Bible Study Did Eve Command Adam To Sin?

[ugmug]

Did Eve Command Adam To Sin?

When you carefully examine the details of Adam and Eve's sin you'll find that Adam is innocent of his sin. Consider that God created Eve from the rib of Adam therefore Eve represents the flesh of Adam and with it all the desires and lusts inherent in mankind.

In the Garden of Eden the serpent tempted Eve with the thought that eating the forbidden fruit will elevate Eve to become like a God. When Eve went and ate the forbidden fruit she did indeed become like a God as God states in Genesis 3:22 when after both Adam and Eve had eaten the forbidden fruit he referred to both of them as becoming '... like one of us...'.

Genesis 3:22

And the Lord God Said, 'The Man has now become like one of us, knowing Good and Evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and live forever.'

God created Eve to be the helper to Adam. After Eve had sinned she presented Adam with the forbidden fruit that she previously had eaten to fulfill her role as a helper. But by Eve eating the forbidden fruit she had elevated herself to be like a God as she now had God's knowledge of Good and Evil. So when Eve offered Adam the forbidden fruit it was as if God were offering Adam the forbidden fruit himself.

When Eve tempted Adam she placed Adam in a moral dilemma whereby Eve was now Adam's superior. When Eve sinned she gained God's knowledge of Good and Evil and therefore became like a God, all the while, Eve still retained her role as Adam's helper simply because she was created from Adam's flesh

Eve's offer of the forbidden fruit to Adam was no longer an offer to sin, but a command to sin (hint: Eve was created in the image of God). Adam's eating the forbidden fruit was tantamount to an act of obedience to a superior since Eve now possessed God's knowledge of Good and Evil after her sin, and also gained a superior stature over Adam as well.

Adam's sin was a moral quandary whereby Adam sinned against God while also being obedient to God at the same time (hint: this is an example of the quantum duality of Adam's sin that Jesus Christ settled on the Cross by being both man and God).

Adam accepted the offer of the forbidden fruit by Eve with complete innocence since Eve was both Adam's helper and now his superior. But after Adam ate of the forbidden fruit that Eve offered him Eve fell back to being only Adam's helper since both had the exact same knowledge of Good and Evil thereby any stature Eve gained over Adam because of her sin was now instantly lost.

It is Adam's innocence in his sin against God that ultimately allowed God to become a sinless man as Jesus Christ and die for all of mankind's sin (hint: which is why Jesus Christ is known as the second Adam). It must be remembered that since Adam did sin, innocent or not, he must still pay the penalty for that sin which is death. When God became man as Jesus Christ, and died on the cross, not only did Jesus Christ pay the penalty for Adam's sin, but also for his descendants, and because Eve was created from the flesh of Adam that forgiveness extends to Eve as well.

A women could argue that Eve, in tempting Adam, was in fact Adam tempting himself since Eve was created from the flesh of Adam. But when Eve sinned, and gained God's knowledge of good and evil, she became like a God and we all know there is only one God, so there is now only one Eve. Once Adam and Eve became 'like one of us' they became unique individuals like a God and therefore each and every person thereafter must accept God's offer of salvation individually.

Once Adam and Eve became “...like one of us, knowing Good and Evil” , no longer is there the possibility of a 'group plan' of salvation for mankind. For every person is now their own God, as an unique individual, and responsible only for their own salvation. When God states that we have become “...like one of us, knowing Good and Evil” he was referring to our separate 'God like' individuality that necessitates an individual acceptance of salvation.

It is interesting that Eve did not use her knowledge of Good and Evil, gained from eating the forbidden fruit, to stop herself from tempting Adam with the same forbidden fruit. Clearly the knowledge of Good and Evil is used by a sinner to recognize someone else's lack of sin and tempt them into sinning. Whereas the sinless Jesus Christ used his knowledge of Good and Evil to prevent people from sinning (hint: by following the 10 Commandments).

If you want to gain the forgiveness of sin and life eternal with God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit, in heaven. Then just believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That's all there is to it!

God Bless

 

[Sparkey]

Adam was there with Eve when she was deceived.

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

Recall that she wasn't there when God's command was given. Adam had personally heard it. Why was Adam silent?

