"If the forbidden fruit was forbidden, why did God keep that fruit there?"
Let us read a few verses in Genesis 2. In chapter 1 the creation of the earth is described. In the second chapter, the creation of Adam is told. Adam means something like ‘The human’. As the first human, he was the representative of the whole race. After the creation of Adam, the garden of Eden is described. Then comes the piece that confuses lots of people:
15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 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.
Why did God make that tree? If He had left it out, we’d never had fallen. We would still be in paradise. Actually, God is the One to blame it all on.
These are thoughts that turned many people from their faith. They say they do not want to believe in a God that would do such evil, by making that tree. So, what to say when those people confront us with this? How can we defend ourselves against this attack of Satan?
As always we must search in the Bible for an answer. In this case, we should first see what this verse means. It seems to be that God put that tree in the Garden of Eden to test Adam (and later Eve). So, why did He want to do that? It has to do with the way He created us, humans. Humans differ from animals because we have a free will. We can choose if we want to do something, or not. Animals only follow their instinct. There is no right or wrong for animals, but due to our free will, there is right and wrong for us. God wanted us to be special. We were meant to be the crown of His creation. Not just like the animals and plants, but humans that would serve Him out of free will. Out of love.
Now, how could we show that we love God if the only thing we can do is the right thing? If there was no option to do wrong, we would be like robots, programmed to do good. This is the reason God made this one tree. We could show Him that we would serve Him out of free will by not eating from this tree.
This also completely changes our view of God. Instead of Him being evil for giving us the chance to sin, He is extremely generous in His creation. Look at what He says! Of EVERY tree of the garden you may freely eat. Adam and Eve had everything they could wish for in this garden. There was no pain, no cold, no hunger and nothing else bad. And there was just this one tree that they should not eat the fruits from. They didn’t need the tree for anything. It seems like the Lord made the chance that humans would sin as small as possible.
The fall of humankind
Now we know that we cannot shove our blame on God. Humans tend to try and do that. Hear what Adam says when the Lord confronts him about eating from the tree. “This woman You gave me, she gave me the fruit, and I ate.” He blames Eve as well as God here.
People often say that humankind isn’t to blame since it was Satan that made Adam and Eve sin. This is hardly a valid reason. Firstly, Adam and Eve were both made good. They could have resisted if they wanted to. They had a free will to do good. Satan could not make them sin. It was fully the responsibility of Adam and Eve themselves. Sure, it was the devil that made them consider to sin, which led to the deed of sinning itself. And maybe this is why there is forgiveness for humans, and not for devils. The fallen angels were good, but they wanted to be like God. They made up their own plan and fell. But humans did not make the plan to sin on their own. They were led to sin by Satan. But this is just a speculation, and it really doesn’t matter much. The fact is, there is forgiveness for humans.
"Humans always seem to want to blame someone else..."
The fallen angels try everything to make you sin. To prevent you from turning to Jesus for forgiveness. For they hate Jesus and they hate you with such fierce hate that they want to destroy your soul. Be afraid of the devils, for they are cunning. See how Satan, through the snake, makes Eve consider to sin. “has God not said that you shall not eat of EVERY tree in this garden?”. Oh, this filthy liar. As always he twists the words of God. And Eve speaks with him when she should have turned away from him. It leads her to eating the fruit.
Please be aware of the devils. So many people nowadays barely consider their existence. Angels and devils are more myth than reality in the eyes of many. Satan was beaten, but he is still a roaring lion, trying to devour your soul. Not until the end of time will he be banished from the earth forever. It’s not safe here on your own. You need the Bible. If you are a true Christian he will not leave you alone. He comes as a wolf in sheep clothes. Clothed as a pastor or a youth worker maybe. He might even be the one next to you in church. He knows how to catch humans. He gives them riches beyond counting while robbing their souls.
How can we survive with this evil all around us? We aren't good anymore like Adam and Eve were created. We can't resist the devil anymore because he is living in our hearts and minds. But that is not the end of our story. It is hopeless for us, sure. If we had to save ourselves, we wouldn't stand a chance. But we don't need to do it ourselves! Hear what God promises Eve, right after they sinned. "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."
Genesis:3:15
Right after humankind made it clear they did not want to follow God this happens. God immediately promises that Jesus will come and make a way for humans to be reconciled with God. How can we not love this God? He made us. He cares for us. He loves us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die on this earth, so we could be saved. Oh, how deep has our Saviour gone to carry our sins away. He is the one who defeated satan. We can't stand against the might of Satan but he never even was a match for Jesus Christ. Let us find refuge in the arms of Jesus. There we are safe. When God is with you, who can stand against you?
If you read this far, I hope that you learned something. I hope that in the future you will not just read the Bible, but really study it. There is so much knowledge and wisdom to be found in it. May the Holy Spirit guide your heart.
Note from author
Please consider following my Instagram page. Daily, I post quotes and verses from the Bible with a short devo. Christian Religion Quote
This subject came to my attention at a bible study, at my church. I am not a theologian, but I tried to explain everything as good as I can. If you do not understand anything or think I was wrong about something, please contact me.
November 2016
No comments:
Post a Comment