Get Off The Ladder - The Origins

Genesis 3:1-7 NIV 

[1] Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” [2] The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, [3] but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ” [4] “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. [5] “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” [6] When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. [7] Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.3.1-7.NIV)

Origin stories are a key part of many movies and TV shows, particularly for super heroes. It makes main characters more relatable when we realise how it was they became who they were, what made them that way and how things worked out for them. Their relatability helps us connect with the story and become more invested in it. 

The Bible starts with creation. After that comes our origin story: how we came to be who we are and to do what we do. This helps understand our own identity. It should come as no surprise that those who neglect and disregard this story often loose sight of exactly who they are and become alienated and confused. 

However, in the middle of this origin story things go badly wrong. They go badly wrong because of a sin. That sin is our sin: not just by inheritance, but because we commit the same sin too. Their sin is our sin. We would be hypocrites if we stood in harsher judgement of them because we do precisely the same thing. 

And what was that first sin? 

Covetousness. 

They coveted something God had expressly forbidden them from having. They disobeyed Him. They took it. They ate it. And the rest is history. 

However, we can’t just brush this off. We can’t say that it’s irrelevant. Inside this account of the downfall of humanity is our downfall. If we study it, we can learn from it. We can recognise their mistake and seek to avoid it. 

So after our no holds barred look at the nature of the offence they, and we, commit, we will now look in greater detail at what happened and its effects. That’s how we will understand its implications and be better prepared to avoid it. 

Let’s firstly look at The Sinners. 

The Sinners 

Genesis 1:27 NIV 

[27] So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.1.27.NIV)

Crime dramas are big business in the UK. Whether it is the ‘cosy crime' built on the work of well known authors such as Agatha Christie, where the crime is presented as a puzzle and most of the horror has been removed, or the scientific crime dramas that focus on scene of crime operations, or the far more realistic crime dramas that show the pain as well as the resolution, British TV is full of them. In fact, the proliferation of crime dramas in the UK has led our American cousins to joke that there must barely be a village in the UK that hasn’t had a murder. 

Highly ironic, since lethal weapons are not legal here. 

At the core of every crime drama is the presence of a ‘who-done-it': a suspect that the audience competes with the detective to find. 

Genesis is spectacularly clear. There is a crime. It is a very serious crime. And the ‘who-done-it' is very clear: Adam and Eve. 

But who were they? 

This is where the reality of what actually took place really dawns on us. 

These were two people who had been made in the image of God. 

What that means has been the subject of speculation by theological and philosophical minds far greater than mind. Suffice to say the both Adam and Eve – the male and the female – while not God, bore His imprint in some way. This elevated them above the rest of creation. It gave them a privileged position. 

They were the pinnacle of all that God had created. We can see this clearly in how God reacted. Six times His verdict on His creation is that it is ‘good’(Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25). But after He created humans, this was God’s verdict: 

Genesis 1:31 NIV 

[31] God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.1.31.NIV)

His creation of man and woman tipped the balance. His creation of two genders changed the verdict: everything else was ‘good': they made it ‘very good’. 

So here we have two people, the only beings on earth where God got physically involved in their creation (Genesis 2:7, 21-22 – for the rest of creation, God simply spoke them into being). They have been given a superior position in the Garden of Eden and have received a higher commendation than all He had made. 

Yet they fall for this temptation: 

Genesis 3:5 NIV 

[5] “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.3.5.NIV)

The exalted position they already had was not enough. The privileges they already held were despised by them. They wanted more. They did not want to be made in God’s image, they wanted to be like God in their knowledge of good and evil. They didn’t want to bear His image, they wanted to be equal to Him. 

This temptation is repeated throughout Scripture: 

Genesis 11:3-4 NIV 

[3] They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. [4] Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.11.3-4.NIV)

Psalms 2:1-3 NIV 

[1] Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? [2] The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, [3] “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.2.1-3.NIV)

Daniel 4:28-32 NIV 

[28] All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. [29] Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, [30] he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?” [31] Even as the words were on his lips, a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. [32] You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/dan.4.28-32.NIV)

Acts 12:21-24 NIV 

[21] On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. [22] They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” [23] Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. [24] But the word of God continued to spread and flourish. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/act.12.21-24.NIV)

Adam and Eve had everything, yet they coveted more. They coveted all that God had. This was why they lost Eden. Yes, they disobeyed God. That much is true. But the motivation behind it came from a breach of the tenth commandment not to covet, which caused them to break the second commandment to have no gods equal to their God.  

And nothing has changed. The very act of coveting what we do not have is an act of rebelling against God, telling Him that whatever He has already given us is somehow not enough.

We are telling God how to be God as if He was equal to us. 

But He is not. It’s not even a close competition. 