I might be able to go along with the "Eve sinned and commanded Adam to also" idea presented here except that God, who knows hearts and all things, told us differently. We are told that Eve was deceived. We are told that it was Adam who sinned. We now know that they were together when the subtlety of the serpent beguiled her. She bought into the lie and ate, she also gave some to Adam who also did eat. Only he had heard both what God had said and also what the liar had said.

It seems to me that Adam proved that loved his wife more than he loved God. He, like many preachers of today, loved the gift more than the giver. He broke the 1st Commandment even before it had been formalized and written in stone. All of what we see afterward is the unfolding of the mystery. Consider how we see the fruit of his choice unfold. Cain and Able are the fruits of their union while in sin. We are still waiting to see the fruit of the union coming from the 2nd Adam and the church.

We shall put on his righteousness, our wedding garment, our gift. Adam joined Eve (the joy set before him) and forsook his love for God. But it is only Jesus who shows us the Father. Adam didn't yet know the depth of his Father's love, his eyes being set on those things he could see. He watched as she ate. Then he ate also. That's the sin.

There was no "command" other than what God said, "In the day ye shall eat thereof..." Did God have a plan for them? What was to happen if they did not sin and die? Can we know? Maybe not, but we can make an educated guess. This will go fast but it's what has already been said so...

Consider Hebrews 12:2 "The Joy set before him..." In order to understand Heb 12 within the flow of the conversation we recall the subject of Heb 11, the 'Faith Chapter'. There we see example after example of faith in action. We see the faith of Able, Seth, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Sarah. We see the examples set forth by Moshe, Joshua, Gideon, David and others. By faith they conquered kingdoms and escaped all manner of dangers. There were miracles. Others, who also had faith, were tortured and killed and thrown into prisons and/or lived in poverty. They suffered because of their faith. But the important thing we see in Heb 11 is not if they escaped trial but that they had faith. Then comes verse 39:

And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised,

Abraham received part. He saw the son that came from his loins. He did not see the promise that his progeny would be as the stars and sands. He dies before having seen it. David conquered all the land he had been promised to Israel but neither did he see all of the promise. For one thing, he died. He did not yet have the inheritance that God promised. There's an element of suspense in the story. The drumroll is still rolling today and everything (all creation) is waiting - waiting - waiting...

But waiting for what? We are starting to go toward a completely different subject than the OP intended here so let me allow others to pick this up in ohter threads. Romans 8:20, Mark 16:15 and Col 1:23 are all good starting points -- but mostly likely you already know that it is the revealing of the Sons of God that is being waited for. We are the joy that was set before Jesus, and we are the reason he suffered and endured the cross. We are his joy. He joy is our strength. With Christ, we are walking hand in hand with God. Our Father showed Him (and Him alone) the plan. He is showing us and it is by faith that we are able to glimpse it. Jesus is the word of God and it is the word of God in us, en-grafted that reveals and transforms, changes from glory to GLORY. He is our salvation.

By comparing the actions of the Silent Adam who joined with his wife for the promise to his flesh (that he saw with his eyes right then and there) or rather, so that the promise he saw leaving him would be prevented --by comparing that to the actions of our Jesus at the cross, we are able to better see the longsuffering and patience of God toward us. We are able to see who God really is. Jesus showed us that. We are able to see what happens when faith is rightly placed and where man continues to walk upright before and with Him. In fact, and by His grace, we are able to participate and experience it. We are the reward that justice demands is given to the faithful one. Imagine that! The invitation to the wedding is going out even now.

 

[Malachi]

The short answer to your question is "No". Eve was deceived and disobedient but Adam was not deceived yet disobedient. Both were "in the transgression" (1 Tim. 2:14).

Your speculations are very creative but cannot be supported by Scripture. There is also a danger to such speculations, since most false doctrine comes from speculation. Eve was not told that she would become "as God" but "as gods".

 

[Deborah13]

It seems to me that Adam proved that loved his wife more than he loved God.

I wonder about that.
If he loved her so much, why didn't he stop her or get rid of the snake to start with?
Why did he eat instead of pleading her case, as Moses did for the Hebrew children?
Why did he blame her when God found them? Was he a coward?

