he question that we have to resolve this time is who was telling the truth? Was it God who said,
“Ye shall not eat of it, lest you die,” or was it the serpent who said,
“Ye shall not surely die”? This is something worthwhile to investigate. Did Adam and Eve die, or were their eyes opened, as the serpent had said? Let us consider these things as we continue with our studies.
Let us first read the verse that make us wonder if, indeed, the serpent was telling the truth, or not.
Genesis 3:3 says,
“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.”
How did Eve answer the serpent’s inquiry if God forbade them to eat of the fruits in the garden? Eve said, of all the fruits of the trees in the garden, we can freely eat. But 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. You see, if you are going to follow the admonition of the Lord to
“seek ye the book of the Lord,” written in
Isaias 34:16, the very first book that you will encounter when you open the Bible is the book of Genesis, which means, the book of beginning. In other words,
“Genesis” means
“beginning.” And if you have to accumulate wisdom, you have to consider the beginning of wisdom. And since the Bible is a book of wisdom, you have to consider Genesis, which is the very first of the five books written by Moses.
Now, after reading the first chapters of the Genesis, if you are a meticulous student of the Bible, you will notice that there are some pronouncements in this book that need to be given a closer look. We have read earlier what God told Eve: Ye shall not eat off it. Neither shall ye touch it lest ye die. But you must realize that these are not the very words that God said to Adam. Let us read
Genesis 2:16-17--
"And the Lord God commanded the man, 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 thou shalt surely die.”
See, the verbatim word of God to Adam, who is the direct recipient of the commandment? Please, take note of what God told Adam: But the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Notice that there isn’t the phrase
“Nor touch it” as claimed by Eve in
Genesis 3:3--
“But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall both eat of it, neither shall ye touch it.”
This will now give us the idea of Adam’s accountability as well as Eve’s accountability. What does that mean? Adam should have told Eve of God’s exact words. Ye shall not eat of it for thou shalt surely die. It was Adam’s responsibility to tell Eve of the very exact pronouncement of the Lord. But Adam failed to teach Eve of God’s exact words. But if Eve simply added
“Neither shall ye touch it” to what Adam had told her, then, she would be held accountable for it. But she would have no accountability if her pronouncements to the serpent were given out of her ignorance of God’s exact commandment to Adam.
As a meticulous student of the Bible, I have considered all these things all my life. And I am bound to believe that, perhaps, Eve was somewhat ignorant of God’s exact words to Adam, or maybe Eve is just exaggerating what God had told them, because eating the fruit is different from touching it. If they were prohibited from eating the fruit because if they do they will die, will it also mean that by touching it they will also die? These are some of the things that a meticulous reader of the Bible should consider. Unfortunately, many pastors from different religious groups take these things for granted. Remember the commandment,
“Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read.” We are not commanded to interpret; we are simply commanded to seek out of the book of the Lord, and read. We are commanded to read. And in reading, I have found out that, the direct commandment of God to Adam is different from what Eve declared to the serpent. Eve added,
“Neither shall ye touch it.” I am mentioning this to prove to you that every word, every dot, every pronouncement in the Bible is worth investigating, because you will always find wisdom in your quest for the truth. Another thing that I want to emphasize is the serpent’s pronouncement,
“Ye shall not surely die. This is in
Genesis 3:4--
