Though we tend to think of “knowledge” in and of itself as good, why is that not always the case? What are some things that we are better off not knowing?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
God confronted Adam in Eden and asked him questions in order not only to establish his guilt but also to lead him to repentance. This motif reappears with Cain (Gen. 4:9, 10), the Flood (Gen. 6:5–8), the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:5), and Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 18:21). How is the idea of an investigative judgment revealed in these incidents?
Why did Eve think that eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would give her wisdom?
God put the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden to give Adam and Eve a choice to obey or disobey Him. Adam and Eve were free to do anything they wanted, except eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
God did not want Adam and Eve to sin. God knew ahead of time what the results of sin would be. God knew that Adam and Eve would sin and would thereby bring evil, suffering, and death into the world. Why, then, did God allow Satan to tempt Adam and Eve? God allowed Satan to tempt Adam and Eve to force them to make the choice. Adam and Eve chose, of their own free will, to disobey God and eat the forbidden fruit. The results—evil, sin, suffering, sickness, and death—have plagued the world ever since. Adam and Eve’s decision results in every person being born with a sin nature, a tendency to sin. Adam and Eve’s decision is what ultimately required Jesus Christ to die on the cross and shed His blood on our behalf. Through faith in Christ, we can be free from sin’s consequences, and ultimately free from sin itself.
How could we avoid, in our context, making a similar mistake; that is, openly defying God’s Word in hope of something “better” than what God has offered us?
