First Fall – The Breaking of All 10 Commandments of God

Deutsch

The fall of Adam and Eve wasn’t just a “significant” bite of fruit that could have been overlooked, but a violation of God’s entire set of laws, the Ten Commandments. This also clarifies what it actually means to trust God, or not to trust Him, with all the resulting consequences.

A “simple bite” into a fruit

The first fall from grace in the Garden of Eden is by far the most well-known sin and also the most consequential sin for humanity. Eve simply took a bite of the fruit, Adam did the same, and the innocence of human beings made in God’s image was lost. Neither of them should have done it. God had made this unequivocally clear in Genesis 2:16-17:

“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.“

This cannot be misunderstood. Yet the serpent was the most cunning of all animals, as stated in Genesis 3:1. It is obvious that the serpent did not speak of its own accord, for this was Satan’s first deception. Furthermore, it is likely that the serpent had a different appearance in the Garden of Eden, for after the Fall, God cursed the serpent with the following words, Genesis 3:14:
“upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:“

Altered Snake

The snake evidently had legs before. Traditions from Hinduism and Buddhism describe the snake of that time roughly as it is depicted in many places today as an image or figure. A long body, but with legs and a kind of dragon’s head. This also fits the image of a dragon before the Middle Ages, because the appearance of a dragon we are familiar with today only emerged in the “Dark Ages.” For this reason, Revelation 12 alternates back and forth between “snake and dragon,” although the same one is always being addressed.

Death entered the world

With this first fall into sin, it all happened. Humans, as well as the creation subject to them (Psalm 8), were destined to die. Death came into this world, which was not intended. Yet the death that Adam and Eve were promised doesn’t have to happen instantly. Those who lose their youthful quality over the years, grow older, and lose strength and energy—this begins around the age of 21—are simply slowly approaching death. This is actually a time of God’s grace, for immediate death after a sin would make any possibility of true repentance and conversion impossible.

However, this “simple forbidden bite” into the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge was not the only valid law of God. While a whole host of evangelicals declare that all laws, including the Ten Commandments, were abolished with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the truth is the exact opposite. Nor were the Ten Commandments first handed out “exclusively” to the people of Israel on Mount Sinai using the two stone tablets. There are numerous examples in the Old Testament that show that the Ten Commandments were fully valid even before Mount Sinai (Info).

Just as God Himself is eternally unchanging, so too are His laws, which ultimately reflect His unchanging character. God is the same today as He was in the Garden of Eden, and God will always be the same.

The entire set of 10 Commandments broken

Thus, the Ten Commandments have always been valid, based solely on the logic of immutability. And if the first Fall is examined more closely between its development and its “aftermath,” then Adam and Eve violated the entire range of the Ten Commandments. Not just a “minor irregularity” that could have been overlooked, but the entire package of God’s commandments was violated, every single one.

Breaking the First Commandment

You shall have no other gods before me, according to God’s First Commandment. It is in the nature of God that the true God is also the sole authority, recognized as such by His creature, man. This applies especially to those whose words and rules are obeyed. The serpent appeared as an authority, asserting the exact opposite of what God had previously told Adam and Eve. The adversary used the method of deception and lies, but ultimately, Eve recognized the serpent’s spoken word, and God’s words were forgotten.

Breaking the Second Commandment

Man shall not make for himself images or statues of anything, nor worship them, nor serve (venerate) them. No idols, according to the Second Commandment. The fruit on the forbidden tree, fueled by the serpent’s lies, promised, in Eve’s imagination, that if eaten, what she was told would come true.

“Eat the fruit, and your eyes will be opened; you will be like God, and you will certainly not die,” was her idea. This was achieved with the help of the fruit. This is precisely the practice that is still used in many churches today, when one kisses the iron base of a statue in the hope of achieving miraculous results.

Breaking the Third Commandment

You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God! This is the Third Commandment. Eve, to put it mildly, honored God by not only believing Him and His words, but also obeying them. Carelessness, lack of trust, unbelief—all these things bring dishonor on the true character of God.

It is not, as is so often claimed, that the name of God refers only to the correct pronunciation of “YHWH.” The name encompasses not the given name, but rather the work and character. Thus, Jesus Christ has a whole range of names (Info).

