Why is there evil in the world?
This is one of those existential questions that is asked repeatedly. Why does evil exist at all? Why do bad things happen?
Today, we’ll find out the definitive answer, and it’s in Genesis 2:25 – 3:7.
Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
Genesis 2:25 – 3:7
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’?”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 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.’ ”
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
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. 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.
New International Version
The opening words of today’s passage (Genesis 2:25) remind us that the Garden was a place of beauty, bounty, and completely unmarred by sin with its crippling, polluting, heartbreaking effects.
It was the birthplace of marital intimacy and intimacy with Almighty God. Everything, says God, was “good.” Adam and Eve’s (at this point still called “Woman”) world was a paradise. It was perfection.
But it didn’t stay that way.
We are introduced to the tempter in Genesis 3:1. Did you notice the doubt he puts in Eve’s mind? “Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?”
Interesting that the first question in the Bible was questioning the Lord’s motive and care. Satan is a master at what he does. His question is subtle and technical. God did not say they couldn’t eat from any tree. It was just one tree. They could eat anything else they wanted.
What about the Woman’s answer? Verses 2-3 inform us that she did know the truth, and she stated it correctly. Yet, there was already some doubt.
This is how Satan works: he doesn’t come right out and defy the Lord. He plants doubt, and the Woman has already succumbed to it.
It’s not until verse 4 that the serpent comes right out and contradicts the Lord, “…you will not die…you will become like God”. Here’s another of the Devil’s tricks: there was an element of truth to this.
When the man and woman would have disobeyed the Lord, they would know something that up until that point only the Lord knew: the knowledge of evil.
But do you see what Satan was doing? He was convincing Eve that sin would enable liberation and self-actualization! After all this time, he hasn’t changed his tactics.
The result of these decisions in her heart unfolds in verses 6 and 7. She sees the food will help her gain wisdom. She eats. She gives it to her husband.
Then their eyes were opened, and they felt shame. In their shame, they felt the need to cover.
While there is so much I’d love to go into, I want to ask you a question: who gave them shame?
Did the Lord? Did He shame them? Did He make them feel like less than they were?
No. Sin did that. Their decisions did that.
Likewise, sin still does that. Our decisions still do that.
Fear, doubt, and shame are not from the Lord. Sin entices us and gives us that in exchange. And just like Satan always does, he didn’t tell them the “fine print.” But there is always a price to pay when we try to do things our way.
This was the day we learned shame: the day we learned about evil.
Life Meets Theology 