When I started this series of God teaching us with questions, I

was focusing on questions God asked people, He is the original

Socratic teacher, the Original Teacher. But last time I cheated

and used an implied question--what would Adam call the

animals brought to him. This time I seem even more off-topic.

Instead of a question God asks someone, this is a question

someone asked about God.

“Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the

garden,’?”

Just like God uses questions to teach, this guy was (is) also. He

was teaching Eve to doubt God’s goodness. We can hear the

shock, the sarcasm. How can a loving God say that! This seems

like an easily disproved statement. God did NOT say that. He

only prohibited one tree out of the garden full of trees. But a

seed of doubt had been planted. Is God good? And then, of

course, our friendly neighborhood serpent follows that up with

giving a reason, a malicious motive, why God banned that fruit.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the

LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say,

‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees

in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the

tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it,

or you will die.’”

4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For

God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and

you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food

and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she

took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was

with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were

opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig

leaves together and made coverings for themselves. (Gen. 3:1-6, )

God was withholding something good, pleasing, and desirable.

Why? To keep mankind down, because He was afraid of man’s

eyes being opened--knowledge is power, after all. And He’s

selfish--keeping it all for Himself!!

Except: “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives

out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The

one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18)

And if God was so afraid, why create the fruit, the choice

in the first place? So, not only does this presume God is

not loving, but it questions His power, authority,

sovereignty.

Teaching with questions uses logic, and logic has

presuppositions. Something we reason from. The serpent

started with what we would now call human nature--the

presumed selfishness, fear, and desire for control that

mark personalities. He started with assuming that THAT

is God’s heart. We need to start our logic with what we

know about God. He is love. He is selfless. He has no fear.

(What would the Creator fear?) He is not controlling

because He already IS in control, He is Sovereign. Logic

only works if you start with truth.

So when making decisions, when thinking, start with the

Truth--God is good and He is Sovereign, in authority and

Almighty.