So we see, them, that Adam and Eve had more than they could ever imagine, but lost it because they coveted God’s position. When we covet, we are not doing anything different to what they did. 

Let’s move on from the first sinners to look at The First Sin. 

The First Sin 

Genesis 3:1-6 NIV 

[1] Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” [2] The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, [3] but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ” [4] “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. [5] “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” [6] When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.3.1-6.NIV)

There are some disasters that are soon explained. Counter-measures are quickly put in place to prevent them from occurring again. Some of these might seem tough or restrictive, but if we point back to the disaster that triggered them, we understand. 

Others have happened and years later, we don’t know why. People have theories – some of them conspiratorial in nature. These emerge simply because of the gap in our understanding: we just don’t know. 

What we are looking at here is the greatest disaster the human race has ever experienced in terms of its effects. During the Air India plane crash of 12^th June 2025, for example, 260 people died, but one solitary passenger on board the plane survived. 

The Chernobyl disaster of 1986 may have only killed 40-60 people right away, but is estimated by the United Nations to have caused up to 4,000 cancer deaths, with more still possible even now. 

The Bhopal gas explosion of 1984 killed around 2,000 to 4,000 people immediately and exposed around 50,000 people to highly toxic gas. People are still dying as a result of this tragedy due to contamination. 

Horrific as these disasters were – and no-one is denying that they were – what happened in the Garden of Eden has caused the deaths of all humans everywhere for all generations since pretty much the beginning of time. Countless billions have lost their lives, and continue to lose their lives. 

The implications of this one momentary lapse are horrific. 

But here’s the thing. If we were to meet Adam and Eve, we would have no right to sue them in a court of law. As hard is it may be for us to accept it, they are not the only people who contributed to this terrible disaster. Their sin is our sin. Their fall is our fall. 

What we are examining here is not the anatomy of their downfall, but the anatomy of our downfall. 

This downfall begins with doubting God’s creation. 

This is how God arranged the Garden of Eden:

Genesis 2:9 NIV 

[9] The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.2.9.NIV)

God created the garden to be how it was, with two trees in the middle of it: one to bring them life, the other death; one they could eat from, the other they could not. 

Many have argued that this is not the action of a good God: that He should not have allowed for the presence in the Garden of Eden of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil or the serpent. 

Adam went further. He even argued that God should not have given him Eve! 

Genesis 3:12 NIV 

[12] The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.3.12.NIV)

Both of these arguments are useless and without any value at all. Nowhere in Genesis does it say that the Garden of Eden was perfect, only that it was ‘good' and ‘very good’.  

Moreover, when I do my shopping, I pass by several bars, a bookmakers and a casino. Just because they exist doesn’t mean that I should go in.  

This argument is extraordinary in that it tries to transfer my moral failings from me to God. That will never do. It is profoundly wrong. 

Just because an opportunity is there does not mean we should take it. God is not responsible for our sin, we are. 

Apart from doubting God’s creation, we see that it continued with doubting God’s command. His command was very clear: 

Genesis 2:15-17 NIV 

[15] The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. [16] And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; [17] but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.2.15-17.NIV)

The command was to take care of the garden (that is, to work both in and for it, and to guard it), to eat from the garden but not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

It’s very easy here to get hung up on what type of fruit it was. Classically, in Europe anyway, it is pictured as being an apple. However, we don’t know exactly what it was. All we know about it was this: 

Genesis 3:6 NIV 

[6] When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.3.6.NIV)

But again, the fact that it was good for food and pleasing to the eye was not the issue here. The same could likely be said of any other fruit in the garden. The issue here is that by eating this fruit, they would gain knowledge of good and evil. 

Good they already knew. They were in Eden. 

Evil they did not know. It was clearly God’s will for them to be naive when it came to evil: 

Romans 16:19 NIV 

[19] Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/rom.16.19.NIV)

It’s possible that the knowledge of evil came not through the fruit itself but by the very act of disobeying God. 

Look carefully about what the serpent said about this disobedient act: 

Genesis 3:4-5 NIV 

[4] “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. [5] “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.3.4-5.NIV)

The serpent told Eve that she could sin without consequence, that she could disobey without consequence, that God was lying and that nothing at all bad would happen. 

Oh, how many times have we seen this happen in our days! How many times have people offered us something to eat or drink or smoke or watch or do that they happily advertise as cheeky and transgressive, but tell us nothing will happen and we will get away with it? 

The covetous thought that reaches beyond what we know is right and crosses the line of love for God, our neighbours and ourselves is already wrong. But if we toss into that toxic mix the idea that we will get away with it unscathed and suddenly the dam bursts and we cave in to temptation. 

Isn’t that how it works? 

