Adam – A Man of Easy Persuasion So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable…
Adam – A Man of Easy Persuasion
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, – Genesis 3:6-7
For someone whom we had earlier discussed as firm and resolute in his ways when considering his encounter with God during the partner searching episode, Adam proved to be a man of easy persuasion not many encounters later during his interaction with his wife, Eve, who got him to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil at the center of the garden.
Perhaps, some may be disappointed at Adam, and many still blame him to date, for easily succumbing to the request of his wife. From what we had earlier read, even Eve put up a semblance of resistance in her engagement with the serpent by trying to make it realize why they were not supposed to eat the fruit from that tree. However, immediately she took it for herself and ate, it was a no-brainer that Adam was going to follow suit.
It is pertinent to note that Adam was the one God expressly forbid not to eat from the fruits of both the tree of life as well as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:15-16). There was no record of God telling the woman this as she was not around when God was making the garden and putting Adam in charge. This presupposes that Adam should have shown more responsibility in his stewardship of the first warning God communicated to him.
However, perhaps he felt more affinity towards the woman whom he spent more time with than God, or because the woman’s pressure proved too unbearable for him, we may never know. What we do know is that Adam allowed himself to be persuaded into fouling the instruction of God and acting in disobedience. And that proved costly not just for both of them, but for their offspring after them from that time onward.
By not demonstrating leadership in what he was persuaded to do by his partner or responsibility towards a charge God committed to him concerning the trees, Adam painfully failed his first test of obedience and leadership. By benefit of hindsight, he must have later learned that it was not everything his partner pressured him to do that he should do, particularly when such was in direct violation of the command of God. We live life forward, but learn it backward.
Women in the Bible: Eve – A Woman that Shares So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and…
Women in the Bible: Eve – A Woman Who Shares
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. – Genesis 3:6
Our lesson from Eve today will focus on her sharing quality. She was a giving woman who did not hoard from her husband. How was that good? Please read along.
It takes love to give (John 3:16) and it takes a good heart to share what you could have kept for yourself alone. Eve demonstrated her love for her husband, Adam, by sharing the fruit she ate with him rather than kept it to herself alone.
Hindsight has helped us to know that she really did not do well by eating the fruit in the first place. However, without the benefit of knowing the consequences of her action, one can see the good heart of Eve as she demonstrated her affection for her husband by giving him the fruit to eat.
How is this so? The Bible says she ‘saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise’. These are all positive features that she decided to share with her husband instead of holding back. No matter what we think of her, she meant well by sharing what she thought was good stuff with her husband.
If the whole fruit-eating scenario had turned out well and hadn’t boomeranged on she and her husband’s faces, she would have been commended for her good nature. But because it did not end well, it is easy to castigate and blame her. However. the fact remains that she meant well for her husband by sharing the good, pleasant and desirable fruit with him, rather than kept it for herself alone and be helping herself to it secretly.
Another point is that, knowing that the said fruit would result in enlightenment, as it would make her wise and help her know what was good and what was evil, she wanted this for her husband as well, and that was why she shared it with him, so that they would both be wise and enlightened together. She could have opted to be the enlightened one in the family alone while the husband languished in ignorance. But she did not choose such privilege for herself alone. She wanted it for herself, and she desired it for her husband as well.
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. – Genesis 3:6
We had earlier considered how indiscreet Eve was in her dealings with the serpent, who was well known for his craftiness. Today, we will look at how naïve she also was in playing along with the serpent without pausing to challenge its goading.
If anything, Eve was fully aware of God’s charge that the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, should not be eaten by them. The reason God gave this command was to preserve the purity and innocence of humankind so that He could continue to have unfettered fellowship with them, and they would also continue to have unhindered access to Him (Hebrews 12:14).
However, when the serpent came into the picture and started working on Eve firstly by questioning God’s command as to why they were not allowed to eat the fruit of the tree and then refuting that nothing harmful would happen to them if they eat it, a more guarded person would have paused to probe the motive of the serpent for coming to her with a different proposition other than the original instruction God handed them.
At least, Eve was not in doubt as to the greatness or benevolence of God compared to the serpent. So, it was not unbelief that made her pander to the antics of the serpent. It was probably not stubbornness either, as she was in a state of innocence at this stage and had no awareness of complex human emotions. It was sheer naivete.
