This lesson is compatible with the "Creation, Adam, and Cain" Flash-A-Cards from Abeka Books.
Scripture References: Genesis 2:8-25; 3:1-7 (Isaiah 14:12-14, Ezekiel 28:11-19)
It was the perfect day for a walk through the garden. The sun was shining, but it wasn’t too hot. The smell of fruit was drifting through the air. The juiciest, sweetest fruit was all around. And the flowers were bright colors, making the atmosphere cheerful.
Eve was looking around at God’s wonderful creation. She passed by a family of bunnies eating carrots fresh from the ground. She passed by the river that was crystal clear and paused to watch a group of bright yellow fish playing tag as they darted in and out of the river grass. Eve walked on deeper into the garden and passed by the tallest trees you’ve ever seen. There was a bird perched on a branch near the pathway. It sang a beautiful song that filled the air. His feathers were bright orange, green, yellow, and red. Eve kept walking until she got to the middle of the garden. There, she found the trees with the most special fruit. The fruit there were on the most beautiful trees, and they tasted the best. Fruit was all around Eve. She could eat as much as she wanted. Eve got to the most beautiful trees of all and stopped to look at them. The tree of life, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Two very special trees! Eve remembered Adam’s words. God told us we can eat any fruit we want, except from one tree. We can’t eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, or we will die. Those were God’s only instructions about the food they could eat. And there was so much fruit to choose from, it didn’t matter to them that they couldn’t eat that one fruit. They hadn’t even been in the garden long enough to sample every fruit or vegetable yet! So Eve stood there, just admiring how beautiful those two trees were.
“Mmmm…what beautiful fruit!” Eve turned around to find a snake talking to her. She didn’t seem surprised at all to find an animal talking! Perhaps in those days, when everything was perfect, humans could understand all the animal sounds as words. Just like another language. The Bible doesn’t tell us how they could talk to each other, but we know it happened because it is recorded in Genesis, the first book of the Bible.
Eve wasn’t scared of the snake, either, like most people are today. The snake was actually very beautiful! It didn’t slither around on it’s belly, either. It was probably standing as tall as Eve.
All the snakes were like that in the beginning. They ate plants, just like every other animal did. No animal ate another animal at that time. Paradise as God intended it to be.
This snake was very different than any of the other snakes, though. This snake was being used by someone else.
Before Adam and Eve were created, God created angles and what the Bible calls “heavenly hosts”, or creatures in heaven. Some people who study the Bible think they were created at the same time of the 7 days of creation. Probably by day 3. One of God’s creations was called Lucifer, or Satan. The Bible tells us that he was created to be perfect, like everything else. God had said each day of creation that “it is good.” So Satan was still a good angel in heaven. He was an angel of light, and is called a cherub in the Bible. The cherub angles are guardian angels, or protector angels. They protect the presence of God. We will learn more about this in a minute. But Satan was very close to God, serving Him in heaven. Sometime after the seventh day of creation, Satan decided He didn’t want to serve God anymore. He wanted to be served and adored. Satan became prideful, and tried to be like God. Satan forgot he was created by God, and no creation can become God. God is not created! He is the Creator! So God cast Satan out of heaven, and the angels that sinned and wanted to serve Satan instead of God. Did God know some of his angels would rebel against Him before he made them? Yes! But God had a plan from the beginning of time.
Now, Eve was in the garden of Eden, and Satan wanted to destroy Adam and Eve’s relationship with God. So he entered into the serpent that day, and spoke with Eve.
“Mmmmm…look at that nice, big, juicy fruit! Didn’t God say you could eat off of EVERY tree in the garden?”
Eve answered, “We can eat of the trees in the garden, but of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, we can’t eat it. God said we can’t eat it, or even TOUCH it! If we do, we will die.”
Had God said they couldn’t touch it? No! Either Adam or Eve had stretched the truth of what God had said. We shouldn’t ever add to God’s word, or leave anything out, either.
Satan knew just how to trap Eve. “You won’t die!”
This was partly true…Eve wouldn’t die just by touching the fruit.
“God knows that the day you eat of the fruit, you will be just like Him! He doesn’t want anyone to be like Him, knowing what is good and evil.” Satan tried to make God sound selfish. Like God wanted to keep knowledge all to himself. But God gave the instructions not to eat of the tree because He knew it would affect Adam and Eve in a very bad way. Satan is still the same today. He wants us to doubt God’s word. He wants us to think God doesn’t really love us. But we have proof that God really DOES love us…that proof is Jesus Christ!
Eve didn’t remember the wonderful days she and Adam had walking and talking with God in that moment. She was only thinking about what the serpent had said to her. She looked long and hard at that fruit. Each moment that passed, the fruit seemed to smell more delicious. The tree was even more beautiful. Those flowers growing among the fruit were brighter and brighter by the minute. Ever walked up to the tree, slowing down with each step…closer and closer until she was right in front of it. She slowly put her finger out and reached for the fruit. I imagine she was tense, wondering if she would really die by touching it. Her finger got closer and closer. She closed her eyes and made one final move toward the fruit. She was touching it! She was still alive! Maybe what God had said wasn’t true after all…maybe God really didn’t want them to have knowledge. Eve pulled the piece of fruit off of the tree. She wondered what it would taste like as she examined it. She had made it this far, and lived! Should she take a bite? Would she die if she did?
She decided to go ahead and take a small bite.
“I’m still alive!” Eve shouted. Adam was nearby, and Eve spoke to him.
“Look Adam!” I’m still alive! You have to taste this fruit.” Perhaps Adam saw and heard the whole conversation with the serpent. He didn’t stop Eve, or tell her to believe God instead of the snake, but instead, decided to eat the fruit as well.
When Adam had taken one bite, they both immediately know what they had done was wrong. Now they both knew good and evil. They had the knowledge of both. A panic overcame them. They had a feeling they had never experienced before. Fear! And shame. They were no longer happy, but sad. So many new emotions rushed into their brains. And they scrambled around in a panic! Why did they panic? Was it because they were about to die?
Next week, we will find out why!
Let’s pray right now, and ask us to believe His word over everyone else. Sometimes our teachers at school will tell us the Bible is just a fairytale. Sometimes our friends and schoolmates will make fun of us, or tell us God doesn’t really love us. The Bible tells us the God DOES love us, and that His words are always true.
God can help us to believe Him. Let’s pray.