Genesis 3:7
Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
Knowledge Doesn’t Always Improve Confidence
Eve, standing before the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, is tempted by Satan to take fruit from it and eat of it. She is promised, by Satan, that the tree will make her wise:
Genesis 3:4-5
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
She is temped to eat the from a tree God told her and Adam NOT to eat from:
Genesis 2:16-17
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 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.”
Yet, they do. The promise of Satan, as always, turns to disaster. What comes out of her and his disobedience to God is shame. Prior to their disobedience they were not ashamed:
Genesis 2:25
And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
The knowledge they received from this act of disobedience did not give them what they logically thought they would get. Satan, using logic, concluded with them that this knowledge would be beneficial. Instead, this act of disobedience brought shame into their lives. Before disobedience their nakedness, together, was nothing to be ashamed of. After their disobedience they were full of shame. When we fill shame we can bet it is based upon some act of disobedience toward our Redeemer. God does not shame those He loves. Shame comes from feelings of inadequacy. This new knowledge Adam and Eve now have did not propel them into enlightenment. Instead it compelled them to cover themselves. Knowledge, without faith and obedience to God, does not build up. It simply exposes our sin and shame. When we walk with God we are “not ashamed.” When we disobey God the only thing our eye are open to is our shame. Knowledge does not always build us up. Satan created an argument that the woman thought sounded logical (2 Corinthians 10:3-6). Instead it proved to be fatal.
No comments:
Post a Comment