Today we pick up the story of Adam and Eve right after Adam tells God that he was afraid because he was naked, so he hid. This is where the finger-pointing begins!

God asks Adam if he ate the forbidden fruit. Adam replies, “The woman you gave me—she gave me the fruit to eat.” God then asks Eve what she has done. She says, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate the fruit.” Adam blames Eve, and Eve blames the serpent.

God does not question the serpent but immediately places a curse on him, saying, “You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:14–15).

There are so many questions that come up from this story that we may never fully understand. Why didn’t God stop Adam and Eve from eating the fruit? Why place the fruit in the garden to begin with? Why allow the serpent near them at all?

This part of the story—and those questions—remind me of parenting. When our children were small, I would set them up in our den, a safe place for them to play. I didn’t go around and remove everything in the house that could harm them—I simply placed them in a setting where they could enjoy their freedom. Inevitably, one of them would get hurt.

Here’s what we do know about this story: God is good, and He loves His children. His plan has always been for us to live in relationship with Him. Nothing changes that. Eve and the serpent’s offspring will live in hostility—good versus evil. However, God also tells the serpent that he will receive a mortal wound to the head.

Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), and His death on the cross won the battle for all of us.

God is working on our behalf all the time. Take time today to thank Him for His sacrifice and His daily protection over us.