Hindsight is 20/20 right? How would you advise Adam to respond to Eve when she gave him the forbidden fruit to eat?

(For entire Garden of Eden story visit Genesis Chapters 2–3)

After Eve ate the forbidden fruit, she offered it to Adam and then he ate it as well. This decision to disobey God and rebel against Him started the fall of mankind and introduced the curses of both sin and death into the human race for all generations that would come after them. Scripture makes it clear that Adam and Eve were our representatives. But they didn’t eat at the same time. Eve was deceived by the serpent (allegorically Satan the fallen angel) to eat, but Adam likely gave in for different reasons. Adam had a moment to decide if he was going to listen to and follow his wife, or remain obedient to God. Adam could’ve said “No!” and rebuked his wife. Perhaps if he had responded more wisely then our story may have had a very different outcome. The answer to our story ended up being Jesus, the God-man, on the cross paying for the sins of the world. If you’ve ever struggled with understanding why Jesus needed to do this, perhaps a closer look at this fictitious response by Adam in the garden of Eden may help shine some more light on the story.

Adam speaking to Eve:

“My love, you shouldn’t have done that! God is holy, perfect and truthful and He told us that if we ate or touched the tree that we would surely die! He said we may eat of ANY OTHER tree in the garden, even the tree of eternal life, except for this one tree — the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Surely God, our Father whom we both know and love, our maker who created the entire world and all the stars and all the animals and each of us, who loves us and teaches us and gave us all of the world as a gift to us and entrusted us with everything in creation to receive and enjoy and manage for Him, desires to give us great gifts! Certainly He could not be fearful for us to have power and authority! It is He Himself who teaches us how to manage His creation and to be disciplined with wisdom and to use our authority properly over nature and the animals and to care for them.

Surely our Father, the very one who saw my loneliness before you were made, and knew the very longings of my deep heart’s desires, and who loved me enough to answer my prayers and make you for me as my perfectly-made companion, my best and most cherished friend, my loving and intimate wife with whom pleasure abounds — surely He is good, and does good, and gives us all that is good! Surely He loves us and must want what is best for us!

Surely our God Almighty is powerful and wise! He who is mighty enough to create everything from nothing, to create you from nothing, to be made from my very rib! Certainly He could not be fearful for us to have power! Certainly He could not be lacking in wisdom! Surely God, our Creator, our Father whom we both know and love, our Friend who’s friendship we enjoy and walk and talk with, would have no reason to be dishonest with us! He has created us and given us knowledge and wisdom Himself. If the wisdom from this tree (of the knowledge of good and evil) is good for us, certainly He would have not told us not to eat from this tree!

This wisdom certainly must not be good if our Father said it is bad! I desire good wisdom too! Our Father loves wisdom and goodness, I do not know why He wouldn’t want us to be wise. If we would even believe the serpent that our Father didn’t give us full knowledge or this wisdom, shouldn’t we at least trust and have faith in Him that He had good reason not too? But perhaps He did give us full knowledge. Perhaps this serpent is evil to make us distrust and disobey our Father. Let us go and ask our Father plainly if there is knowledge or wisdom that is good for us that we do not yet have, and if so, let us ask our Father if He may give us this wisdom.

My wife, it hurts me that you have done this grave offense against our Father. He said you would die if you eat of this tree. I cannot lose you again! We know that our Father is good and gracious and loving. Let us go and beg Him to forgive you for listening to the serpent. He is kind, perhaps He will listen and use His mighty power to prevent you from this “dying.” My love, why did you do this? I cannot go on without you and return to my loneliness that I had before you were made! I am so grieved! We know God, why would you choose to listen to this serpent whom we did not know? Why would you distrust the one we love, who loves us, to believe one that we do not love, who we do not even know, so he cannot love us?

Let us now go to our Father and I will plead with Him to forgive you. I will ask Him to forgive you. He is powerful and merciful and good and loving and kind and generous, and He loves us! And, if He will not save you from dying for your own sake, then perhaps He will save you from dying for my sake. He has answered my prayer when I grieved before — when He gave me you — perhaps He will save you from dying for this same reason.”

–Then went to God–

Father, my wife has done a very bad thing. She has eaten from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The tree you told us not to eat from. She was deceived by the serpent and tricked into believing him over believing you. She is very sorry for sinning against you…tell Him, honey! Must she die, Father? Is there any other way we can pay restitution, or make amends for our crime, or be healed from the punishments of this “death.” I know that you are powerful and merciful and good and loving and kind and generous, and that you love us. Please tell us of another way we can continue to live together with you in this garden Father! But if there is no other way, and someone must die, then I offer to give my life away in exchange for my wife’s life. I shall bear the punishment for her actions. If there is no way you can use your power to save her from death, then I ask if there is a way for me to exchange my life for hers? A way where she can live in my place and stay here with you and I will accept death on her behalf in her place? I plead with you Father, if there is no other way, then take my life instead of hers!”