Naivete, defined by Oxford Advanced Dictionary as “natural and unaffected; innocent,” was what made Eve so carefree that she did not notice the rebellious undertone in the serpent’s words or check herself to ascertain why she should do its bidding in variance with the command of God.
Moreover, it was naivete that made Eve question her own God-inspired established opinion about the tree that a tree which was before then a no-no now started looking “good for food,” “pleasant to the eyes”, and “desirable to make one wise” in her eyes that she now decided to eat it. May God keep us from temptation.
The cunning of the serpent was too much for Eve’s naïve mind, which was once granted audience, which should not have happened in the first place; she had little willpower to resist it.
Women in the Bible: Eve and the Cost of Indiscretion
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” – Genesis 3:1-4
After she was presented to Adam, our first acquittance with the woman, Eve, in the Bible was on a particularly sour note. The first lesson we can learn from her is how not to allow indiscretion to rob one of great blessings and privileges as was the case with her, and by extension her family.
Our reference passage introduced the serpent as a cunning creature. The passage also goes on to qualify the degree of the craftiness of the serpent compared to other animals. It was described as “the craftiest of all the creatures the Lord God had made” (Genesis 3:1, TLB).
Unfortunately, Eve did not seem to realize this, or she just wasn’t paying much attention to it. And that proved costly for her; not just her, but her family as well. By not recognizing the slyness of the creature she was dealing with, she fell prey to its wiliness and lost so much as a result.
This underscores the importance of doing due diligence on the character and nature of people we allow into our space. We should not just dismiss warning signs when someone starts to behave in a shady way. The serpent had been profiled as cunning; therefore, we may never know whether Eve was naïve to this and was too trusting as to not heed the warning signs. Or, perhaps, she was trying to be nice and was not courageous enough to cut ties with the sly creature when it approached her for a conversation.
All we can see is that she engaged the serpent and was not on guard enough to recognize the manipulative question it asked her, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’”? (Genesis 3:1). Her falling for this trick question by answering it proved to be her undoing, as she was afterwards coerced with a superior logic into disobeying the command of God.
Another lesson we can learn from God is His disposition to a balancing act. He is not a God of extremes. Even though some who profess to follow Him go to extremes in His name or make extreme claims on His behalf, extreme is not a label that one can pin on God. He balances the acts.
Understanding God: He is Not Moved by Sentiments
Another lesson we can learn from the personality of God is that sentiments do not move Him. Therefore, He cannot be deceived into making a wrong judgment or call, as humans tend to do.
Understanding God: He is A Creator
He is a Creator. This is not to be interpreted loosely, particularly in the light of our contemporary use of the word. God is the ultimate Creator, as He created all things, even the ends of the earth (Isaiah 40:28).
Understanding God: God of the Beginning
There is no better way to begin this journey of exploring the people and entities in the Bible than to start with God. He is not just the beginning but is the origin of all things.
Women in the Bible: A Paragon of Beauty
What made Sarah’s beauty so compelling that kings and nations took notice? Explore the deeper layers of grace, favour, and mystery surrounding one of Scripture’s most unforgettable women — and discover why her story still provokes wonder today.
Men in the Bible: A Man of Ambition and Adventure
Terah may not have reached Canaan, but his courage to start a life-changing journey laid the foundation for Abraham’s destiny. Discover how ambition and bold steps mark a life of significance.
Men in the Bible: An Impetuous and Impudent Man
A revealing glimpse into a man whose choices exposed deeper issues of character, showing how hastiness and entitlement can quietly shape a destiny, and why his story still speaks to us today.
Men in the Bible: A Man with Little Foresight
Sometimes what looks like a smart choice can hide the seed of a mistake. This reflection from Scripture invites us to think again about how foresight — or the lack of it — shapes a man’s story.
Men in the Bible: The First Man to Tithe
Before laws, temples, or traditions, one man honoured God with his substance. Abraham’s tithe was not commanded, demanded, or enforced. It flowed from reverence.
Fathers in the Bible: A Destiny-Shaping Father
What makes a man a truly aware father? Discover how one man’s prophetic foresight shaped his son’s destiny and changed generations forever.
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