Read it: Genesis 2:8-11; 15-16, 3:1
Live it:
In the reading for today, the second part of the Adamic Covenant comes into view. God puts food-producing trees and plants in the Garden for Adam, our forefather, to eat and enjoy. Only one rule is put in place: From the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, Adam is prohibited to eat.
Is there something wrong with the fruit? Does the fruit have a quality that causes one to change? Maybe the fruit makes one’s stomach retch or causes the body to react with bowel problems? Does the fruit cause one to not sleep, causing one to go crazy? Does the fruit cause one to sleep continually as if one is not alive anymore?
All the above do not tell the story. If Adam eats, death will come. What is death? Separation from something. Death separates one from God. It also separates one from this world or from other humans. But, why does eating a fruit cause death? Why would God put such requirements on something that is not moral in any way? Eating something is neither good nor bad. Eating is just … well … eating.
The key is the name of the fruit: the Knowledge of Good and Evil. How could that be a choice for death – knowing what is good and evil? Tomorrow, we will explore that concept.
Carl
