Lessons from Genesis 3

God first gave the instruction not to eat from the forbidden tree to the man in Genesis 2, even before the woman was formed:

“You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 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.” (Genesis 2:16–17)

Yet we know how the story unfolds. The woman ate, and she also gave some to the man, and he ate as well (Genesis 3:6).

Let us x-ray what happened after they ate the forbidden fruit, and compare their reactions with what we often observe in our own lives.

Immediate Reactions to Sin

After they ate the fruit, Scripture tells us that:

  • They became ashamed and covered themselves

    “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.” (Genesis 3:7)

  • They hid from God

    “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden… and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” (Genesis 3:8)

  • They experienced irrational fear

    “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” (Genesis 3:10)

They had always been naked, yet fear appeared only after disobedience. Sin introduced a kind of awareness that produced shame, fear, and withdrawal from God.

A Mirror of Our Own Experience

Now think about yourself.
Do you remember that “fruit” God did not remove, but left at the center of your attention and within your reach? Remember how it looked satisfying, how it promised fulfillment, wisdom, or escape?

You reached for it. You ate it.

And how did you feel afterward?

Ashamed.
Reluctant to pray.
Avoiding God.
Afraid that God would now see something in you that had always been there, but that you were not meant to carry the burden of yet.

In our reactions to sin, we are not different from the first man and woman.

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

A More Dangerous Progression

But as time went on, another kind of reaction began to develop in mankind:

  • No shame

  • No hiding from God

  • No fear

At first glance, one might say, “That sounds like freedom.”
But no—it is not.

When disobedience no longer troubles the conscience, when sin no longer produces discomfort, then something deeper is broken.

“Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity.” (Ephesians 4:19)

Indifference toward sin is not maturity; it is spiritual numbness. But that is a study for another session.

Final Reflection

Genesis 3 does not only tell us what happened to Adam and Eve.
It tells us what continues to happen to us.

Disobedience still produces shame.
Shame still pushes us to hide.
And fear still distorts how we see God.

Yet God still comes walking in the garden asking, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9) — not because He does not know, but because He desires restoration, not separation.

Shalom.

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