Two punishments were given out by God for disobeying Him: 1.) They were cursed. 2.) They were banished from the Garden of Eden. God tells Adam that he can freely eat of every tree of the garden except from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God says that if he eats from it, "he will surely die." The Bible doesn't tell us exactly how Eve knew of this tree and God's command concerning it. Since the husband is head over the household, Adam may have taken the responsibility of telling her what God has said. Eve told the serpent, "God said we shall not eat of it." Adam and Eve may have already known, intellectually, the difference between good and evil because of God's command. They knew it was right to eat from certain trees and wrong to eat from another. When they made the choice to disobey God, they knew evil experientially, because they themselves made the choice to sin against God. Most biblical scholars and church leaders teach that the reason for Adam and Eve's banishment was because they disobeyed God when they ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This isn't the reason.
Genesis 3:6 "....she took of the fruit and did eat and gave also to her husband with her, and he did eat." Eve sinned first, being deceived of the serpent. But, Adam having knowingly sinned, is responsible for the fall of Mankind. Adam may have known the consequences of their sin but still chose to disobey God.
1 Timothy 2:14 "Adam was not deceived", he knowingly committed sin. The beginning of the fall of Mankind.
Genesis 3:22-24 Could this be the sole reason for banishing Adam and Eve from the Garden. "Lest he put forth his hand and
also take of the tree of life, and live forever.......therefore the Lord of God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden."
The Two Trees
Something that many overlook is that the story mentions two trees. The tree of knowledge is what people most distinctively remember about that story. The other of course, is the tree of life. Both trees were special. One gave knowledge. The other, had some role in maintaining life to Adam and Eve and possibly to the animals as well.
The Curse
The banishment of Adam and Eve was one punishment. The other was that they were cursed. For the man, since he was head of the household, he will constantly feel the pressures and struggles for providing for his family, working and being responsible for his family's well-being. For the woman, her "sorrows" or birth pangs God multiplied in physical pain. Her desire would be to her husband. This desire could be a physical desire toward him or a natural desire to submit to his leadership and role in the household. Some believe that this "desire" could be conflicting as to not being willing to submit to him.
"And the Lord God said, behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever." God drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, away from the tree of life, so that they could not eat from it. So, this banishment was so that they couldn't eat from it again. The tree of life is guarded by Angels and it is by God's will that anyone will ever have access to it again.
Adam "knowingly" committed sin. It is most likely that he knew the consequences of their actions and yet still committed sin. Adam loved his wife so much, that he joined her in sin. Gentlemen, do we love our wives this much?