Eve's Information

Eve’s Information

4/13/17

Many times we do not give enough credit for Eve and how the human process of choice played a large role in her answer to Satan in the Garden of Eden.  But there is a human relationship status that we should understand here and that no matter how or who we blame for our demise we need to consider this truth.  Have you ever wondered why it is so much of a hassle in relationships that do not agree and why those hassles materialize?  It does not matter what the level of relationship might be, all involved have been subjected to such setbacks and deterrents, including ours with God.  The only way that one can fully understand how to deal with others is we must first reconcile our relationship with God and then with His help fix the issues necessary for our lives.

Every person involved in a relationship has at one time or another had a shortcoming or falling out with the other persons involved in said relationship.  Any hardship when it is involving others is difficult to muddle through because for the majority of us we do not wish to make enemies of those who we will be dealing with, or living with for that matter.  We all understand that none of us will agree on every point in life that we encounter, and we must possess a certain amount of tolerance for those who have differing opinions and ideas.  But what makes our relationship status complete is that we recognize all parties involved and in this recognition, status acknowledge who is in charge as well.  Then, we can adequately work through any disturbances that arise and further endorse the rules and regulations of such a relationship.

I have been at my position at work for approaching twenty-five years now and I still love my position just as much and even more as the day I graduated all my schooling and training times.  I have always understood that someone would be over me and my father schooled me when I was younger that this setting would always be present.  It is hard for a human to accept that someone else will have a final say over things you do, but while this human nature of ours becomes ruffled we (I) must deal with it and accept the results.  What my dad was telling me was that no matter which position I was going to be in, I had to realize that it was a relationship and that it had to be put into motion by all parties in order for it to work. 

About ten years ago my boss came up to me and asked if he could have a chat with me concerning a specific matter.  During this chat, he asked me if I would be interested in taking over the phlebotomists in the laboratory, a position that was needed and in honor, I accepted this position.  When the procedural day arrived for me to change positions, he showed me a copy of my job description, which was everything that he and I had previously discussed, except for one minor detail at the bottom of the paperwork.  On the last page of the document, after all of the typed comments and responsibilities had been lined out, he had handwritten in another task to my position.  “And anything else that I can think of” was that written statement, one that I laughed at but would play a huge role in ensuring that order was kept in the laboratory when certain situations arose, and one that I would struggle with at times as well for some of the future items addressed were uncomfortable, to say the least.  However, I accepted the challenge and did my best for the next five years of so and served the community well.

I have been put into positions over the years that provided nothing but strain in the relationships that were present around me, but nothing on the work level could compare to an intimate and personal relationship that goes south.  This is a topic that each one of us has had to deal with either directly or indirectly and no matter what the condition and situation might be, the end results of such a hardship is painful.  What do my personal relationships and your personal relationships have to do with Eve and her conversation with Satan in the Garden of Eden? 

I am glad you asked because first off we need to remember that Eve, along with Adam, were humans just like us.  Even though they were perfect in all ways they still were given the choice of free will and it is here in the passages that will be used that give truth to this message from God.  Many people have given Eve the bad rap for our downfall and to the superficial eye this could be justified, but we need to understand something here about the relationship she had with Adam and with God, through her own words and the actions of Satan she must have talked about this setting before; therefore, it cannot be just her that is chided for our downfall, it is Adam’s as well.

God wants us to understand that He is not nitpicking in any way but wants us to know that even though we may have differences concerning our beliefs we can still all agree on God’s authority and what He says is the absolute truth.  This example that He is going to show us might seem to be trivial or small but it reflects just exactly the humanness that Adam and Eve possessed and how it falls in line about how we view God’s Word today as well.  So, we must begin a few verses before Eve and the serpent’s conversation to understand where her mind was operating and why she told the “infamous” lie that set our downfall rolling.  To be honest, I had never thought about this detail until the other night and I had to gently tap myself on the head for not realizing this earlier, but after my actions I had to apologize to God for it was His timing that He revealed this and not mine, another relationship flaw between Him and me that is still in progress.

Genesis 2:9 states the following and sets the foundation for what god wants us to understand about obeying His commands: “And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”  While this verse may seem like just a simple description of the plants that God created in the Garden of Eden there is a specific detail here that we need to keep in mind and that is that the tree of life and the tree of good and evil were both in the Garden of Eden.  This detail is the one that Eve will use incorrectly at some point in time in the future when she has the conversation with the serpent in Chapter 3, but first, a few more details to be explained.  Remember, God is a complete and consistent God at all times and He cannot change His laws no matter what the occasion.

In Genesis 2:15-17 the law of God to Adam is made and it states the following: “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.  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.”  Now, most of us will recognize that this is the part of God’s Word that clearly lays the groundwork for obedience and that God meant business when He told Adam what he could do and what he could not do.  The Bible is very clear about the words God used and in all accounts, those words of command were simple, accurate and on target; in other words, they were easily understood by Adam.

At this point, God has told Adam about his dominion and what to do with that dominion on a continual basis.  God has also defined what trees are present and what is good for him to eat.  Thirdly, God has told Adam which tree not to eat from and what would become of him if he decided to disobey that single command.  We have to remember that in Genesis 2:9 the Bible describes the creation of the trees in the Garden of Eden and trees included the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  Keep in mind that God is a complete and consistent God because nowhere does it say that Adam could not touch the tree of knowledge of good and evil and there is a reason why it does not say this too.  If God would have said not to touch it then God could not have been all inclusive when He commanded Adam to dress and keep the Garden of Eden.  The Bible does not say that God said that every part of the Garden of Eden should be kept except for the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  It is this detail that brings into light the relationship status between Adam and Eve and why she believed what she said when her conversational lie with the serpent transpired.

