ORIGIN OF SIN. Genesis Chapter 3

I have been reflecting and trying to analyze what exactly happened in the Garden of Eden in an attempt to better understand the genesis of sin. I have a couple of thoughts and questions. Why did God have to put a “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” in the garden? Was He not baiting man? What did God mean when He said Adam would die if he ate the fruit? In that context what is death and what is life?

Reading through the Genesis 3 narrative, I see that physical death was a punishment for Adams disobedience and not the consequence God referred to when He warned Adam about eating the fruit. Indeed, Adam did not physically die for another 900 years plus after that episode and I am assuming that Adam’s life span was calculated from the time of the fall when the death sentence he was given. Another question therefore comes up; are the consequences and punishments for sin the same or different?

Another striking thing to me is that there was no remorse from Adam or Eve after their sins were uncovered. Did that have any effect on Gods judgment? I compare that with the reactions of David and Saul after they were both confronted with their sins. The former’s repentance was immediate and unconditional; the latter was sullen and defiant and the punishments were very different.

In the aftermath of the fall in the Garden of Eden, the discourse between God, the man, the woman and the serpent also requires some reflection. God speaks first and gives the man and the woman a chance to speak. The serpent is given no chance to speak and is immediately punished. Very starkly, the serpent or Satan is cursed by God but no curse is laid directly on mankind. Rather in Vs 17 the ground, and I take that to mean the Earth, is cursed because of mankind’s sin. Is there some principle here to be learnt about how God deals with sin and who can be forgiven? Why does Satan never get a chance to redeem himself but man does despite our defiance in the Garden and all the evil we still do?

Leading on from the above, who really goes to Hell? Is it just anyone who has not accepted Jesus or is it those who have rejected Him? I think these are two very different positions. You cannot reject what you have not been given a chance to accept. I am not saying everyone will go to heaven and no one will go to hell but is there some bigger aspect of the plan of salvation that we are not yet privy to?

I do have some thoughts and comments on the questions I want I would like to have some input from somewhere, particularly my brothers on this blog, before I continue. - AL.