Studies in Genesis 3
Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Genesis 3:13 ESV)
Like the man, the woman’s response to God’s interrogation was partially, but not completely honest. She responded with two honest statements. First, she truthfully said “the serpent deceived me.” Some translations use the word “beguiled.” The Deceiver, in the guise of a serpent, lied to her and she listened, believing the lie. She was told that eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would have specific results beyond simple nourishment. Eating the fruit would give her hidden knowledge and make her like God, which means, equal to God.
To beguile means to lure, charm, captivate, mesmerize, enthrall. She was lured into believing the lie by a beast created by God because of her own thought process and desires. She was enthralled, which means to enslave, by the possibility of being something she was not. She was mesmerized by the superstition that some physical piece of fruit, when eaten, would make her more than what God had already made her. She wanted to eat the fruit and the lie presented an excuse for her to disobey.
Secondly, she admitted straight up that she ate the fruit. There was no waffling or hesitation. “And I ate.” She is using the same words used by the man, who also said “and I ate.” Perhaps their straightforward answers to God’s interrogation was an adequate response to His questioning. However, when God walked in the garden both the man and the woman hid from Him. His calling them and questioning of them showed they had been caught. There was remorse for being caught but no repentance for the act of rebellion. Or, was there remorse?
Both the man and the woman were created in the image of God for relationship with Him. Before their rebellion their relationship with God and each other was wholesome and complete. There was no reason for them to lie to God, nor disobey His direction. They easily could have brought their questions to Him without fear of ridicule or being ignored. We cannot assume the broken and strained relationships we currently have is indicative of their relationship with God or each other. There was no sin up to this point. We cannot conceive living without sin dogging our every thought, motive and action. Up to this point they had a healthy relationship free from sin.
Both of their responses to God show no acceptance of what they had done and no repentance. They admitted “I ate” but they did not admit I disobeyed.
What she didn’t say was “I decided to eat because I believed You were keeping something from me which I deserved, needed, wanted and had to have.” Is the expectation of such a response too much to demand from those created in His image?