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What were the consequences of eating the forbidden fruit?

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What were the consequences of eating the forbidden fruit?

The following were the 15 consequences of eating the forbidden fruit, as found in the Bible in the book of Genesis, Chapter 3:

  1. The serpent would go on its belly all the days of its life (Genesis 3:14). This implied a change in posture and mode of locomotion.
  2. The serpent would feed on dust all the days of its life (Genesis 3:14). This is unlike other animals that have legs and are thus somehow elevated from the ground, especially during feeding.
  3. God put enmity between the serpent and the woman (Genesis 3:15).
  4. God put enmity between the serpent’s seed and the woman’s Seed (Genesis 3:15).
  5. End of ‘friendship’ between the woman and the serpent; end of friendship between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent (Genesis 3:15)
  6. From that time on, the woman’s Seed would bruise the serpent’s head, while the serpent would bruise the heel of the Seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15).
  7. God would greatly multiply the woman’s sorrow and conception, such that in pain she would bring forth children (Genesis 3:16).
  8. The woman’s desire would be for her husband, so much so that from then on he would rule over her (Genesis 3:16).
  9. From number 8 above, it seems that the woman lost her equality status with the man, as she was now condemned to be under his rulership or authority.
  10. The ground became cursed for Adam’s sake because he heeded the voice of his wife, Eve, and ate from the tree, which God had forbidden them. From then on, only in the toil and sweat of his face would man eat of it all the days of his life (Genesis 3:17, 19).
  11. From that time on, the ground began to bring forth thorns and thistles for the man (Genesis 3:18).
  12. Death came into the world (Genesis 3:19).
  13. The man, Adam, and His wife, Eve, got expelled from the Garden of Eden to prevent them from reaching out their hands to eat from the tree of life and thus live forever (Genesis 3:22–24).
  14. All the cattle and every beast of the field got cursed (Genesis 3:14).
  15. The man became like God, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:22).

So how did it get to this? The story begins with the account of Genesis 2:8–9, where we find the following words:

‘The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground, the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, as was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.’

Genesis 2:15 gives us the main reason why God placed man in the Garden of Eden. In this scripture, we find these words:

‘Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to TEND and KEEP it.’

It is at this point that God issued a command to the man regarding the trees from which he was supposed to eat. In Genesis 2:16, we thus read:

‘And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the Garden of Eden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’

From the above Bible passage, we can conclude that the man was free to eat from all the trees in the garden, including the tree of life, with the exception of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

In Genesis 2:17, God plainly stated to the man the consequence of eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which is death.

Unfortunately, according to the account of Genesis 3:6, we see the man Adam and his wife Eve allowing themselves to be influenced by the serpent to the point of disobeying God and partaking of the fruit of the forbidden tree, that is, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The account of Genesis 3:14–19 sheds enough light regarding the consequences of eating the forbidden fruit. Note that the consequences relate to all three players involved in this drama: the serpent, the woman, and the man.

1. The consequences that befell the serpent after deceiving Eve to eat the forbidden fruit

Genesis 3:14-15 God outlines four things that would befall the serpent on account of his deceiving the woman, Eve, into eating the forbidden fruit. We thus read:

‘So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman (no more friendship between the woman and the serpent) and between your seed and her Seed (no more friendship between their seeds). He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.’

Implications of the curse pronounced upon the serpent:

A closer examination of Genesis 3:14 reveals that the action of the serpent brought a curse upon all cattle and every beast of the field. This is because, from the passage, we get the following words: The serpent got cursed ‘more’ than all the cattle and the beasts of the field. Unfortunately, the verse does not give the details of this curse. On the contrary, the passage clearly elaborates on the details of the curse that would befall the serpent.

According to the passage, the serpent’s mode of locomotion became affected as it was condemned to crawling on the ground. This may imply that initially, this was not the form of posture and locomotion for the serpent.

It is while in this posture that the second curse takes effect, namely, feeding on the dust for the remainder of its life.

It is worth noting that the curses were to affect the entire race of the serpent.

At the same time, God declared a perpetual enmity between the serpent and the woman, and between the seed of the serpent and the Seed of the woman. This is evident even today, where you find enmity between men and serpents.

