Knowledge is Good, Isn’t It? —Lectionary Reflection for Lent 1A (Genesis 2-3)

The Temptation and Fall of Eve (Illustration for Paradise Lost, by John Milton)

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

¹⁵ The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. ¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden, ¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”

3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” ² The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, ³ but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’ ” ⁴ But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die, ⁵ for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. ⁷ Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

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                There are times when we read the story of Eden and long to return to the moment of innocence before the first couple ate the forbidden fruit. We might call this nostalgia that many of us indulge in, perhaps as some of us contemplate our childhood. Of course, the world we grew up in was never as innocent as we remember. I grew up in the 1960s and 1970s. I may have been oblivious to what was going on around me, but innocence was not the reality that most people in the world experienced. In other words, the world of Leave it to Beaver never really existed.

                As we begin this Lenten season we have before us a temptation story from Genesis 2 and 3. It goes along with the Gospel reading from Matthew 4:1-11, where Jesus goes into the wilderness and faces the tempter (we can assume that this is the same tempter who appears in the Genesis story). While Adam and Eve said yes to the Tempter and ate the fruit, Jesus said no. But there is more to the story than simply saying yes or no to temptation.

                What we have here in Genesis is one of Christianity’s primal stories, the story of the Fall. This story is familiar to many, even many outside Judaism and Christianity. While we may read the story differently, we have a sense of what is taking place here. For some, this is the beginning of a major catastrophe while others see it as the beginning of a journey toward maturity. Thus, some mourn the eating of the fruit while others celebrate it.

                The story begins in the Garden, which God had planted and then placed first the man (Adam), and then after creating the woman from the man, the woman joined him in the garden. They were tasked with taking care of the garden. God gave the man just one commandment (the woman hadn’t been created yet), and that commandment prohibited the man (and presumably the woman created afterward) from eating the fruit of just one tree. That tree was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Everything else was good to eat, but this one was dangerous. You might say that it was poisonous because the day one eats the fruit of that tree one will die. The question is, what does entail? Is it physical or spiritual? Later in Genesis 3, we discover that the first couple is sent into exile so they no longer will have access to the Tree of Life. The concern here is that if they have access to that tree they will continue to experience immortality (Gen.3:22-23). It could also be metaphorical/spiritual in that they would be cut off from their direct connection to God. In other words, they would experience exile from God. But, we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

                As Genesis 3 begins, the serpent, the craftiest creature in the garden, engages the woman in conversation. Before we go any further, we need to acknowledge that this serpent had been placed in the garden by God. At least it would appear so. The serpent engages the woman in conversation about the primal couple’s diet. What is allowed? The craftiness of the serpent is seen in the indirect approach taken with the woman. The serpent doesn’t directly suggest that the woman should eat from a specific tree. Instead, the serpent asks her whether God had commanded them to not eat from any tree in the garden. She responded by noting that God had set aside only one tree, and that was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The serpent asked her why God had issued that prohibition. What is it about this particular fruit that would make it off-limits? The only reason given was that if they ate the fruit from that tree they would die. It’s at this point that the serpent twists things, suggesting that they wouldn’t die from eating the fruit. Why would God put a tree in the garden that would kill them? No, God must be hiding something from them. Rather, if they eat the fruit, they’ll know good and evil. That’s what God was hiding—knowledge. In other words, if they eat the fruit their eyes would be opened.

                When the serpent raised the question of God’s intentions, whether God was hiding things from them, she looked at the fruit and saw that this fruit would be good for food and delighted the eyes. Before the Serpent raised the issue, she hadn’t paid much attention to the tree. After all, the garden was filled with trees bearing fruit. But now, she was focused on the tree. It did look good. So, why not try some of this enticing fruit? Maybe the serpent was correct. It wouldn’t kill her/them. So the issue isn’t hunger or scarcity. It’s a matter of access to something different, something forbidden. In fact, if they eat this fruit, they’ll be like God. We’ve all been there. We all have had times when we think we know better than God.

                Once the woman had decided to heed the word of the serpent, she then shared the fruit with the man. Like her, he ate it. Then, something happened. Their eyes were opened, just like the serpent said. Interestingly, what they discovered was they were naked. Before this moment they hadn’t paid much attention to their lack of clothing. Now, they seem to have become self-conscious about their situation. So, what is happening here? What is the author of this passage trying to communicate? It must be more than realizing that they lacked clothing, though they do try to hide their nakedness with clothing made of fig leaves.  

