Was The First Man Dumb?
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How was it in the beginning?
Was it not good for man to know good and evil? Why didn’t God want them to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil?
Did God want man to be ignorant? Was man created ignorant? In choosing to eat the fruit against God’s directive, was Eve not already aware of good and evil, and choosing between good and evil?
In their desire to know; have they really done anything wrong?
Let us try to answer these questions by reading excerpts of what happened.
READ Genesis 2:8-9, 15-17, 3: 22-24
Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (2:8-9)
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care for it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (2:15-17)
And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side[e] of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. (3:22-24)
In dealing with this, I want to tell the story of Mr. James and his children. Mr. James is a strict vegetarian. But one day, he came home with a bucket of fresh roasted spicy chicken. He placed it in the kitchen, and warned the children not to touch it. The chicken was very tempting, and the children were very confused because they knew their Dad would not eat that chicken. The question is if Mr. James is a strict vegetarian, then the chicken he bought was for another purpose than his own consumption. He probably had plans for a party, some visitors, or for the home. But whatever the case, the fact that he brought the chicken home means the household was part of whatever plan he had, and until that plan unfolds, anyone who touched the chicken is acting in disobedience.
That is what happened in Eden. The fact that the trees of knowledge of good and evil were in the garden, meant that it was in God’s plan for man. Man would ultimately benefit from them.
God never wanted man to be ignorant. In fact God tasked man to dress and keep the garden(v.15) and to name the animals (v.19). To keep a garden required knowledge and skill. Those who do some gardening will bear me out. Selecting a name is equally tedious. I remember it took me weeks to decide on a name for my daughter. But Adam was tasked to name all animals that had queued in front of him, and I wonder what strategy he used. But whatever he called them, that was their name!
So they already had knowledge, and their desire to know more was not wrong; but their desire to know more, against God’s will, was wrong. God was holding them back from a particular type of knowledge, and they failed!
Often, the problem we have is not what we have done; but the intent. The intent, and the act to disobey God, was the problem. It was not what they ate.
God focuses on the inside, the thoughts and intents. That is where all evil starts, that is where rebellion starts, and that is where disobedience starts.
There are many things in this world, that God has created, and knows we desire; but tells us to stay away from; at least temporarily.
Are we going to be obedient, or disobedient? Are we going to wait till Gods own time?
MEMORY VERSE
“For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
QUESTIONS
- Have you desired something, but God told you to wait?
- Are you going to obey or disobey?
PRAYER TIP
Father, please help me to trust
your perfect will for me. So that
when you tell me to wait, I wait.
URGENT CALL
Every soul is valuable to God, far more than the entire world! But by nature, we are all sinful, and alienated from God, and we ultimately face his wrath!
God in His mercy and love made a way for us to remedy this. He gives us a chance to reverse this downward spiral to destruction, join His family, be part of His household, and become His children.
The first step to becoming a member of God’s household is for us to be saved.
Salvation comes through accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Personal Savior.
It is a very personal decision. No one can make that decision for you.
If you make that decision today, there will be great singing and rejoicing in heaven; because one new member has joined the family and household of God! A soul, much, much more valuable than the world, has been saved from destruction!
Do you want to make that decision today?
Please visit “The Believer’s Prayer” for guidance if you want to make that decision.
We will be happy to hear from you through the contact information on that page, or the ones at the top of this page. Don’t delay. Make this very personal decision today!
God richly bless you
SPECIAL GRATITUDE
Thank you for visiting the Testimony Devotional Website.
We would not have gotten here without your prayers, goodwill and overall support. We are grateful, and humbled.
We thank God for counting us worthy to share in His Great Commission; and we thank you for sticking with us through this journey.
God richly bless you.
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