 

[About the Son of God]

The short answer to your question is "No". Eve was deceived and disobedient but Adam was not deceived yet disobedient. Both were "in the transgression" (1 Tim. 2:14).

Your speculations are very creative but cannot be supported by Scripture. There is also a danger to such speculations, since most false doctrine comes from speculation. Eve was not told that she would become "as God" but "as gods".

Yes. And that's found in both the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts, without exception. eg: Elohym and Theoi are plurals meaning, gods; eg: as in Genesis 3:5 ; and so may or not include God as Father... a subtle point, indeed.

 

[Classik]

Boys were fine until girls came.

 

[Edward]

Boys were fine until girls came.

Apparently so, but here's some encouragement for you brother.
Revelation 8:1
And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour./

See? Proof of no girls in heaven!

 

[Classik]

They are going to report you to granny. heheheheheheheheh

 

[Edward]

Time to head for the bunker you say?

 

[Deborah13]

Boys were fine until girls came.

So do you always chase around what isn't good for you? That's kinda silly don't you think?

Apparently so, but here's some encouragement for you brother.
Revelation 8:1
And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour./

See? Proof of no girls in heaven!

Time to head for the bunker you say?

 

[Sparkey]

If he loved her so much, why didn't he stop her or get rid of the snake to start with?

I stand corrected. Thank you.

After thinking about what you said (good observation, by the way) I should have said that he valued the gift over the giver and proved that he loved himself more than he loved God.

 

[Edward]

I stand corrected. Thank you.

After thinking about what you said (good observation, by the way) I should have said that he valued the gift over the giver and proved that he loved himself more than he loved God.

...so, he was prideful before sin entered into him?

(btw, thx for bringing that to my attention that Adam was there. I missed that somehow reading it!)

 

[Deborah13]

I stand corrected. Thank you.

After thinking about what you said (good observation, by the way) I should have said that he valued the gift over the giver and proved that he loved himself more than he loved God.

I'm not sure there is a big difference between valued and loved.
Are you saying that he was afraid that if he stopped her or didn't join her, that she would turn against him, or something like that?
Then when he gets called on the carpet for it, out of fear, he gives her up?

 

[Sparkey]

I'm not sure there is a big difference between valued and loved.

Idolatry doesn't involve love.

Are you saying that he was afraid that if he stopped her or didn't join her, that she would turn against him, or something like that?

Something like that, yes. There are many details about Adam and Eve that God has not written about including Adam’s thinking and the reason(s) why he chose to sin. My thought was that he was standing silent and weighing things when he saw her eat. He knew God as Creator and also as Lawgiver. But I don't think he knew God all that well.

Adam had previously instructed Eve about the tree. She quoted what was taught in Gen 3:2-3. He may have been proud to see her do well in the reply but, if so, it didn't last. She bought into what the serpent was selling. I think that Adam saw what was happening when she took the fruit. That he was privy to her inner process. Recall that there was no barrier to their communication like we have; the Tower of Babel had not yet happened.

Then what? Adam had been given one specific law by God to obey. He chose to disobey the revealed will of God. If he was not deceived then what are we left with for motive? He made himself the chief end rather than God and failed to trust his Creator. The immediate consequence was guilt and shame. They separated themselves from God. They hid. They did not have the benefit of 1 John 1:8-9, didn't know they were to confess their sin and instead chose to hide it. That act confirmed their unrepentant transgression. (1 Timothy 2:14)

What could have persuaded Adam to eat? She saw it to be good for food. She bought the lie that eating would make her wise (like God), knowing good from evil. But he was not fooled. What then? Could it be our old friend, fear? Was he afraid that he would be left alone, that she would die and, 'Poor me! Worry, worry me!'

It's speculation. Nothing more. But now we ask, "what was the reward that was set before Christ that motivated him to endure the cross?" Was it not the woman? The church? That's the mystery and I don't pretend to have all the answers but I'll readily admit that I'm intrigued by mysteries. And I think that God smiles when we nibble at the hook He baited. Adam chose his own interest over Gods? That's where I am thinking that he chose the gift over the Giver. I've never cared for the 'woman as the evil temptress' line of reasoning. She (and all women) got a bad rap (suffered dishonor due to false accusations) for that and over the years there has been nothing from that line of reasoning except suffering and injustice.

