Adam and Eve leave the garden

Adam and Eve lived in a beautiful garden. God told Adam, “You can eat the fruit from any tree, except from the tree in the middle of the garden. That’s the tree of knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you will die.” Adam and Eve took care of the garden. They also gave the animals their names. God visited Adam and Eve in the evenings when it was cool, and the work was done. Then the serpent visited Eve. He said, “Did God really say you mustn’t eat the fruit on the trees?”

“No,” Eve said. “We can eat the fruit on the trees! God only said that we mustn’t eat from the tree in the middle of the garden. If we do that, we will die.” “God lied to you,” the serpent answered. “The fruit on that tree will make you wise. You will be like God. You will know the difference between good and evil.” Eve looked at the fruit. It looked delicious! And she thought about being like God. Slowly Eve picked the fruit and ate it. It tasted good! Then she picked more fruit and took them to Adam, and Adam also ate the fruit. Right away Adam and Eve knew they had disobeyed God, and they were afraid. They tried to hide from God.

That evening God came to the garden just as he always did. But Adam and Eve didn’t come out of their hiding place. God knows everything. He knew what Adam and Eve had done. So he called them.

Adam said, “We know we disobeyed you. But it’s Eve’s fault! She picked the fruit and gave it to me.” Eve said, “It’s the serpent’s fault. He tricked me.” God was sad when he heard their words. He told the serpent, “From now on you will crawl on your belly. People will try to kill you. And you will harm them with your venom.” He told Adam and Eve, “You will have to leave the garden. Life will be hard for you.” God gave them clothes made from animal skins. He said, “Now you know the difference between good and evil. It will be hard to choose to do good.” Then God gave Adam and Eve a wonderful promise. One day he would send someone who would be stronger than all the evil in the world. He would help people to become friends with God again.

Genesis 2 and 3