THOU SHALT NOT EAT

This is the first positive command given to man. Jehovah had planted a garden of delights for the man and his wife. Its name was Eden, which means ‘pleasantness, loveliness’. It was a para­dise indeed, in which grew an abundance of delicious fruits, sufficient to meet the needs and delight the palate of the crea­ture, and of these fruits Adam had Jehovah’s permission to eat freely and liberally. Eden had been prepared for him. Also, over this dominion the man had been given a certain sovereignty. He was superior in the creation, as is evidenced by his naming of the creatures that passed before him.

However, superior though he was, he must ever remember that there was a greater Sovereign than he, to whom he owed obedience and upon whom he would ever be dependent. This precept, ‘thou shalt not eat’, was to be a test of his obedience and his dependence, and for disobedience there would be the most serious consequences. It was John, the apostle of a later day, who wrote,‘His commandments are not grievous’, 1 John 5. 3, and this was certainly true of the commandment given to Adam. How many trees were there in Eden? Scores? Hundreds? Thou­sands? We are not told, we cannot tell, but we can be sure that there was an ample supply for man’s physical need, and the pro­hibition pertained to one tree only! Man must obey Him who was greater than he and as an intelligent creature he should have known that boundaries were necessary in the creation. Sadly, he disobeyed. He ate what was forbidden and he forfeited Eden. He died to it. He died spiritually to his Creator too, and began that very day to die physically also. But Jehovah never departs from an original purpose and in a future day there will be another paradise, Rev. 2. 7. There, in that paradise of glory there will be another Man, with His redeemed bride. It will be Eden restored, and more, with a pure river of water of life flowing through the midst of it and the tree of life flourishing on either side of the crystal stream. It all cost the death of the second Man, the last Adam, who now, risen trium­phantly from among the dead, waits for the moment when His bride will be with Him in the glory.