Eve Had Second-Hand Word

Eve Had Second-Hand Word

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Most of us are quite familiar with the story that describes the temptation of Eve. We know how the devil used his tactics of deceit to get Eve to doubt what God had said. But what I aim to point out in this little blog is that Eve, didn't really know God's word. Eve was relying on second-hand information.

Here's a very familiar passage:

3:1Now the serpent was more subtil than any 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? 3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3:3 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.

Genesis 3:1-3

What I ask you to pay particular attention to is Eve's reply to the serpent in verses 2 and 3. Eve said, "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. "

Sounds like a legitimate response does it not? There's only one small problem that I notice here. God never said "neither shall ye touch it". Where in the world did she get that from?

Eve either made that up all on her own, or that's the way Adam had explained it to her. Either way, that's not exactly what God had spoken. The command not to touch the tree was never given, at least not to the best of my knowledge.

Here's the original command as given to Adam:

2:16And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 2:17But 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

God didn't say, "neither shall ye touch it", Eve said that.

Now this may seem like it's not really a big deal. But I say that it is a great big deal. Anytime we add something to, or take away from the word of God, we have imparted traditions and doctrines of men and thereby made the word of God of no effect. Religion is famous for that.

I believe that the added or additional contingency about not touching the tree played a big part in why Eve eventually did eat of the tree. Take a close look at the following verse:

3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Genesis 3:6

Eve got deceived in to thinking that eating of that tree would somehow make her more like God. The truth is that she was actually more like God before she ate of the tree than after. But the point I am trying to make is, that according to the way this verse is punctuated, what did eve do first before she ate of the tree? She touched it. She, "took of the fruit thereof".

It's very possible that Eve, having already been deceived, first reached out to touch the tree and held it for a while. And when she realized that touching the fruit didn't kill her, she wrongfully assumed right there that God's word must not be true. The problem with that is the word she thought she had, wasn't really God's word.

Only after touching it, and continuing to live, then did she eat thereof. Had Eve known the truth, I am certain that the truth would have set her free.

6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

Matthew 6:23

I am going to cut this blog off right here cause I already feel like I could write a few pages from this point. But hopefully you can see from this example why it is ever so important that we, as individuals, get into the bible and discover for ourselves what it says. Too often we just take someone else's interpretation. I am certainly not trying to condemn anyone here, that's for sure. Because I myself have been, and still am guilty of this to some extent. It's so much easier just to listen to some audio message or watch a few videos. Maybe read a daily devotional or live the entire week just based upon what your pastor said. We need to have God's true word written on our hearts.

Eve really didn't know what God's word said. Eve had a form of truth, but it wasn't the whole truth. Had she know the real truth, perhaps she would have been that much more reluctant to to finally eat of the forbidden fruit.

Don't take man's word as basis for your doctrinal truths. Please, take some time today and every day to let the Word of God speak directly to you.

7:13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

Mark 7:13

In love,
Michael


Related Blogs: 999 Trees, Thank God for Death