Jan 16

The account emphasizes knowledge, because knowledge is one of the major things that separates humans from God.  When Adam and Eve eat the fruit, they are given the knowledge to make judgements between right and wrong.  While they are not omniscient, they are able to make judgments about different things and experiences and label them as good or bad.

The action should be eating and not touching or looking because it displays a dependence on the part of the humans, as they require nourishment from the Earth.  Eating of the plants was also one of God’s commandments to the humans in the first creation account, which shows us that eating is about more than just fulfilling a need. Instead, it a part of a relationship between God and humans where there is a giver, God, a gift, food, and a receiver, the humans.  Therefore, it sets up the humans’ place, between God and the Earth.

The fruit was from a tree, because it should have been a source of life for humans, as God allowed them to eat the fruit of all the other trees.  However, the fruit was not a source of life, as might have been expected, but actually brought about the death of humans instead.

The failure of Adam and Eve can be described as a desire for the things they had no right to.  As humans, they were not in the position to deserve the knowledge that God possessed.  But instead of accepting all that God had given them, including their very lives, they longed for the one thing that had not been given to them, namely the forbidden fruit.

This act makes Adam and Eve less God-like. While they have gained some knowledge of good and evil, they are not omniscient.  They are able to make judgements of the world around them, but they are not able to understand good and evil on a cosmic level.  They also experience fear, shame, and conflict, all of which are emotions and experiences that would be foreign to a perfect God.  In addition, they are forced to live an imperfect life, experiencing pain, hard work, suffering, and death.

God was merciful towards Adam and Eve, because their punishment could have been much worse as they were given one commandment by God and they broke it.  Adam and Eve also would probably not have been happy in the Garden.  They were now living a fallen life and it might have ruined the paradise of the Garden.