Adam and Eve broke one specific commandment in the Garden of Eden: not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. However, I want to suggest that there is a sense in which they may well have been breaking each of the Ten Commandments. How?
Well, first of all, by listening to Satan’s temptation they were failing to love the Lord your God with all their heart, soul and mind. They also showed a lack of care and protection for each other. This means that they were breaking the command to love their neighbour. Those two commandments act as a summary which the ten expand on. So, by failing to love God and love neighbour they were breaking all ten of the commandments which would later be given to Moses.
However, we might also see how they were breaking the 10 individually.
- They were choosing to worship other gods. They trusted Satan instead of God’s Word.
- They made God in their own image, accepting the snake’s hostile description of Him.
- Similarly, by accepting lies about God’s good character, they took his name in vain.
- It is possible that they were tempted on the seventh day. If so, they broke boundaries, failed to rest from their work and did not remember God’s goodness.
- They were the first parents but brought dishonour on themselves. They also failed to honour God as their Father.
- Sin brought death. They murdered each other. They also sought to depose and kill God even though they failed in this.
- Their idolatry was an act of unfaithfulness or spiritual adultery.
- They took what was forbidden to them, an act of theft
- They tried to hide from God, to blame each other, they believed a lie too. They bore false witness.
- They desired and lusted after the fruit, they coveted.
Faithroots 