Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.””
Genesis 3:12

The male had given authority and dominion on the entire planet (Genesis 1:26-28). His authority was framed by the command not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge (Genesis 2:16-17). He had been standing right there and capable of exercising that authority when the snake and the female were talking, when the female tested the tree, when she ate of the fruit, and when she offered some to him (Genesis 3:6). He did not do this. Instead, he rebelled against God, put someone else’s words first, and chose to submit to their will instead of God’s will. God gave Him two VERY clear opportunities to repent past the immediate one he had when he sinned in the first place. The male had avoided clearly answering before now. At this moment, he pushes his authority onto the female and blames her for his fall. In fact, he also blames God for providing him with a partner who would make him fall. He refused to accept responsibility and gave over all that authority to the female so that she could take the blame for him.

Of the male’s blaming God for the woman He provided, the sage Radak says it best: ‘THE WOMAN WHOM THOU GAVEST TO BE WITH ME. The sense of it is to say: “The woman whom Thy Honor Himself gave me for a help, she gave me of the tree, and I thought that whatever she says to me is a help and benefit to me.’ Isn’t that a very HUMAN answer? You made good things and she was good and I assumed since you made good things she wouldn’t give me anything good so really it’s your fault for not making her good enough. Completely avoiding free will. Completely avoiding the truth that he was there the whole time. Completely avoiding that he did not have to listen to her words or her arguments without challenging them by what he knew God had spoken. Going along with someone or something that is against God’s word is ALWAYS wrong, and we frequently try to twist it so that it is God’s fault in the first place. Pitifully human. Contrast this ungratefulness with King David who when challenged with his sin did none of that (2 Samuel 12:13). David repented, apologized, and admitted his guilt. There were consequences for his actions, but they were light compared to what would have happened without the repentance.

The male repaid good with evil. He blamed God. He blamed the woman. Neither had forced him. God had not only warned him but commanded him not to. He at no point is sorry for his deeds, he is sorry for himself. It’s everyone else’s fault. This is how you give up authority, be accepting no responsibility. This is why authority comes with restriction. In order to give you a responsibility. Without that, you can have no authority. That’s why the tree was there. To give them responsibility in order to inhabit their authority. By giving that tree to God and God alone, they had access to all the others and the authority to make them the best they could be. Adam not only gave that up, but he tried to shirk his responsibility and put it on the woman and on the One who gave it to him in the first place. This is the same thing we do today when we claim God gives sickness to teach. Or that it is His will that tragedies happen. Or that He allowed a terrible thing to occur. Shirking the responsibility of our free will. Shirking our accountability. It is NEVER God’s fault because God doesn’t deal in things that are not GOOD.