touch it[1], lest, perhaps[2], we die.” The serpent said to the woman: “No, surely, you shall not die[3] if you eat of the fruit of the tree; but, rather[4], your eyes[5] shall be opened, and you shall be as gods[6], knowing good and evil.” Hearing this, Eve gave way to pride, and she saw that the fruit was good and pleasant to behold. She took and ate of the fruit, and gave to her husband, and he also ate. Thus was the first sin committed.
By this first sin they lost sanctifying grace, which was the life of their soul; they lost the immortality of their body; their eyes were opened[7], and they saw with shame that they were naked. In their shame and confusion they began to sew fig-leaves together, in order to cover their nakedness. But soon they heard the voice of God calling them, and they hid themselves[8] among
- ↑ Not touch it. Why this command? So that they might keep away from even the occasion of sin.
- ↑ Lest, perhaps. In this sentence there occur two remarkable words: “lest, perhaps”: for God had not said: “ Perhaps you may die”, and we can see by this answer of Eve that she already half doubted whether God’s threat had been meant seriously.
- ↑ Shall not die. Now the devil becomes more bold, and directly contradicts what God had said, making the Lord God to be a liar.
- ↑ Rather, i. e. on the contrary.
- ↑ Your eyes. The eyes of their spirit. How had their eyes been closed hitherto? They possessed great knowledge, but all the same they knew nothing about sin; and therein lay their happiness. By holding out to Eve the prospect of attaining to a further knowledge , Satan wished to excite in her a sinful curiosity.
- ↑ As gods. Not only like to God, but as God. By this lie the devil wished to make Adam and Eve proud. He represented Almighty God as a deceiver, who withheld this knowledge from them, not out of love, but out of a jealous fear lest they should become like to Him. He wished to destroy Eve’s faith in the love and truth of God, and arouse in her instead a mistrust of Him, pride, and sinful curiosity. Alas, he succeeded in his purpose. Instead of being indignant at Satan’s blasphemous speech, Eve took pleasure in the prospect held out to her. She allowed a presumptuous desire and sinful curiosity to take possession of her heart; and because it promised so much to her, she now saw that the fruit of the tree was good and pleasant to behold. She longed for it now, and taking some, she ate, and then she persuaded Adam to eat of it also. Revelation has given us no explanation of how Adam was induced to eat of the forbidden fruit. It is left to our conjecture.
- ↑ Opened. But not in the way they had intended. They knew evil, but this knowledge brought them no happiness, only restlessness, fear and misery. They now knew that they had been deceived, that they had sinned grievously, and had deserved punishment. Having lost their innocence, they were ashamed of being naked, and covered their bodies with fig-leaves.
- ↑ They hid themselves. It was formerly their greatest happiness when God condescended to speak with them. Now they trembled when they heard His voice and tried to hide themselves. We cannot hide ourselves from God; therefore, it was folly on their part to try to do so. From whence did this folly come? From sin. Sin blinds man and makes his understanding dull, so that he can no longer rightly understand the most elementary religious truths.
