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Temptation and Fall
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Adam quite well understood that his companion had transgressed
the only prohibition laid upon them as a test of their fidelity and love.
Eve reasoned that the serpent said they should not surely die, and
his words must be true, for she felt no signs of God’s displeasure,
but a pleasant influence, as she imagined the angels felt.
Adam regretted that Eve had left his side, but now the deed was
done. He must be separated from her whose society he had loved so
well. How could he have it thus? His love for Eve was strong. And
in utter discouragement he resolved to share her fate. He reasoned
that Eve was a part of himself, and if she must die, he would die with
her, for he could not bear the thought of separation from her. He
lacked faith in his merciful and benevolent Creator. He did not think
that God, who had formed him out of the dust of the ground into
a living, beautiful form, and had created Eve to be his companion,
could supply her place. After all, might not the words of this wise
serpent be correct? Eve was before him, just as lovely and beautiful,
and apparently as innocent, as before this act of disobedience. She
expressed greater, higher love for him than before her disobedience,
as the effects of the fruit she had eaten. He saw in her no signs of
death. She had told him of the happy influence of the fruit, of her
ardent love for him, and he decided to brave the consequences. He
seized the fruit and quickly ate it, and like Eve, felt not immediately
its ill effects.
Eve had thought herself capable of deciding between right and
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wrong. The flattering hope of entering a higher state of knowledge
had led her to think that the serpent was her especial friend, possess-
ing a great interest in her welfare. Had she sought her husband, and
they had related to their Maker the words of the serpent, they would
have been delivered at once from his artful temptation. The Lord
would not have them investigate the fruit of the tree of knowledge,
for then they would be exposed to Satan masked. He knew that they
would be perfectly safe if they touched not the fruit.
Man’s Freedom of Choice
God instructed our first parents in regard to the tree of knowledge,
and they were fully informed relative to the fall of Satan, and the
danger of listening to his suggestions. He did not deprive them of