And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, 'Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 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 surely die' (Genesis 2:16,17).
Have you ever heard (or said) “Nobody is going to tell me what to do”? Sometime the Bible reads like a newspaper “Every one did what was right in his own eyes.” After recently committing a traffic violation, I was given mercy rather than justice (he let me off with a warning), and that's what I want when I die, mercy rather than justice! But what gives the law, or the Lord, the right to judge and/or condemn us? Those who reject God are essentially saying “He has no right!” If that's you, or someone you love, I am not sure logic will ever convince them/you otherwise!
But reality might! I'm thinking of the school or hard knocks, the Biblical principle that “we reap what we sow.” In other words bad choices have bad fruit (consequences). His gift of free will gives us the ability to choose not to obey the commandments, we are not free of the consequences however. As a young man I knew my wild lifestyle was wrong, I didn't care, until I did. Today because of persistent propaganda over the last fifty years many do not know their left hand from their right (right or wrong - Jonah 4:11). It's amazing to me, as Jordon Peterson reports, that saying we need to take responsibility for our lives comes as something of a revelation!
The principle contained in the context of morning's verse, is that choosing to disobey the commandments always leads to a form of death, and cuts us off from the tree of life (3:22, 23). God's commandments are there as both a hedge of protection, and a path to life. In recovery ministry, we see over and over people discovering the hard way, that His ways are best. Actually the law of sowing and reaping is a kind of feedback loop that is designed by the Lord, to bring us back to Him. History, experience and the Bible (Psalm 107), point to the fact that when we're in trouble we cry out to Him. There are no atheists in fox holes!
But why did the Lord risk it all by giving us free will? It seems to be about love. Love cannot be love if we have no choice! If there's no possibility of saying no, there's no real choice. And the possibility of our “no,” makes our “yes” significant. In His love then, He gives us the choice, allows the real possibility of “no,” warns us of the consequences, and then with the gospel also makes a way to return to choosing “yes.” And He did this at incredible cost so Himself (1 Peter 3:18; John 3:16).
Father, I've learned to value You judgements and Your justice. I learned the hard way that if there were no consequences to saying 'no,' I'd likely have ridden off into the sunset! I have also learned to value righteousness, for the fruit of righteousness is a tree of life (Proverbs 11:30). I am not there yet Lord, but I want to be. As You make clear in the great commandment (Mark 12:30) our 'yes' is a choice to love and be loved. Please quiet and settle me again this morning with Your love Lord (Zephaniah 3:17) in Jesus Name Amen
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