But back to your thought, is there a difference between valued and loved? He wanted her for himself. Rather selfish, I'd say. I don't think that Adam, although truly innocent until the moment described, was all that different than us. Oh! And although you didn't ask, I do expect both of them in heaven.

 

[Deborah13]

And although you didn't ask, I do expect both of them in heaven.

Me, too.
Thank you for your insights. I hadn't thought about the motivation for Jesus being the Church. That similarity makes a lot of sense to me.

I wonder if she would have had to leave the garden and would have died, if Adam hadn't eaten.
She didn't receive the knowledge of good and evil until he ate, too.
I don't know how that would work with your comparison above to Jesus and the Church, though. I have to think about it.

 

[Edward]

That does make sense huh? I think Adam didn't want to lose his wife. Scripture does not say how long they were together before Eve was deceived but I think it's reasonable to think it wasn't her first day. They probably did have enough time to grow very close. So maybe it's not that he didn't love God but didn't want to break up and see her die or go off alone and simply was not aware of the full ramifications of his actions?

 

[Sparkey]

Me, too.
Thank you for your insights. I hadn't thought about the motivation for Jesus being the Church. That similarity makes a lot of sense to me.

I wonder if she would have had to leave the garden and would have died, if Adam hadn't eaten.
She didn't receive the knowledge of good and evil until he ate, too.
I don't know how that would work with your comparison above to Jesus and the Church, though. I have to think about it.

That revelation was given (along with so many others) to our brother and apostle, Paul.
Run with Perseverance
1Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Isa 46:10 "I make known the end from the beginning."

We are headed toward a wedding ceremony. There is much to be done between now and there.

I don't really think that I know what Adam thought. But I really do like thinking about it. God has revealed Himself and is revealing Himself and will continue to reveal Himself. Jesus is the only one who saw Him. Adam didn't understand. Neither did Moses but Moses knew more. David, I would say, knew Him more than Moses. The tent (tabernacle) of David speaks of intimacy. We will know Him more and better than David. That's way beyond me. But we will be like Him - because we will see Him face to face.

I trust you already familiar with Heb 11, the Faith Chapter.
These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Something better for us...

 

[About the Son of God]

That he was privy to her inner process. Recall that there was no barrier to their communication like we have; the Tower of Babel had not yet happened.

What an amazing experience that would have been....

The tower of Babel was a situation where man said, "Let us", "Let us", "Let us", so that all that was being decreed was exclusively man centered around a tower meant to reach to heaven without God. And in response, God says something like: "and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible with them; Therefore, 'Let us' go down and confuse their language, so they will not be able to make any more 'us' speak. "

But, now that I'm thinking about it... in the Garden while it was in Eden, there is still some evidence of message confusion.
Eve didn't quote the law given to Adam exactly as it was given to Adam. For God never said they couldn't "touch" the fruit, but only that they ought not all eat of it, and for their own good -- lest they all die two deaths.

Yet if the language is not yet confused, then how is it that the communication of the message became exaggerated?
Does such an imperfection imply that Adam didn't understand God very well, or that Eve didn't understand Adam very well ?
Something to think about....

The fact that Eve's eyes were not open until Adam ate, is a manifestation of the fact that they communicated life to each other through sharing a same-ness of body; or restated as Paul puts it -- the believing spouse sanctifies an unbelieving spouse; 1Corinthians 7:14.

Note carefully, in Genesis, that not until both spouses eat, that the "eyes" of both are opened simultaneously; and that all children necessarily will become unclean; (Romans 5:12)

The new Adam, (Jesus), likewise enters marriage to undo what Adam did; cf: the wedding feast of the lamb / and a covenant oath in bread and wine, so that he becomes the groom and is able to sanctify his wife (the church) through sharing the same [glorified] flesh. eg: His flesh. Eg: Ephesians 5:29-32.

What Paul is getting at, is that Jesus as a spouse has the power to communicate life through his body, and that is what we know can (and does) keep even a sinful wife alive while she works out her faith here on earth, in fear and trembling.