Now, a few verses later in chapter 2 of Genesis we have the detailed description of Eve’s creation and what a beautiful creation she was and still is today.  However, when Genesis 3 opens she is in meeting with a being that is questioning her about her duties and life in the Garden and what exactly God has told them to do and not to do.  As humans and ones that have personal relationship with, those involved in such settings will converse between one another, this is not unusual or is it hard to imagine that Adam and Eve had such conversations, so it is relevant and very realistic that they must have discussions amongst themselves concerning such an arrangement with the Garden and what the responsibilities were, just a matter of fact.  We also know this because Satan specifically addresses it in his questioning of Eve which means his presence had heard these conversations between Adam and Eve in order for him to know their feelings.  Satan does not know the future but if we give him doors to go through he is an opportunistic enemy and will not hesitate one moment to take advantage of such opening.

Genesis 3:1-3 states the mindset and lie of Eve: “Now the serpent was more subtle than any other beast of the field which the Lord God had made.  And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?  And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”  This is a statement made by Eve and not one in the form of a question.  It is a bold response to a being that has asked her a specific question and one that should not be taken lightly either.  If Adam had not told Eve of the command that God gave to him before she was created, it would seem that Eve had a reason for not understanding but it still would not justify her response to the serpent.  If Adam and Eve would have never had any further conversation concerning the issue with God after their creation, that too might have been a reason for misunderstanding, but in truth God cannot expect us to hold fast to a command from Him unless the law or command is not present in their lives; therefore, Eve has taken it upon herself to vocalize her belief concerning the way God law was present.  A fatal mistake that is still in place today and one that humanity shall not overcome unless we obey God and His Word at all times.

Nowhere does the Bible say that Adam and Eve could not touch the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for this specific tree was inside the Garden of Eden, in the middle to be even more specific which meant that since God is a complete God that His law for dressing and upkeep of the Garden INCLUDED this tree.  In order for Adam and Eve to complete this task, they would have had to come into physical contact with it, even in its defense if needed.  There is no way possible that Adam and Eve could have interpreted that God did not want this tree tended to and cared for, for if they did then they did not believe that God was a complete God and that they did not willingly use the brains that God gave them to use adequately.

How can this be true?  How many people do you get into conversations with about the Bible?  How many questions are you asked from others, those who might not believe in God or in His Word?  What are your responses to these questions and people?  Do you give them the truth about what God’s Word says or do not know what His Word says concerning such matters?  I must admit that God is still revealing things about His Word each day and it is my responsibility to relay those truths to those who do not understand what God’s Word says, both those who believe and to those who do not believe.  It is through these conversations with others that either sink or swims the truth about God and also about our lives, if we do not understand exactly what God is saying to us and the reason why He says these things to us then we will have not any option but to believe what we want instead of what God has proclaimed as the truth.  When the relationship with God breaks down our sinful nature shall take over and the enemy shall once again use our beliefs against us so that we separate our existence from God.

Once again I can hear you asking, how is this true?  It is true because of Genesis 3:4-7 proclaims exactly what our enemy will do in return when we fail to correctly understand what God’s Word says and the reason why God says it in the first place.  Once Eve’s proclamation is spoken, Satan strikes with a terrifying lie that she is inclined to believe and trust due to her own misguidings and disobedient heart to the truth.  How can we know this is true?  Because God has included verse 7 in this specific passage and it is the immediate response of Adam and Eve after they had agreed to disobey God.  Eve’s focus was on the fruit and not eating it, which was a physical aspect of God’s command, but it was the inner decision to disobey that was the foundation of the law of God and it was that truth that matters, and nothing else.

The Early Church, the Medieval Church, and the Modern Church have all fallen into the same category as Adam and Eve did at the time of temptation, simply because we have mistaken the physical for the spiritual.  Our eyes have been focused on the beauty of God’s establishment and through this disobedience have established our own laws concerning what Jesus’ Church is supposed to look like and not what she is supposed to be.  Adam did not argue when Eve handed him the fruit to eat, he ate willingly fulfilling the dissolution of unity between God and mankind, thus sealing the fate of humans forever on the physical.  Church, why have you forgotten the truth about eating and focused on the physical lie that is around us?  If we choose to obey first, our will shall be to keep the physical in order as well thus fulfilling the first command of God.  See, when God told Adam to keep and dress his dominion, He meant both Adam’s physical dominion and his inner dominion, remember God is a complete God.

However, it is obvious that the Church is operating in the verse of Genesis 3:7 instead of living under the commands of Genesis 2:9 and Genesis 2:15-17.  We still have time to turn our problems around and to restore the relationship that we once had with God.  Ti is obvious that the relationship with God that Adam and Eve had, had collapsed and Satan saw the opening and took it.  Satan has also noticed the opening of today’s church and has seized the opportunity once again to invade our hearts and placed doubt concerning God’s Word and what it says to each person walking this earth.  Church, we can no longer afford to keep diluting the Bible for our own comfort measures, our eternal lives and the eternal lives of others are at stake.  World settings, situations, and further crises shall continue and increase until we figure out that God and the relationship we have with Him is the only way to fix and solve these problems.  Once we realize this on an individual level it can flow steadily into our national relationships as well but it shall only occur if we return to God, repent of our sins, and allow His Word to live and grow in our hearts.  Will we get rid of Eve’s information or keep God’s Information in our hearts?

DLB