Knowing and Choosing
The story of the Fall of Adam and Eve contains so many lessons we can benefit from that I could go on for several weeks discussing them. Today, I want to focus on the idea that knowing is one thing, but acting on it is another.
In the process of beguiling Eve, Satan, described as a serpent, says, “your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Later in Moses 4, “And I, the Lord God, said unto mine Only Begotten: Behold, the man is become as one of us to know good and evil;”. At that point, God had to make sure that Adam and Eve had the opportunity to repent and learn what to do with their newfound knowledge. The record indicates that they suffered the effects of their transgression, and also obeyed the commandments of God to the best of their understanding.
They got on with life and had children and considered them as a blessing. They obviously lived off the land, raising crops and livestock. They offered sacrifices as commanded and learned the meaning behind them. More importantly, they learned the means of their salvation and rejoiced in it, and that partaking of the fruit was a gift of knowledge. “And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God. And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient. And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God, and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters.”
“And Satan came among them, saying: I am also a son of God; and he commanded them, saying: Believe it not; and they (some sons and daughters) believed it not, and they loved Satan more than God. And men began from that time forth to be carnal, sensual, and devilish.” So, what is the thing these people rejected? It was the idea of a future redemption. They lived in the moment and succumbed to their immediate desires. But from there it went far darker. They began to choose to act on the knowledge of good and evil.
We all know the story of Cain and Abel. What we do not know from the Genesis account is the oath that Satan swore to Cain. “ And Satan said unto Cain: Swear unto me by thy throat, and if thou tell it thou shalt die; and swear thy brethren by their heads, and by the living God, that they tell it not; for if they tell it, they shall surely die; and this that thy father may not know it; and this day I will deliver thy brother Abel into thine hands. And Satan sware unto Cain that he would do according to his commands. And all these things were done in secret. And Cain said: Truly I am Mahan, the master of this great secret, that I may murder and get gain. Wherefore Cain was called Master Mahan, and he gloried in his wickedness.”
Cain gained more knowledge, dark knowledge. It was not destructive as long as is remained knowledge, it was choosing to act on it that brought Cain into submission to Satan. In the verses above, we gain the same knowledge for the purpose of understanding how Satan lies and gains power over us. Cain murdered to get gain, but five generations later, Lamech used the oath to a new level. He murdered for the oath’s sake, and created a dark brotherhood, a secret combination.
The difference between knowing good and evil, (a blessing) and choosing good or evil can either exalt or destroy us. It is righteousness or wickedness. I believe that the more knowledge we gain, whether good or evil, is a good thing. What we choose to do with it is key. If we succumb to the natural man spoken of in the scriptures, our knowledge will destroy us, both in this life and in eternity. That is the lesson Cain learned the hard way, and we will too if we choose evil.
So what is the hard way? It is trying to navigate life without God at our side. Cain was shut out of the presence of God because he chose evil. The more we use our God-given agency correctly, the closer we come to him. He is light and life. If we can see the path using his light we are assured not to fall into the pit Satan digs for us.
Seek knowledge, choose good.
Happy Sunday, everyone!