Exegeting for Children

I stumbled upon Geil Korzhev’s dramatic painting one summer while visiting the Museum of Russian Art in Minneapolis, MN. In it, Adam bears all the weight of Eve as he trudges toward an unknown home. Eve’s eyes are fixed on “Paradise Smoldering,” as if an inferno consumed every form of life in Eden.

When I consider this painting, no one has to tell me that Genesis 3 changed the world forever. No one has to teach me that Adam and Eve were exiled with only the clothes on their backs. The picture powerfully interprets Adam and Eve’s exile. I can see Adam’s fear in his forward-staring eyes and worry-lined face. He is in shock as he scans a harsh landscape hoping to find a night’s shelter. I can almost hear Eve’s sobs and see her wet tears mingling with Adam’s beard. Perhaps if I listen carefully, I can hear him saying, “Hold on, hold on,” while Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings” lingers in the air. 

This painting broadened my imagination as to how catastrophic the Day of Exile was. The painting opened my imagination to consider the agony of Adam and Eve, cast out of their home and condemned by their Creator with a barren world before them. What was it like to step out of the botanical garden of Eden and enter a world of thorns and weeds where a meal was a matter of hunting and gathering, and home was a cave, a shelter by a rock, or a grove of trees? When I read the familiar Genesis 3 story with this picture in mind, the rebellion of our first parents became richer, sadder, and more meaningful than it was to me before. 

When I tell the Genesis 3 story to preschoolers and early elementary students, one of my goals is to show them the utter catastrophe that sin created. Saying that the world changed forever when Adam and Eve sinned is not very helpful. Telling them that Adam and Eve were kicked out of Eden is relatable but not impactful. They have been kicked out of their siblings’ rooms. They have been dismissed from the dinner table for obnoxious behavior. They lose privileges and have been in “Time Out.” The sin and subsequent exile of Adam and Eve turned the course of history. I want to light their imaginations so they begin to perceive the depth of the problem that disobeying God ignited. Are there ways to portray this pivotal moment in Scripture when the world moves from Perfection to Rebellion that are appropriate for children? 

I believe that there are. I call this exegeting Scripture for children. Exegesis is the process of critically interpreting Scripture so that it is accurate and understandable. Doing this well for children involves being theologically well-trained, praying for wisdom, meditating on the passage, and some creative imagining. Below are several highlights from my TCS Genesis 3 story that involve objects that become powerful messengers of God’s truths.

The Genesis 3 story is best told when it comes in a dark, black box. Before I open it, I say, “I wonder what is in this box? This can’t be a good story. It is so dark. This must be a really sad story.” 

I peek inside the box, hurriedly replace the lid, and say, “I remember this story. It is the very worst story you will ever hear. It is the story that changed the world, but not for good.” My tone of voice and my intentional pauses create drama and heighten my students’ attention to the story in front of us. 

In the photo above, Adam and Eve appear in three phases of dress: naked and not ashamed, with homemade fig-leaf covering, and finally with animal skins provided by God himself. 

To illustrate that Adam will have to work hard to grow food, we pour a small jar of rocks on the layout to represent hard soil that does not easily welcome seeds and new growth. The rocks say far more than my words can about how hard it will be to grow food. 

My biggest hurdle in this lesson was how to represent death to children. I did not want to take my Adam and Eve figures, lay them flat, and proclaim them dead as if they were toy dolls. I asked God for help. He reminded me of the vial of dirt I in Lesson 2 when God created Adam from the dust of the ground. Immediately, I knew that I should replicate that vial and bring it to this story as “the curse of death.” When the children see it this way, the room always becomes silent. The vial of dirt is a somber teacher for them and for me. “From dust we came. From dust we will return.”

At the story’s conclusion I say, “This was the day that the whole entire world changed.” Then I slowly cover my entire model of Eden with a large black felt cloth and I wait at least 15 seconds, a very long time for a child.  This is when the children consider all that has been lost. 

I conclude by saying, “ When Adam and Eve sinned, they brought the darkness of sin into the garden. This was the very worst day on earth. This is a terrible, terrible story. Then the hardest thing happened. God sent them out of the garden. They were leaving all the close times they had had with God. They were leaving a wonderful life of joy, delicious food and visiting with God. Instead they would now work to feed themselves. They no longer would have evenings with God in the garden.” I end the story there. It is crucial for them to understand the impact of sin in God’s creation plan. The story of man’s rebellion against God changed everything. I want my learners to sit in that, even if only for a short while.  

As I slowly put the story away, I ask wondering questions:

I wonder if Adam and Eve felt really, really sick inside.

I wonder if God cried.

I wonder what Adam and Eve did that first night after they were forced to leave the garden.

When you read these remarks, how do you respond? Does the black felt help you ponder the devastation of sin? What do the words “A terrible story” or “It was the worst day on earth” mean to you? 

I hope that these words, objects, and the tone I used have helped you experience the story in a deeper way.