Negotiating for Adam and Eve
with God - a Case Study

The first recorded relationship occurs between God, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Let's see what might have happened if our two tenants had negotiated their relationships more effectively.

Overview

God creates everything - the universe, the Garden of Eden, the Tree of Knowledge, Adam and Eve and lots more. God instructs Adam not to eat fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. But influenced by the snake, Eve eats the fruit, and encourages Adam to do likewise. Adam agrees, eats the fruit, and in doing so, disobeys God.

God finds out and demands an explanation. Adam evades the question and blames Eve; Eve blames the snake; and God summarily punishes them all.

But could it have been different? Might we still be living in the Garden of Eden if they had been able
to resolve their argument about the apple?

Fundamentally this Bible story is about good and bad choices; let's see how it applies to our everyday relationships.

History of Adam and Eve

Our source is the Good News Bible.
We pick up the story from Genesis, Chapters 2 and 3, which introduce Adam and Eve and describe what happens when God plants...

The Garden of Eden

When the Lord God made the universe, there were no plants on the earth and no seeds had sprouted, because he had not sent any rain, and there was no one to cultivate the land; but water would come up from beneath the surface and water the ground.
Then the Lord God took some soil from the ground and formed a man out of it; he breathed life-giving breath into his nostrils and the man began to live.

Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the East, and there he put the man he had formed. He made all kinds of beautiful trees grow there and produce good fruit.

The Garden of Eden by Cole Thomas

In the middle of the garden stood the tree that gives life and the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad.

A stream flowed in Eden and watered the garden; beyond Eden it divided into four rivers. The first river is the Pishon; it flows around the country of Havilah. (Pure gold is found there and also rare perfume and precious stones.) The second river is the Gihon; if flows around the country of Cush. The third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria, and the fourth river is the Euphrates.

Then the Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and guard it. He told him, "You may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, except the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad. You must not eat the fruit of that tree; if you do, you will die the same day."

Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to live alone. I will make a suitable companion to help." So he took some soil from the ground and formed all the animals and all the birds. Then he brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and that is how they all got their names. So the man named all the birds and all the animals; but not one of them was a suitable companion to help him.

Then the Lord God made the man fall into a deep sleep, and while he was sleeping, he took out one of the man's ribs and closed up the flesh. He formed a woman out of the rib and brought her to him. Then the man said, "At last, here is one of my own kind - bone taken from my bone, and flesh from my flesh. 'Woman' is her name because she was taken out of man."

That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united with his wife, and they become one.

The man and the woman were both naked, but they were not embarrassed.

The Disobedience of Man

Now the snake was the most cunning animal that the Lord God had made. The snake asked the woman, "Did God really tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?"

"We may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden," the woman answered, "except the tree in the middle of it. God told us not to eat the fruit of that tree or even touch it; if we do, we will die."

The snake replied, "That's not true; you will not die. God said that because he knows that when you eat it, you will be like God and know what is good and what is bad."

The woman saw how beautiful the tree was and how good its fruit would be to eat, and she thought how wonderful it would be to become wise. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, and he also ate it. As soon as they had eaten it, they were given understanding and realised that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and covered themselves.

That evening they heard the Lord God walking in the garden, and they hid from him among the trees. But the Lord God called out to the man, "Where are you?"

He answered, "I heard you in the garden; I was afraid and hid from you, because I was naked."

"Who told you that you were naked?" God asked. "Did you eat the fruit that I told you not to eat?"

The man answered, "The woman you put here with me gave me the fruit, and I ate it."

The Lord God asked the woman, "Why did you do this?"

She replied, "The snake tricked me into eating it."

God Pronounces Judgement

Then the Lord God said to the snake, "You will be punished for this; you alone of all the animals must bear this curse: From now on you will crawl on your belly, and you will have to eat dust as long as you live. I will make you and the woman hate each other; her offspring and yours will always be enemies. Her offspring will crush your head, and you will bite their heel."

And he said to the woman, "I will increase your trouble in pregnancy and your pain in giving birth. In spite of this, you will still have desire for your husband, yet you will be subject to him."

