conversation with the serpent (Gen 3.1-5), it is clear that Eve was quite aware of God's command. God has made husbands responsible to be the spiritual leaders of their families, and to protect them, even if the husband must die in so doing (Eph 5.22-24). Accordingly, it was Adam's responsibility to both warn and defend his wife from eating of the forbidden fruit. He may have done the former, but he very definitely did not do the latter.

Question: Adam could have refused to eat when Eve passed him the fruit since he knew the importance of God's order, right? Or did Adam eat because he loved Eve very much and decided to die with her?

Genesis 3.6 states that Adam was THERE with Eve when she ate the fruit. I think that a LOVING husband would have protected his wife from both the temptation to sin, and from doing the sinful act itself. But Adam did not do either. Perhaps (just perhaps) Adam loved his own selfish desires more than he loved his wife. Perhaps (just perhaps) Adam waited to see if his wife would drop dead before risking his own life. And, when she didn't drop dead, he ate the fruit himself. In the final analysis, the Bible does NOT describe Adam's motives so -- draw your own conclusions.

Question: God did not say that they couldn't "touch" the fruit, but Eve said they would die if they touched it. Was it Adam or Eve who wrongly interpreted God's word?

It is possible that Adam told Eve about God's command, and EXAGGERATED the limitation God had placed on them. People still do the same thing today. When I taught high school, my teen-age students often said, "God doesn't want us to have any fun." We sometimes look on God's laws as a cage to lock us in, and keep us from enjoyment. In reality, God's laws are a fortress to lock evil out, and protect us from sin and despair.

Question: Were Adam and Eve allowed to eat animals in the Garden, or only plants?

When God created people and animals they did NOT eat flesh. Rather, they ate only vegetables (Genesis 1.29-30). People and animals began to eat flesh only after the flood of Noah's days (Genesis 9.1-5). In the future God will renew the earth. At that time, people and animals will no longer eat flesh (Isaiah 9.6-9).

Question: What kind of "death" befell Adam and Eve after they ate the fruit? Was it "forever death" or could they be saved? Today, we know that Jesus can save us from "forever death," but Adam and Eve had not heard about Jesus at that time.

There are two types of "death" in the Bible -- PHYSICAL death, and SPIRITUAL death. Both types of death involve SEPARATION of a person's spirit. Physical death is separation of a person's spirit from his body (Luke 8.55, James 2.26). Spiritual death is separation of a person's spirit from God, because of sin (Ephesians 2.1, Revelation 20.11-15). The sin of Adam and Eve meant that their spirits were immediately separated from God because of their sin. Thus, they "died" an immediate spiritual death. The process of physical death also began immediately, and Adam & Eve eventually died. (Genesis 5.5) As to whether Adam & Eve could have been saved even though Jesus had not yet died on the cross, read our page at http://www.biblebell.org/otsaints.html.

Question: Can you tell us what is the relationship between Adam and Jesus? We read an article from Internet that said, "If you ignore Adam, you are ignoring Jesus."

The article you read was probably discussing the truthfulness of the Bible. Some people say that they believe in Jesus, but they feel that the story of Adam and Eve is only a myth. However, Luke 3.38 specifically states that Jesus is a descendent of Adam, according to the flesh. Thus, if a person denies that Adam existed, that person is ALSO denying that Jesus existed.

Question: What would have happened if only Eve had eaten the forbidden fruit, but not Adam? Would Eve have died while Adam would have lived forever?

The Bible does not answer this perplexing question. Notice that God pronounced SEPARATE judgments on the serpent (Gen 3.14-15), Eve (Gen 3.16), and Adam (Gen 3.17). God's judgments on Adam spoke of death whereas God's judgments on Eve did not. Moreover, Romans 5.12 would seem to indicate that it was Adam's sin that brought death into the human race. Per Gen 2.16-17, it was Adam to whom God gave the command NOT to eat of the forbidden fruit. It was also Adam to whom God gave the warning that eating of the fruit would result in death.

Question: Before they sinned, did Adam and Eve discuss God's command to not eat the fruit? If they had discussed regarding the fruit, they might not have sinned. (A girl in our fellowship asked this question because she thinks that, nowadays, husbands and wives do not adequately communicate with each other.)

Adam & Eve probably discussed God's command, but the Bible does not say. The girl in your fellowship speaks the truth. It is MOST important that a wife and her husband have good communications with each other. Moreover... When husband and wife communicate, they should ALWAYS invite God to be present with them. If Adam and Eve did discuss the forbidden fruit together, it is very likely that they did NOT include God in their conversation. They left God out. If God had been invited to their discussion, it is very likely they would NOT have sinned.

Question: Could the serpent really speak?

The Bible clearly states that the serpent DID speak (Gen 3.1). Genesis 3.1 says that the serpent was more "cunning" than any other beast. The word "cunning" translates the Hebrew word "aruwm" (Strong's #6175) which means subtle, shrewd, crafty, sly, sensible (Brown-Driver-Briggs). Thus, the serpent AT THAT TIME apparently possessed sufficient intelligence to express itself in words. Nowadays when we think of a serpent we think of a long reptile that slithers along the ground. However, the way a serpent looks today is the result of the curse God placed on the serpent in Genesis 3.14. We have no idea of what the serpent looked like BEFORE God cursed it. Be sure and read Revelation 12.9 where Satan is described as "that serpent of old." It is likely that the serpent in Genesis chapter 3 was either a TOOL of Satan, or was "possessed" by Satan.

Question: Adam and Eve did not wear clothing in the beginning. But after they sinned, they not only found themselves guilty but might have been feeling cold also. (For example, they could feel the wind blowing in the garden.) Therefore, did they have to wear clothes so as to keep themselves warm? Or had God changed the weather also after they sinned (e.g. 4 seasons)?

God did not establish the 4 seasons until after the flood in Noah's day (Gen 8.22). The Bible says that Adam & Eve wore clothes because they became ashamed and guilty (Gen 3.7). Notice Genesis 3.21 -- it is significant that God Himself made clothing for Adam & Eve. It is even more significant that God made their clothing from the skin of an animal.

Question: Did Adam and Eve need to sleep? Why does God want us to sleep?

I'm fairly certain Adam & Eve had to sleep AFTER they sinned. Did they need to sleep BEFORE they sinned? Fascinating question! Perhaps not. "Tiredness" and our need for sleep MAY have begun when God pronounced the curse in Gen 3.17-19.

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