Things That Were Written Aforetime...

Genesis chapter 3 records the account of the temptation of Eve and the subsequent fall of man. Indeed, many lessons can be learned from this event in Old Testament history that modern man is able to apply to his own life. One such lesson is that of temptation and man’s free will.

In Genesis 2:9, we read that God planted the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden of Eden. He then gave instructions to man concerning this tree 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" (2:16-17). It is obvious that God did not want them eating of this tree. In fact, they understood the concept so well that Eve told the serpent, "God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die,"(Gen 3:3).

At this point, the inquiring mind thus asks, "If God did not want man eating of this tree, then why was it in the garden in the first place?" When reading the text, it seems very apparent that Eve had no problem acquiring the fruit from this tree. One might say, it was well within reach. Indeed, sin always is.

First of all, it is important to understand that God did not put a temptation before Eve by making the fruit easily accessible. James 1:13-15 tells us, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."

God did not tempt Eve, but allowed her to exercise her own decision making abilities. If Eve had determined that she would resist the devil and steadfastly be obedient to God, it wouldn’t matter that the fruit was easy to reach. She would be restrained by her own will, not the proximity of the fruit to the ground. Paul writes in 1Cor 10:13, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."

Consider the example of Joseph in Genesis 39. His master’s wife repeatedly pressured Joseph to lie with her. One day, he found himself alone with her in the house. The master was gone and so too were the other servants. It was all very convenient. This

forbidden fruit was literally in arm’s reach. But, she may as well have been at the top of a hundred foot tree as far as Joseph was concerned, because his resolve to obey God restrained him from sin. He found the way of escape from this temptation; he ran.

The opportunities for sin will always be very easy, but opportunity itself does not cause an individual to disobey God. Satan furnished the tools of temptation (Genesis 3:1-6,) and Eve was drawn away by her own desires. Compare this account with what the apostle John says in 1John 2:15-16, "Love not the world,

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