Fall of Man – Genesis 3:1-24

The Story in a Nutshell

One day in the Garden of Eden the serpent, the craftiest of all creatures God made, asked the woman if God had told her and Adam not to eat any of the fruit in the garden.  The woman said they could eat any fruit in the garden except fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  “If we touch it or eat that fruit we will die.”  The serpent told the woman that wasn’t true.  He said that by eating fruit from that tree they would become like God, knowing everything about good and evil. It sounded good to the woman, so she ate of the forbidden fruit and gave some to Adam.  Suddenly their eyes were opened and they felt shame because they were naked. They quickly strung fig leaves around their hips and hid in the garden.

Toward evening God called, “Where are you?”  Adam replied, “We’re hiding because we are naked.”  Then Adam admitted he had eaten the forbidden fruit, but blamed the woman for causing him to do it.  The woman, in turn, blamed the serpent for tricking her.

Because of all this, God told the serpent that he would be punished greatly for his dirty trick and he told the woman that she would experience great pain during childbirth.  Also, she would want to control her husband, but he would control her.  Because of Adam’s disobedience, God placed a curse on the ground - Adam would have to work hard the rest of his life to produce food and make a living from the earth.  Finally, God made clothing for Adam and his wife (now named Eve) and banished them from the Garden.  To make sure they couldn’t return, God stationed mighty angels at the garden gate and placed a flaming sword to guard the tree of life.

Review Questions

How did the serpent deceive the woman?

What did the woman do after she ate of the fruit?

Why did  Adam and the woman feel shame after they ate the fruit?

Because of their actions, what were the consequences (punishments) for Adam, the woman, and the serpent?

Because Adam ate the fruit, what was the curse that God placed on the ground?

What did God do after he banished them from the garden?

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