26

happy as he was. God said to them,
“Of every tree in the garden ye
may eat; but of the fruit of the
tree of the knowledge of good and
evil, which is in the midst of the
garden, ye shall not eat, lest ye die.”

Adam and Eve loved one another,

THE BEGINNING OF SIN.

and they loved God. They walked
in the beautiful garden, and sang
praise to God, without pain, or sor-
row, or fear; and they loved to
hear God speak to them, and to
learn the wonderful things He
taught them.

enna .

II.

y HE PEGINNING OF pIN.

2 |HERE was a wicked angel
in hell, named Satan.
Once he had been a bright
and happy angel in hea-
ven ; but he was disobedi-
ent, and God drove him down into
hell, and many other wicked angels
with him. Sin cannot bein heaven ;
all must be holy there. “ God spared
not the angels that sinned, but cast
them down into hell.” 2 Pet. ii. 4.

Satan hated Adam and Eve, be-
cause they were holy and happy,
and he was wicked and miserable ;
and he went into the garden, and
appeared like a serpent, and spoke
to Eve, and tempted her to eat the
fruit which God had forbidden.
But Eve said, “ God commanded us,
saying, Ye shall not eat of it, lest
ye die.” Then Satan told a lie, for
“he is a liar, and the father of it,”
John viii. 44, and said, “You shall
not surely die.” And Eve was
tempted to believe Satan, and she
_ took the fruit of the tree of knowl-
edge of good and evil, and eat, and
gave to Adam, and he eat. God
saw all this, and He was very angry.
Adam and Eve were sinners now,
their holiness and happiness were
gone, and God would punish them
for their sin. “They heard the

 

 

voice of the Lord God, walking in
the garden in the cool of the day;
and Adam and his wife hid them-
selves.” Why did they fear? Be-
cause they knew they had sinned ;
they knew that God was angry with
them: they were not glad now to
hear His voice; they could not now
sing His praises, and talk happily
to Him. But Adam and Eve could
not hide themselves from God, for
He can see everywhere. “The
eyes of the Lord are in every place,
beholding the evil and the good.”
Prov. xv. 3.

God called Adam, and said -to
him, “Hast thou eaten of the fruit
of which I commanded thee not to
eat?” and Adam did not humbly
confess his sin, but answered, “The
woman gave it to me, and IJ eat.”
Then God said to Eve, “What is
this that thou hast done ?” and she
answered, “The serpent. tempted
me, and I eat.” Then God told
Adam and Eve that they had sin-
ned, and therefore they must die.
Thorns and thistles would now
grow in the beautiful world ; they
must labor, and suffer pain and
sorrow all the days they lived, and
then “die, and return to the dust,”
Their bodies must die; but where