Paul wrote to the Romans, “…they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” (Ro. 1:21) These words were written about the Gentiles but they might well have been written about two people who lived in a garden.
Adam and Eve lived in a very special place which was filled with every tree that was beautiful to the eye and good for fruit. They were allowed to eat from every tree in the garden, including the tree of life, with only one exception. God told Adam, “You may not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, on the day you do you will surely die.” God did not prohibit Adam from touching the tree in the midst.
When Eve was created, Adam neither glorified him as God nor gave him thanks and it began a downward spiral that culminated in the prohibited fruit being eaten. How so you say? Well, read ahead in Genesis Chapter 3.
When the serpent engages Eve in the garden, he asks, “Did God really say you may not eat of any tree in the garden?” And the woman said, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘you must not eat from the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when 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, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
Do you see where the the downward spiral began? Eve told the serpent that God said they could not touch the tree in the midst of the garden. Where do she hear that? God did not tell Adam that he could not touch the tree. So who told Eve that she could not to touch the tree. The Bible does not tell us but I think the only answer is Adam. He was the only other human on earth and he did what he thought he had to do in order to protect Eve. I believe Adam decided that to assure that Eve would not eat from the tree he would tell her that God had said they could not touch the tree just to keep her away from the tree. With this added element of safety he could feel confident that Eve would not accidentally knock a piece of fruit loose from the tree and then be tempted to taste it.
Do you see the problem? Adam added to God’s word. He took the place of God and decided that he knew better than God when it came to what Eve needed to hear. He did not glorify him as God nor give thanks to him and his thinking became futile.
I believe that what may have occurred sometime after Adam misinformed Eve is that on a walk in the garden Eve leaned against or bumped into the forbidden tree. And guess what – she did not die! Why not? Because God did not say she would die if she touched the tree. But what did she think? Who did she doubt? God! She was not going to admit to Adam that she had touched the tree thereby giving Adam a chance to admit his indiscretion and protect God’s character so from that day forth she doubted God’s faithfulness because she had been told that God had proclaimed death for touching the tree.
The serpent (Satan) was more crafty than any other beast of the field that God had made and he knew that Eve had touched the tree and now had doubt. So he asks, “Did God really say……..?” When Eve expresses the false prohibition about touching, Satan knows he has her. She already doubts God’s faithfulness and she is easy pickings for a crafty serpent. In effect he says to her, not only did God lie to you about touching leading to death, he is lying to you about the effect of eating the fruit. He is just insecure because he knows that when you eat of the fruit you will be his equal and he does not want that. Now Eve is totally self focused because she has lost her trust in God’s faithfulness and when she notices that the fruit is (1) good for food – it was physically enticing, (2) a delight to the eyes – emotionally pleasing and (3) desired to make one wise – intellectually appealing, she eats and gives it to Adam and he eats.
When we think we know better than God we are not glorifying him as God and we are not filled with thankfulness for what he has given us. When we add to God’s word we are setting others up for disappointment and loss of trust in God. When we judge others we are taking God’s place. We are driving people away from God by adding prohibitions and commands that God never spoke. Jesus said that all of the law and the prophets hang down from two commands, “Love God” and “Love your neighbor in the same way you love yourself.” Just like he is the vine and we are the branches, love is the vine and good works which God prepared for us in advance are the branches. God does not need any help. Glorify him as God and give him thanks.