Breaking the 4th Commandment

There’s no need for “bending and breaking” to declare a violation of the Fourth Commandment. The very special commandment, “Remember the Sabbath” (7th day of the week – Info), is the ultimate testimony that God is the Creator of all things and also exclusively He who leads His people out of sin.

Recognizing and observing the Sabbath is recognizing the true God, His authority. This, of course, entails unshakable faith and trust in His words and deeds. Eve clearly did not demonstrate this by reaching for the forbidden fruit.

Breaking the 5th Commandment

Honor your father and your mother! This is the Fifth Commandment. Since the Ten Commandments are a reflection of God’s character—the first four commandments describe the relationship with God, while commandments 5 through 10 deal with dealings with fellow human beings—it’s not surprising that God doesn’t simply call Himself “Father” (the mother is out of the question here) and refers to the people in His nation as His children (Info).

The act, first by Eve, then by Adam, was anything but honoring the Father.

The Violation of the 6th Commandment

Thou shalt not kill! The Sixth Commandment was violated because it clearly stated the imminent death that follows the disregard of God’s law. With sin, death came into this world. This should “actually” show how drastic sin truly is. It is not a trivial offense, and certainly not tolerated. Nor is there any “blanket salvation” for all people, especially if they are still living fully and completely in sin.

Adam and Eve, as we would say today, acted negligently and knowingly accepted death.

Creation groans and suffers under sin. This applies to humans as well as to animals and the plant world. The degeneration over the past millennia can easily be seen in the numerous discoveries. This is in stark contrast to the “scientific” claim of evolutionary development.

Breaking the 7th Commandment

You shall not commit adultery! With exclusive marriage between a man and a woman, without adultery, God is particularly concerned with fidelity. God is faithful and just (1 John 1:9), and so should people be. The relationship of Jesus Christ with His people is also compared to a bond between bridegroom and bride. Infidelity is an abomination. Eve, and subsequently Adam, were unfaithful to the covenant between God and His first humans.

Breaking the Eighth Commandment

Thou shalt not steal! The Eighth Commandment hardly applies to the first instance of sin, even though the crime of stealing is actually quite obvious. God, the owner of all things, said, “Take no fruit from it,” yet Eve nevertheless took a fruit. Clearly an “illegitimate taking,” in other words, theft.

Breaking the 9th Commandment

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor! In other words, you shall not lie, and especially not any untruths about your neighbor. Even without openly and directly speaking the lie, one can still become a part of a lie by following it. The serpent’s lie was the trigger; Eve committed this lie. Revelation 22:15 also highlights a final warning that not only the liar will have no right to enter the new city, but also the one who loves and practices a lie.

Furthermore, the supposed justifications and accusations were not exactly a badge of honor for Adam and Eve.

Breaking the 10th Commandment

You shall not covet! Desiring something that someone else has. The Tenth Commandment pretty much shows the beginnings of several possible sins. This can result in greed as well as in harming others simply because you want to get your own. The forbidden fruit was an object of desire for Eve, and it caused her to fall.

Antiques from China are enlightening

A very interesting connection exists between temptation and the symbol used for it in Chinese writing. The character looks like this: 魔 .
A symbol consisting of three individual units.林 trees, 鬼 devil, and 广 hiding place (roof).

The Chinese character for desire (lust) is similarly revealing: 婪
Two individual characters from 林 trees and a 女 woman. Thus, a woman under trees.

The Chinese symbolic script exhibits a whole series of characteristics that encompass not only creation, but also events up to the time of Noah (the Flood) – More examples.

Keeping all the commandments with the help of the Holy Spirit

Actually, it should be self-evident that an unchanging God would also establish unchanging laws. Anything else would be arbitrary and a matter of circumstance. Therefore, all of them—not 8 out of 10, or 9 out of 10, but 10 out of 10—must be observed without exception. Even if Eve and Adam had violated just one of the 10 commandments, in whatever form, they would still have violated the entire law. James also explains this for the “world after Christ”:
“For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” (James 2:10)

What is left for man when God’s “rules” seem like walking on a razor’s edge? The desire for and acceptance of the Holy Spirit’s work!

Bible verses from King James Version (1611)