Knowing Good and Evil
Genesis 3:22 is a very familiar verse. Most of us that attended church as children read or heard this verse routinely. The verse states “And the LORD God said, the man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.”
I grew up about as “in church” as any person could be. My mother played the organ in church all of her adult life and she carried my brother and I with her every time she had to be there. In those days, we did not just go on Sunday morning either. We went on Sunday night and Wednesday night. We went to all week revivals. We went to Vacation Bible School. My mother also played for services at the local nursing home, so guess what, we went to those as well.
This verse that tells us that “man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil” can be taught and has been interpreted, or rather “heard” several ways. Much of my life, what I had “heard” was that Adam had become like God and Christ (that was the us) and now that he was like them, he knew right from wrong. Adam knew how-to do-good things, but he also knew how to do bad things. Adam had to now make a choice.
Maybe you grew up thinking of it that way. I am not saying that is wrong but I am saying that is not what I believe God wanted me to “hear”. God wanted me to hear something different. First off, I was made in God’s image but I am not “like God”. God only had one “begotten Son” and that was Christ. Second, and this was the important part for me, what helped me understand this most was when I quit thinking about knowing “good and evil” as adjectives and began thinking of those terms as nouns. You may say, “wait a minute, what is the difference”. Well, when you think of “good” as a noun, it means you now know the voice of God. When you think of “evil” as a noun, it means you now know the voice of Satan.
Adam and Eve were originally created listening only to the voice of God. Everything was great in the garden, doing their chores, caring for God’s creation, walking with God and listening only to Him. One day though, another voice tickled their ears. They started down the road of listening to the wrong voice.
God is the One on the throne and Christ is at the throne, right beside His Father, making intercession for His children that are constantly being accused. At the throne, everything is calm and peaceful. Everything is also joyful. The book of Revelation records seven songs, heavenly proclamations if you will. They are all sang only at the throne.
Revelation also depicts Satan’s realm. It is a realm of chaos. It is a realm where there is no peace, where there is no joy. It is a world where Satan’s true nature is revealed. He is an “Accuser” and a “Destroyer”. He is literally a beast. When you start listening to Him, all you hear are accusations about how you have failed and that you will never be good enough. When you start listening to Him, things start to fall apart in your life, destruction comes to yourself and to your relationships. It is literally a voice which spews nothing but lies which lead unto death.
Much of what we see going on in the world today is solely because mankind is listening to the wrong voice, the voice of the one who is complete evil in full.
God wants you to know that today, you can have peace, you can have joy, you can experience calm, you can praise God, all by simply listening to the only voice that brings life. If you don’t know how to listen to that voice, just tell God you are ready to listen to His voice. Tell Him that you are ready to quit listening to the wrong voice. Tell Him that you have tried but now realize that you need deliverance or rescue from that destructive and accusing voice. Tell Him you know that Christ gave His life for you to enact and complete that rescue. Tell Him you receive that sacrificial act which Christ did on your behalf and then receive a gift from Him. That gift is grace and peace and so much more. When you do, you will start to hear the sweetest voice you have ever heard. It is one you will want to praise and sing to, just like you are at the throne. It is the voice of a loving Father, One who loved you first, One who knew you first. That voice will never lead you astray. That voice will always be there when you call out to Him. Best of all, that voice will call out to you, will speak to you in the most endearing ways, speaking life into the ears of your heart. Listen to that voice and God will never have to cry out to you, “Where are you”.
Whose voice are you listening to today?