From all angles, the account of the fall of man is fascinating simply because it presents, in a nutshell, the origin of man’s sin and its consequences, the wiles of the devil and his modus operandi, God’s promise of a savior fulfilled in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and finally, God’s benevolent provision for His creation which, in my opinion, can even be seen as a foreshadow of how the atonement for our sins will be made.
The Bible doesn’t give us an insight into when the fall of man occurred. All we know is that it was after creation was completed, and Eve had been presented to Adam as his helper, fit for him (Genesis 2:18). What does strike me as interesting is the fact that the commandment not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil was given to Adam before Eve was created and presented to him (Genesis 2:15-17).
Does that mean that God intended for Adam to pass on the commandment to Eve? Perhaps. Did God repeat the commandment to Eve? Perhaps, though unlikely. The reason I think the latter scenario unlikely is because God intended Adam to lead, and this is a fact reflected throughout the Bible. In the New Testament, Paul confirms this in his first epistle to Timothy (1 Timothy 2:13-14). So it would be up to Adam (the man) to let Eve know of the commandment, or to teach her the commandment.
The devil, “more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made” (Genesis 3:1a), seized upon a time when Eve was alone and, through a combination of “commandment twisting” and a strong appeal to the human being’s pride, managed to persuade her to eat of the forbidden fruit. She, in turn, persuaded her husband, Adam, to do the same.
Thus did man and woman fall into sin, i.e. rebelled against God.
Their rebellion reaped dire consequences — of which death was, without doubt, the most dire. We also see God sending Adam and Eve out the Garden of Eden, never to ever be able to return. It is also interesting to note here that man’s rebellion also affected creation in general — part of God’s promise to Adam was that the earth shall be cursed because of his sin, and the former will have to toil working the ground for their daily sustenance.
While Adam and Eve, and through them all of mankind and creation, were cursed, there was a promise from God for a savior who will bruise the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:15). This was fulfilled in the birth, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ generations later.
Finally, we see God’s provision for His creation just before Adam and Eve stepped out of the Garden of Eden. Where Adam and Eve’s fig leaf-coverings were insufficient in covering their shame, God provided them sufficiently with “garments of skin” (Genesis 3:21).
The chapter on the fall of man is fascinating and a study of it in light of the complete Scripture is in itself mind-blowing. It not only gives us a great insight into the tactics that the devil employs (which are very much still in use today to some great effect in some “Christian” circles), but we are also reminded of our sinful nature.
Most fascinating, in my opinion, is the promise of the Savior (who is our Lord Jesus Christ) and how we can learn through the simple episode of God’s provision of garments of skin to Adam and Eve the futility of man’s efforts for reconciliation (works) versus God’s provision of the ultimate sin offering by His grace.