The First Test

Then the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat fruit from every tree of the orchard, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die.” Genesis 2:16,17

What a simple command. This wasn't an entire tablet of laws. It was but one requirement that God laid upon man at the beginning. It wasn't too complicated to understand nor was it too difficult to accomplish. One thing alone was necessary. Make no mistake, it was necessary and it was a definite command. There was no "wiggle room" here. There was no exception to the rule. Nor were there circumstances that could be imagined where a "greater good" would be served by disobeying the command.

However, this was also far more than a command given directly by God the Creator. It was also a test of wills. The question being tested here was this; Would man obey His Creator God simply on the basis of God's say so? Would, man accept God's Word as the authority, or would man instead evaluate the command as to whether or not it would benefit him, or restrict him too much, or whether or not he believed God had a good enough reason to command this? Would man accept God's Word as authority over his own will?

God was generous in this command. He did not restrict man in any other area of life. Freedom was virtually unlimited. The man was given permission to dine from any other tree in the entire garden or "orchard." Every fruit in unheard of abundance was available.

In addition, however, a warning was given. Should man choose to defy God, there would be consequences to pay. So we have both a positive aspect to the command (all else than this was open) and a negative aspect (severe punishment would follow disobedience). The decision is left with man.

Is that not how it is even today? We are given abundance of choices of good, and usually presented with alternate bad choices as well. The decision is left with us whether or not we will do what we know is right, submit to God, or follow our own will. From the moment we awake in the morning to when we lay down to sleep, this is our challenge of life.


Your Joyfully Loquacious Believer,
LEE