Could this verse also be implying that prior to the fall of man, there used to exist a ‘friendship’ between the serpent and the woman? The serpent may have taken advantage of this friendship to deceive the woman. It could be for this reason that God declared that He would put in place perpetual enmity between the woman and the serpent and between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.

To this date, many injuries and deaths arising from snake bites continue to be reported in many places across the globe. On the other hand, men will never hesitate to smash the head of any snake they come across.

In addition, it was declared that the Seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent, while the serpent would bruise His heel. Bible scholars and commentators alike believe that the bruising of the heel of the woman’s Seed refers to the crucifixion of Christ on the cross. On the other hand, the crushing of the serpent’s head is believed to take effect when Christ dies and then resurrects in power and authority over Satan and his agents.

2. The consequences that befell Eve after eating the forbidden fruit

Genesis 3:16 highlights the punishment that the woman would bear as a result of disobeying God’s command. We thus read:

‘To the woman, He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”’

From this Bible passage, three key points emerge. To begin with, the woman would bring forth children in pain. Secondly, her desire would always be for her husband. Last but not least, her husband would always rule over her. This implies that the wife would always live in subjection to her husband.

This has been the norm until today, when the descendants of Eve bring forth children in pain.

Another observation we make in the present day is that in any marriage relationship, the desire of women is always for their husband. It is worth noting that, under normal circumstances, the desire and wish of every mature girl is always to get married and raise a family. In this arrangement, the wife is always expected to be submissive to her husband.

Also worth mentioning is the observation that in many societies, men have an upper hand over women in the social, political, economic, and religious spheres of life. As a result, there has always been this struggle by many women to break the “glass ceiling,” as it were, in order to realize feats mostly considered the preserve of men.

In addition, it is worth noting that women have been considered inferior sexes in most cultures and are usually sidelined when it comes to making critical decisions both at home and in the public domain. This has led to the birth of many movements agitating for the rights and emancipation of women.

We may also infer from the Bible passage that before the disobedience, both man and woman were equal partners in the relationship, whereby the man did not exercise any authority over the woman.

3. The Consequences that befell Adam as a result of eating the forbidden fruit

Genesis 3:17–18 describes the consequences that Adam would have to bear as a result of his disobedience. We thus read:

“‘Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it, cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.

Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field.

In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”’

Three main things emerge from a careful examination of this passage. Firstly, the ground became cursed due to man’s disobedience and would henceforth have to be tilled in order to yield produce for man’s consumption. This meant that man would no longer enjoy the previous privilege of eating the produce of the ground without his input. So now, only through the toil and sweat of his face would the ground produce the herb on which he would feed.

Secondly, from then on, the ground would bring forth thorns and thistles. These signified the difficulties that man would have to endure throughout his life in order to get bread from the ground.

Eventually, man is condemned to die after all his toil and labour, as indicated by the phrase ‘from dust you were taken and to dust shall you return.’

4. After eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve came to know good and evil

Genesis 3:7 gives us another consequence of eating from the forbidden tree. We thus read:

‘Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.’

Also, Genesis 3:22 sheds more light on the same consequence. We thus read:

‘Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil.”’

It seems that initially God intended that the man and his wife would lead an ‘innocent’ way of life, oblivious to their surroundings. However, this innocence was shattered after partaking of the fruit from the tree of life, and they became ‘knowledgeable’ in a way that God had not initially intended for them.

5. The final consequence of eating the forbidden fruit was expulsion of man from the Garden of Eden

To cap it all, Genesis 3:22–24 gives us an account of man’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden. We thus read:

‘Then the LORD God said, Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever,” therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man, and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden and a flaming sword which turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.’

So, from this passage, we see that man lost his initially appointed home, to which he would never return, given the placement of the cherubim to guard the garden.

Conclusion

This article discussed the consequences witnessed as a result of man’s disobedience to God by partaking of the fruit of the forbidden tree. This account is normally referred to as the fall of man. It is as a result of this disobedience that sin, corruption, and death came to the world, and humanity has never known peace and rest. However, with the coming of Christ (the Seed of the woman), his death, and resurrection, man’s redemption has been secured as long as he becomes a believer by confessing Christ Jesus as his Lord and Saviour.

I hope the information was helpful. Thank you.

Related Post: What is the seed of the serpent in genesis

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Source: https://www.biblegateway.com/

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