Genesis 3 tells us that wanting to be like God is at the core of it. We all prefer to do what we want instead of what God wants. We’d like to decide for ourselves. It is called ‘coveting’ to want something you do not have. They want more wisdom, more power, more knowledge, more control, which they have not been given. And this desire for what they do not have is what leads to their fall.

 

We read of the first sin in Genesis 3. The core of the temptation the woman faced is in v5:

For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

(Gen. 3:5 ESV)

There are two aspects to this. The first is the temptation to be like God. Just think: instead of ruling under God in God’s world, you could be god yourself! You could be the boss, not the creature. It is at the heart of what sin is. It is not being content with our position as God’s creatures and wanting to be our own boss instead.

The second aspect is “knowing good and evil”. What does this mean? It means that we want to decide what is good and evil rather than God deciding this. It all comes down to trusting God’s motives. Is God’s definition of good the correct one? Maybe there are things God calls evil and says we shouldn’t do, but they are really good things? Perhaps God is being mean to us, stopping us from having fun?

Once the serpent leaves, the woman thinks about it some more.

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. (Gen. 3:6 ESV) 

She looks at the forbidden tree. And she thinks about it, considering it, and the longer she thinks about it, the more attractive it seems. V6 reveals what tempted her. The tree was a delight to the eyes – it was attractive. The tree was good for food – it looked tasty and enjoyable. It was to be desired to make one wise. She sought wisdom in a forbidden place. We’re told in Proverbs that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. The woman chose to start somewhere else, with what she thought was best. She took the fruit and ate it. And she passed some to her husband, who also ate.

We are not told what type of fruit it actually was. In popular culture, many think that it was an apple, but there is no indication of that here.

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