NorthStar Church Blog

Reading this part of the story can be challenging. The consequences of Adam and Eve’s choices have an impact on all of us.

Growing up, I spent quite a bit of time helping my grandparents keep weeds and thorns out of their crops. That was hard work! My husband and I recently celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary, and we both know that is a testament to the grace of God—because marriage is hard work. And as a mother, I can vouch that childbirth is painful. However, all that personal labor brings good benefits: nutritious food, a loving marriage, and beautiful children, respectively.

We know the rest of the story—and Jesus changes everything! John, in Revelation, tells us:
“I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, ‘Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.’” (Revelation 21:3–4)

As we wrap up this week’s story of Adam and Eve, please remember: when this world seems hard, God is close. He is ever-present, preparing to come for His bride. One day, He will return and make everything right. Sin will be no more, and our hope will be fulfilled.

Today we pick up the story of Adam and Eve right after Adam tells God that he was afraid because he was naked, so he hid. This is where the finger-pointing begins!

God asks Adam if he ate the forbidden fruit. Adam replies, “The woman you gave me—she gave me the fruit to eat.” God then asks Eve what she has done. She says, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate the fruit.” Adam blames Eve, and Eve blames the serpent.

God does not question the serpent but immediately places a curse on him, saying, “You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:14–15).

There are so many questions that come up from this story that we may never fully understand. Why didn’t God stop Adam and Eve from eating the fruit? Why place the fruit in the garden to begin with? Why allow the serpent near them at all?

This part of the story—and those questions—remind me of parenting. When our children were small, I would set them up in our den, a safe place for them to play. I didn’t go around and remove everything in the house that could harm them—I simply placed them in a setting where they could enjoy their freedom. Inevitably, one of them would get hurt.

Here’s what we do know about this story: God is good, and He loves His children. His plan has always been for us to live in relationship with Him. Nothing changes that. Eve and the serpent’s offspring will live in hostility—good versus evil. However, God also tells the serpent that he will receive a mortal wound to the head.

Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), and His death on the cross won the battle for all of us.

God is working on our behalf all the time. Take time today to thank Him for His sacrifice and His daily protection over us.

Amy Seiffert, in her Bible Minute with Amy daily reel, recently talked about how laundry is her least favorite chore. Genesis says Adam and Eve were naked and unashamed—until they ate the forbidden fruit (Genesis 2:25). Then they immediately covered themselves with fig leaves—the first laundry! Amy concludes that if you don’t like doing laundry, remember it’s because of the Fall, the original sin in the Garden of Eden. Good point!

Genesis 3:7 says, “At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.” The fig leaves provided a temporary solution for their shame. However, not only did they hide their bodies from each other—Scripture goes on to say they also hid from God among the trees. When God returned to the garden, Adam said, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid” (Genesis 3:9–10).

God then asked him directly if they had eaten from the tree He commanded them not to eat from. That’s when the “blame game” begins, and God addresses the consequences of their sin. We’ll come back to that portion of Genesis 3 tomorrow.

Today, our focus is on Genesis 3:21: “And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.” Ironically, Adam and Eve knew enough to try and cover their sin. They used fig leaves—a temporary, short-term solution. Thankfully, God is merciful and knows that sin requires death—a shedding of blood—to be covered.

Genesis 3:21 is the first time we see a sacrifice for sin in Scripture. Animals die to provide covering and restoration for Adam and Eve. This foreshadows what we just celebrated at Easter: Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected to restore humankind to Himself.

Today, take time to consider whether there is sin in your life that you’re trying to hide from God. Confess it to Him in prayer, and ask for the strength to repent and fully accept His mercy and forgiveness.

My son recently shared a story that occurred at his work. A 7-year-old boy came in for a baseball evaluation, hoping to get private lessons set up. While chatting with the young boy, my son put some equipment out and then left him in the batting cage to grab one last thing. When he returned, the boy told him all the equipment was broken.

My son was shocked. While he was gone, the boy had knocked over the batting tee and kicked the other equipment around the cage, indeed breaking a few things. While we had a good laugh about it that evening, I offered my son one piece of advice: no one has to teach us to be bad—it’s in our nature.

This is the consequence for all of us due to Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God and their eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Scripture says that after they ate the fruit, they immediately felt shame (Genesis 3:7). Sin. They could not undo it. They could not change it. They could not hide it.

Eve had described the fruit as good, delightful, and desirable. Yet, there was other fruit they could eat that was just as good. There was fruit that was delightful—offered in multiple colors, shapes, and tastes that would satisfy. No other fruit was off-limits. Unfortunately, they chose to believe the serpent’s lies, and their desire for the forbidden won out.

Every day we live, there are choices to be made. The pull of our flesh to be selfish and to do what we desire is strong. It takes intention to choose God’s best and not simply give in to ourselves. Lysa TerKeurst, in her book The Best Yes, says, “The one who obeys God’s instruction for today will develop a keen awareness of His direction for tomorrow.”

Let’s take time to pray like Paul did for the Colossians in our verses today. May we all have complete knowledge, spiritual wisdom, and understanding to make choices that produce good fruit for God’s kingdom—today, tomorrow, and the next day.

I love a good story. As a young child, I remember hearing the biblical stories of Creation, Noah and the Ark, Jonah and the Whale, Daniel in the Lion’s Den, and so many more. They captivated me and became the catalyst for my desire to know and accept Christ.

Our new sermon series, Greatest Hits, is all about digging a bit deeper into these stories—looking more closely at the details and seeing how God reveals Himself throughout the Bible.

This week, we start right at the beginning with Adam and Eve, and how sin entered creation through disobedience. What did God really say? Our verses today tell us that God instructed Adam to freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—except from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If they ate that fruit, they would die. That seems fair and quite clear, so how does sin enter the picture?

The serpent twists God’s words. Genesis 3:1 says he speaks to the woman (Eve), “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” Eve’s response is mostly correct, but she adds a twist as well. Genesis 3:2–3 says, “The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, “You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.”’ God said nothing about touching the fruit, but Eve adds that caveat. It opens the door for the serpent to insinuate that God is withholding something good for selfish reasons.

In Genesis 3:5, the serpent continues, “In fact, God knows that when you eat it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” He already knows that Adam and Eve were created in God’s image and given authority over him (Genesis 1:26–27). Unfortunately, Eve sets her eyes on the fruit and sees it as good, delightful, and desirable. She eats it and gives some to Adam. With that first bite, God’s gift—to keep them from understanding good and evil and from the consequences of sin and death—is lost forever.

Consider today how you can be 100% certain of what God says and avoid the deception of Satan. The best way to start is by reading God’s Word consistently. Charles Spurgeon says, “Draw from it your ammunition and armor. Make it your daily meat and drink, so you will be strong to resist the devil and joyful in discovering that he will flee.”