Wednesday, March 31
“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17).
This test provided Adam and Eve with an opportunity to exercise their free will. It also challenged them to respond positively or negatively to their relationship with the Creator. It also shows that God had made them free, moral beings. After all, if they did not have the opportunity to disobey, why would the Lord have even bothered warning them, in the first place, against disobedience?
“Everything preceding in this chapter has paved the way for this climax [Genesis 2:16-17]. The future of the race centers upon this single prohibition. Man is not to be confused by a multiplicity of issues. Only one divine ordinance must be kept in mind. By thus limiting the number of injunctions to one, Yaweh gives tokens of his mercy. Besides, to indicate that this one commandment is not grievous, the Lord sets it against the background of a broad permission: ‘from any tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat.’ ” — H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Genesis (Columbus, OH: Wartburg Press, 1942), vol. 1, p. 127.
By calling Adam and Eve to obey His will, God was saying: I am your Creator, and I have made you in My image. Your life is sustained by Me, for by Me you live and move and have your being. I have provided all things for your well-being and happiness (sustenance, home, human companionship) and have established you as ruler of this world under Me. If you are willing to affirm this relationship with Me because you love Me, then I will be your God, and you will be My children. And you can affirm this relationship and the trust implicit in it by simply obeying this specific command.
In the end, our relationship with God can be effective and lasting only if we freely choose to accept His will. Rejecting His will is, in essence, to claim independence from Him. It indicates that we believe we do not need Him. That is a choice that results in the knowledge of evil, and evil leads to alienation, loneliness, frustration, and death.
The test God gave Adam and Eve was one of loyalty and faith. Would they be loyal to their Creator, who had given them everything they needed, plus a world of delights, or would they go their own way, independent of His will? Would they have enough faith in Him to take Him at His word? Their loyalty and faith were tested by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In what ways do we face similar tests every day? How does God’s law function as a parallel to the command given in Genesis 2:16-17?
