
Day 11 - The Fall
Ruby Washington
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 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 3:1-7 NASB
The second part of the metanarrative is the fall. Recall that Genesis 1-2 gives us an account of the creation story. In Genesis 3, we are introduced to a deceptive serpent who wrongfully convinces Eve that God is the actual deceiver. The serpent convinced Eve that God lied to them. Even though God said they would die from eating from the tree, the serpent told the opposite. He convinced Eve that God was withholding something better from them and promised they would be like God by eating from this tree.
As we learned yesterday, Adam and Eve were already made in God’s likeness. They were already like God in all the ways that would benefit them and their relationship with God. The serpent successfully convinced the woman that communion with God was not enough. They accepted the word of the serpent and rejected the word of God, and the cosmos have been in chaos ever since. Humankind was separated from God because they chose to listen to Satan instead of God.
As you continue your Bible-reading journey this year, know that some parts of the metanarrative overlap. We see the effects of the fall from Genesis 3 throughout the Bible. For the sake of simplicity, we will say that “the fall” can be seen from Genesis 3 to the Book of Matthew in the New Testament.
Next Steps
- Read: Read Genesis 3. What stands out to you in this chapter?
- Think about it: How has the enemy convinced you to listen to him instead of God?
- Action Step: Read Genesis 4. Write down the connection between Cain and Abel and Adam and Eve’s decision in Genesis 3.