In studying the fall of man I have asked myself many questions. One question in particular was WHAT DID GOD MEAN THEIR EYES WOULD BE OPENED IF THEY ATE FROM THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL?
In most cases we just focus on the fact that Adam and Eve were disobedient. They did what they were commanded not to do. Then immediately we turn to their punishment. But hold on. They ate of the tree; so what enlightenment did they now possess?
Let's start with the punishment. He started at the most guilty and continued to the least guilty: serpent-Eve-Adam. Let us start with Eve.
God goes on to explain at this point and time, the woman’s desires will be for her husband and he will rule over her. In Genesis 1:26, God had given man rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth and over all the creatures that move along the ground. Eve had not yet been created and it was not unit after they ate of the fruit of the tree (Genesis 3) that Adam’s and Eve’s relationship changed. The woman and man lost equality in the garden.
When Adam was put in charge in Genesis 1:26 the words "rule" and "dominion" were used. In the account of the fall, the woman’s desire changed and Adam would have rule over her. The word “desire” is used three times in the Bible. It is a Hebrew word t’shuwqah (tesh-oo-kaw) meaning in the original sense of stretching out after; a longing: desire. This is the appropriate time to point out that there had been no sex in the Garden of Eden up until this time. We hear about sex in Genesis 4. Genesis 4:1 begins with: “Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.” In verse 15, we see that Cain lies with his wife and the Bible continues on with generation after generation.
My children enjoy me comparing the animal kingdom in this respect to the human species. Indulge me for a moment without labeling me as a heretic. In the animal kingdom it is the male who must put on a show to get the female’s attention in the mating ritual. The beautiful male peacock has vibrant colors to attract and lure the female peacock. He struts around proudly displaying his beauty and arrogance. In the animal kingdom, the male must put forth the effort of courtship demonstrating his acceptability with his intended mate.
Now look at the human race. It is the female who does the dance in regards to the mating ritual with the male in the human species. She uses her body, clothing, makeup, and now cosmetic surgery to lure and entice her intended mate. This switch in the rules of attraction is a great example, possibly, of how Eve’s desires are now for the husband.
In the Baker Theological Dictionary the word “desire” covers a wide range of human wants, emotions, and cravings:
“It can describe natural desires, which include hunger for food, sexual longings, and desire for God. It can also describe unnatural desires or cravings, which include such things as greed and lust. Most of the time they are ascribed to man, and these desires come under the scrutiny of God… One final word of importance is the root shwq and its derivative tesuqa. It is translated as “desire” or “longing.” This term is found only three times in the Old Testament: Genesis 3:16, 4:7, and Song of Solomon 7:10. In Genesis 3:16 the term is negative in nature, occurring in a context of sin and judgment.”
So, there is no sexual activity going on at first in the creation account until chapter 4. We know that the enlightenment that the tree would give could not be that they would be able to understand things better because God gave Adam a command and he was able to understand it in Gen. 2:16-17. Adam could already think and speak as evidenced by him naming all of the animals in Gen. 2:20. And the Bible tells us specifically that Adam and Eve lived together naked and without shame in Gen. 2:25.
So what good and evil would Adam and Eve become aware of from eating from the tree?
Chapter 3 answers this question. Gen. 3:7 states after they both ate of the tree they noticed they were naked. Later they would hide from God out of fear, because they were naked Gen. 3:10. Finally God asked them who told you you were naked and then God himself made them coats of skin and clothed them Gen. 3:20. It was after this their individual punishment was given and we hear about sex in the following chapter.
My conclusion is simple. The knowledge that was obtained from eating of the forbidden tree was the knowledge of sex. While discussing this new found revelation of mine with my daughters; I wondered out loud why would God not want us to have knowledge of sex? In Genesis 1:28 God told them to be fruitful and multiply. The command not to eat from the tree came after he told them to be fruitful and multiply.
Genesis 2:8 singles out the Garden of Eden and this is where the two trees were located: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Are we to assume there is a distinction between procreation and having sex when one desire's?
Back to the animal kingdom. Animals do not have sex by on demand and by choice. A female comes into heat at the appropriate time, then she is fertile and then she can conceive. Humans on the other hand can choose when to have sex and the woman does not have to be fertile. So, is this the eye opening thing that was learned from eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Later God would expel and seal off the Garden of Eden to keep the humans from eating from the tree of life "And the Lord God said, behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil, and now lest he put forth his hand, and take of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever (Gen. 3:22)"
Adam and Eve had the power to create life at their will, unlike all of the other plant and animal life. They could decide when to create life or not to create life, a power that only God had. Of course the miracle of conception and birth still demonstrates the power and majesty of God, but the humans could now decide to create life when they wanted to as well.
Of course this may not be the true outcome of eating from the forbidden tree. But I do know it has something to do with sex. For centuries the church has counted sex as something dark and sinful and I know from reading Scripture that God did not say the sexual act was bad. Out of the context of marriage it was a sin. And we see that God intended for humans to procreate which needed sex to occur. So the knowledge of sex in itself was not the evil of the world.
We may never know what Adam and Eve came to know. But the serpent already existed so there was already evil on earth; thus they did not unleash evil with their disobedience.
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