What does it mean to be made in God's Image? God's first act after creating man in Genesis Two is to have Adam look for a companion. To accomplish this, he creates the beasts of the field and birds of the air and has Adam name them. What is the purpose of this exercise? It is an exercise in separation, in discernment. Chapter One of Genesis displayed God as one to separates, one who divides. He separates/divides light from dark, water from land, sun from the moon and stars, etc. The first thing he has Adam do is separate. identify and name the animals as an exercise in separating and dividing (picture one). This exercise helped Adam learn that the animals were not to be the primary object of his desire. His primary desire was to be directed towards the Woman that God will create for him.
God continues His work of separation, distinction, and discernment even within the Seventh Day of Rest, providing examples for humans to follow by directing Adam's and Eve's attention away from family towards each other (picture two) and away from the Tree of Knowledge and towards the Trees good for Food and The Tree of Life (Picture three).
What can we deduce from the text? Separations and distinctions are not only good, they are necessary, however, some separations and distinctions are not good. So, how does one know the difference?
We know it through the Explicit Prohibition of The Tree of Knowledge. The purpose of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is to point to the true object of Man’s Desire. The Tree of Knowledge provides Adam and Eve the opportunity to express continual delight with God in the life He has provided.
They were placed in a garden they did not till, was already producing fruit and was pronounced “very good” by God. By refusing the prohibited fruit, Adam and Eve have the ability to affirm their entire satisfaction with God. God is more than enough. In its clear opposition against the other trees of the Garden, the Tree of Knowledge presents an alternative path to ‘satisfaction’, apart from God’s will as revealed in His expressed command.
Prohibitions and Boundaries direct desire to its appropriate object. It identifies danger by providing a safe space to protect and take care of oneself or others. It establishes identity by enabling us to differentiate ourselves from one another. It establishes distinctions in degree to reduce tension, acquisitive rivalry and conflict. The absence of healthy boundaries indicates we do not have strong identities or are too enmeshed in the identity of another. The Tree of Knowledge, instead of being something negative, actually functions as powerful, positive object lesson. Traditional thought is that differences lead to resentment, anger, rivalry and conflict. But it is the lack of boundaries, being in too close a proximity to one another, being too much like one another, that results in people striving to differentiate themselves from one another resulting in conflict (Exodus 20: 13 – 17).
The fourth picture illustrates what a healthy relationship between God, Adam and Eve looks like. God is separated by Distinction and Degree from Adam & Eve. Adam & Eve have a unique and positive (idealized) relationship with God. In other words, they are in a harmonious, fully reciprocal relationship with their community. Due to their relationship, the prohibition of eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil has no influence and creates no desire for Adam and Eve. Their desire is directed towards the specific task of tending and keeping the garden, which is what God does.
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