Love and Choices

"Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You can't eat from any tree in the garden'? "  The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, 'You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.' "  "No! You will not die," the serpent said to the woman. "In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves." [Gen 3:1-7 HCSB]

Observations:

• Who said what? 
• The serpent said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You can't eat from any tree in the garden'?
• The woman said, "We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. But about the fruit of tree in the middle of the garden, God said, 'You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.'"
• God actually said, "You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die."
• The serpent said, "No! You will not die, In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
• What choices were made? 
• The serpent chose to tempt the woman. 
• The woman chose to listen to the serpent. 
• The man chose to watch the conversation. 
• The woman and the man chose to eat the fruit. 
• They chose to cover themselves when they learned that they were naked. 
• God allowed the serpent to tempt the humans
• God allowed the humans to make a really poor choice. 

Applications:

• What has always struck me about this particular passage is the nature of the first sin. The man and the woman did not do something that most of us would consider horrific... they ate a piece of fruit. That's normally a good, healthy choice in my world. What made their choice so significant was that they had been told not to eat the fruit by God. God had given them an abundance of other fruit trees to choose from (and they clearly had knowledge of this), but they chose to eat the one He had commanded them not to eat from. They made the poor choice. God allowed them to make the poor choice. And the poor choice was not an action we would consider implicitly evil (Can you imagine the outcry in our society today if someone received the death penalty for eating a piece of fruit, or even for disobeying their parents?) 
• God allowed them to make the poor choice. Today, God still allows us to make poor choices. Part of me really wishes this weren't true. The parent part of me really wishes that this weren't true. 
• But, if I back up, God allowed the serpent to tempt them. Looking at this choice, I have to back up for a minute... God's top angel rebels against Him. God creates humans. In my "mommy mind," it only seems logical that rebellious angel is not allowed anywhere near the humans, who at this point are completely innocent. (Like, if I had a  teenager who was rebellious, I would have some serious boundaries so that wasn't being passed along to my younger children). But, God allows the rebellious angel to talk to the humans. Today, God still allows that rebellious angel and his followers to interact with and influence humans. 
• My favorite author, Danny Silk, talks a lot about how there is this common belief that, "If you love me, you will try to control me, and if I love you, I will try to control you." In looking at this passage as a parent, I can see how deeply engrained that belief is for myself. God didn't try to control humans even though He had a deep, deep love for them. In fact, because of His deep, deep love for them, He does the opposite. He doesn't force their love. He gives them the choice. Because, I think, to Him, love was more important. He was not afraid of evil. He was not afraid of death (His own or theirs). He did not let fear of those things dictate how He loved, because He was (and is) not afraid. He was focused on loving. When you're not afraid of something, you don't have to protect the people you love from it. Even if it's horrible and evil. When you love someone, you walk with them through their choices, even if that leads to discomfort for you. But, you give them the choice. You always honor their ability to choose. 

Not a traditional Bible study on this passage, I know :). Almost every time I've ever heard this passage taught, the observations focus on how this passage really is a blueprint of the enemy's temptation strategy. While that is true, there is just so much here about God and His extraordinary love for us! 

Anyways, your observations, applications, and comments are welcome as always!