The Knowledge Of Evil - The One Year Unlocking the Bible Devotional

The LORD God warned [Adam], “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”   Genesis 2:16-17

God’s first law was a wonderful expression of love. God made everything good, so good was the only thing Adam knew. But it was not the only thing in the universe.

When God told Adam he must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it was as if he had said, “Adam, you need to understand. There is a terrible reality in the universe, and I want to protect you from it. It’s called evil. You don’t know anything about it, but it already exists. I don’t want you ever to experience it. So whatever you do, don’t eat from this tree!”

But later Adam and Eve felt they would like to have this knowledge of evil. Perhaps they felt they were lacking something. Perhaps curiosity drew them to this forbidden knowledge. Satan worked with this grain of curiosity, and it wasn’t long before both Adam and Eve were convinced that this was what they wanted.

The first couple disobeyed God’s one command and got what they wanted—the knowledge of evil. But there was a terrible hook behind this bait. Adam found that once he had this knowledge, he could not get rid of it. The knowledge of evil changed him. Evil gained a grip on his life—in Eve’s, too—and it would be the same with all of their children. Today it has a grip on us, as well.

Yet God has not abandoned us. He sent his Son into this fallen world and into our ongoing battle with evil. He was tempted in every way, just as we are, but with a different outcome (see Hebrews 4:15). Jesus Christ stood his ground against the enemy and triumphed where Adam failed. The reign of sin and death has been broken. All who belong to Christ have been set free.

For further reading, see Hebrews 4