Adam and Eve: Genesis 2.15—3.14
Do you know the names of the very first people in the Bible: Adam and Eve. In Hebrew (the language the story was written in) names tell you about who the person is, what they’re like. The names Adam and Eve mean ‘the first people ever’.
In the story God made a special garden for Adam and Eve to live in, and we know from the Bible that it was set in modern day Iran, next to Iraq in the Middle East.
Adam and Eve had been told that they could eat anything they wanted, except the tree that grew in the middle of the garden, which was called ‘the tree of the knowledge of good and evil’. What do you think that name means?
Read the story of Adam and Eve
What do you do when you know you’ve done something wrong? What is the best thing to do when you’ve done something wrong?
In the story, God sent Adam and Eve away, out of the lovely garden, and they learned to be farmers, to grow their own food, and to work on the land.
But what might have happened if they’d been honest and owned up (’fessed up!); if they’d taken responsibility for their actions instead of blaming someone else? We don’t know. Perhaps we’d still all live in that garden, not having to work …
But this story is still told as an example of how, when we aren’t honest, it affects many more people than just us. We don’t know what might have happened in the story if Adam and Eve had been honest. But we can be honest about ourselves, and then we know that whatever we’ve done, it’s easier to make it right again if we take the blame, apologize and acknowledge our part.
Reflection
Think for a few moments about the story of Adam and Eve:
how they did what they knew was wrong;
how they blamed someone else for what they’d done;
and how often we do that too.
Prayer
Dear God,
Help us to be honest when we do something wrong.
Help us not to blame other people, but acknowledge our mistakes,
and apologize and so learn and move on.
Amen.