Of course, the devil is a liar. He is the father of lies (John 8:44). There is, always has been, always will be a consequence to sin.  

Proverbs 10:16 NIV 

[16] The wages of the righteous is life, but the earnings of the wicked are sin and death. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/pro.10.16.NIV)

Romans 6:20-23 NIV 

[20] When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. [21] What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! [22] But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. [23] For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/rom.6.20-23.NIV)

That is one penalty we will all pay.  

However, sin also reaps havoc in life here on earth. The consequences of it are all too obvious: environmental mismanagement and pollution, diseases, drugs, abuse, hatred, war, stress, pain, anxiety, death. It’s all there. It exists because of sin. No other reason. 

If we are to resist the temptation that covetousness presents, we should not even entertain the thought. We should recognise the heinous demonic lie that says there is no harm in it, look around us with our eyes wide open, realise the problems it causes and flee from it.  

Apart from God’s creation and His command, the last thing we see that we doubt when we succumb to sin is something absolutely chilling: we doubt God’s character. 

Look again at what the serpent said to Eve about God: 

Genesis 3:4-5 NIV 

[4] “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. [5] “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.3.4-5.NIV)

Now look at what James said about God: 

James 1:16-17 NIV 

[16] Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. [17] Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.1.16-17.NIV)

James said that God is good and gives good gifts; the serpent said that God was depriving Eve of something good and therefore, by implication, was not good. 

This is the voice of covetousness. This is what it really means. We only hear it when we stop believing James 1:16-17 and start believing Genesis 3:4-5. 

Moreover, there is this famous verse in Psalm 23: 

Psalms 23:1 NIV 

[1] The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.23.1.NIV)

So if we perceive a lack and seek to fulfil it without God, we are saying that the Lord is no longer our Shepherd because He did not provide us with what we need. 

Think about that for a moment. That is a very severe accusation to make. 

Every time we covet, every time we sin at all, we are disbelieving in the goodness of God.  

That places us in a dreadful and unenviable position. 

Think about it: what do we rely on for hope for justice and fairness, for daily provision, for our next breath? Is it not the goodness of God? 

When we doubt God’s goodness, it’s as if we are doubting the very ground on which we stand. How anxious would you be if that was the case? 

Doubting God’s character puts us in a very weak and very dangerous position. 

And that is the problem. The serpent was completely and utterly wrong: there are very severe consequences when we sin. We might not see them because we are blinded by the glitz and glamour of the lure that is tempting us. We might not experience them right now because God is a God of grace and patience who is giving us time to repent (2 Peter 3:8-9). 

But those consequences are there. And if we fully understand that our sin has consequences, we will simply not do it. 

We have seen so far the first sinners, who were made in God’s image, and the first sin, in that they fell for the serpent’s lie and ate the fruit God had told them not to eat. 

What we see lastly is The First Sentence. 

The First Sentence 

Genesis 3:8-9 NIV 

[8] Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. [9] But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.3.8-9.NIV)

In the UK it is often possible to watch a convicted criminal receive their sentence.

Sometimes the punishment fits the crime. You turn off the TV believing that they got what they deserved. 

Often, particularly in the UK, a criminal receives a punishment sentence that is way too light and detention which is far too short. The only satisfaction you can gain is that their name will forever be linked to the crime and somehow it will affect their life chances for years to come. 

What we see in Genesis 3 is, on the surface, a very painful sentence. However, it is just. It is righteous. It is fair. Because no matter how heavy this sentence was, the sin was far greater. 

Let’s look at the serious consequences of this sin. The first of these is shame. 

Genesis 3:7-10 NIV 

[7] Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. [8] Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. [9] But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” [10] He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.3.7-10.NIV)

The very first consequence of their sin is that they felt ashamed of who they were and felt the need to cover up. Please understand me: I am not advocating for nakedness in church. My Sunday Best has always implied wearing clothing. However, what is clear is that the desire to no longer reveal who they were to each other began with sin. 

Isn’t that absolutely startling? 

Do we ever feel the need to hide from our colleagues? Our friends? Our family? Are there secrets we feel we can’t tell even them? 

Why does that happen? 

Sin. Sin does that to us: their sin and ours. Sin leads us to be dishonest and play pretend. Sin replaces integrity with hypocrisy.  

Sin causes shame. It has always been that way. It is a terrible price to pay. That’s why we’re better off without it. 

We also see another consequence: pain: 

Genesis 3:16-19 NIV 

[16] To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” [17] To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. [18] It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. [19] By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.3.16-19.NIV)

Pain in producing a family. Pain in providing for a family. Neither would be easy. 

Procreation and family building was one thing the first family needed to do, yet sin made it difficult and painful. 

The third consequence is estrangement. 

