Adam was charged by God with being the manager of the resources in the new world into which he had been placed. There are two main functions of a manager or administrator: To delegate — to get things done using the talents and energies of others and to promote growth — to encourage others to be motivated to develop.
Adam not doing his job
As teacher and manager in the Garden of Eden, Adam was not exercising his responsibility to teach and support. Very soon, therefore, there were problems in Eden.
We are moved to ask some pointed questions: Where was Adam when Eve was being tempted? Should he have been expected to throw the serpent out of the garden when he became an adversary? Had the man failed to adequately carry out his role in directing his household? Didn’t he listen all too willingly to the reasoning that came from the wrong source? (Gen. 3:17, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife…” RSV as all quotes).
So there was conversation about this matter; the world’s first communication problem had begun. Ever since, there have always been voices, serpent voices, scorning moral values and proclaiming instinct and inclination to be true guides to happiness, bluntly denying that any evil consequences might follow defiance of God’s commands.
Adam could have been the mediator who, in fellowship with God, manifesting God’s name to the companion God had given him. The second Adam was to say, “I have manifested thy name to the men whom thou gayest me…I have given them the words which thou gayest me…While I was with them, I kept them in thy name.. .I have guarded them…” (John 17:6.8,12). Jesus’ prayer is probably a conscious answer to the failure of Adam toward his bride in Genesis 3 and a report of his own tender care for his bride.
We can understand why the rest of the Bible speaks of the trouble in the garden as “the sin of Adam.”
Eve’s failure
Scripture also speaks of the seduction of Eve. Free will had been given by God to man and woman, which involved their ability to make mistakes, do wrong things and reverse their roles.
In fact, we cannot help but wonder if Eve was taking over the role of Adam as husbandman, managing the resources and directing the economy. We note the wording of Genesis 16:2 which is a direct parallel to the Eden account: “And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai” when Sarai took the lead in determining a course whereby they could ensure a seed. Sarai’s suggestion turned out to illustrate a timeless principle: Whenever the flesh attempts to provide solutions, further heartaches and difficulties are invariably produced. (Later, when Abraham was inclined to let his own natural impulses guide his decisions, God found it necessary to order him to listen to the good counsel he was receiving from his wife [Gen. 21:12]).
Adam and Eve respond to sin
Once they had sinned, the pair in Eden had to face the terrible question which must be faced by anyone when he is out of God’s way: “Where are you?” (Gen. 3:9). The question was not put to them as though God required information on their whereabouts, but rather as, “I know where you are, but do you know?” And on the answer to this question, as it has since, hung the future of the human race.
What follows in the biblical narrative has sometimes, I believe, been misunderstood. Adam has been thought to be shifting the blame for his dilemma away from himself, blaming his wife, and she in turn blaming the serpent. But that explanation leaves us with a false idea of the forgiveness of God who did, after all, cover their sin that day (Gen. 3:21).
Repentance and confession
Nowhere in scripture does God accept the return of a sinner to His grace without repentance. “If a man does not repent. God will whet his sword” says Psalm 7:12.
We suggest therefore that we read the record in Genesis 3 as an outline of true confession: The woman whom you gave to me (and I was so delighted that I exclaimed that she was bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh!), she gave me fruit of the tree. and I ate.” And Eve’s response is similar: The serpent beguiled me (when I should have been listening to my husband), and I ate.”
Proverbs declares explicitly (28:13), “He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” And the whole of Psalm 32 is instruction by David, who taught Israel how to repent (after setting a terrible example of sin): “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered [as was Adam’s!]…I did not hide my iniquity; I said, I will confess my transgressions to the LORD; then thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin.”
Repentance is the essential first step in a return to God. Whether it be Adam or the prodigal son of Jesus’ parable, or the Jews on the day of Pentecost, there must be confession and repudiation of sin; without it. God will not provide the covering for sin.
Consequences remain
The guilt of Adam and Eve was forgiven, but they still suffered the consequences of their transgression. And for both of them, and all their offspring, mortal life would never be like the paradise that had been lost.
It is painful to contemplate the legacy left to us as the consequence of the foolishness of our first parents. Perhaps it is less often that we contemplate the effect on our God of the trouble in the garden. The Psalmist says, “In death there is no remembrance of thee; in Sheol who can give thee praise?” (Psa. 6:5). And Hezekiah echoes the thought: “Sheol cannot thank thee, death cannot praise thee…” Isa. 38:18). As long as death continues, God’s purpose of full fellowship with His creatures remains unfulfilled. Surely God cannot be pleased with an outcome which negates His purpose, even temporarily. For Him, too, life cannot be the same until at last He is all in all.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One