The Seeds of Sin: Adam and Eve in Paradise
Written by Bill Valine
November 2025
“Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” Proverbs 11:14
Martin Frobisher was an English seaman who completed three voyages to North America. During his first expedition, he returned to England with a black stone that he gave to Michael Lok, the chairman of the Muscovy Company, which financed the first expedition. Lok took samples of the stone to the royal assayer in the Tower of London and two other expert assayers, all of whom declared that it was worthless. Lok then took the “ore” to an Italian alchemist living in London, Giovanni Battista Agnello, who claimed it was gold-bearing. Ignoring the negative reports, Lok used this assessment to lobby investors to finance another voyage.
Encouraged by the promise of precious metals, supporters provided the funds necessary to launch a second expedition. On this second voyage, Frobisher found what he thought was gold ore and carried 200 short tons (180 t) of it home on three ships, where initial assaying determined it to be worth a profit of £5.20 per ton (equivalent to £1,900 per ton in 2023). Encouraged, Frobisher returned to Canada with a larger fleet consisting of fifteen vessels. The crews included five assayers. This time he carried 1,350 tons of the ore back to England. After five years, however, the ore was declared to be of no value. The company that financed the expedition went bankrupt, Lok was ruined, being sent to debtors’ prison several times, and Martin Frobisher’s reputation as an explorer collapsed.
Frobisher and Lok failed to seek reliable advice that would have saved the time, effort, and expense of hundreds of sailors, not to mention the fortunes of dozens of investors. (1)(2)
They are not alone. In the story of the Fall is no record of Adam and Eve ever seeking God’s counsel concerning the doubts the serpent had raised to Eve (Genesis 2:8–3:19). It would be easy for us to think that if we were in the garden with God everything would have been perfect, but that is not the picture we get from Genesis. Eve’s silence shows that she had drifted away from God. Over time she had begun to substitute her own ideas of wisdom for God’s (Genesis 3:6). She began to entertain thoughts that were contrary to his will and that eventually led her to openly disobeying him. But it was not just Eve. Both Adam and Eve had drifted from God and each other.
God had told Adam and Eve that they were to become one flesh (Genesis 2:24). But Adam and Eve did not act united. Where was Adam when the serpent was filling Eve’s mind with doubts of God’s goodness? God had told Adam to tend and keep the garden (Genesis 2:15). The Hebrew word for keep is samar (Strong’s H8104), to hedge about, to guard, to protect, to preserve (tend — The Torah, The Jewish Publication Society, 1962). The NKJV and the ESV use the English word keep; the NIV uses the English take care of. Amongst other places, samar is used in Psalm 41:1–2 and Psalm 121:7–8.
“Blessed is he who considers the poor; the LORD will deliver him in times of trouble. The LORD will preserve him and keep him alive.” Psalms 41:1–2
“The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; he shall preserve your soul. The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.” Psalm 121:7–8
Both speak of protection from trouble and evil. As far as obeying the commandments of God, well before he ate from the tree, Adam failed to guard the Garden, his wife, and himself from the presence and schemes of the enemy. Here was the first sin—a sin of omission. Adam failed to take seriously the command of God.
Eve also failed to take seriously the command of God. Part of becoming one flesh was that she was to be a suitable helper to her husband (Genesis 2:18). The Hebrew word for helper is ezer (Strong’s H5828), aid or help, variously translated as help meet (KJV), helper comparable to (NKJV), helper suitable (NIV), helper fit (ESV) (fitting helper — The Torah, The Jewish Publication Society, 1962). But ezer comes from azar (Strong’s H5826) — to surround (protect or aid). Variously translated as help or succor (KJV), it was used in Deuteronomy 32:38 when God spoke of the inability of idols to help or protect. Part of marriage, then, is to insulate your spouse from outside threats, to be a safe haven. Eve was anything but a safe haven — she ignored Adam, never discussing the serpent’s words with him, and rather than protecting him she drew Adam into her rebellion.
Lessons
Adam and Eve were drifting away from each other and from God. If God ignored it, things would have only gotten worse. How did God choose to respond to this drift?
Jesus’ story of the prodigal son presents us with a similar question (Luke 15:11–24): why did the father give his younger son his inheritance? He had to have known that the boy was irresponsible and likely to squander any money given to him. So why did the father not simply refuse his son’s request? Imagine that refusal from the boy’s point of view. There was a measure of pride on his part. To some extent he trusted that he could make decisions for his own life better than his father. And it must have taken nerve to make such an outrageous demand from his father. Just by asking he had already cut ties mentally with his family. What would have been his response if his request had been denied? Would he have humbled himself and submitted to his father’s decision?
I would think that he would have resented it, and that he would have left his father’s house, fortune or no fortune. When in the future he hit rock bottom, his resentment and pride would have probably prevented him from ever going back to his father. (Think of how many derelicts refuse to ask their families for help.) Knowing all of this, the father’s desire was to keep open the possibility of his son’s return. He chose to hand over his fortune hoping for the day that his son would come to himself — to reach on his own the conclusion that it would have been far better to have trusted his father.
Looking back at Adam and Eve in the garden, what would have been their response if God had confronted them directly, telling them in plain language the mistakes they were making and the dangers they faced? Since he chose not to confront them directly, we do not know exactly how they would have responded, but we do know that the serpent had already sown the seeds of distrust in Eve’s mind (Genesis 3:4–5). We also know from their responses after they ate from the tree that they were not prepared to accept responsibility for their decisions and actions (Genesis 3:6–13). So, God chose to confront them indirectly. He placed the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden to test them and reveal the state of their hearts—to themselves (Romans 3:20; 7:7).
A pattern emerges: God proactively places tests in our lives so we can learn the lessons he knows we so desperately need. (He did not wait until Adam and Eve openly sinned; he had placed the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden from the beginning. Genesis 2:8–9.) Like the prodigal, and Adam and Eve, God does not force us to obey him. He deals with us with patience. But his patience does not mean indulgence. His silence does not mean he is bending to our will. We still need to bend to his will — but freely. He wants us to come to correct conclusions on our own. And he wants us to turn to him for wisdom. But we need to ask (James 1:5). (Like Adam and Eve, how often do we substitute our own ideas rather than asking God?)
We need to be humble before God and ask him to examine our hearts (Psalm 139:23–24) and give us wisdom (Psalm 119:25). He has promised to give grace to those who are humble (1 Peter 5:5).
One more thought: the prodigal, Adam and Eve, and even Job, learned—Trusting God and trusting the blessings that God gives you are two different things.
When the prodigal finally came to himself and returned home, he learned that the love of his father was more valuable than all the riches he might obtain. Adam and Eve learned that the presence of God was worth more than all the benefits of paradise. Job learned that God’s concern for his relationship with him was more important than the blessings God could bestow upon him. For us, we need to remember that in times of trouble, along with asking God to change our circumstances, we should also ask him to make himself even more real in our lives.