Arrived in the office just after eight, turned on the computer, got a cup of coffee – and opened SU WordLive to read my daily Bible passage. Genesis 3 – the Fall of Man. The image was not the traditional apple on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil – but then the Bible never said that it was. I was happy to see the picture above of some mangoes, one of my favourite fruits.
4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5“For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
This morning’s SU WordLIve Main Point by Mike Hawthorne…
More than a story
There is a danger, as we read about the baddy serpent, lovely Eve, dim-witted Adam and the tasty, tempting fruit, that the homely familiarity of the tale disguises the misery of what takes place. God in his grace has given us a story which can be presented in cartoon form to small children but the significance of the events is profound and disastrous for humankind.
Our choice
At a point in history, our race – our relatives – chose to disobey their creator, to ignore his plan for their well-being and to engage with evil. The evil was beyond Adam and Eve’s full understanding (and ours, thankfully) but they knew they were choosing to do wrong.Had I been there in that garden, would I have decided differently? Alas, the evidence of my own life is not hopeful.
Adam and Eve chose disobedience; Adam and Eve realised what they had done; Adam and Eve hid from God; God came searching for them – God still comes searching for us. We continue to make bad choices, but God still loves us because he created us and we have just celebrated the turning point in history when God the Father translated himself from divine into human in the person of God the Son – Jesus of Nazareth. John 1:14
Read more including Deeper Study by John Olley at SU WordLive
The Bible is not about human search for God but God’s search for men and women.
[...] Mangoes in paradise 1 was some thoughts on Genesis 3 and Adam and Eve’s encounter with the fruit of the forbidden tree and the consequences of that disobedience for mankind. This blog is about my memories of a very peaceful rural environment where we lived and taught young people and made friends with Kouya neighbours in Bouhitafla and Dema and Gouabafla – and where almost everyone had a mango tree, not just for the delicious fruit, but also for the shade that the tree gave. It is also about my thoughts of how that peaceful rural area was plunged into conflict and suffering because Ivorians could not live and work and do politics together peacefully. It is also about how the Kouya New Testament brought encouragement and hope to suffering Kouya Christians – and how other Kouyas came to faith by hearing God’s Word in their heart language for the first time. [...]