Good and Evil

Genesis 3:1-7

[Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. 
He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?'" 

And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" 

But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.]

There are so many things resonating in my spirit about this passage and the words that follow. The first thing is that God created the serpent. The serpent didn't have any power or ability that God hadn't given him. The second thing I notice is that God warned Eve of the consequences of disobedience were she to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil; he told her she would surely die. She was seeking a desire of wisdom from an object instead of her Creator. When she looked at the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, it was delightful to the eyes. It seemed good for food, but what was the cost?

This is what sin is in our lives. From the outside it seems harmless and desirable. But really, it's deceitful and deadly. Although Eve might have thought eating the fruit was okay, Adam should have stood by his convictions and said "no!" Don't just follow the crowd. Crowds lie! In regards to Jesus, look at the crowd that shouted "Crucify him" less than a week after they shouted "Hosanna" at the Damascus gate. We need to be willing to stand up and be a peculiar people, a people that lives out biblical convictions.

Lastly, this scripture shares that Adam and Eve's eyes were opened, and they knew they were naked, so they sewed fig leaves to cover themselves. There are things of this world that are not worth seeing or knowing. Things within tv or movies, song lyrics, music videos, commercials, billboards, so many things that ruin our minds. When we crave something that isn't best for us, we become more in tune with the things of this world rather than heavenly things. The fig leaves used to cover their bodies didn't make it so God couldn't see them, or that Adam and Eve couldn't see one another. God created them! We can't try to cover up and hide from God when He made us and can see right through us. Later in the scriptures, there is a dialogue between God and Adam. When Adam is hiding, God asks "Where are you?" This isn't because God doesn't know where Adam is. Rather, God is making sure Adam is aware that he is in fact hiding from his Creator.

Are you in hiding?