seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Genesis 2:15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
According to the placement of this warning, woman had not been created yet. Just saying....
The enduringword.com commentary puts it this way.
God put Adam into the most spectacular paradise the world has seen, but God put Adam there to do work (to tend and keep it). Work is something good for man and was part of Adam’s perfect existence before the fall.
The presence of this tree - the presence of a choice for Adam - was good because for Adam to be a creature of free will, there had to be a choice, some opportunity to rebel against God. If there is never a command or never something forbidden there can then never be choice. God wants our love and obedience to Him to be the love and obedience of choice.
Considering all that, look at Adam’s advantages. He only had one way he could sin and we have countless ways. There are many trees of temptation in our lives, but Adam had only one.
God made this command originally to Adam, not to Eve; God had not yet brought woman out of man.
God not only made His command clear to Adam, but He also clearly explained the consequences for disobedience.
Adam had been given one job and one warning.
