"Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, 'where are you?'"
-Genesis 3:9
Genesis 3 is all about how man and woman first fall into temptation and sin against God. Satan (represented by a serpent) begins to tempt Eve by asking her about God's command. Eve tells the serpent that God told her that she could not eat or touch the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. What is interesting is that God never said that they could not touch this tree. Eve added that part in, perhaps because she thinks of God as being restrictive. However, this cannot be known for certain, it is just what we speculated in Bible study today.
What we can see is that the serpent uses God's command and twists it to tempt Eve. Eve knows what God has commanded her; "from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat (Genesis 2:17). Despite knowing this, she still eventually eats the forbidden fruit after believing the lies that the serpent has thrown at her. I believe that Eve listened to the serpent because she did not understand God's intentions in His command. Although she knew the command, she did not understand why God forbade the fruit from the knowledge of good and evil. Perhaps she thought that God was being selfish, because this fruit would unlock the knowledge of good and evil, which only God had at that time.
In this we can see that knowledge and understanding are not the same thing. It is possible to know something but not understand it. A child can know that 2 multiplied to 2 is 4, but not understand why. More relevant to this passage, a child can know that a parent disciplines them when they cross the street recklessly, but not understand why. Knowledge is a good thing to have, but understanding is an even greater thing. Eve knew the command that God gave her, but she did not understand why God would restrict her from eating it. It is unclear what she did believe God's reasons were, but we can assume that she didn't understand God.
Eve listens to the serpent and eats the forbidden fruit because she does not understand God's intentions. God's love was clearly seen in the previous passage, where God creates a perfect environment for Adam and Eve- a place with good food, nice scenery, and no shame. The serpent is able to make Eve question God's love, and because she does not understand the extent of God's love, she eats of the fruit. I do not understand why God (other than to offer choice) would restrict Adam and Eve from eating of this fruit, especially since God created the tree in the first place. However, I do know that God loved Adam and Eve very much, and His intentions could not have been bad. Perhaps God wanted to allow them to eat the fruit at a later time, but wanted to test their love for God. I do not know.
I hope I have made clear the difference between knowledge and understanding. We need both, and I encourage you to ask God for both, especially while reading the Bible. If you do not understand a command that God gives in the Bible, just remember that God loves you. He does everything for our good, even if it means disciplining us. I can guarantee that we will not understand everything, and that we will fail, just as Adam and Eve did. God didn't allow us to remain hopeless, He gave us redemption and grace.
Another thing we can learn from this passage is that we need to allow God to have His rightful place. God is greater than us, and we should never try to take the place of God. When Eve considers eating the fruit while being tempted by Satan, he tells her that God is not allowing them to eat the fruit because they will become like God. I believe this made Eve think that God was being unjust and selfish, and she wanted to become like Him. Pride is very dangerous if you allow it to make you think that you don't need God. Although God is not one who will forcefully control your life, He still deserves to be worshiped and honored above ourselves.
Even though Adam and Eve sinned against God, it did not stop Him from loving them. God promised them that He would send someone who would conquer Satan. Although God punished Adam and Eve, He still gave them grace. He did not simply kill them and forsake them, but He did discipline them. One interesting idea I heard today is that God did not let them live forever not just as a punishment, but as a gift of grace as well. Adam and Eve's sin caused them to have great guilt and shame, which they would have carried forever if God had allowed them to live forever. Even when we cannot understand things, God is always working for our good. We should always do our best to understand God and be humble, but know that God will always love you.
-Smart
(Sorry this was a long post. If you read until this point I encourage you to comment and let me know if you like this series so far.)
No comments:
Post a Comment