And he said to the man, "You have listened to your wife and ate the fruit which I told you not to eat. Because of what you have done, the ground will be under a curse. You will have to work hard all your life to make it produce enough food for you. It will produce weeds and thorns, and you will have to eat wild plants. You will have to work hard and sweat to make the soil produce anything, until you go back to the soil from which you were formed. You were made from soil, and you will become soil again."

Adam named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all human beings. And the Lord God made clothes out of animal skins for Adam and his wife, and he clothed them.

Adam and Eve Are Sent Out of the Garden

Then the Lord God said, "Now the man has become like one of us and has knowledge of what is good and what is bad. He must not be allowed to take fruit from the tree that gives life, eat it, and live for ever."

The Problem

Adam and Eve disobey God, who banishes them and all future generations from the Garden of Eden, punishing them with troubles, curses and hard work for ever more.

Adam and Eve are cast out  
of the Garden of Eden     

The Solution

Adam and Eve could negotiate a better outcome if they talk with God about their relationship with Him, drawing upon 3 passages from the text:

        1. God places Adam in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and guard it, telling him, "You may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, except the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad. You must not eat the fruit of that tree; if you do, you will die the same day."

Typical God, really - very specific in His instructions. Hard to misinterpret. Contrary to God's command, Adam and Eve eat the tainted fruit. Tactically, it is often easier for the other person to move on if you agree with their thinking (at least initially). God is obviously a fearsome character, used to getting His own way; we recommend Adam and Eve admit their guilt and move on to the second issue.

        2. The woman saw how beautiful the tree was and how good its fruit would be to eat, and she thought how wonderful it would be to become wise. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, and he also ate it. As soon as they had eaten it, they were given understanding and realised that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and covered themselves.

By eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, Adam and Eve simultaneously: (i) broke God's command; and (ii) acquired knowledge of good and bad. As a result, they realised they were naked and covered themselves with fig leaves. When God saw this, He knew they had eaten the fruit and broken His command.

If we accept the claim that the previously-naive Eve was tricked by the snake - the most cunning animal of all God's creatures - could she reasonably be expected to discern Good (ie God's command) from Bad (ie the guile of the snake's inducement)?

Secondly, neither Adam nor Eve had knowledge of good and bad before they ate the apple. This came after they had committed the act.

In the same way we do not punish children lacking knowledge, Adam and Eve should promote their lack of responsibility for their actions because they did not know good from bad.

        3. God Pronounces Judgement punishing Adam and Eve for their disobedience, and curses the snake for good measure.

First time offence. Previously unblemished record. Appeal to God's mercy for Adam and Eve, asking for a cooling off period before re-considering His sentence, perhaps a good behaviour bond or custodial sentence... but exile-plus-punishment for all time? The sentence is unjustly harsh.

The Strategy

Adam and Eve should negotiate with God, promoting a lack of knowledge of good and bad as the reason for their choices. The strategy is to admit their mistake, accept God's command in future, and ask for a chance to mend their relationship with Him while remaining in the Garden of Eden.

What to Say to God

God, you created us in your own image, to be like you and to resemble you.* But how can we
be like you if we do not know
good from bad?

You instructed us not to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. Eve was tempted by the snake to eat the fruit and tempted me to do the same, and thus we broke your command. But we did not know what we did at the time was bad. Now we know it was wrong to do so because we have learnt Good from Bad and we can make choices for ourselves.

God, we broke your command - we are sorry we made a mistake. But is it fair to banish us from the Garden of Eden for one mistake?

Give us a second chance. You want us to accept your commands and to do good things. We want that, too. And although we will make mistakes from time-to-time, we are human after all.

Let us mend our relationship and stay in the Garden of Eden with you.

      Redemption for Adam and Eve

   If human beings are indeed like God, then    He must be compassionate. Offered the    choice of punishing or saving His children,    which do you think He would choose?
Sometimes all we need is an opportunity to repair relationships with those we love and work with.