Genesis 3: When God Spoke Clearly, and we added a little more

Bonus Extended Cut — Genesis 3

When God Spoke Clearly, and We Added a Little More

In Genesis 2:16–17, God speaks plainly to Adam:

“You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

The command is generous, precise, and sufficient. Life is offered freely; death is warned honestly. God does not explain Himself. He does not hedge His words. He simply tells the truth.

But in Genesis 3:3, when the woman recounts God’s command, something has changed:

“You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.”

God never said, “neither shall you touch it.”

This small addition weakens the command rather than strengthening it. What was relational becomes rule-based. What was clear becomes vulnerable. Scripture repeatedly warns against this pattern: adding to God’s word creates space for deception (Deut 4:2; Prov 30:6).

When Eve touches the fruit and does not die, confidence in God’s word is shaken—setting the stage for the lie to take root. Deception does not begin with rebellion, but with distortion.

The consequences arrive immediately—before the curse is ever spoken. Adam and Eve’s eyes are opened, not to wisdom, but to shame. They cover themselves with fig leaves, defining good and evil for themselves and attempting self-made righteousness. This is the birth of religion: hiding from God while trying to look “good.”

Throughout Scripture, humanity repeats this same mistake. Israel adds to the Law. The Pharisees burden the people with traditions. Jesus confronts this moralistic religiosity directly, saying, “You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men” (Mark 7:8).

Those who crucified Jesus believed they were doing good—according to their own definitions of good and evil. Like Adam and Eve, they tried to preserve righteousness through control and self-justification.

At the cross, the pattern is reversed. Jesus bears the curse: thorns on His brow, shame on His body, blood for a true covering. The Second Adam does not reach for the tree—He is nailed to one. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Gal 3:13).

The fig leaves fall away.

Revelation shows us the end of the story: no shame, no darkness, no religion—only light. “The Lamb is its lamp” (Rev 21:23). The Light has come, and every shadow disappears.

God spoke clearly. We added a little more. Christ came to restore what was lost.