Adam & Eve

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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on September 13, 2015 at 4:45am

In chapter 2 it says they were naked and felt no shame. In chapter 3 it says they their eyes were opened and realized they were naked. Neither the NIV or KJV, as far as I could tell, state directly that they experienced shame because they were naked. Their nature had changed because of the fall. They were innocent and now they are guilty. Their is much to be said about covering in Scripture. Some is direct and some if symbolic. God gives them animal skin clothing, for God too acknowledges that now they need to be covered. The animal skin clothing intimates that there has been a sacrifice (i.e, the skins came from animals who are now dead). Thus, I do not think the shame was so much before each other, but because of the overall change that had taken place when their eyes were opened. It is also good to note in the thought that their guilt was not before each other as they were equally guilty, their guilt was before God alone.

I will add that they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Prior to eating the fruit they, in the state of innocence, knew good. After eating and their eyes being opened they now know evil and with the knowledge of evil and the guilt associated with their act they now had a different perspective on life as a whole ... and not for the better.

Lord Bless,

LT

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Permalink Reply by Tammy on September 17, 2015 at 11:57am

Thanks for the reply. What you say makes sense. 

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Permalink Reply by Amanda on September 17, 2015 at 7:40am

After sinning, they both now knew the difference between good and evil.

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭3:6-8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

In Romans 5, it says, 13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law.14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come. NIV

Adam broke a command, but wasn't sin already in the world before that command was given, and they just didn't have knowledge of the difference between good and evil?

All was good in the beginning, but not perfect. After all, the serpent was already in the garden.

As for shame, which is defined as the feeling of being unworthy, bad, or wrong, they hid themselves from God, not each other, even in covering their nakedness, IMO. They knew they had broken God's command but didn't feel that they had wronged each other. They were ashamed before God, not before each other.

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Permalink Reply by Tammy on September 17, 2015 at 11:59am

Thanks Amanda. Good & evil was in the world already but I guess they didn't know it yet. 

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Permalink Reply by Amanda on September 17, 2015 at 1:34pm

Yes, I'm in basic agreement with what LT posted, but I'll venture out a little farther. Could Adam and Eve really say yes to God, without being given the chance to say no?

Many people complain about how the first word their infant learned to say was No! It's viewed mostly as a sign of rebellion and of the fallen nature. Yet, ironically, we have to learn no in order to understand yes. It's a paradox.

During their early development, as children begin saying no, they are making the statement that I am separate from you and I want something different. For me, this knowledge makes me think about Genesis and creation and the painful question that many people who are hurting from the bad choices that others have made often ask -- Why did You create people, God, when You knew they would choose to sin? Or, worse, sometimes people blame God for even giving mankind the chance to sin.

But, I believe God gave man and woman the chance to say no to Him and to be separate from Him. He did it so that we could know what it means to say yes, really know.

The teaching in developmental psychology goes on to say that when a child can say no, the child is becoming prepared to say yes. Yes means there is an awareness of self and what one wants -- what one wants to say yes to.

Even after the Fall of Man, God continued revealing Himself to mankind and keeping them aware of who God is, calling to them to now say yes to Him.

The teaching is called individuation in psychology and is said to be a life long process where the individual continues to learn what we want to say no or yes to. The process is not just about knowing what we want or don't want, but is about acting, too, in the world according to what we want and do not want.

God wants us to want Him. God wants us to be able to say yes to Him.

And since the Fall, God's plan is being fulfilled to bring people back away from that separation from Him and to make them complete in Christ. The Ministry of Reconciliation 2 Cor 5:11-21. God knew mankind would say no to Him and yet the lamb was slain from the foundation of the world. Saying yes to God is possible and is God's will, for the Fall teaches us that God's way is best and God's will for us is best. Dying to self and becoming whole in Christ is God's will. Being reconciled to God is God's will. Saying yes to God is God's will.. Through illumination, God enables people to do these things, and, as LT teaches many choose darkness over light. I know there's disagreement and debate in that area, regarding choice. I'm not so sure that Adam and Eve truly had 'a choice' since they didn't know good from evil. They did afterwards, though.

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Permalink Reply by Carla on September 18, 2015 at 1:47pm

Hi Tammy,

I believe it was their disobedience that brought the shame.  They weren't disobedient to each other, but to God.  Therefore, they would have felt shame from that.

Blessings, Carla

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Permalink Reply by Tammy on October 19, 2015 at 12:30pm

Could have been.

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