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The First Law

...and how it was corrupted

Phil Maxwell, January 1998

The first recorded commandment of God given to man was simple and straightforward. It was spoken directly to Adam, and reiterated twice directly to Adam when God confronted Adam and Eve for violating it.

Gen 2:16-17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Gen 3:11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

Now, this may seem elementary, but what, specifically, was God's commandment to Adam? Three times, the answer comes back, "thou shalt not eat it," nothing more, nothing less. It is also important to note that in all three instances, God spoke directly and specifically to Adam, and never to Eve.

Obviously, the commandment had bearing on Eve also, but it was left to Adam to communicate it to Eve. Apparently Adam did this, but somewhere in the process the commandment got enlarged; Notice how Eve related it to the serpent:

Gen 3:2-3 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

Where did that come from???? Eve not only told the serpent that they couldn't eat the fruit, but that God had said that even if they touched it they would die. It certainly would seem that what Eve proposed would be a good thing, considering the severity of consequences God had said would come upon them if they ate the fruit, but God never said they would die if they touched it!

There are two things indicated here, both of which are at the root of most, if not all, the failings of man in keeping their end of the various covenants that have existed between God and man through the ages. One is coveting the blessings from God, which constitutes spiritual idolatry, and the other is the outward manifestation of that, adding to the commandments of God.

We know that of all the things God created, Eve was the most precious of all to Adam. It wasn't good, God said, that man should be alone, so He created Eve. After that, it was good, Adam had a help-meet, a partner, someone he could relate to, and who could relate to him. Can you imagine the high esteem that Adam had for Eve above all other things that God had created?

Given this, it isn't too difficult to trace the apparently benign error in Eve's reiteration of God's commandment to Adam. Which of us, in Adam's place, would not be inclined to tell her to stay completely away from this tree of knowledge? God had given him this wonderful, beautiful companion, and he wasn't going to take any chances of losing her. No doubt he was highly motivated to take every conceivable precaution to keep Eve from harm. Written between the lines, we can see a clear line of human reasoning leading to the fall of man through Adam.

Adam was well aware of the dire consequences of eating the fruit. The woman was not only his only human companion, but also the most precious of all that God had given him. It was his responsibility to pass along the commandment God had given him to her. It would seem reasonable that anything he could do to protect Eve from harm would be good. He could tell her exactly what God had told him, that if they ate the fruit, they would die, which apparently he did. Given all the circumstances, it would seem to be a very good idea to stay completely away from that tree, and not even touch the fruit. Most of us would feel that way, I'm sure. He could tell her to not even touch the fruit, which apparently he did, also. Here's where the line was crossed, though. Apparently, he not only told her not to touch the fruit, but he added some force to his instructions by telling her that even touching it would result in death, and then put the finishing touches on it by saying that God had said so.

As has often been the case, the gift of God was regarded more highly than God, and ultimately became the source of a curse. Eve ate the fruit, showed Adam that she was fine, and he consciously violated God's commandment, submitting to his wife's voice instead of God's.

Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

To sum this up, God gave a straightforward commandment to Adam, Adam probably added to this commandment when he passed it on to Eve, Eve was deceived by the serpent and became the unwitting agent of the serpent in tempting Adam, and Adam chose to please Eve rather than obey God.

Obviously, the fatal flaw in the spirit existed before Adam ever took the fateful bite of the fruit. Even if he didn't add to the commandment God had given him out of fear of losing his wife, he did chose to please her over obeying God, clearly reflecting a heart that coveted what God had given him (Eve) over God's command.

We must understand that it was Adam's sin that provoked the curse upon humanity, not Eve's. Their eyes were not opened to their nakedness until after he had sinned, and God specifically addressed him alone as the one who broke the commandment. Had Adam been faithful to God and reproved his wife, there is no doubt that the story wouldn't have been written as it was.

When the two were confronted by God, Adam, who had been given the commandment, implicated Eve and even God who had given her to him, while Eve didn't make any excuses:

Gen 3:11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

When consequences were pronounced upon them, their relative guilt in God's eyes was shown. The bottom line is that Eve was promised that ultimately her seed would overcome the enmity between it and the serpent, while all Adam was told was that he would return to the same dust from which he was formed.

Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

....19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

The tendency of man to add to God's commandments has been a recurring blight on God's people. Yahshua strongly rebuked the religious leaders of 2,000 years ago for this very thing. They weren't rebuked for their traditions, but they were completely cut-off from God by making their traditions equal to the commandments of God. Likewise, Adam didn't err in telling his wife to not even touch the fruit, he erred in telling her that it is was God's commandment and that God had said that even touching the fruit would cause death.

What this amounts to is that man elevates himself to a place equal to God. It is no small thing to add to or fabricate of ourselves the Word of God. When this happens, man exalts himself to the throne of God, instead of humbling himself, and this is the spirit of Satan and antichrist.

James 4:11 ....if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

Isa 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

Now, we know that God is faithful, never putting more upon us than we can bear:

1 Cor 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

2 Pet 2:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

We also know that God never tempts anyone:

James 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

So, with this in mind, let us take a look at the first steps in the fall of man to sin:

Gen 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Eve looked at the tree, thought about it, handled the fruit, and ate it. She may have transgressed Adam's instructions before, but she didn't cross the line God had drawn until she actually ate it. Apparently, judging by her own words, she considered even touching it to be the sin that would bring death, but as we have shown, this is most likely based on Adam's "benevolent" deception. Could this have been a contributing factor to Eve's violation of the commandment of God? Yes.

I'm not suggesting that there was no inherent problem or danger to Eve in so engaging in dialogue with the serpent, nor in her forsaking the commandments that had been given to her. We can't know if she would have stopped short of eating the fruit had she known that this alone broke the commandment of God. Nonetheless, after she had touched it, knowing that she had been told that so doing would result in her death, there was no longer any reason for her not to go ahead and eat it.

The bottom line is that we can trust God to not tempt us, nor to put us in a situation where we are tempted beyond our means to escape temptations that we face. His commandment to Adam and Eve was not to eat the fruit, and though they certainly had the choice as to whether or not to keep that commandment, there is no reason to think that the serpent would have been able to tempt them beyond there means to keep that commandment. Likewise, there is no reason to think that God had equipped them to resist the curiosity to look upon or touch the fruit. Unlike Adam, Eve was in the transgression because she was deceived, and her misunderstanding of God's commandment was an integral part of the deception.

1 Tim 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

The scribes and Pharisees were in a place to communicate the law to the Israelites 2,000 years ago, just like Adam was to Eve.

Mt.23:2-3 ...The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.

Their fatal error was that they added to the Word of God, and Yahshua exposed their hypocrisy in so doing, showing how their intent was to exalt themselves:

Mt. 15:3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?

...6....Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.

...9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Mt.23:4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,

6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,

7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.

They were held accountable for obstructing the way to the kingdom of heaven:

Mt.23:13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.

15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

Mt.23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.

Just like Adam and Eve faced judgment for their sins, so did these:

Mt.23:38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

The Galatians were ensnared in a similar trap, drawing a scathing rebuke from the Apostle Paul.

Gal 1:7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

Gal 4:9-11

9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.

11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.

Gal 5:1-14

4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?

8 This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.

9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

10 I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.

11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.

12 I would they were even cut off which trouble you.

It is no small thing to add to the commandments of God. The fault exists to this day, and we can be assured that it will manifest with even more strength in the days to come.

1 Tim 4:1-3 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

Matt 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

II Th 2:11-12 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

2 Tim 4:3-4 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Heb 13:9 Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.

We should very carefully consider the true commandment of God, as Paul directed the Galatians to counter the additions some were trying to make amongst them:

Ga.5:13-14 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

The fact that a minister may appear to be righteous and that his doctrine seems to be good does not justify proclaiming something as a commandment of God that isn't.

2 Cor 11:14-15

14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

In closing, I would just like to leave you with something to consider:

II Th 2:3-4

3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

1 Cor 15:56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

Where do you suppose the "man of sin" will gain his strength?

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