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| Image credit: Virtual Bible Snapshots |
Genesis 3:2-3 “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.”
Manipulating Scripture is a contagious pastime. The woman heard the serpent do it once, and by staying on his ground to discuss the matter, she already accepted his terms of engagement by default. While she clarifies that God gave permission to eat from the trees of the garden, she doesn’t use the word “all” like God did (2:16). After listening to the serpent, the Creator’s abundant love and generosity already seems less to her, for when she talks about the fruit at the center of the garden she adopts the serpent’s negative focus and fails to mention the tree of life. She speaks of “the tree which is in the midst of the garden” as though the forbidden tree were the only fruit tree there (see 2:9). What about you? What sources are you listening to that blind you to the generosity and benevolence that God has lavished on you? Are you coveting forbidden things while ignoring God’s gracious provision for eternal life?
After lessening God’s munificence, the woman also adds to His prohibition. God never said that touching the fruit would result in death (2:17). One might argue that any touch of the forbidden fruit would show intention to eat it, and thus be an infraction of the spirit, if not the letter of the law. But what if our first parents had possessed such holy zeal and faith in the word of God as to pluck all the forbidden fruit and throw it into the depths of the sea and thus close the door to temptation? Whether such an option was open to them is mere speculation, but the fact remains that God’s command includes no clause about not touching the fruit. What about us? Do we add or take away from God’s Word by our attempts to dialogue with the faithless interpretations of infidels, rebels and skeptics?
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