“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned…” Romans 5:12
We read Romans 5:12 and we scratch our heads. It tells when sin entered the world it came through the man, Adam. Yet When we go back and read Genesis 3 we read that Satan targeted Eve. Genesis 3:1 states “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of
the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” Eve was made after Adam, she had spent less time with God and she did not receive the command to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil directly from God but through Adam. Thus Satan attacked this human family at its weakest link. Satan, the original false teacher deceived Eve. She bought into his lie and ate of the fruit in disobedience to God. (We see God is in control even in this sin. Had Adam been tempted and then, given the fruit to Eve to eat, she could have argued “I obeyed the head of our home. When he gave me the fruit, I ate of it. I am innocent because I just obeyed those in authority.”
At that point Satan leaves. His damage is done, for now, – a human has sinned and the family God established is divided. But the story does not end there. Genesis 3:6 says “she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” Then they hid. They both knew what they had done and they did what we all do– they tried to cover their shame. But God knows, confronts and punishes both Adam and Eve. The curse of sin comes on man and God’s creation. Sin has marred mankind.
Lets go back to Adam’s eating of the fruit. Adam was the leader of the home, he knew God’s character’s longer. He had heard God speak more often and he had heard God directly tell him not to eat of the fruit of that one tree. He saw what Eve did, he knew what she did was wrong and he had a choice to make. Adam’s actions tell us he did not feel God would forgive Eve. On one hand he knew God meant what he said – if the fruit is eaten, the person would die. He knew God is truth – that he never doubted. Yet he struggled to understand God’s love and compassion like many of us do. So Adam made his choice. He did not want to live if Eve was dead so he ate of the fruit so he would die with her. He made a willful decision to disobey God because he loved another person more.
But what would have happened if Adam had taken Eve’s sin to God? We read God’s heart and protection in Numbers 30:.3-5 “If a woman vows a vow to the Lord and binds herself by a pledge, while within her father’s house in her youth, and her father hears of her vow and of her pledge by which she has bound herself and says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. But if her father opposes her on the day that he hears of it, no vow of hers, no pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. And the Lord will forgive her, because her father opposed her.” A way out?
What can we learn? First, we see that God is compassionate. Even in our sin he is faithful in His mercy, love and compassion. Second, we see that when we face impossible situations the wrong choice is to try to resolve it in our own wisdom. Casting our care upon God is always the right way. Third, we see God is always in control. Adam did
not go to God for God knew that if he had, Satan would not have stopped tempting man. Mankind would have been attacked throughout history until one sinned (likely Cain). By allowing sin to begin with the first man, God provided the way that the God-man could pay for the sin of all mankind. Adam’s sin, his willful disobedience was turned to good though the second Adam, our Savior.