Gideon

Chapter 51

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THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL IS A TEACHING TOOL

like Gideon’s “thorns of the wilderness and briers” (Judg 8:16)

03-03-13

(Gen 2:9)  And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

1.      Commentary: “good for food” = by this we know that every tree in the garden of Eden (Heb: delight), including the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, was a fruit tree that was “good for food” for us. However, there is a further unspoken qualifier: the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, representing the mingled fruit of Lucifer-Satan (good-evil), is “good” for us only as we are able to discern [i.e., rightly judge] the difference between the good and the evil; otherwise, mingled fruit, like a mingled marriage, is “bad” (Heb: evil) for us. Unequivocally then, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a teaching tool created and utilized by God to bring us unto the “good” of God.

2.      (Isa 54:16)  Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

3.      (Isa 54:16 - expanded)  Behold, I have created the smith [Jesus Christ] that bloweth [the Holy Spirit] the coals [of wood to burn them, i.e. us, and thereby consume them] in the fire [“For our God is a consuming fire” Deut 12:24; 9:3; Heb 12:29], and that bringeth forth [i.e. births] an instrument [you and I, having been miraculously transformed by the fire from wood into a new instrument (“a new creature” 2 Cor 5:17)] for his work [“This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” John 6:29]; and I have created the waster [Satan] to destroy.

a.      smith = Heb: a fabricator [a builder] of any material [one who fabricates]:--artificer, (+) carpenter, craftsman, engraver, maker, + mason, skilful, (+) smith, worker, workman.

b.      waster = Heb: to decay, i.e. ruin:--batter, cast off, corrupter, corrupt thing, destroyer (-uction), lose, mar, perish, spill, spoiler, X utterly, waste (-r).

c.      (Exo 12:23)  For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians [but He Himself will not smite them]; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer [allow] the destroyer [the smiter] to come in unto your houses to smite you.

(Gen 2:16,17)  And the LORD God commanded the man, 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.

1.      command = Dict: 1. to order or direct with authority. 2. to require with authority; demand. 3. to have or exercise authority over; be in control over; be master of; have at one’s bidding or disposal. 4. to dominate.

2.      Commentary: “commanded the man” = The LORD God (the Creator) commanded the man (the thing He created) in the garden of Eden, as the potter commands the clay, and did not explain the reason for the command, else it would not have been a command at all, which inherently demands obedience, but a request or suggestion asking for compliance. Men, who are created in the image of God, express authority over those junior in authority to them not by “requesting” things of their juniors but by “commanding” them without providing an additional justifying explanation of “the reason.” Thus Jesus said to His disciples and to the scribes “Why reason ye?” (Mat 16:8; Mark 2:8) for by doing so, you are manifesting your non-acceptance, your rebellion against my authority, and your lack of love for me as your Lord and God.

3.      (2 Pet 3:8)  But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

4.      Commentary: Adam lived 930 years. Methuselah was the longest lived man at 969 years, whereas Sarah lived 127 years, (the brevity perhaps because of inherited disobedience) and is the only woman in Scripture whose age at death is recorded.

(Gen 3:1)  Now the serpent [an animal that Satan had taken possession of] was more subtle [Heb: cunning (usually in a bad sense):--crafty] than any beast of the field [Heb: wild] which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden [of Eden (Heb: delight), the archetype of heaven]?

1.      (Gen 3:1 NIV) “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made.”

2.      serpent = Heb: a snake (from its hiss) /// to hiss, i.e. whisper a (magic) spell; gen. to prognosticate:--divine, enchanter, (use) enchantment, learn by experience [vs. learn by revelation], diligently observe [example = Herod: Mat 2:7,8,16, a man that Satan had taken possession of].

a.      enchant = Dict: 1. to subject to magical influence; cast a spell over [i.e., hypnotize]; bewitch. 2. charm.

b.      (2 Th 2:6-12)  And now ye know what withholdeth [“is restraining” NKJV] that he [the antichrist leader] might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity [“lawlessness”] [sin against God’s holy Law] doth already work: only he who now letteth [“restrains”] will let [“will do so”], until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked [“the lawless one”] be revealed [i.e., a counterfeit parallel to “the glory which shall be revealed in us” Rom 8:18], whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness [i.e., the glory] of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after [“according to”] the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish [they “are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection” Luke 8:14]; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

3.      garden = Heb: a garden (as fenced) /// to hedge about, i.e. (gen.) protect:--defend.

4.      (Psa 34:7)  The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.

5.      Commentary: Satan, although a fallen angel, still had access to the garden of Eden/Heaven, as verified  by Job 1:6 “Now there was a day when the sons of God [herein referring to angels] came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.” So either Satan may have breached the defensive security of the garden and thereby gained access, an altogether dubious prospect, or, Satan was in fact “allowed” into the garden, as was the case in Job 1:6, to fulfill God’s purpose in our lives. God is always in control; it is unthinkable that He is not in control.

a.      (Isa 45:7)    I form the light [Heb: illumination: happiness], and create darkness [Heb: lit. darkness; fig. misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness]: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

                  Amen