Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made.

       And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?"

And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed (Genesis 2:25).

 

God established the relationship between men and women in a way that would help to preserve and enhance their relationship to Him and each other. All relationships are built upon trust. Trust is the bridge over which meaningful interchange takes place. The stronger the bridge, the more weight that can be carried across this bridge.

For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh (Genesis 2:24).

 

The relationship of fathers and mothers to their children is unique and special. For this reason the only commandment that had a promise attached to it was, "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you" (Exodus 20:12). Our longevity is dependent upon our honoring our fathers and mothers.

       So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept;

       then He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh at that place.

       And the LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.

 

       And the man said, "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh

       Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him."

 

       And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, 

       and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.

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       And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;

       but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat,

       for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die" (Genesis 2:16-17).

 

The Lord did not place the forbidden tree in the Garden in order to cause man to fall.

       And the LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.
 

       And out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; 

       Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted,

       for the LORD God had not sent rain upon the earth; and there was no man to cultivate the ground.

 

       But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground.

       Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground,

       Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts.

       And by the seventh day God completed His work which He had done;

       and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

 

       Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it,

       because in it He rested from all His wo