But that Babel idea....
Although the Holy Spirit, at Pentecost, did a reversal of the confusion at Babel; eg: coming down in the toungues of fire, and making living stones (as opposed to burnt brick), This Spirit, either created speech in many languages, or else created hearing of the same original sound in many diverse ears in different ways; But in either event, what is important is that all those called by God suddenly 'understood' each other; Acts 2:5-7. They understood "we" speech again.

Yet, even with the miracle of the ear and tongue which was brouht by the Holy Spirit, and I think is by nature greater than what Adam and Eve had for communication --, none the less, there is still evidence of some confusion of meaning; or at least closed mindedness of the listeners even with the Holy Spirit present.

Acts 2:13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

I sometimes wonder what it would be like, to be married to a woman who could read my thoughts, share my memories, and delve into my inmost being. There is, of course, a fear of trespass that naturally arises at the thought -- but to what degree could two people become 'one spirit' ? That's a very appealing thought, for there seems such a great potential to reach an ultimate state of mutual understanding that people find so incredibly difficult through the faculty of language; but It seems that such an ability to communicate would weld them into nearly one person.

 

[About the Son of God]

I wonder if she would have had to leave the garden and would have died, if Adam hadn't eaten.
She didn't receive the knowledge of good and evil until he ate, too.

There is no promise by God that eating the fruit of the knowledge of Good and Evil would give that knowledge before death, nor even that the knowledge would be the cause of death.

But, there was a warning that eating the fruit would bring two deaths.

Adam was not deceived; So, I tend to think he knew that the moment she ate -- she was going to die.
The question was merely, how long, and how badly.

But I can't quite place his motives for not speaking earlier ; In my mind, I see him perhaps watching in shock as she suddenly does the thing that is forbidden to do. There isn't much time between when a person decides to take a bite, and when they do -- so it's not like Adam had a long time to figure out if he should stop trusting her to do what was right. He had to make a decision, or make no decision, and only a brief moment to consider his options.

There is also a question in my mind of exactly what tone of voice the serpent used to convey his message; and the positioning of their bodies relative to one another which would suggest what options Adam had, and the nature of the threat the serpent was posing. eg: It's not like Adam had a steel weapon or anything -- he is in a fruit garden, with ripe fruit and maybe a few twigs around. Somehow, the thought of throwing fruit at a 'dragon' doesn't quite seem like an option worthy of serious consideration in my mind.

 

[JohnD]

I have been down this road theologically and in the depths of Christian think tanks. What I am about to post is no indication of superiority or inferiority. Both the man and the woman had the opportunity and the potential to do the one thing God forbade them to do. The ONE thing. Before the Decalogue was the Monologue. Do not this one thing... [[[ sigh ]]]

If Adam was observant of the snake's sales pitch to Eve ("who was with her") then Adam was also deceived in that he ate the forbidden fruit along with Eve. Adam may have been with her, but he was unaware what was going on. Otherwise the account in 1 Timothy 2:14 is just plain wrong. Adam had to be deceived if he ate the fruit believing it would not produce the results God said it would and that it would produce the results Satan lied about.

Some teach Adam knowingly ate the fruit willing to accept the consequences because he loved her so much. This cannot be true either. The Bible says Adam listened to the voice of his wife. There was no falling on his own sword... no lover's leap... Something Eve said to Adam got him to eat the forbidden fruit, yet somehow he was not deceived in doing so.

The third and last alternative was that in a panic (sheer horror, I'd imagine) and in her new fallen nature she fed the fruit to Adam who did not question where it came from and he ate. Her voice may simply have been "here try this..."

Ah, some say, then Adam WAS deceived...

No. Adam was not deceived.

Adam, if this is the way it happened which all the scriptures apparently line up with, was defrauded. His trust was betrayed. But he did not change his understanding of what the forbidden fruit was and that it was still on God's extremely short DON'T DO list.

The infraction still took. Adam was not given ignorance as an excuse. If you read God's Law, you'll find ignorance is never an excuse for guilt.

And man and woman have had the same basic relationship ever since (which is why people must be so very careful to choose their mate and lovers). The longer I live the more I see how dangerous it is to give one's self to anyone other than one who loves them as much as they love themselves and more... by fallen human nature (even among the brethren) there is trouble and danger and... well I've gone on and on...

Trust no one implicitly. Not even your own self. Trust only God.