Using our knowledge of good and evil to interpret the effects of the knowledge of good and evil has led to many assumptions which are not in keeping with the loving nature of God. The effects of the disobedience of Adam and Eve can only be understood backwards. In other words, when we misunderstand the effects, we have also misunderstood the heart of God.
Genesis 2:16-17 was the loving Father’s warning. Just like a human parent warns his inexperienced child, “Stay away from that wood pile, there are black-widow spiders hiding in it.” The child who can’t resist the temptation will go on to suffer the consequences of a painful and possibly deadly spider bite. Does the parent punish the child with the pain? No, the pain was what the loving parent was attempting to protect the child from. Later, with the future in mind, the loving parent proactively takes actions to further protect by fencing off the wood pile.
When we put aside the assumption of an angry God who punishes disobedience, we can really move forward in healthy trust. Let’s contrast the protective Father with the punitive Father:
“For in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.”
Genesis 2:16-17
Protective: My dear children: Do not eat of that particular tree. It will make you sick enough to die.
Punitive: You who are made of dust: I’ve put a little test out there in the garden and if you disobey me I will make sure you die.
They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”
Protective: My dear children: Where are you? I want to see you.
Punitive: You who are made of dust: Are you hiding from Me?
He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
Protective: “My dear children: Who told you you were naked? You weren’t meant to know. Did you eat even after I warned you?”
Punitive: “You who are made of dust: You’re hiding because you are naked? You disobeyed me. Now you will pay…”
The man said, “The woman whom You gave {to be} with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
Protective: My dear children: “You have chosen something that will make you sick unto death. Now, it will be very difficult for you. Satan will have even more access to inform and deceive you.”
Punitive: “You who are made of dust: Satan and you really blew it and now you both will be punished.”
To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you.”
Protective: “My dear Eve: Your knowledge of good and evil will cause you great sorrow. You will judge conception, pregnancy, and birth as evil and your happiness will be dependent on how good or evil you judge your husband to be.”
Punitive: “You who are made of dust: Let’s see. For your punishment, Eve, you will now have sorrow and pain during the entire childbirth process. Further, I will make you completely dependent on your husband which will make you really mad.”
Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”
Protective: “My dear Adam: Your knowledge of good and evil tells you that you can be “as gods” but it’s not true. You will find that independence from me is sweaty, hard work. Your labors will be anything but independent. At times you will even feel like the weeds and thorns have more power than you do.”
Punitive: “You who are made of dust: For your punishment, Adam, I will make sure you regret your disobedience. You really hurt my feelings and to get back at you I will make everything you do to provide for you and your family extra hard. I’m going to create useless, irritating things like weeds and thorns just to make you mad.”
Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”– therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.
Protective: “My dear children: In order to protect you from even further trouble, I must close off the garden. If you were to eat from the Tree of Life now, you would live forever in this death. I love you and will remedy what you have done when the time is right.”
Punitive: “You who are made of dust: Don’t get any ideas. Just in case you want to try to reverse the death you chose, I will make sure you never step foot in my pretty garden again.”
Isn’t seeing the difference life-changing? What we commonly assume is punishment is really what the Father was protecting us from! In line with this, what we commonly assume was created “from the fall,” are those “eye-openings” the Father was protecting us from.
We know that Adam and Eve were naked before they disobeyed and yet the emotional and physical discomforts normally inherent in nakedness were hid from them. This was the Father’s original loving intent. It was this unconsciousness of “good and evil” that allowed for the unfettered fellowship of the creature with his Creator. This incongruent relationship required Adam and Eve’s innocence. Picture it: the Alpha and Omega, the all powerful God with glory that could kill with a single glance, walked with His creation made of dirt! The glaring contrast is incomprehensible and yet, the Father was blessed.
Enter Satan, a liar and murderer from the beginning. He couldn’t stand passively by while creature and creator fellowshipped. In his subtle, snake-like way he baited Eve’s desire for more. He caused her to doubt God’s loving intent and furthered the damage with her influence over Adam. The jealous, fallen angel succeeded to drive Adam and Eve and all that would follow into hiding; their eyes were opened and the contrast of creature vs. creator was terrifying.