And this estrangement is complete. 

We are all aware of the command to love God, our neighbours and ourselves. This sin of theirs caused estrangement with God. That much is clear: He cursed them and banned them from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:14-24). 

It also caused estrangement between them: Adam was quick to point the finger of blame at Eve rather than take responsibility for his own sin (Genesis 3:12). 

And it also caused estrangement with themselves. As we saw earlier, it caused Adam and Eve to feel shame at who they truly were, and to conceal this even from each other (Genesis 3:7). 

So on the love laterals, where the flow of obedience should bring blessing, we see instead a curse bringing estrangement, and with it the harsh chill of separation. 

But isn’t that always the way? Doesn’t all sin, and particularly covetousness, cause serious problems in all our relationships? 

The first sentence ever passed on a guilty party was very tough. But it wasn’t harsh. Not at all. It was a death sentence, but one that would be slow. They still had time to live before they died. 

And yes, they had been barred from accessing the Tree of Life, but how could God allow those who had doubted and disobeyed Him to remain in His Garden? 

The main point – the main, incontrovertible point – is that sin always has consequences.  

When the US dropped those nuclear bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, and when Europe cowered after the Chernobyl disaster of 1985, even after the shock of the Fukushima disaster of 2011, there would have been those who thought they had gotten away from it unscathed, who would have prayed a silent prayer of thanks and relief that these nuclear disasters hadn’t stolen their lives. However, years later they might find that they are more susceptible to certain cancers or other medical conditions linked to radiation. 

These were, indeed, awful disasters, the effects of which could be felt for generations. 

Sin is like that. We should never, ever take it lightly. 

And covetousness is such a sin. We should never relax our alertness for it or turn our backs on it for a second. 

The results could be devastating. 

Conclusion 

Genesis 3:1-5 NIV 

[1] Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” [2] The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, [3] but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ” [4] “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. [5] “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.3.1-5.NIV)

Irish-born cook Mary Mallon is believed to have infected somewhere between 51 and 122 people in the affluent households where she worked with typhoid fever. It’s believed that she had contracted it in Ireland before emigrating to New York, and that the virus remained active in her gall bladder. As cleanliness at the turn of the 20^th century was not the best, there was no requirement on her to wash her hands as she cooked, meaning that she was accidentally responsible for killing a number of people, and making others very sick. 

The issue was that she was asymptomatic – she herself had no symptoms at all. She was convinced that everything was fine. 

It clearly wasn’t. 

Covetousness can be like typhoid for Typhoid Mary. We think we aren’t affected. We think we have it under control. We could argue until we were blue in the face that it wasn’t us. But the reality is that our hands are stained with our sin and each touch spreads the damage. 

It ought to chill us to the bone that the first sinners committed the first sin because they coveted something God told them they should not have. That should dispel for good any notion that this, or any sin, is something to be trifled with, or that there will be no repercussions and that we will get away with it.  

Not a chance. And especially if we read the sentence for the punishment they faced. There we see that although God was graceful to them and covered their shame, the result of their sin was deadly serious – so serious that we still feel its effects now. 

But there is a tiny slither of hope in these terrible verses. It comes right at the end of God’s cursing of the serpent:  

Genesis 3:15 NIV 

[15] And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.3.15.NIV)

This is a mysterious verse at first glance. However, the Hebrew word for ‘head' can also mean a chief or a ruler. This is predicting a full frontal assault on the spiritual ruler that triggered the attack on Adam and Eve. 

The word for ‘heel’ can mean a literal physical heel, but it can also mean the stragglers in an army unit: those at the back of the column who are the most vulnerable. 

This came true during Easter. The devil took the weakest and most spiritually vulnerable of the disciples (Luke 22:3), luring him with a financial payment that he coveted (Luke 22:4-6). 

Yet the cross was itself a full frontal assault on hell, which neutralised the devil’s most dangerous weapon, removing from us the fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15). That assault was successful. The fear of death – which entered into the world because Adam and Eve coveted something God had told them they should not have – was neutralised by Jesus.

What we have here is a possibility to escape the worst effect of the sin that has echoed down the ages from the first moments of human life on earth until now. 

We must take it. 

And we must repent of the sin that caused it. 

While we still can. 

Prayer  

Lord Jesus, the cost of Adam and Eve's sin – which I have also committed – shocks me. I confess my covetousness and my sin to You. I repent of it and claim the power of Your cross to save me and help me to change. Amen. 

Questions for Contemplation 

• What did Adam and Eve do that was so wrong? Why was it wrong? What can we learn from this? 

• Was God fair in His sentencing of them? Why / why not? 

• Have you committed their sin? What should you do to escape the worst effect of it? Will you do it?