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Personal opinions or Gods Word?
Posted : 8 May, 2010 04:48 AM
God warns us, �There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death� (Proverbs 14:12, NKJV). This principle is so important that God had it recorded twice in the Scriptures. Solomon wrote again: �There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death� (Prov.16:25).
We read in the book of Judges that during the historical period of the Judges, �In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes� (Judges 21:25). If you read the book of Judges, you will note that it was a period of bloodshed, reoccurring apostasy from God�s Truth, and violence. Following what people thought was right, in their own judgment, according to their own opinions, led to misery, conflict, confrontation, violence and death -- just as the Word of God warns.
But the first two individuals who did what was �right in their own eyes� -- they were deceived into doing it -- were Adam and Eve.
In the book of Genesis, we read: �And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of LIFE was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil� (Gen.2:10, NKJV). And, continuing: �And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely DIE� (vs.16-17).
Two trees -- one leads to LIFE, and the other leads to DEATH! Notice also -- Adam and Eve had permission from God to eat of the tree of life! The ONLY tree forbidden to them was the �evil� tree -- the tree of the knowledge of good and evil!
God is Creator. He never intended mankind to receive eternal life as a hereditary fact and feature until man developed the proper godly CHARACTER and traits of love and obedience to the ways and law of God. To develop these characteristics, man had to remain in CONTACT and communion with GOD. In due time, under the teaching and tutelage of Gods Holy Spirit, mankind would eventually become Godlike in character and heart and mind -- and would then be ready for the gift of eternal life.
The �Tree of Life,� therefore, symbolized GOD HIMSELF! Life, science teaches us can only come from pre-existing LIFE. That is the famous �Law of Biogenesis.� Life does not spring up from dead, inert matter. Only the Living can create or procreate the �living.� This is a scientific fact attested to by all biological science.
GOD Himself is the only true Life-Giver. God says in Scripture, �Now see that I, even I, am He, and there is no God besides Me; I kill and I MAKE ALIVE; I wound and I heal; nor is there any who can deliver out of My hand� (Deut.32:39).
God, as the Supreme Being, has certain characteristics. He describes these for us also in His Word, the Holy Scriptures: �Now the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him (Moses) there, and proclaimed the NAME of the LORD. And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, �The LORD [YHVH, or Yahveh, or possibly also Yahuveh], the LORD God [�Yahveh-Elohim�], merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and TRUTH, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty [those who refuse to repent and follow God�s ways, and His Law and Teachings], visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the
children�s children to the third and fourth generation� (Exodus 34:5-7).
To sum up the character of God, as He reveals Himself, He is a merciful, compassionate, gracious, patient, righteous Judge, who is filled with (abounding with) goodness and truth, who hates sin and wickedness, and who will JUDGE righteously, with justice and fairness for all. Therefore, if we are to fellowship with Him, and walk with Him, in His way, as Adam and Eve did before they transgressed, we must learn and develop the SAME ATTRIBUTES! He is our Father, and Creator, and He intends for us to become LIKE HIM in every respect. That is why He calls us His children. In the gospel of Luke we read �of Adam, the son of God� (Luke 3:38). Being descended from Adam, therefore, we are all �sons of God,� humanly speaking, or His �offspring.� But we are still flesh and blood -- not spirit beings, as God is. As the Messiah said, �God is Spirit, those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth� (John 4:24).
What, then, was the �Tree of Life� in the midst of the garden of Eden? God is the true �Life giver,� and He is defined and expressed by His �Torah� -- His �Law� which describes His perfect, righteous character, and which reveals His very divine nature and spiritual essence to us. The �Tree of Life,� therefore, represents God Himself -- and His Torah! It represents communion and close contact with God -- walking with God, standing in His Presence, surrounded by and engulfed in His Character, exuding His righteousness, being filled with His Ruach haKodesh -- His Holy Spirit!
God says: �I have set before you LIFE AND DEATH, blessing and cursing; therefore CHOOSE LIFE, that both you and your descendants may live� (Deut.30:19). And in choosing �life,� or the �tree of life,� as opposed to the �tree of death,� what are we literally to DO? Next verse: �that you may LOVE the LORD your God, that you may OBEY His voice [which Adam and Eve failed to do when they partook of the forbidden fruit!], and that you may cling to Him, for HE IS YOUR LIFE and the length of your days . . .� (Deut.30:20).
Furthermore, speaking of the Law of God, Moses was inspired to write, �Set your heart on ALL THE WORDS which I testify among you today, which you shall COMMAND your children to be CAREFUL TO OBSERVE -- ALL THE WORDS OF THIS LAW. For it is not a futile thing for you, BECAUSE IT IS YOUR LIFE, AND BY THIS WORD you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess� (Deut.32:46-47).
It is GOD�S LAW -- HIS WORD -- ALL HIS WORDS -- which constitute true LIFE -- the way of and to Eternal Life!
Yeshua Messiah -- Jesus Christ -- verified this when He so plainly and simply stated (recorded again twice for our admonition!): �Man shall not LIVE by bread alone, but by EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD� (Matt.4:4). And in Luke 4:4: �MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY EVERY WORD OF GOD.� This passage is actually a direct reference to the Old Testament Scriptures, where Moses tells Israel, �So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but MAN LIVES BY EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS FROM THE MOUTH OF THE LORD� (Deut.8:3).
God then is the �Tree of Life,� and its �fruit� are HIS WORDS -- His utterances, commandments, laws, statutes, ordinances, and His every single word that comes out of His mouth!
{Triumph Prophetic Ministries}
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