When God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil did they have a choice between eating or not?
Hello my friend. I've been discussing this on a different thread, but I copied my interpretation of the Garden and I'd like to know what you think. I see absolutely no way of reconciling free will with our Sovereign God. He knows everything that will happen before it happens, and there is no way we could choose something other than what God has determined. He does all things after the council of His own will. I don't believe in Lucifer, and I think this idea of a fallen angel that gave man knowledge is a pagan myth along the lines of Prometheus the giver of Fire.
Here is my interpretation. I'd love to know what you think.
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." Genesis 1:26
God tells us right in the first chapter what His plan is for mankind. He is making us in His Image, after His Likeness. This required something that Adam and Eve did not possess when He created them: the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
I believe this next verse is where the true confusion lies:
"And the LORD God commanded theman, 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 thoushalt surely die." Genesis 2:16-17
Here, we see that God tells Adam that he may eat of every tree in the Garden. Then God warns man that if He eats of the Tree of Knowledge, he will die.
The problem with this translation is the word "shalt" in "thou shalt not eat of it". The word shalt is not in the original Hebrew. The original says:
וּמֵעֵ֗ץ (of the tree) הַדַּ֙עַת֙ (of theknowledge) ט֣וֹב (of good) וָרָ֔ע (and evil)לֹ֥א (not) תֹאכַ֖ל (eat) תֹאכַ֖ל (of)
God did not "command" then regarding whether they could eat of the Tree, He warned them of the consequences if they did eat. With this in mind, let's see if we can make sense of this all.
"Now the serpent was more subtil thanany beast of the field which the LORDGod had made. And he said unto thewoman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall noteat of every tree of the garden?" Genesis3:1
So now we are introduced to the Serpent,whom God had made more subtile than any other beast. Right from thebeginning, he lies to to Eve. God neversaid they may "not" eat of every tree, He said they "may" eat of every tree. Thisconfuses Eve, but she responds with what God had told her:
"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." Genesis 3:2-3
Then, the Serpent lies again, but deceives Eve by mixing his lie with truth:
"And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." Genesis 3:4-5
Eve did not know any better when she ate the Fruit. She had no knowledge of either Good or Evil. How could she have made a rational decision? This was all in perfectalignment of God's original and only plan. God verifies that everything is going according to His plan next:
"And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know goodand evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever" Genesis 3:22
You see my friend, this was not a hugemishap on God's part by which He had to resort to plan B. There is no plan B.
God desired to make man in His Image, and this required the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God Himself planted the Tree and created the Serpent to tempt Adam and Eve.
Adam and Eve had this new Knowledge, but they lacked the Wisdom and Prudence to use it. Yeshua fulfills this prophecy and purpose of mankind, as He is the first Man to be given the status of Sonship and aquire the true Image of God:
"Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature" Colossians 1:15
Do you think this is a valid interpretation?
Thank you my friend and God bless you.
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