Here is a link to a website that contains the first chapter of my memoir.  Note – there are some swear words and a precursor to incest scene.

Let me know what you think.

Heather

Bible Study notes from a class taught 10/7/11

Genesis 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

The breath was not just a puff of life, not just physical life, but spiritual life as well, soul life.

Genesis 2:9 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

God provided all that Adam needed. Two trees were specified to not eat from – the rest were available for eating.. The tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life.

Genesis 2:15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

Adam was a bondservant of the Lord – a bondservant gardener.  Part of his gardening was also the trees one tree was of life, the other tree death. God gave Adam choice. Adam had to choose to obey God or disobey God.

Matthew 7:17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

The tree bears fruit after its kind. After Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they were barred from the Garden of Eden. It is possible that God did not want them eating from the tree of life because they would have then lived eternally in their sin, and God had plans to help mankind away from their sins. In Heaven every tree that is there is good to eat.

Genesis is silent on the tree of life.  

When our sins are forgiven and we are born again it then becomes possible for us to eat of the tree of life.  It is possible that after the judgment of God we will not be barred from the tree of life.

The tree of life – dependence on God
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil – is man wanting independence from God. Independence from God is death, or separation from God.

Mankind believes the lying promises of satan, and eats from the tree because it looked good. The enemy, satan deceived man, promising him good but delivering death. The fruit looked good to eat – that is the trick of satan, if Eve saw the fruit for what it was, she would never have eaten it.  The fruit of evil was rotten to the core, but by adding an ounce of good, it became acceptable to her sight and she ate it, no questions asked.

This is the same sin that satan did – desiring to be God.  Eve wanted to be like God and know good from evil – it may, on the surface have seemed like a good intention to want to know what is good from what is evil – the problem was it would be in her own mind and she didn’t need that knowledge if she was depending on God, God would steer her away from evil. When there is a mixture of what is good and evil it leads us to the grey area and we begin to accept things that we wouldn’t accept prior to that.  As more and more reaches that grey area, all kinds of evil become acceptable.

Genesis 2:18  And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 

God created Eve.  God did not create Eve because of trial and error. He knew that Adam needed to perceive his need for a woman. God let Adam go through the process of naming the animals, seeing the animals as male and female. Then, after seeing all the animals, Adam would realize that Eve was the only sensible relationship for him.

Eve was complimentary to man, to Adam  She was a help suitable for him. God created relationships.

Genesis 3:1-6 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 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.

The enemy, satan, is subtle. He asks a question that makes the woman doubt the goodness of God, implying that God is holding something back from Adam and Eve by forbidding them to eat of the two trees.  He says, has God said?  The woman answers satan, but she embellished, added more to the instructions God gave – she mentions not just not eating, but not touching.  We are not to add or subtract from what God has said.

Eve acted independently from her husband. She deceived herself in an attempt to become wise. Deception from satan through that question, then she made a choice and did the rest herself. Self-deception drives us to sin.  Not only did Eve eat of the fruit, but she gave some to her husband and he ate. She should have consulted Adam before she acted. They could have made a decision together. Eve should have consulted Adam, deferred to him.  After all, they had a partnership. They should have made the decision together.

Knowledge of Good and Evil does not protect the way simple obedience does. With knowledge of good and evil comes a choice as to what one will choose – good or evil. Simple obedience to God keeps one choosing what is life-giving, not death producing.  There was no evil in the Garden, evil was based on experience and choice.

Once the fruit was consumed the will of man chooses (not God directing) and ultimately man chooses those things that lead to death. We end up yielding to things that are not beneficial to us. Simple obedience to God kept man in a state of innocence, with only one simple rule of what not to do.  Once man disobeyed God’s instructions, he chose not to obey God and that disobedience lead to death. 

The word ADAM means mankind. Adam should have protected his wife, and not let the serpent deceive her. Adam knew what was happening, and he went along with the serpent’s deception.

1 Timothy 2:13-14 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.  

Adam let satan usurp God’s authority.  Adam took of the fruit and ate it and both Adam and Eve’s eyes were opened. Adam could have refused to eat. He could have sacrificed for Eve’s sin. He could have interceded for Eve to God. Neither Adam or Eve acted in accordance with the partnership and relationship that God had established.

Genesis 3:7-13  Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”