Genesis 3 : 2 - 7, And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'" Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. NKJV
It's mind-boggling how Adam, who was created in God's image and likeness desired the tree that brought death over the Tree of Life. You have to wonder why someone who was that close to God's heart could make such a disastrous decision. Nevertheless, instead of dwelling on the "why," let's see if there is anything that we can learn from Adam's mistake that will keep us from making an error in our own lives.
When they are in their formative years, most children have the innate desire to be like their mother and/or father. Consequently, shouldn't there have been a desire in Adam to want to be like God? We know that Eve had a desire to be like God; however, she took the wrong avenue. She chose to do it apart from God, in the power of "self."
The reason Adam succumbed to Satan's temptation and sinned against God was because he didn't honor God in his heart; consequently, he also did not honor God's command not to eat of the tree of knowledge. When we don't honor God in our hearts, then we are left only with the willpower of our flesh, which has no muscle to withstand Satan's seductive ways. Dishonor is the reason why so many people can't seem to find the control that is needed to overcome temptation. As a result, they enter into sin...just like Adam. Let's take this word deeper.
Isaiah 53: 1 - 3, Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. NKJV
Remember, we're seeking to learn something from Adam's mistake so that we don't repeat it. Therefore, why wasn't the Tree of Life ever mentioned by God or Adam before the fall? And why was Eve more intrigued by the tree of knowledge than the Tree of Life? I submit to you, based on the above scripture from Isaiah, that the fruit from the Tree of Life wasn't as appealing to their flesh as the tree of knowledge. Likewise, there was nothing about Jesus as a fleshly man that would attract people to Him for a spiritual relationship. When Adam ignored God's command not to eat, he was then drawn by the power of his soul's pleasures to the tree that had the most appeal. And Satan played on that appeal. Remember, the Tree of Life represented Jesus and had to be more desirous in the spirit than the flesh. This is why so many people, including many Christians are drawn away from the things of God and attracted to the glamour of the world's pleasures. Sitting in a game seems to be more appealing to many believers than sitting in a church. One feeds the flesh, and the other feeds the spirit man.
We must also take into account that God created man, both male and female as living beings or living souls. Therefore, after Adam decided to dishonor God in his heart, they were driven by their senses instead of their spirit. Does this mean that God created them to fall? It absolutely does not! He's trying to show us through the liberty and mistakes of freewill what happens when His people dishonor Him and His commandments: We will have no power in our flesh to resist the allure of the sensuality of this world's pleasures. Jesus has taught us that apart from Him, we can do nothing; however, we can do ALL things through His strength?
Honoring the Lord,
Pastor Asa Dockery
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