The First Meal
“She took of the fruit thereof and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” Genesis 3:6½.
The first part of the passage will be reflected upon at another time. Today’s reflection focuses on the couple’s meal and the first account of a couple eating together since their union in Genesis 2:24. Lets pause on the chaos that occurred leading up to this moment and the chaos that follows; freeze time and space for a second and focus on the couple at the center. In the eye of the hurricane is the most peaceful place. Amid the chaos of the serpent trying to destroy God’s creation, let’s focus on the lovers at the center.
Food is an essential part of life where pleasant memories are created. The smell of coffee and bacon in the morning or mom’s spaghetti on the stove brings comfort to most of us. They all bring memories of love. I’ve celebrated achievements with a meal, fallen in love, and shared intimate conversations during dinner. A meal doesn’t fill empty stomachs; it brings comfort. The offer of food and sharing of food is an act of love.
Our dog in Vietnam once brought his hungry family a dry fish he stole. He was hungry too but didn’t eat it. He offered his stolen food to his family because he loved us. Growing up, I’ve witnessed mom bring home the season’s finest grapes in the fall. I watched her tenderly wash every cluster and waited longingly to sink my teeth into the crisp flesh and taste the first sweet burst of flavor on my tongue. The waiting was unbearable as I observed her study each cluster and pick the prettiest and plumpest of them to gently place one group on a plate and set it aside. Of course, we kids can have the rejects. She’s very particular, so we received excellent grapes, but the best cluster sits on a plate by itself on the counter.
The best cluster sat reserved for mom’s husband. It will become his first offering when he returns home from work. She would present him with the best fruits she picked just for him. An act of love she knew best.
Observing my mother’s acts of love helped me reflect on this verse and find deeper meaning in the interaction between Woman and Adam. Unlike what Dr. Jordan Peterson said in his book The12 Rules For Life An Antidote to Chaos, Eve wanted someone to be naked and ashamed with her, so she offered Adam the fruit. He states, “Now, no clear-seeing, conscious woman is going to tolerate an unawakened man, So Eve immediately shares the fruit with Adam.” (Peterson 48). From the lens of conceit, Dr. Peterson is correct. This framework will only bring division and blame to the first couple instead of reconciliation.
From the lens of love, Woman offered Adam a fruit that she was convinced was good for making one wise and offered it to Adam to partake. As an observer, we know from the conversation before this moment that she shouldn’t be doing this, and we see the aftermath. In this isolated moment, Woman offers Adam a fruit out of love. He cannot resist; he loves her and cannot reject her offer. We can replay this moment into eternity with plenty of should da, would da, and could da. The result is the same. He will eat the fruit.
Adam’s participation in eating the fruit completed their shared meal and union in the act of eating together, thus falling together. In love, they joined as one body, and in eating, they shared in the communal act of sinning. They ate together and sinned together. Genesis 3:7 states that the eyes of them both were opened. Not Woman and then Adam. Both at the same time.
Woman did not wish Adam to fall with her as a malicious act. She offers him the fruit out of love. Out of love, Adam ate it. He couldn’t refuse her. They were still spiritually young. She didn’t have the strength to say no to the serpent, and he didn’t want to say no to her. He did what she wanted and not what she needed; to refuse her offer and love her by defeating the serpent and striking it between the eyes, saving himself and her from its torment then and throughout time. To reject the act and still love the person requires spiritual maturity that they have not grown into.
Should Adam have conquered the serpent, Eve would have eaten the fruit but never known she was naked. She could remain ignorant, and Adam would have used his intellect to save himself, Woman innocence and God’s creation stayed intact. It would only be Adam and God knowing and being aware of the act. Should this scenario have played out, Adam and Woman would not be equal and in communion. The communion would be between God and Adam only. Woman would remain on the sidelines and not in harmony with them. God created Woman for Adam, and they joined as one. They both did eat, they both sinned, and they both were immature. The eating solidified their connection for better and worst. For Adam and Woman to have a relationship, it must be this way.
The serpent was finally defeated and told to go away when he tried to torment Christ in the desert. After three temptations where Christ defeated him, “Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” (Mathew 4:10). As Jesus is preparing for His final days before death a woman in Bethany came to him with an alabaster box of ointment very precious and poured it on His head (Mark 14:3). Like the first Woman, she too is making an offering out of love acknowledging His sacrifice. The only difference is He is now the fruit offered as the Tree of Life. Her tender act of love was blessed by Jesus when he said, “She hath done what she could; she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.” (Mark 14:8).
Woman’s act, which was part of the fall, will soon be restored with Christ’s act of sacrifice. She does what she can, which is to love him. His act of courage to become the meal itself washed both Woman and Adam’s sin, and Adam’s shame was restored. The sons of Adam can learn from Jesus’ sacrifice that in dying, he lives. The Woman of Bethany showed an act of love towards Jesus before His death. He carried that love into death and resurrected with love greeting Him on the other side when Mary came to His tomb early Easter morning. On both sides of life and death, a woman’s vocation is to wait on Him faithfully. Love Him into death and love Him as He wakes from death. He rewarded her faithfulness by His revelation “Jesus said unto her, Mary, she turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; Which is to say Master.” (John 20:16).
How wonderful would it be when the sons of Adam can sacrifice themselves like Jesus and his woman loving him faithfully like the women that did Jesus? Can Man and Woman experience true love in self-sacrifice and faithfulness?
Image: Georges de La Tour, Peasant Couple Eating, Oil on Canvas, 1620