                While traditional readings of this passage connect the serpent with Satan, that connection is not made here in the text. The serpent is merely the craftiest of God’s creatures. Terence Fretheim suggests that the serpent represents, metaphorically, “anything in God’s good creation that could present options to human beings, the choice of which can seduce them away from God.” While the tree is what ultimately tempts the first couple, the serpent “facilitates the options the tree presents” [“Genesis,” New Interpreter's Bible, 1:360]. So, does that mean that God placed temptation in the Garden, along with the prohibition? Could it be that God did this to see whether they would trust God’s wisdom?

                As we grow up, moving toward adulthood, we often feel as if parents and other authorities have created unnecessary rules that prevent us from enjoying the benefits of adulthood. We are often told that the rules are there because we’re not ready to experience the benefits of being an adult. Whether that is true or not, curiosity, at the very least, will lead children to push the boundaries. In other words, we’re not sure the adults are fully trustworthy. Truth is, if we don’t push the boundaries we never grow. We simply remain children. 

                So, why did God put a tree in the middle of the garden that offered enticing fruit and then forbade the two humans entrusted with the care of the garden to not eat of it? What knowledge did God seek to withhold from them? We would assume that God would want them to know that which is good. Wouldn’t God want them to know the difference between what is good and what is evil? As we ponder this question, we need to consider the suggestion made by the serpent, who suggests that if they ate the fruit they would be like God. What did the serpent mean by this? Could it be that by choosing to eat this tree they were choosing a shortcut to wisdom about the world that cuts God out of the picture? Jared Byas writes that “it’s not that God doesn’t ever want Adam and Eve to know good and evil. That is precisely what he does want for them—but they have to go about gaining such knowledge his way. Obedience to God is the prerequisite for knowing good and evil. Proverbs 1:7 puts it this way: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” [Byas, Genesis for Normal People (Study Guide Edition), Patheos Press. Kindle Edition]. By taking this path, they suggested that they knew better than God. As the story continues that has rather problematic effects for them and their descendants.

                The first thing they noticed was that they were naked. They began to feel, for the first time, shame. Shame can have devastating effects on relationships, as we see going forward. With this choice came exile. They were cut off from their previous relationship with God, which involved trust in God’s ways. Before long, tragedy struck as Cain murdered his brother Abel because God chose Abel’s gift over that of Cain. Things continued from there. Terence Fretheim suggests that by ignoring God’s command by choosing to eat the fruit and this path, they arrogated to themselves choices that didn’t take into consideration God’s broader perspective on things. So, Fretheim points out “only God has a perspective that can view the created order as a whole; human beings (even with their new knowledge) will never gain that kind of breadth for they make their decisions from within the creation” [NIB, 1:361].  The result? Our limited knowledge and understanding of the broader picture often lead to tribalism and nationalism. We seem unable to see the forest for the trees. Therefore, we fail to see the world as it truly is. In other words, we fail to appreciate our connectedness with God and our neighbors. We see this present in all kinds of violence including wars. We see it present in anti-immigrant sentiment here in the United States and around the world. It appears in the form of racism/racialization or misogyny and prejudice (including actions) against gay, lesbian, bi, and transgender folks (especially the latter). We see it in antisemitism, Islamophobia, and anti-Asian sentiment. All of this is the result of not allowing God to form us as God would have us be formed. We know good and evil, but we struggle to discern the difference.

                The first humans had their eyes opened, but as Paul suggested, perhaps what happens is that even as eyes are opened, they don’t see fully. As we read in 1 Corinthians 13:2, we tend to see things through a mirror dimly. Since we can’t see things fully or clearly, perhaps God does know best. The good news is that God has left us to our own devices. The rest of the biblical story shows how God continues to reveal to us a path that leads to true enlightenment. Their choice to eat the fruit may have made our human journey toward immortality more difficult by cutting us off from the tree of life (Gen. 3:22-23), but as we read in Revelation there is a path back to the tree of life (Rev. 22:1-5). Thus, death doesn’t have the final word. Getting to the tree of life begins with the call of Abraham, which we will encounter in the first reading for the Second Sunday of Lent (Genesis 12:1-12).

                As a final word, in an age where knowledge (expertise) is often rejected, where alternative facts and truths are embraced, we would be wise not to read this passage as a rationale for embracing these dangerous ideas. The problem for Adam and Eve was not access to knowledge, but rather a rejection of God’s gift of discernment. May we embrace that gift so that we might discern the difference between good and evil. 

Image Attribution: Blake, William, 1757-1827. The Temptation and Fall of Eve (Illustration for Paradise Lost, by John Milton), from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=50212 [retrieved February 17, 2023]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Blake_-_The_Temptation_and_Fall_of_Eve_(Illustration_to_Milton%27s_%22Paradise_Lost%22)_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg.