05/19/2008 Genesis 3:1

05/19/2008

Genesis 3:1 - 7 (HCSB)

¹Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” ²The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. ³But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’”

⁴“No! You will not die,” the serpent said to the woman. ⁵“In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

⁶Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate _[it_]; she also gave _[some_] to her husband, _[who was_] with her, and he ate _[it_]. ⁷Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

In Greek myth, Prometheus was the god who gave fire to humans. For this act, he was punished eternally. The other gods did not want humans to have fire because that was something that made them distinctive and “higher” than humans. This story of the Garden of Eden seems to have a similar ring as the serpent engages the woman in conversation.

The Garden of Eden by all accounts seems to be an enchanted place. Various trees seem to have miraculous properties. There is the tree of life which, it would seem, extended the life. There is also the tree of knowledge, which bestows its own properties on the one who eats. And then the animals speak. This is truly an interesting place.

The serpent is described as cunning. And we must assume that he allowed himself to be used by Satan (had he been an unwilling participant, then he would not have been cursed). Nonetheless, we have three main characters in this drama: the serpent, the woman and the man.

Now the tree of knowledge was placed in the garden for a purpose. One might argue that the fall of man could have been prevented if God had only taken that particular tree out of the garden. Yet there is a purpose for its presence. If you have children, you know that at times, when they are just beginning to crawl, that you need to put them in a confined area so that you can give your attention to housecleaning or other tasks. The confinement, usually a playpen, is not just for your convenience, but for their safety. As they grow older, you no longer confine them, but teach them what is safe, and what things they should not do.

Similarly, God wanted us to obey Him out of willing hearts. Had the Tree of Knowledge NOT been in the garden, then our obedience would have been like the infant in the playpen. There is no real act of obedience. Yet, when we are given the freedom to CHOOSE to obey, then God is pleased with us. So the Tree of knowledge had a purpose. God did not put it there to tempt us. Had he wanted to tempt us, then all of the trees would have been forbidden. But as it was, everything was permissible. There was not a single thing that the man and woman could not do—only eating from this one single tree was forbidden.

Another thing to consider; this story comes immediately after the creation account, so it is easy to assume that 15 minutes or so after they were created, that man and woman were eating of the tree of knowledge. We do not know this to be the case. We have no idea how long, days, months, or years that they were in the garden before this event occurred.

Look then what the serpent says: “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” Satan knew full well what God had said. This is a common ploy of Satan, to distort the truth to cause doubt or confusion. What’s worse is then the woman also misstates the command: “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. ³But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’”

God’s command said nothing about touching the tree, only eating it. It is easy for me to visualize the serpent slithering in the branches of this very tree as he responds: “No! You will not die,” this is a very defiant statement as he says “look, I’m touching it and I’m not dead.”

It is very important for us to understand the truth of the scriptures. When we only have a sketchy idea of what they say, or if we do not spend time in God’s word, we may become cloudy on what the truth really says. When we lose that focus of the truth, then Satan has an opportunity to trip us up—to confuse us, and cause us to doubt what God has said. In this event, the woman is not clear on the truth and doubt enters her mind.

Then the serpent continues:

“In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Satan does two things here.

1) He accuses God of a selfish act, that is, withholding something potentially good (knowledge) from man

2) He suggests that they may become *like* God

These two suggestions seem to pervade all arguments against God. Many people think that as soon as they become Christian that they must give up all their fun. They believe that God does not want them to enjoy life or the things of this world. Also, many claim that there are paths to becoming like God but that He does not want people to know it out of petty jealousy. Many false religions claim that we can become like god by following their path to truth.

But keep in mind that the only “likeness” to be gained from the fruit of the tree of knowledge, was the realization of what sin was. This is far from becoming like God. The allure to become like god is a strong one and many in this world are enthralled with the suggestion that they can become deity and will buy into any lie that makes this promise.

Satan makes this same promise to the man and woman. But as we will see, although the man and woman learn the difference between good and evil, this is far from becoming like God.

How well do you know the truth of Scripture? When you are tempted, can you withstand that temptation with a clear knowledge of the truth?

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