How Does Genesis 3 Describe What Happened After Disobedience?

After people disobeyed God's word, fear and avoidance of responsibility followed. God announced the consequences of their actions and sent them out of the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3 tells the story from the serpent's question until Adam and his wife went outside the garden. The passage shows what choice disobedience begins with and what it leaves behind.

When They Heard a Different Word from God's Command

God commanded them not to eat the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden. But the serpent asked the woman whether God had really said they could not eat from any tree in the garden. When the woman repeated God's word, the serpent said they would certainly not die.

The woman looked at the tree. It appeared good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. She took its fruit and ate it, and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her; he ate it too.

The action of the two people is clear in this scene. They heard a word different from God's command not to eat, and they ate the fruit of the forbidden tree. Genesis 3 records disobedience not as a vague feeling but as a concrete act of breaking God's command.

After Eating the Fruit, What Happened to Them

Once they ate the fruit, they realized that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then, when they heard the sound of the LORD God, they hid among the trees of the garden from his presence.

When God called to Adam, “Where are you?” Adam answered that he was afraid when he heard God's sound, so he hid. The passage says that after eating the fruit they moved toward hiding and fear. Instead of standing before God as they were, they first covered themselves and hid their bodies.

God asked Adam whether he had eaten from the tree he had commanded him not to eat from. Adam said that the woman had given him the fruit, and he had eaten. The woman said that the serpent had deceived her, and she had eaten. Both admitted that they had eaten, yet each also pointed to another being who had led them to the act.

God Announced the Consequences of Each Action

God first told the serpent about the curse it would receive. He said that the serpent and the woman would be enemies, and that their offspring would also be enemies. The offspring of the woman would crush the serpent's head, and the serpent would strike his heel.

To the woman, God spoke of pain in pregnancy and the labor of bearing children. To Adam, he said that the ground would be cursed because of what he had done, and that he would eat its produce through painful toil all his life. The ground would produce thorns and thistles, and Adam would eat food by the sweat of his face. In the end, he would return to the dust from which he had been taken.

These words show that the choice of the two people did not end when they ate the fruit. The passage records in order the pain of childbirth, the labor required to obtain food from the ground, and the consequence that leads to death.

After Clothing Them, God Sent Them Outside the Garden

God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. The passage records both that they had woven leaves to cover themselves and that God made clothing for them.

Then God sent the man out of the Garden of Eden so that he would not also eat from the tree of life and live forever. Adam was to work the ground from which he had been taken. God placed cherubim and a flaming sword that turned in every direction east of the garden, guarding the way to the tree of life.

At the end of Genesis 3, the two no longer remained in the garden as before. Their act of disobeying God's command brought real consequences. At the same time, the passage does not omit the fact that God made garments and clothed them.

Read Genesis 3 Slowly Once Today

Today's action is to read all of Genesis 3 slowly. As you read, follow in order what the serpent said, what the two people did, and what God asked and announced. Pause especially at verses 12 and 13, where Adam and the woman explain their actions, and consider one thing: when I do wrong, do I point first to another person or circumstance?

Scriptural Basis

• Genesis 3:1–6
• Genesis 3:7–13
• Genesis 3:14–21
• Genesis 3:22–24