Torah-Don't Make Stuff Up

Torah-Don't Make Stuff Up

 The Torah says, “Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 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 2:15-17

“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said, “You shall not eat of every tree of the garden”?’ And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, “You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.”’

Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.’” Genesis 3:1-7

Did Eve state the truth when she said, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”? No, not fully. While God did say “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.” God didn’t say you would die if you touch it.

From this we can learn that making additional tests and standards that God didn’t impose does not keep us free from sin. While it certainly isn’t a bad an idea not to even touch things we shouldn’t be eating or to avoid  willfully walk into temptation, it isn’t a good idea to pass off man-made restrictions as the word of God.

After she saw how beautiful the fruit was and touched it, it was easier to go further and actually eat it. While it would have been great to avoid the tree altogether, if she recognized that merely touching the fruit was not a sin and but purely a made up restriction, she may not have been as confident to take the next step and actually sin by eating it when she didn’t notice any evidence of punishment from touching it.

When we confuse extra rules about what we should do with what God actually says, however good our intentions may be, instead of being a barrier to sin it may actually aid it. When people don’t know the difference between God’s word and man’s, when they doubt human restrictions that lack solid evidence in the Bible for support, they may go still further to doubt God’s laws as well.

So take precautions to avoid sin, don’t walk into temptation, but at the same time don’t make up extra stuff that the Bible doesn’t actually say and try to enforce it as a Biblical rule just to be “safe” or ensure you don’t sin. You are not doing God any favors by adding to His words and in the end you may just mess yourself and others up even more when faced with temptations than you would without the man-made restrictions. As the Torah says, "Do not add to the Word that I tell you, and do not take away from it. Keep the Laws of the Lord your God which I tell you." Deuteronomy 4:2 

Picture originally found here

Related Articles

More From Articles

Elisha and the Syrians

Elisha and the Syrians

At a time when the Syrian Army was warring against Israel GOD showed Elisha the prophet where…
Elisha and the Syrians
Photo: Abraham preparing to sacrifice Isaac

Who is a Hebrew

Do you know who the first Hebrew was? And why he was called that? The first place in the Bible…
Who is a Hebrew

Moses, the Problem Solver

As I was growing up, and old enough to read the Torah, I always felt sorry for Moses. The…
Moses, the Problem Solver
Reuben

Reuben

Jacob, whom GOD later renamed Israel, had 12 children. These 12 children and their descendants…
Reuben
Holiness from head to toe, a High Priest's colorful vestments.

Cohen Gadol Garment Colors

In the old sanctuary service the High Priest had a very colorful uniform that he was supposed…
Cohen Gadol Garment Colors
Moses - Dealing with Rejection

Moses - Dealing with Rejection

Moses went from being self-centered, to non-centered, to God-centered. That is a transition…
Moses - Dealing with Rejection
Cain and Abel

Cain and Abel

God, in His great love, developed a plan whereby we could receive forgiveness for our mistakes.…
Cain and Abel

Ichabod

During a war between the Philistines and Israel the Ark of God, with the 10 Commandments in it,…
Ichabod

Daniel 2

Back around the year 587BCE the Jewish people were taken captive by the Babylonians. During…
Daniel 2

Mother in Israel

Are you a mother, or a father, in Israel? Have you ever heard someone called "a mother in…
Mother in Israel

Altar of Incense

One of the three pieces of furniture in the Holy Place of God's sanctuary is the Altar of…
Altar of Incense

Jehoshaphat

King Jehoshaphat was the 5th King after King David. Jehoshaphat sought the LORD and walked in…
Jehoshaphat

Never Forgotten

“But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the…
Never Forgotten
Levi

Levi

Jacob, whom God later renamed Israel, had 12 children. These 12 children and their descendants…
Levi

Traded for Taste

“Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. And Esau said to…
Traded for Taste
Illustration: Job, covered with boils, sits listening to his friends.

What Does it Cost to be Faithful?

The ancient story of Job in the Bible has encouraged many men and women throughout the ages.…
What Does it Cost to be Faithful?
A Harvest of Blessing

A Harvest of Blessing

"There was a relative of Naomi's husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech.…
A Harvest of Blessing

Publish the Menu module to "offcanvas" position. Here you can publish other modules as well.
Learn More.


donation