Paradise Lost

So what happened in the Garden? First we need to go back to God's command to Adam and the woman. From Bible Gateway : Genesis 2:16-17 (New International Version)

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 of it you will surely die."

First, let's notice that the LORD commands and Adam and the woman had the freedom to obey God and therefore to continue in communion with God. Or they could disobey by a free act and incur God's judgment which verse 17 says was death.

Second, this death sentence held both physical and spiritual consequences. Both Adam and the woman were created to live with God, to know Him, to talk with Him and enjoy the blessing of the Creator's providence. By obeying they would continue in the blessing but conversely, by an act of disobedience, they would be separated from God by death. We will see that Adam would suffer physical death at the age of 930.

Altogether, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died. Genesis 5:5


But it was spiritual death that Adam suffered the moment he disobeyed.

Back in the Garden, the  woman is approached by the serpent (Satan) who begins to plant doubt in her mind concerning God's love and care. Genesis 3:1

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'?"

Most likely this is not the first conversation the woman and serpent have had. Other translations substitute crafty with the word subtle.
SUBTLE:
a. Characterized by skill or ingenuity; clever.


b. Crafty or sly; devious.

c. Operating in a hidden, usually injurious way; insidious:

This was a sly, devious way to gain the woman's trust. Interestingly, the woman doesn't fall for the first attempt. She corrects the serpent. Genesis 3:2-3

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.' "

The woman's prideful response of adding to God's Word (God didn't say don't touch it) puts her in position for the craftiness of the serpent to overtake his prey. Genesis 3:4-5


4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

The serpent had her. The woman was deceived into thinking she could be like God! All this time, Adam and the woman depended on God for everything. Now in rebellion, both Adam and the woman sin against God and decide to run their own life. Genesis 3:6

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.

Adam's sin had brought death into the world. Romans 5:12 12Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned—

Next, God's response and Paradise Lost