The scholars of medieval times chose to make Eve the fall guy for the Fall. But, it's not as simple as Eve's leading Adam to disobey God. The fact is, both Adam and Eve share responsibility for the Fall of the human race just as both husbands and wives are responsible for the condition of their families.
Was Eve tempted? Yes. Was she solely responsible for the Fall? No. But she was one of the "gullible women, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth," that Paul talks about in II Timothy 3:7. She was certainly gullible, she was led away from God by lust for something good to eat, she wanted to learn -- the fruit was good to make one wise -- but she wasn't able to come to the knowledge of the truth. The truth was that Satan was sort of right (which is like sort of pregnant) -- she would not die instantaneously; her soul, though, would die and eventually, so would her body.
I hate to tell you this, ladies, but we need our husbands to protect us from ourselves, sometimes. We can get enamored of fads or jump on spiritual hobbyhorses. I am not being critical of our sex; I am just quoting the Bible. II Timothy 3:7, above, talked about what can happen to unprotected women, whether or not there is a man in the house. Some people hypothesize that Adam was standing right there when Eve was being tempted. And he did nothing!
Which brings me to our next scripture in Numbers 30. Bet you never thought I'd go there!
vv. 3-5 Or if a woman makes a vow to the Lord, and binds herself by some agreement while in her father's house in her youth, and her father hears her vow and the agreement by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the Lord will release her, because her father overruled her. But if her father overrules her on the day that he hears, then none of her vows nor her agreements by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the Lord will release her, because her father overruled her.
An unmarried woman can have her vow overridden by her father on the day he hears of it. Otherwise, she is bound to keep the vow. Think of a young lady making plans with friends to go to Spring Break; her fathers can tell her she can't -- on the day he hears of it.
vv. 6-8 If indeed she takes a husband, while bound by her vows or by a rash utterance from her lips by which she bound herself, and her husband, and makes no response to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her agreements by which she bound herself shall stand. But if her husband overrules her on the day that he hears it, he shall make void her vow which she took and what she uttered with her lips, by which she bound herself, and the Lord will release her.
If she has been working on a vow and gets married, her new husband can insist she not fulfill the vow. Think about a young lady who had committed to working as a volunteer tutor in a bad neighborhood before she got married. Her new husband can ask her to quit after they are committed.
vv. 9-14 Also any vow of a widow or a divorced woman, by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her. If she vowed in her husband's house, or bound herself by an agreement with an oath, and her husband heard it, and made no response to her and did not overrule her, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement by which she bound herself shall stand. But if her husband truly made them void on the day he heard them, then whatever proceeded from her lips concerning her vows or concerning the agreement binding her, it shall not stand; her husband has made them void, and the Lord will release her. Every vow and every binding oath to afflict her soul, her husband may confirm it, or her husband may make it void. Now if her husband makes no response whatever to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all the agreements that bind her; he confirms them, because he made no response to her on the day that he heard them.
If a woman's husband allowed her to commit herself and she is either married, widowed or divorced, she has to fulfill that commitment.
Now look at v. 4 -- "holds his peace"
v. 7 -- "makes no response to her"
v. 11 -- "did not overrule her"
v. 14 -- "he confirms them, because he made no response to her."
He confirms her vow through his silence. What that means is that a passive husband leaves his wife with no protection. Now, the good thing about this is, there is a time limit -- "the day that he hears of it." If he objects, he can require her not to do it, but he is not given that right indefinitely, leaving her never sure if she was able to commit to something or not.
v. 15 But if he does make them void after he has heard them, then he shall bear her guilt.
She is not to blame for going back on her word if her husband vetoes immediately. But, beyond that day, he is the one culpable for her breaking her promise. Whether Adam were at Eve's side during the temptation or not, they did not fall until BOTH had eaten the fruit.
Genesis 3:6-7 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
According to the Numbers 30 passage, if Eve had eaten and Adam had said, "No, this isn't a good idea," Mankind wouldn't have fallen. The Bible us pretty clear that temptation isn't sin; yielding to temptation is sin. So, Eve didn't sin, aside from not checking with Adam first. Adam confirmed her act by also eating the fruit, and now Adam bears the sin of Mankind, not Eve.
But, remember, Eve was not blameless! She shouldn't have committed without consulting Adam. He could have released her from her action, but he was passive and confirmed it by his silence.
Help your husband out by not putting him in the position of having to intervene in your plans, or taking the guilt of extricating you from plans you already got embroiled in without thinking.
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