‘Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” '
Only God really knew the answer to that question as He looked down the suffering of the ages, and saw finally the suffering of His own Son. He knew what she had done. But, although the woman may have been aware of some of the consequences for herself, she could have no idea what she had done. Sin is like that. It reaches further than we can ever know.
‘And the woman said, “The snake beguiled me, and I ate”.'
She did not blame God. It was the snake's fault. She admitted she had been deceived, but it was only because he was so beguiling. She could not accept that she was really to blame. But earlier she had told the snake quite clearly what the position was. She too was without excuse. And in the end she admits ‘I ate'.
“The snake beguiled me.” How feeble her excuse is. Here is this subordinate creature and yet she puts the blame on him. She is not yet aware of the power behind the snake.
It is now noteworthy that God does not question the snake. This is not an omission. God is well aware that the snake cannot speak. And indeed the writer wants us to know that God knows that the snake is not really to blame. There is another, who is yet nameless, who must bear the blame, and it is to him that the sentence on the snake is really addressed.