What if Adam Wasn't Blaming Eve?

Here's the question:

Was Adam really playing the blame game and putting the fault on his wife Eve, ultimately on God, or is it possible that something else is going on here?

If you have spent any amount of time in church or in a youth group or even in a Bible study, then it is likely you have come out with an interpretation given to you by the pastor or teacher regarding the account of "The Fall of Man" which I do not believe Scripture supports.

The usual interpretation is as folows:

Adam and Eve both ate of the fruit of the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil." As soon as they ate the fruit, their eyes were opened and they immediately felt shame for the very first time in their existence. They went to sow fig leaves together so that they could hide their nakedness, but they soon heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden so they hid themselves. The LORD God called out to them and asked them a series of questions. Upon asking Adam what he had done, Adam blames Eve for giving him the fruit, which implies that he is ultimately blaming God for giving him Eve which gave him the fruit. Thus Adam is making every effort to not be at fault. Okay. God then moves to Eve. He also asks her what she had done and she in turn blamed the serpent.

Is this a correct interpretation? Well, no.

What does the text say?

Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" He said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself." And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?"  

Genesis 3:9-11

Now look at Adam's response very carefully and picture it happening in real life. Imagine you are watching this unfold. Think about the words and his tone of voice. Think about his body language. Imagine being in Adam's shoes for a second. Try and remember a time in which God confronted you directly on a sin in your life. Read it slowly.

The man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate."  

Genesis 3:12

Now read Eve's response very slowly. Again, imagine you are there. Pretend to be in her shoes. Think about tone of voice, body language, and the exact words proceeding from her mouth.

Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."  

Genesis 3:13

Do you find it interesting that, if Adam is actually blaming God, God just moves on and doesn't even acknowledge Adam's immaturity, failure to take responsibility for his actions, and his continual disobedience?

Illustration

Maybe this will make more sense. Pretend that you have a son and a daughter both at an age of accountability. Let's say they are around the age of seven and eight. Now let's imagine that you see your son from the other room hit your daughter. What do you do next? Do you run in angrily and begin spanking him? Or do you come in as a loving parent asking him what just happened?

You see, you know what just happened. You saw it take place. Yet you ask him what just transpired so that he will understand why he is being disciplined. And let's say that your son knows that you just witnessed this whole ordeal. What is he going to say to you? His options are to lie to your face, blame his sister for somehow causing him to do it, or indeed confess what he just did and take responsibility for his actions.

Granted, we see that children can be very rebellious. However, generally speaking we see that the difference among those children who will lie to you or blame someone else for their problems apart from those who will take responsibility and own up to their choices is in how they have been raised thusfar.

A child raised by godly parents who love him and reflect the grace of God to him every day, when he realizes that he is caught and there is no way out, he will generally not blame someone else. He will instead tell you exactly what happened and admit to his wrongdoing.

Adam and Eve had the perfect Father raising them in perfect grace, love, humility, kindness, goodness, etc. Not only that, but they were made perfectly humble. What generally happens when a really humble believer falls into sin and is caught in the act? Do they instantly lose all humility they once possessed and become 100% proud and arrogant? No.

Generally, when a humble believer is caught in sin, he will not blame somebody else. Instead, he will confess what he has done and admit his wrongdoing. This is what Adam and Eve were doing. They were not blaming each other. They were not blaming God nor the devil. They were telling Dad what happened and confessing their wrongdoing.

This is not a blame game. It is an open confession. Adam tells God what happened and he says, "...and I ate." Adam is taking full responsibility. Eve tells God what happened and then she says, "...and I ate." Eve is also taking full responsibility.