Man's first choice was between eternal life and certain death
You'll never guess what happened next
Today I'd like to talk about Genesis 2. It's a tale of two trees, and what those trees tell us about God and human nature.
Genesis 2:9 reads in part: "In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."
Then in Genesis 2:16 and 2:17, God gives Adam an instruction:
"You are free to eat from any tree in the garden," God says, "but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
Given a choice between eternal life and certain death, man chose death. This is who we were and who we are. This is human nature.
Check out this video. A man named Bryan Johnson announces intentions to "solve death," and "open up opportunities to some infinite horizon."
If the infinite horizon sounds familiar, it should. Bryan Johnson wants eternal life.
And he has filled the God-shaped hole in his heart with biohacks.
Johnson spends millions per year to give himself the bloodwork of an 18-year-old. He offers a window into what man looks like trying to seek eternal life without God.
It's a treacherous path.
We can frown at his methods, but we can't blame Bryan Johnson for wanting to make the choice that Adam and Eve did not.
Or for not feeling limited by their mistake. Man has wanted a second bite at that apple since Genesis 3.
Some build cathedrals, and some put their names on buildings. Bryan Johnson has built a temple to himself.
It's easy enough to blame the serpent for his deception, but consider his technique.
Genesis 3:1 describes the serpent as "more crafty than any of the wild animals." He also outsmarts the first two humans. Satan operated then the way he does now — by quoting scripture.
By misquoting it, rather.
It's the serpent who asks the first question in the Bible. He approaches Eve and says: "Did God really say you must not eat any tree from the garden?"
But Eve has been taught well, and explains: God said we can eat from any tree, just not that one. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And if we eat from it, we will surely die.
This is where the serpent contradicts God's word. This is where man is offered a choice between God's way, and the world's way. And this is where Adam and Eve lost the faith.
"You will not surely die," the serpent says. He's calling God a liar.
The serpent adds: "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Now he's explaining why God lied, and saying God is afraid of the power humans hold.
If Adam and Eve had simply listened to God, they never would have or could have been deceived.
But rather than stand on the solid rock, they fell into sinking sand. Rather than trust the word, they listened to the world. Together they learned man's first lesson the hard way: If it doesn't come from God, it comes from Satan.
After Adam and Eve eat the fruit, are banished from the Garden of Eden. God puts a flaming sword in front of the tree of life, to keep human hands off of it.
God did that to save us from ourselves. After man chose sin, eternal life would be hell on earth. Living forever, but never living, really. Trying to solve death rather than live life.
It's a blessing, sometimes, to be told no.