The Fall of Man by Jan van T'hoff
Greeted by the serpent, Eve was led to believe that eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge would make them become more like God.
Genesis 3:5 God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.
Genesis 3:6...So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness...
In the book, Reclaiming Quiet, by Sarah Clarkson, the author described the same passage. She points out that Eve already knew 'good'. It was only evil of which she lacked knowledge.
Indeed, the story thus far has told us God himself called everything he'd created 'good'. He created Adam and Eve and called them 'very good.'
Eve's innocence was her downfall.
She knew God and wanted to be like Him, the creator of all she knew, including that serpent. She wanted to do more than just walk with God. She wanted to be like him. And Adam was with her, watching, hearing the conversation and willing to be like God, as well, so he took the fruit when she offered it to him.
Innocence was a gift they'd been given. The knowledge of evil brought them something different. Shame was what they acquired when they gave up the gift of innocence. Original sin was the loss of innocence, and shame was the first thing man and woman birthed into this lost world in which we live.
Genesis 3:8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, "Where are you?"
God called out to man, "Where are you?" God sought out the people he created but they were hiding from him. God hadn't distanced himself from man, but man distanced himself from God.
God sought them out...
When we're not hearing from God...when I'm not hearing from God...
Have I hidden myself away? Have I done something I oughtn't to have done?
Genesis 2:9 The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground--trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden, he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Why did the serpent choose the tree of Good and Evil and not the Tree of Life?
Genesis 2:22 Then the Lord God said, "Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!"
Because the Tree of Life would have given man endless life, another aspect of God that they didn't have. The serpent was described as the most 'sly' of all the creatures God created. He knew that the knowledge of evil was no threat to him. But for man to live forever in goodness was.
Genesis 3:23 So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden...
Innocence lost. Banished from Paradise and put out into a world of work and toil and struggling to provide sustenance for themselves. Put out into the world where they quickly became slaves of time and labor...Not complete lack but not the abundance they had known. God no longer provided them an endless buffet of plants and fruits to eat. They needed to work the ground to grow their own food. And then there were distractions that claimed their attention and dragged it away from God! What was the serpent anyway, but a distraction?
Which is a good reminder to me to remember to guard against the distractions that come!
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