In the Beginning, God created everything. He even created mankind. God called those first two humans Adam and Eve. God placed them in a beautiful garden, where he provided everything they needed.
In this garden, God planted all kinds of trees that produced delicious fruit so Adam and Eve would always have plenty to eat. God gave them the responsibility to take care of this garden and all of the creatures that lived there.
In the middle of the garden were two special trees – a Tree of Life, and a tree that could give Knowledge of Good and Evil. God told Adam and Eve to enjoy fruit from any tree in the garden – except for one; God warned them, “If you eat fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, you will definitely die.”
One day, a clever serpent came to Eve and asked her, “Did God really say you can’t eat ANY of the fruit in the garden?”
Eve told him, “No, we can eat from any tree in the garden. It’s only the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil that we are not allowed to eat from–or even touch, or we will die.”
Trying to trick Eve, the serpent said, “You won’t die! God knows that as soon as you eat that fruit your eyes will be opened, and you will become just like him! You will know everything, both good and evil.”
Eve, believing the serpent, looked at the delicious fruit, and thought, “Humm... we will know everything...” Then she took some of the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to Adam, who was with her, and he ate it. Instantly, their eyes were opened, and they became filled with shame and fear. They tied fig leaves together to cover up their nakedness.
Later that day, Adam and Eve heard God walking in the garden, so they hid in some bushes.
God called to them, “Where are you?”
Adam answered, “I heard you coming, and I was afraid... because I was naked, so I hid.”
God answered, “Why are you ashamed of being naked? Did you eat the fruit I told you not to eat?”
Adam said, “It was the woman you gave me... she handed me the fruit.”
Then God said to Eve, “How could you do this?”
Eve replied, “The serpent tricked me into eating the fruit.”
So God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you and your kind will crawl on your bellies and eat dust the rest of your lives. You will be the enemy of women and their sons. As you bite at his heels, he will step on your head.”
God’s heart was broken because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience. God always does what is right and true; he could not ignore what they had done. So God punished Adam and Eve by throwing them out of the garden – outside of his care and protection and far from the Tree of Life.
No longer following God’s ways, Adam and Eve were now subject to sickness, pain, and even death. God told them, “The way you have chosen to live will now bring you great struggles...
...women will have sharp pains while giving birth.
...men will have to work hard and sweat just to produce a little food from the ground.
...and you’ll both fight to control your relationship.
...then, you’ll return to the ground from which I created you.”
Even though God punished Adam and Eve, he did not stop loving them. He even created clothing for them out of animal skins. But mankind’s actions literally upset the balance of nature. Humanity’s relationship with God was broken and full of distrust. Mankind’s relationships with one another were broken and full of self-love. The brokenness even destroyed Man’s relationship with the rest of creation, as mankind sought to please himself and abuse nature.
All of this was the beginning of brokenness...
Dialogue
• What do we learn about humans in this story?
• When have you had to face the consequences for doing something wrong or a bad decision?
• In what ways are we similar/different from Adam and Eve?
• How did the story challenge or encourage you?
• How do you chose between right and wrong?
• What do we learn about God in this story?
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