Who has never told a lie? Everyone has at some point. Children especially. This frustrating problem has been in our lives from the very beginning. Lets start with a story, a true one. In Genesis when Adam and Eve ate the fruit off "The" tree. Which tree? The only one they were forbidden to eat of! The Tree of Knowledge. This tree is exactly what its name implies. It gave knowledge to anyone who ate from it. Knowledge of both "good" and "evil". This means that Adam and Eve would know how to think for themselves if something is good or evil. They always had the freewill to make any choice but they had no understanding about good and evil.
The tree was there in the garden day in and day out. They probably stayed away from it. They most likely avoided it. Why, because that was a direct order from God Himself. He told them they may eat anything in the garden but that one tree and its fruit must never be touched. God just said not to eat off of it right? In Genesis 3:3 the Bible 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." These were Eve's words to the serpent in the garden when she was standing up for the commandment God gave them to abstain from the Tree of Knowledge. The Bible tells us that the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. The serpent intended to deceive Eve and the first betrayal of the truth took place. The definition of a lie is this: (noun) 1. a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood 2. something intended or serving to convey a false impression (verb) 1. to speak untruthfully with intent to mislead or deceive.
The serpent was a liar and spoke untruth to Eve and she believed the lie. God had already told them to never touch or eat any fruit off the Tree of Knowledge. Eve even confirms that she remembers the direct commandment that came from God by repeating the commandment to the serpent. Then the serpent started deceiving. Genesis 3:4-5 "And the serpent said unto the women, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." The serpent told the truth and a lie at the same time. He started with a half truth: they didn't die, "right away", but they did die in the end. Truth: God knows everything including what the tree would do to them. Lie: Ye shall be as gods. He actually told Adam and Eve that they could be gods! (Let me make sure this is very clear: there is only one true God!) It is true that once Adam and Eve ate the fruit that they knew "good" and "evil" but they were far from being gods. They ran away and hid themselves! They felt shame for the very first time. They saw that they were naked and sewed fig leaves together to hid there nakedness that they were unaware of before.
This story is a very good example of how to and not to behave. There are many lessons in this one story and many more in the Bible as a whole. In order to be more Christ like here is a challenge for the readers. Let us try to be better bearers of truth, after all the "Belt of Truth" is part of the "Whole Armor of God." Let's not loosen our belts and have our pants fall down like Adam and Eve did so long ago. Lets tighten it and get spiritually fit with "truth in love" as our core because we are Children of God and the children we have are watching us. God bless and have a wonderful truth filled and fun summer!
The tree was there in the garden day in and day out. They probably stayed away from it. They most likely avoided it. Why, because that was a direct order from God Himself. He told them they may eat anything in the garden but that one tree and its fruit must never be touched. God just said not to eat off of it right? In Genesis 3:3 the Bible 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." These were Eve's words to the serpent in the garden when she was standing up for the commandment God gave them to abstain from the Tree of Knowledge. The Bible tells us that the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. The serpent intended to deceive Eve and the first betrayal of the truth took place. The definition of a lie is this: (noun) 1. a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood 2. something intended or serving to convey a false impression (verb) 1. to speak untruthfully with intent to mislead or deceive.
The serpent was a liar and spoke untruth to Eve and she believed the lie. God had already told them to never touch or eat any fruit off the Tree of Knowledge. Eve even confirms that she remembers the direct commandment that came from God by repeating the commandment to the serpent. Then the serpent started deceiving. Genesis 3:4-5 "And the serpent said unto the women, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." The serpent told the truth and a lie at the same time. He started with a half truth: they didn't die, "right away", but they did die in the end. Truth: God knows everything including what the tree would do to them. Lie: Ye shall be as gods. He actually told Adam and Eve that they could be gods! (Let me make sure this is very clear: there is only one true God!) It is true that once Adam and Eve ate the fruit that they knew "good" and "evil" but they were far from being gods. They ran away and hid themselves! They felt shame for the very first time. They saw that they were naked and sewed fig leaves together to hid there nakedness that they were unaware of before.
This story is a very good example of how to and not to behave. There are many lessons in this one story and many more in the Bible as a whole. In order to be more Christ like here is a challenge for the readers. Let us try to be better bearers of truth, after all the "Belt of Truth" is part of the "Whole Armor of God." Let's not loosen our belts and have our pants fall down like Adam and Eve did so long ago. Lets tighten it and get spiritually fit with "truth in love" as our core because we are Children of God and the children we have are watching us. God bless and have a wonderful truth filled and fun summer!