Adam and Eve

By Guest Writer

Throughout our People in the Old Testament reading plan, we have compiled selections from both our She Reads Truth and He Reads Truth writers. The same devotionals can be found on the She Reads Truth and He Reads Truth apps and websites for the entirety of this reading plan.

Is there any couple more famous than Adam and Eve? Their story is woven into our culture and history. We tell it to children to explain everything—from why we wear clothes to why people die. Yet in a story with a talking serpent and supernatural trees, Adam and Eve’s story still endures because in them, we see something true about the beauty and complexity of being human.

When I was a child, I learned to see this story as the tale of how things got so broken. Adam and Eve are removed from me and easy to blame. But the truest thing about them is who they reflected from the start. “So God created man in his own image…he created them male and female” (Genesis 1:27).

To be made in God’s image is a mystery, but I imagine it means that, at our best, we are a reflection of His goodness and truth. In Adam and Eve we see glimpses of God’s delight, creativity, and care as they cultivated and watched over Eden. They weren’t just empty creations but friends of God and chosen caretakers for a beautiful world.

Until…well, we know the rest of the story. “The woman…took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked” (Genesis 3:6–7).

The story of the fall is unsettling to read and opens more questions than it gives answers. We try to explain it away with theology or heap blame on Eve or Adam or both. We may even feel bold enough to wonder if God was overreacting.

But all of Scripture tells us that God is good, kind, and merciful. If we believe this is the core of God’s character, how does the story change?

When God approached them during His evening walk, they were hiding, shivering and scared, wrapped in leaves. It never occurred to them to be scared of their friend. God came to them with questions. “Where are you?” “What have you done?” (Genesis 3:9,13).

I used to imagine these as angry questions, but now I hear a tender grief. His children had grown. Their eyes were opened to harsh reality. I wonder if God would’ve loved one more day to walk in the garden with them. I used to imagine God kicking them out and slamming the door. Now I see that God was gently preparing them for the journey with the parting gift of clothing for their shame.

Every story has a moment where the world is turned upside down, including the story of humanity. But we know God was not abandoning His people forever. The first steps out of the garden were into a future of heartache, joy, and everything in between.

I imagine they had barely set foot on the road before God was planning a way to meet them again.

Written by Jen Yokel