LESSON 3

Adam and Eve Disobeyed God

Adam and Eve Disobeyed God

One day when Eve was by herself, a snake spoke to her. It said: ‘Is it true that God won’t let you eat from all of the trees?’ Eve said: ‘We can eat from all of the trees except for one. If we eat the fruit from that tree, we will die.’ The snake said: ‘You will not die. In fact, if you eat from it, you will be like God.’ Was that true? No, it was a lie. But Eve believed it. The more Eve looked at the fruit, the more she wanted it. She ate the fruit and gave some to Adam. He knew that they would die if they disobeyed God. But Adam ate the fruit anyway.

Later that day, Jehovah spoke to Adam and Eve. He asked them why they had disobeyed him. Eve blamed the snake, and Adam blamed Eve. Because Adam and Eve had disobeyed him, Jehovah put them out of the garden. To make sure that they would never go back in, he put angels and a sword of fire at the entrance.

Jehovah said that the one who lied to Eve would also be punished. It was not really the snake that spoke to Eve. Jehovah did not make snakes that could talk. It was a bad angel who made the snake speak. He did this to trick Eve. That angel is called Satan the Devil. In the future, Jehovah will destroy Satan so that he cannot keep tricking people into doing bad things.

“The Devil . . . was a murderer from the beginning, and he did not stand fast in the truth, because truth is not in him.”​—John 8:44, footnote