It's not my fault!

Genesis 3:1-13 NASB

Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?"  The woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;  but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’"  The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die!  "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."  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 desirable to make  one  wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.  Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.
  They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.  Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?"  He said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself."  And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?"  The man said, "The woman whom You gave  to be  with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate."  Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

My thoughts -

We all know the story. This is how humans fell. This is the origin of sin. Patient zero, as it were. Adam and Eve walk with God and live in innocence until the serpent convinces Eve to do what the Lord had commanded her not to, and she in turn convinces her husband.

Rather than looking at how they fell, though, I'd like to look at their immediate response to sin. God walks in the garden. This is not a strange event. If God came near today it would be, but Adam and Eve had direct access to God. And yet, though this event is not strange something different happened after they sinned. They were afraid. They hid.

God calls after them. I like that. We have fallen. We hide from God. And God calls after us. God asks why they are hiding and Adam's response reveals his sin. So God confronts him with it.

When God reveals himself to us we become confronted with our own sin. We can not help but, in the face of such goodness and holiness, acknowledge the difference between God and us. Our sin is revealed and we are called to repent and be restored to God.

When faced with his own sin did Adam repent? Did he ask for forgiveness and restoration? No. He blamed his wife. He said "It's not my fault." Not only did he blame his wife but he also, in a round about way, blamed God. He said "The woman You gave me made me do it." There is no repentance here. Just denial and justification. Adam does not hold himself accountable for his actions. He blames others. He does not accept responsibility for his sin. He blames his wife and God.

Eve responds in much the same way. Rather than accept responsibility, repent, and seek reconciliation with God, Eve tries to pass off the blame on the serpent.

Sin has its consequences so Adam and Eve have to leave the garden. Their lives will be much harder. They no longer have direct access to God and they will have to work and toil for everything they need. Life for them and eventually for us will be much, much harder away from the garden. And they will not have access to the tree of life.

But I wonder, when initially confronted with their sin what would have happened if they had acknowledged it and repented? What would have happened if they had taken responsibility for their actions and asked for forgiveness and reconciliation? Could God not have forgiven them? Could God not have restored their relationship?

We will never know but I can't help but wonder what would have happened if instead of saying "It's not my fault!" Adam had said "Forgive me Lord, for I have sinned."