The Lie in the Garden
In the garden that God planted for Adam and Eve were many pleasant trees bearing fruit that was good to eat along with two special trees, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God told Adam and Eve that they could eat freely of every tree except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, “for in the day that you eat thereof you shall die.” The serpent, who was indwelt by Satan, came to Eve and lied to her, saying that if she ate the forbidden tree’s fruit, she would not die, but would become like God knowing good and evil. Eve took the fruit, ate it, and gave some of it to Adam, who also ate some of it. That day when God visited the garden, instead of enjoying fellowship with God, in fear they hid themselves. Adam and Eve were then cast out of the garden, cut off from the tree of life. (Genesis 2:1-17)
What were the lies that Adam and Eve believed?
First, they believed the lie that God was not truthful, that He could not be trusted. Secondly, they believed that God was holding back something good from them and that He did not have their best interests at heart. Thirdly, they believed that they could be like God. In believing Satan’s lies and eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve were rebelling against God. As a result, they lost their place in the garden and broke their relationship with God. They were cut off from the tree of life, and as a result, their bodies aged and died. In believing Satan, Adam and Eve gave Satan a place of influence over them. He is now the prince of darkness, the god of this world.
The harmony of creation was broken. Sin brought loss, disorder, and a broken relationship between God and man. Adam and Eve put themselves at the center, demanding their own way, cutting themselves off from God’s life-giving ways. And because Adam and Eve had been given dominion over the earth, the effects of sin spread over all the earth bringing strife, corruption, and death. (Genesis 3:1-8; John 8:39-47)
Discovery Bible Studies
Lesson 7: The Lie in the Garden
Download to PDF
- Who led Adam and Eve to disobey God?
- What lies did the serpent tell Eve?
- What did the serpent promise that Eve would gain by taking the forbidden fruit?
- In forbidding Adam and Eve from eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was God keeping them from something good?
- How does Satan use these same kind of lies and empty promises to tempt us?
- What did Adam and Eve lose by disobeying God?
- In being cut off from the tree of life what eventually happened to Adam and Eve?
- Can we escape the consequences of disobeying God?
- In God’s judgment on the serpent (who was indwelt by Satan) God spoke about the woman’s seed who would bruise Satan’s head.
- Who was this seed and when did He deal this mortal blow to Satan?
- What consequences of her disobedience came to Eve and then through her to all women?
- What consequences of his disobedience in also taking the forbidden fruit came to Adam and through him to all men?
- How would you compare life for Adam and Eve before and then after their disobedience?
- What happened to the harmony that God established in creation in Genesis chapters one and two?
Additional passages for study: John 8:39-47
Image by Dorothée QUENNESSON from Pixabay