Before
riding off into the sunset, I wanted to return to Eve’s inserting the touch
factor (if-you-touch-it-you-will-die) into the divine prohibition that only
addressed eating of the fruit, making her vulnerable to spiritual attack. Look
at the original warning in comparison to Eve’s understanding of that warning:
(Gn 2:17, Yahweh to Adam:) … you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it
you shall surely die.
(Gn
3:3, Eve to the serpent:) …You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.
The
serpent weaponized Eve’s addition and used it against her to seduce her into
eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You noticed how the
serpent was careful not to characterize the tree in that manner as the Creator
did,
Has
God indeed said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden (Gn 3:1)?
The
negative shall
not eat was
in drawing attention to the restriction, suggesting without saying it that God
is holding something back from you, Eve!
Eve
reinforces the negative,
We
may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but… (Gn 3:3).
Now
she enhances the negative,
God has said, You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch
it, lest you die.
Note,
according to Eve, God has said that (cf. Gn 2:16-17)!
Is
this such a big deal? So, she expanded upon it! So what? If it’s that lethal,
it is best not to even touch it, yes? The serpent, who was more cunning [prudent] than any beast of the
field, which the LORD God had made (Gn 3:1), was licking its chops. It made its job easier!
It provided a way for the serpent to convince Eve that the fruit was harmless
and put in question the credibility of the Creator! Yeah, it was a big deal.
How often in life do we see a simple matter transform into a complex nightmare!
Every war starts with a disagreement! Doing God’s will for our lives starts a
war with Satan, but Yahweh is sovereign; Satan is not!
What
was the serpent’s response to Eve’s interpretation of the prohibition?
Then the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die (Gn 3:4).
Why is that, serpent? 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 (Gn 3:5). It has to say no more.
The
serpent is claiming that God’s Word cannot be trusted. The first doctrine
denied by Satan is the judgment. Since the serpent made no distinction between
touch and eat, it’s implying both are harmless. Death by touching was the
obstacle to eating it. If you can die from touching it (her idea), isn’t eating
a moot point? Now, the prohibition seems absurd to Eve. And the desire of Gn
3:5 is growing more desirable! She walks away.
After
departing from the serpent in v5, Eve may have thought to herself, “Was it not
for the serpent, I would never have known just how valuable this fruit would be
to Adam and myself! Why did Yahweh keep this from Adam and from me? Was death
merely a bluff to keep our eyes closed and from being like our Creator, knowing
good and evil?”
As
you know, I am speculating on her internal reasoning. So, a short time later
(same day, next day?), she takes Adam with her to the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil. V6 documents what happened there with the couple.
Once
Eve touched the fruit (violating her own standard by the way) and came to the realization,
she was still alive! The serpent’s words came to mind, You will not surely die. The desirable fruit
became harmless in her mind. Now it was time for the Helper (Gn 2:20b) to pluck
one fruit for her and one for Adam from the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil. Eve was titillated by the prospect of eating the forbidden fruit. She and
Adam were only one step away from their eyes being opened, being like God,
knowing good and evil!
Eve
was at the Rubicon in the presence of Adam. Now, this is spine-chilling stuff,
folks, because Eve was willing to risk it all based upon her own understanding
of the prohibition by including a seemingly harmless insertion to the divine
warning. This risk-taking was analogous of those who believe they are going to
heaven because they are trusting in an experience that never changed their
lives! To hear them tell of it,
“Oh, I got saved as a child or a young kid,
but I have been living like I never knew the Lord for years and still living
like it! But hey, I have been washed in the blood; I called on the good Lord to
save me, and now I am on my way to glory land! For whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved! That’s what the Good Book says! You
believe in the Good Book, don’t you? I called on His name, and He has saved me
ever since!”
The
serpent played Eve like a fiddle with brevity (not too much, just enough for
her to fill in the blanks on her own). “Eve, you should have never taken the
word of a creature (you and the serpent) over the word of the Creator!” I say.
She
was certain now that this fruit was good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and
desirable to make wise!” Satan, unseen by the naked eye, is probably thinking,
“Yes! Yes! That’s what you want; that’s what you need, woman!” She plucked its
fruit: one forbidden fruit for her and one forbidden fruit for Adam.
She
took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
They
both crossed over the point of no return as they bit into their respective
fruit, forbidden by Yahweh. Behind the scenes, the serpent was probably moving
its forked tongue in and out of its mouth with great rapidity, sensing and savoring
the moment of evil manifesting itself.
There was/is no turning back whenever we give ear to the creature (ourselves, another man, or demon) over the Creator. God’s word (verbal or written) is the supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and practice! Do you believe this? Adam and Eve didn’t have anything written down, but they heard about the prohibition: the LORD God commanded the man (Gn 2:16-17); God has said (Gn 3:2-3).
The
eating of the forbidden fruit in unison or at the same time would calibrate
with v7,
Then
the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked…
Things
went south immediately! It is not mandatory that v6 must immediately follow after
v5. There was an unknown period of time spanning those two verses. Adam was
absent in vv1-5, but V6 does mention that Adam was with her, and there was an
apparent discussion between the two concerning the forbidden fruit because
Adam admitted as much to Yahweh that Eve gave him of the tree and he ate the
fruit that was forbidden (Gn 3:12), and Yahweh said to Adam in Gn 3:17,
Because
you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of
which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it…
Again, Eve’s problem was that she listened to two
creatures (her own understanding (cf. Prov 3:5b) and the serpent) rather than
the words of the Creator (via Adam). Adam’s problem was that he listened to the
creature (his wife) over his Creator in disobeying the known will of God! The
giving of the ear to the creature over the Creator is the essence of being baited.
Eve
took the DIY (do it yourself) approach to become like God, knowing good and
evil. What a contrast to our legitimate objective to become more and more like
Christ as we mature in the faith in obedience to God! Spiritual maturation or
growing in grace is a lifelong process. People want instant spirituality
today; there is no such thing. Spiritual growth takes time, a commodity we can
ill-afford to waste (Jas 4:14) by giving ear to a creature over the Creator.
If you hadn’t notice, being baited involves (1) questioning the accuracy of God’s Word,
(2) enticing you to do something contrary to God’s Word, and (3) denying the
truth of God’s Word. If you got that going on, there is temptation or a
solicitation to evil going on! Baited is listening to the creature over the
Creator.
Remember
that clever parrot from Part 1? Well, there was one other thing I learned while
visiting relatives in Florida recently about that parrot that dropped out of the sky
into the backyard of one of their friends. When the new owner of that beautiful parrot
invited their preacher and his wife over for dinner, the parrot saw the
preacher and cawed an expletive several times! Talk about ugly coming from a lovely
bird!
It
got so bad that evening that they had to place a blanket over the cage to quiet
the bird down! Now, put yourself in this man’s shoes and try explaining to your
preacher and his wife that your newfound pet didn’t pick up on that kind of
language from you! Yeah, it would be kind of an awkward situation to explain
your way out of it. Moral of the story: don’t take homeless parrots into your
home! You don’t know what is going to come out of its mouth.
That
parrot was sounding off like the accuser of our brethren (Rev 12:10)! Satan enjoys informing the
all-knowing God whenever we fall into temptation! I think it’s best for us to
be hooked on God’s Word rather than taking the bait of the devil, yes? It’s far
better to be blessed than baited. <><
