Genesis Chapters 2 and 3: Of Every Tree of the Garden Thou Mayest Freely Eat
My Journal of Spiritual Growth: The Beginning Genesis
A book that reviews every chapter of Genesis and offers areas for you to share your revelations.
In this next chapter, God sets Adam in the garden of Eden. There he commands him to eat of every tree of the garden except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the very day that he eats of it, he would surely die.
Sometimes in our lives God puts us in the very position where we need to be—we have everything we need there and would experience the happiness we ultimately want because we are in accordance with God’s will for our life.
But, we allow temptation to take us from our place of peace and our rightful position in the world.
Genesis 2:17 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.
Adam was allowed to command and name the animals God created and exercise a miniature version of that divine expression that he was made in the likeness of.
God’s creation of woman comes next in the story and they were commanded to cleave to one another and Adam is told they should be as one flesh. In reality your family is a very important part of your spiritual development. Those who you are around will shape you in ways you are not even aware of, so choose your family (when you have the opportunity to choose) wisely.
When you are in the position God has set you to be in and when your are choosing based on the guidance that you get from God, you end up choosing a family you are not ashamed of, choose righteously.
Genesis 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Genesis Chapter 3
Now the Bible introduces the serpent into the story, which tempts Eve by saying,
Genesis 3:1 And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
When something tempts you, it tries to make you think that you are going to get something better than what God has said is for you.
Genesis 3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
Genesis 3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
Genesis 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
Genesis 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
Your belief system is the key to your strength and your downfall because temptation requires your active acceptance in order for it to be successful, that is why understanding that you are a child of God is important.
Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Before you even realize that you are setting yourself outside of the place that God has for you, and the place that truly makes you happy, you can begin to feel shame.
Genesis 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
As you deal with the result of the temptation, you may fail to take personal responsibility for the actions you committed—this makes you fall further from your original position of power and peace because acknowledging the beliefs you accepted, and your role in the events, is an important step in getting back to your rightful position.
Genesis 3:11 And (God) said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
Genesis 3:12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
Genesis 3:13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
As a result, God implements punishments on the serpent, the woman and the man. Make no mistake about it, having a woman be ruled over and subservient to a man is a curse.
Genesis 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
Of course there will be people who will argue against this point, but remember the idea that you are a child of God, a divine expression of the Most High, must be your thought process about yourself. You should be subservient to no one but God.
Adam is cursed through the ground,
Genesis 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Genesis 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
When we leave the set up God has for us, everything we do can become hard, even eating.
After this, Adam officially gives Eve her name (prior to this she is referred to as “the woman”). God now throws Adam and Eve out of the garden of Eden because you cannot be in the intimate presence of the Lord when you disobey his commandments.
Genesis 3:23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
Genesis 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
What are your takeaways from Genesis chapters 2 and 3? Write them in your own diary.