The Errors of Eve

Eve did not commit only one sin… rather, she committed a series of sins, “in sequence, one leading to another.”

• The first sin was yielding to the serpent:
  Indeed, “evil company corrupts good morals.” Eve’s sitting with the serpent, which was “more cunning than any beast of the field,” was the beginning of all the problems. But perhaps Eve did not know the malice of the serpent, nor did she know the meaning of lying. Yet undoubtedly, after the serpent revealed its evil nature by falsifying the words of God, Eve should have rebuked it and refused to accept its words…

Sitting with the serpent led to the sin of doubt:

“Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” (Gen. 3:1).
Is it really true that God does not love you, nor desire your good, and deprives you of these fruits?! We notice here the deceit of the serpent, because God did not forbid Adam and Eve from all the trees, but only from one tree…

Then the serpent said: “You will not surely die.” In this way, Eve was made to doubt the truthfulness of God. Therefore Eve should have been cautious and not listened to it…

• Here it appears that Eve believed the serpent and disbelieved God, revealing the weakness of her faith.

God warned of death, while the serpent said: “You will not surely die.” Which then should be believed—the word of God or the word of the serpent?!

• By yielding, Eve also showed weakness of character:

God had given her and Adam authority over all the beasts of the field (Gen. 1:28). So how could she submit to a creature under her authority in a way that opposed the commandment of God?

• Through this submission, she took for herself a guide and a source of knowledge other than God…

God was no longer the leader of her life, but she resorted to another source, which harmed her.

And when she listened to the serpent, she lost her simplicity and natural purity, and lust entered into her.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil stood in the midst of the garden. Eve passed by it every day without stumbling because of it or desiring it. But after hearing the serpent’s words, she lost her simplicity, her outlook changed, and lust entered her. She looked and saw that “the tree was good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise” (v. 6).

• Eve fell into the sin of gluttony and descended from the spiritual level to the desire of the flesh.

For the first time, she desired to eat. She broke a fast imposed by God concerning a certain kind of food and sought to fulfill a bodily desire. Thus her spiritual level declined, and she descended to the bodily level…

• By eating, Eve fell into the sin of disobedience.

She transgressed the commandment of God knowingly and consciously. Her will and desire became opposed to the will of God.

• Through transgression, she distanced herself from the love of God…

For God says: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” Disobedience is against love. It is rebellion against God, defiance of Him, and disregard for His words…

• Eve also gave a bad example in keeping the Scripture:

She preserved the commandment mentally and recited it accurately to the serpent, yet at the same time she violated it. The word of God was in her mind and on her lips, but it was far from her heart and will.

• Eve also fell into the sin of dissatisfaction:

She was not content with all the trees of the garden, but greedily desired the one remaining tree.

• Eve also fell into the sin of pride:

For she was deceived by the phrase: “You will be like God” (v. 5).

• Eve also became a stumbling block to another, causing him to fall:

She was not content with her own fall, but caused Adam to fall also. And after eating, she fell into other sins as well.

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An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III – in El-Keraza Magazine – Year Eight (Issue Eight) 25-2-1977

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