Now the serpent was
more cunning than any
beast of the field
which the LORD God had made.
and he said to the
woman, “Has God indeed said,
‘You shall not eat of
every tree of the garden’?”
And the woman said to
the serpent,
‘We may eat the fruit
of the trees of the garden,
but of the fruit of
the tree which is in the midst
of the garden, God
has said, ‘You shall not eat it,
nor shall you touch
it, lest you die.’
Then the serpent said
to the woman,
‘You will not surely die. For God knows that
in
the day you eat of it
your eyes will be opened,
and you will be like
God, knowing good and evil.”
Genesis 3:1–5
How often
men get so involved in arguments that have no basis, that is, they argue what
can never be known, at least in this life. Many want to argue as to the
serpent, what was he, how could he be talked with, and why did Eve listen to a
serpent? And so on! I don’t know! You don’t know! And no one can give an answer
to any of these questions. Why? Because we do not have enough information about
the pre–flood era. Any such argument in regards to the Serpent is to miss the
point of this narrative. Eve knew what God had commanded. Period! Eve knew not
only not to eat of this tree in the middle of the garden, but also not even to
touch it, and if she did she would die. Now, the serpent gave a bold–faced lie:
“You will not surely die…’ (vs. 4). The woman at this point should have
scolded, in the least the serpent for saying such a thing, but she did not, she
kept on listening to the serpent. Now the serpent told Eve the one thing that
intrigues and draws people away from God, His commands, and it pride, pride to
be autonomous, to be more than they actually are, to be great, to be a
celebrity, to have fame, fortune, to have somehow through there own efforts a happy,
and fulfilled life. The serpent led Eve by furthering his lie by saying that “For
God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will
be like God, knowing good and evil” (vs. 5). The serpent spoke in direct
contradiction as to what God had said, and then gave this subtle fact, “God
knows” and this was to speak that God was holding back some knowledge, a
knowledge hidden from man so man could not become a god. And in her desire to
have what possibly was being kept from her, a chance to be as God and to know
good and evil, she listened to the serpent and did eat of the fruit that God
had commanded her not to eat or even touch. Did she get to know good and evil?
Yes! Did she become like God, Yes, in this sense she now knows what God knew,
good and evil and her attitude was one of defiance in light of the truth that
God was Good, and that God was with her and Adam and that God had provide all
they needed and only gave a simple but direct command. Eve knew she sinned, and
this sin was against a holy and just God. When a person looks upon those things
that God has commanded for man to avoid they become a desirable thing, and man
will not only approach this thing which God commanded to be avoided they will
continue to look upon it and soon they will act upon this detestable thing in
the eyes of God: “So when the woman say 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” (vs. 6). Keep looking at the bottle of Vodka,
that beer, that chocolate, that huge plate of food, more than is necessary, or
that woman or man, and soon all thought of its evil are gone and it has a
pleasant aroma of being good, and you will partake of it. It becomes no longer
a matter of the eyes, it becomes a matter of the heart. In a large sense these
objects of our desire take on a matter of worship, and no longer are to be used
properly as God intended, rather they are used as objects of our enjoyment and
not simply an object of use, and object if used properly will become objects
that lead a person to worship of the only object that has a right to worship;
God. To not do what God has commanded is to despise God, and to try, as best we
can, to become as god, to know what only God knows, to have which has no
business in our life, a business that will draw us away from our God and
Savior. When God approaches a sinner they run away and try to hide, to hide
behind false theologies, false and improper ideologies, and make excuses for not
be faithful to their creator, God: “And they heard the sound of the LORD God
walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid
themselves form the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden”
(vs. 8). How often do men try to hide themselves in activities that are
honoring God, or in activities that make them feel pious, only to be hiding
from actually doing the will of God. This infidelity is the root of all evil,
the rood of revolt, a revolt against God. This infidelity springs from ambition
and pride, and ingratitude, all that man devises by his longing for more than
what God has intended for man to have, an intention that will only bring good
to man, and immortality. But Adam willfully sinned, no pretence here, Adam was
first in creation of man, it was to Adam that God gave this command and it was
Adam who willfully sinned against God knowing that God spoke of death and life
and to sin was to become dead. This apostasy was not a simple apostasy, it was
a foul insult to God, a rebellion against God, a just God, a justice that now
had to be atoned for a perfect man now was a dead man and that death now
reigned on this earth affecting the earth and man and man being totally
depraved could no save himself for this eternal death. God to fulfill His
purpose for creating man must be satisfied, but man could not satisfy this
debt. It would take a perfect man, a man that faced with all that the serpent
can throw at Him would not cause Him to sin and then since death now reigned
upon man, it would take the death of a perfect man to atoned sin, to satisfy
the justice of God.
This will
continue in the next blogs and we will come to a knowledge as all what this sin
has done to this world, to society, and to the children of God.
In him also we have obtained
An inheritance,
being
Predestined according to the
Purpose of
Him who
Works all things according
To the
counsel of
His will.
Ephesians 1:11
God Worked His Power Through Christ
Richard L. Crumb
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