Need to Know

So you think you know all you need to know. You have all the information you have absorbed up to this point and that is enough to make informed decisions. Let’s consider the original Garden of Eden account believing it is wholly true.

And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.” ³

Be careful, you want to go with what you know—pay attention: “every tree with seed in its fruit.” Now go into the next chapter where we have more specific details.

“And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” ⁴

See the difference? Remember, you wanted to make your own choices based on your perception of what is relevant. “…every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food” is then followed by the description of two more trees: the tree of life and then the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. So you have information on three types of trees. One is for food (has fruit with seeds in its fruit), one that gives life and then the third that gives knowledge of good and evil. The last two are not noted as having seed in its fruit but serve entirely different purposes. Does that matter? Do you ‘know’ the purpose of each? How knowledgeable have you become with the information you have? Ready to make informed decisions? Do you understand Responsibility and Consequences or are you willing to do what you want to do in the name of your ability to choose what you think you want? Are you willing to consider God as Creator might have greater Wisdom than you? After all—God does know everything knowable. You only think you do.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 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. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew… ⁵

Surely we can overlook this mistake—after all, the serpent was crafty and he tricked mankind into using our own version of truth and consequences. This is all based in not believing God, taking Him at His word as to what was true and the meaning that goes with His giving of truth. Turns out that our interpretation of opportunity had consequences we either did not know or ignored as being imperatives. What follows is accountability for the actions taken outside of the wisdom of God. When God comes back into the scene, the couple hide themselves, then they blame each other and the serpent, and finally admit they were deceived… What follows is God’s resolution of their shame, disobedience and protection from living with the consequences eternally.

And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. ⁶

Choice has consequences whether we want it to or not. Modern society seems to think that we should be able to do anything we want and only have responsibility for what is beneficial and no consequence for what is not. But ‘knowing’ always should equate responsibility. We have used the phrase before but here it is again:

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” ⁷

Why do you think you want to know more than God or to know without God, to determine values apart from God? Do you really think you are that wise? If you think you have all the answers, know all that is necessary, then let me suggest you begin working on the satisfaction factor founded in what you ‘know’.

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I am, to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. ⁸