19/07/2017 - REASON FOR FORBIDDING

• 
• 
• 
• 

but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.   Genesis 2:17

Before God made woman, He had forbidden Adam from eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, declaring that he would die the day he ate of it.  Subsequently, God saw that it was not good that man be by himself alone and He created woman as his helper to be before him (v. 18).  Adam understood that she was made from him and was taken with joy on seeing her. Probably it was Adam that taught Eve concerning the forbidden fruit.

This ban had a good reason: to avoid spiritual death – separation of man from God.  Nevertheless, not perceiving that the devil was manifesting in the serpent, the woman dialogued with it.  Now those that converse with the deceiver are fooled by him.  In this way, Eve was influenced by the lie of the enemy and went to see the fruit that would open her eyes in spite of God’s warning.

Eve should have fled from the devil when he suggested that God had lied.  She fell for the deception of the enemy that took her close to the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  On observing the fruit she saw that it was good to eat (by way of temptation of the flesh) pleasant to the sight (by way of temptation to the soul) and desirable for understanding (temptation to the spirit).  She took it, ate it and went looking for her husband, who tried it also.  So now they were both separated from God.

The warning given by God to Adam and by Adam to Eve was ignored.  The first woman was enticed by Satan by dialogue and her husband ate it deliberately. Nothing should have or could have drawn him away from the Word, but like the youth in Proverbs 5, who follows the adulteress until the arrow pierces his heart, Adam followed his mate and cut himself off from the Creator.  Avoid the same from happening to you, because the consequence is spiritual death.

There is nothing better or more productive than obeying the Word of the Lord.  On gazing upon it our heart is lit up and in our inner being a surge of power raises us up, with courage to face the enemy in order to command an illness or disease to cease.  This power is faith and by it we can do the same works that were done by Jesus.  In this way we will fulfill our mission with praise.

Those who ignore the Word and refuse to follow it are like those that having eaten their food place their fingers down their throats and vomit all that they ate.  What good was it to eat then?  Be prudent and partake only in divine food because by it, the Most High will give us all things.  Those that are for good must execute their mission without fear, because the All-Powerful has a great plan for them.  

When Eve conversed with the devil, she became contaminated. Seeing that God had forbidden them, she leaped into temptation and ate with her husband, both becoming spiritually dead.  Was it worth it? No! A thousand times no!  If they had respected the Lord they would not have brought the accuser into our world and they would remain in the divine presence until today and forever. Beware!

In Christ, with Love,

R. R. Soares