Friday 27th January
Read Genesis 2:15-17
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.’” (NIVUK)
Even in a selection as short as this our eyes are drawn to the prohibition. Yet there are two statements that precede it. The second is an open invitation to eat of anything in the garden and the first is an instruction to work it and care for it.
Throughout history great minds have sought to understand the meaning and purpose behind the prohibition, its fairness or otherwise for humanity. What was being kept from us and why? By wrestling with this question less effort has perhaps gone into understanding the first two statements.
If your eyes were drawn to the prohibition also, you are in good company! It is indeed worthy of meditation and reflection. But before we explore it spend time in prayer seeking to grasp why our eyes are instinctively drawn to what we are forbidden rather than what we are instructed to do. Is it about trust?
