I am putting this back up as
copy and paste with NO LINK. I feel it is a very good message and compares the two very well and is a very good base for discussion.
If someone wants to see it just opposite and human knowledge is greater than what came first, the chicken or the egg?
Facts are good to know, but is there a compromise made and can there be rationale between the two.
The Knowledge of God versus the Knowledge of Good and Evil
By David Ward
Gen 2:16-17
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Recently I had a dream. I dreamed of an elephant who wanted to be my friend. He was so big, especially up close. And close he was, following me everywhere I went, showing up at odd times and obscuring my view of everything else around me. He wouldn’t allow me to go around him and be on my way. He wanted to be my friend. I found this interesting though awkward at times. There are places it is hard to take an elephant. It was difficult to fit him into my itinerary; but there he was, insistent upon seeking my companionship. And then I thought of my God.
We may wonder sometimes why God made us in the first place. He certainly doesn’t need our help to get anything done. He is self sufficient, all powerful and all knowing. Undoubtedly He could find ways to interest and amuse Himself without the heartache and trauma brought upon Him by humanity. But there He is. Somehow God seems to have a fascination with us that draws Him into a relationship with men, regardless of pitfalls that He clearly sees. David spoke of a deep that called unto deep; something in man that resonates with the nature of God and seeks fellowship. Surely this is the reason our God purposed to create us just like Himself. God wants to be our friend.
It is no mistake that sometimes we find ourselves hemmed in by circumstances and obstacles. Even while we are feverishly searching for a way around the present distress, God is nudging us, searching for some recognition, some evidence that we are aware of His presence. Like the elephant in my dream, He just won’t give up until He has our attention.
The story is told of how five blind men were brought to an elephant and asked to describe him. Each one in turn approached him from a different angle, and sought to understand him from that perspective. The one who grasped his trunk concluded that an elephant was very much like a snake. The gentleman holding his tail opined that, no, he was more like a rope. Leaning against the elephants’ side, another described the elephant as a wall. Arms wrapped around one of the elephants’ legs, another contended that he was most like a tree. Finally the last of them took hold of the elephants’ ear and scoffed at the others, for the elephant was obviously more like a banana leaf. Each with his limited perception did the best he could and came up with a small understanding of a very big subject. How sad that none of them knew the elephant, that none was able to communicate with him. He could have told them so much. And so it is with God.
Having created him, God introduced His friend into the environment of Paradise. With everything created for his good, man was commissioned to “dress and keep” this wondrous place. With the total focus and attention of God upon him, Adam had no competition. All God wanted was the fellowship of His friend in the cool of the day. All Adam had to do was maintain what God had given him and be available when he heard His voice.
Now our God is a jealous being. His eye searches the earth for someone whose heart is completely pointed toward Him. His ear listens for those who speak often of his name, and He makes a record of it. From the beginning of His relationship with men, He has had one requirement for all the benefit He offers to men: you can only have one God. Being jealous of His friend, God placed a test in the midst of paradise. He gave man a choice: he could know God and walk with Him in fellowship, or he could taste of the knowledge of good and evil. He could not have both.
In a day when knowledge is increasing at such a rapid pace, we could keep ourselves busy just trying to keep up. Even in attempting to work for God we find ourselves trying to reach a people whose culture is largely re-invented every three to five years. Face it. We are never going to be that smart. God has placed us in a garden we can only keep through fellowship with Him.
When Eve through deception tasted the fruit she shared it with Adam. Now their eyes were opened. Now they were “wise”; but what of their Friend? Walking in the garden in the cool of the day, the voice of God sought for His companion. Calling out, the voice pleaded, “Where are you?” In that desperate moment God was not trying to discern their location; He was searching for their hearts.
Naked and ashamed, Adam and Eve found that all of their newly acquired knowledge could not give them the covering they needed. God help us not to find ourselves in the same situation. We are never going to improve on the knowledge of God. When the present theories and seeming truths have fallen into disrepute and mockery, God will remain true and wise. If we would know anything, we must know the Lord. Scripture teaches that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The Living Bible says it well:
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Prov 9:10 For the reverence and fear of God are basic to all wisdom. Knowing God results in every other kind of understanding. (TLB)
We would not stifle the thirst for knowledge in any one; however the issue becomes crucial when we are deceived. That can be known by the simple test of pre-eminence. When we think that God needs help, that there is any wisdom greater than His, we are in trouble. When we think we can add to our own stature by taking thought, we become deceived.
Adam and Eve were thrust out of the garden prepared for them when they resorted to knowing facts instead of knowing Truth. A flaming sword was thrust into their path to keep them from the tree of life. They died spiritually when they chose earthly knowledge over godly wisdom. And so would we.
Some have chosen to taste the fruit of earthly wisdom and declare to us that we cannot succeed with only the knowledge of God. This is ignorance of the worst kind. The Apostles were investigated and found to be ignorant and unlearned by the sages of their time. Their power and wisdom could only be explained by one means: they had been with Jesus.
It has been said that Albert Einstein possessed the ambition to think the thoughts of God. If we would know the mysteries contained in what God has spoken into existence, then we have a choice. We can search for understanding with our finite ability to perceive, or we can get acquainted with the One who spoke those things into existence.
John 15:13-15
13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
Friendship with Jesus opens the way for knowledge which is unavailable from any other source. The last thing Jesus did before He ascended into heaven was to open the understanding of his disciples. He will give His wisdom to all those who seek to share His fellowship.
Prov 2:1-5
1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
