Isn’t it amazing how it is possible to read the same story multiple times and yet miss an important detail? This was true for me when I recently reread in Genesis (3) the story of how sin entered the world.
I always pictured in my mind Eve as the one who was chiefly responsible for bringing sin into the world because she is the one who gave into temptation first and ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which God had forbidden. There are two words in Genesis (3:6), however, that speak to the possibility that even though Eve was indeed the first one to sin, Adam was also to blame in a significant way for bringing sin into the world.
The text of Genesis (3:6) states, “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” Did you notice the two words “with her” found in italics? Adam was indeed present when Eve was battling temptation! Since he was there, why didn’t he speak up about what was going on? Why didn’t he stop her from making such a huge mistake? And when Eve did disobey, why didn’t he refuse to participate in her disobedience?
Now that I have taken notice of the two words of “with her” found in Genesis (3:6), my perspective has changed significantly concerning my thoughts about Adam in particular. Yes, it is absolutely true that Eve was the first one to give into temptation and sin, but we should acknowledge that Adam is not without significant blame in this story.
In all this, we need to learn a few important lessons. First, we should in fact read God’s word. It contains the knowledge we need to get to heaven. Second, we should read God’s word carefully so we can learn valuable life lessons that will help us avoid life’s potential pitfalls and disasters. And third, we should reread God’s word often so we can glean important life perspectives and lessons we may have missed previously.
