WHY WAS EVE TEMPTED AND NOT ADAM?
I will air my opinion from a totally different perspective drawn purely from spiritual understanding of the text but before we answer this question, let us consider the following:
God made the soul capable of reasoning. He has the ability to think, interpret, know, understand, explain and form opinion about things existing and happening around him and take decisions by choosing between alternatives. This is done through the process of Thought and Selection which is personal to individual souls. In this process, two qualities are key:
1. The act of Nurturing which is a female attribute
2. The power (strength) to decide and determine action which is the male counterpart
(The Scripture tells us that the man and woman must unite and become one flesh.)
Our perceptions of life phenomenon are processed in thought through the nurturing process which is our female element possessed by every one of us, both man and woman. This nurturing process is affected by the interpretation we give to our perceptions. Thoughts nurtured develop into or give rise to action consciously or unconsciously even if no physical action is undertaken. That is why we sin when we immerse ourselves in thoughts of sex, for instance, without participating in the act physically. (Matthew 5:24 – 28).
Also, thoughts not nurtured or discarded are futile and fruitless. It therefore becomes necessary that we stand porter at the door of our thought to know and decide what is fit and unfit to nurture. This is where we need the power or strength of God which lies in His word for as it is written, the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword piercing even in the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The word of God helps us to nurture the right thought and make the right decision that leads to right action according to the will of God as it beams its light in our hearts. It sifts the chaff from the wheat and leaves us in the goodness of the Lord. It is God that created everything and therefore He alone has perfect knowledge and understanding of His creations. He alone can give the right interpretation of what He created. If we commit our works unto the Lord with the right motivations, our thoughts will be established. (Proverb 16:2 -3). If God is not in our thought process, the resultant action is flesh based and vain.
We receive God’s strength and power through the holy Spirit when we cleave to Him and hold unto Him and His words in faith. The scripture says, it is the man who leaves his father and mother and cleaves to his wife to become one flesh. As we remain in God and His word, the power in His word brings illumination (light}) in the form of knowledge, understanding and wisdom about the subject matter of our focus in our thought so that we nurture only the truth and nothing but the truth and the resultant action is godly, fruitful, peaceful and leads to blissful life. In other words, when we engage our heart in God through the thought process, He strengthens us to walk in His steps.
On the other hand, if we jettison His word in our thought process, we grope in darkness because there is no illumination. There is no light in darkness. What abides is falsehood. We nurture this falsehood as truth and believe in the lie which originates from our false imagination and interpretation of events.
Let us consider the case of Adam and Eve for instance. God gave Adam His word for a perfect lifestyle -- what to do and not to do as concerning the forbidden fruit. But, when the tempter confronted Eve (the female element of Adam, for the test is on what we see, hear, taste, smell and nurture ) we are told that Eve believed the lie of the Devil as truth and, as such, ate the forbidden fruit and also gave to her husband, Adam, who was with her. He also ate the fruit. This shows that in taking the decision regarding the forbidden fruit, Eve acted alone without uniting with her Husband, Adam, in which case, her decision making process was void of knowledge, understanding and wisdom. Hence, she believed falsehood instead of truth.
Uniting with her husband in this context means relying on the power of the word of God in faith for illumination and enlightenment of the senses so that she could see and judge right. This is a case where the nurturing process (female element) took place without the male counterpart and the result was falsehood. For more emphasis, we read in Genesis 3 : 4 – 6; when the tempter told the woman that God lied to her for God knows that in the day she eats thereof, her eyes would be opened and she would be as gods knowing good and evil, the woman in her thought saw:
that the tree was good for food (as God made it})
that it was pleasant to the eyes (also as God made it)
a tree to be desired to make one wise which was the lie of the devil, nurtured and believed because she did not hold onto the word of God in faith. The word of God would have enlightened her eyes and senses to detect the lie of the devil. She would have been able to see exactly the way God meant it to be seen, interpreted and understood. Out of ignorance, she judged by sight rather than faith and the testimonies of the physical senses deceived her. The bible tells us that our faith should not stand on the wisdom of man which comes to naught but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:5 -6)
The question people ask is why did the tempter approach Eve rather than Adam? WHY WAS EVE TEMPTED INSTEAD OF ADAM?
The emphasis was on Eve because of the critical role the female quality of nurturing plays in our life. Everything we do in life revolves around this quality. What we nurture and bring to fruition can lead us aright or astray. This nurturing process is the test of our life because we nurture what we believe in. All the temptations we face stop or continue at the door of our thought. It is said, sin lies at the door and unto us shall be his desire but we must rule over him. Jesus showed us how to rule and overcome in contrast to Adam and Eve’s response to their temptation.
After fasting for 40 days and nights, Jesus was very hungry and the devil wanted him to prove himself as the Son of God by turning a stone into bread to quench his hunger. But Jesus quieted him by relying on the word of God – it is written, man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. He never nurtured the deceit of the devil and the devil never pursued further suggestions on that subject. The Word is the sword of the Spirit with which to drive away the devil.
A profane person would have relished the thought of showing his power, not minding that the stone is neither meant for bread nor is man meant to live by bread alone. He would have done that without minding the word of God. Such show of power portrays pride which lies in falsehood. Jesus was tried in three different areas and he shamed the devil in all by the power of the word of God. He never gave a thought to all the devil’s suggestions because he had full understanding of the word of God which he promptly utilized as the occasion warranted. Eve nurtured the lie of the devil and was overcome by evil. Jesus ruled over the lie of the devil by not nurturing it and was victorious. We should learn from their experiences.
Again, people wonder why Adam also ate the forbidden fruit. Why did he not reject it?
His eating it meant that once the nurturing act has already yielded fruit, there is nothing else we could do since the act has already been committed. This means that once we have nurtured a thought and taken decision outside of God or our boundary of freedom and acted on that decision, we face the consequences of our action. Justice and judgment must take their course. No prayer, fasting, or calling upon God would change the course of that deed. However, we remain under the grace of God which is of two fold.
We remain under the general provision and protection of God for mankind as we see Him clothing Adam and Eve to cover their nakedness after sin was committed but they still suffered the consequences of their action. He makes rain fall on everyone irrespective of our deeds. His love remains available to us.
Upon sincere repentance, which entails ordering our thoughts and steps aright, we receive His mercy of forgiveness that ensures the end thereof is blessed provided we continue on the right path---as in the case of King David.
We are told in the Scripture that Adam was with Eve all through the temptation but remained silent. In the same vein, the Strength, Power and Spirit of God is always present with us waiting for our willingness to seek Him for it is written, if we seek Him, He will be found of us. (1 Corinthian 28:9). God allows us to exercise our freedom of choice for we are responsible for our actions. He does not impose His will on us.
Also, we could say that Adam remained silent as a lesson to show us the effect of exercising our freedom of choice without reliance on God who is always present with us. It is our duty to seek the word of God in our thought process and align our thoughts with it. Eve’s solo act of nurturing her thoughts gave rise to vanity and flesh which is sinful and leads to death.