by Robert Briggs

Created on: September 06, 2010   Last Updated: September 07, 2010

When we think of the Ten Commandments we almost always think of Moses, the Exodus, Mt. Siani and two tablets of stone.  And while these images represent the introduction of the written Word of God they in no way convey the idea that this was the beginning of the Spoken Word of God.  Consider the facts outlined in the Genesis account seen before and after the fall of man.  Prior to his fall, man walked with God in a literal way communicating with Him in a verbal means.  There are inferences to this discussion period seen both in the actual fall, and the failure of the sons of Adam; as I will demonstrate.

When God outlined for Adam instructions for maintained admission in the Garden He (God) said:

Gen 2:16 & 17 “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: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”.

This vital piece of information was delivered unto the man who then in turn had to relay the same truth to the woman who was, at this time, not yet created.  How do I know this you may ask?  Because look at the very next verse:

Gen 2:18  “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him”.

The woman was created after the vital conclave.  So what can we infer?  Well, it seems evident, though un-written, that the man was then responsible for disseminating this same information to his newly formed wife.  And it also seems apparent that Adam had the same characteristic still possessed by the sons of man.  He thought of his wife as a lesser being and transferred the message to her in a simplified form and omitted what proved to be the most crucial piece of information.  Her answer to the serpent demonstrates this. 

When tested about her knowledge of the Word of God, which remember was not at this time written but simply spoken, she was less than perfect in her understanding.  Instead of calling the tree by its given name (the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil) she simply refers to it as “the tree that is in the midst of the garden” indicating a lack of understanding or a lack of care.  Additionally she adds a piece of uninspired information by saying God did not want them to “eat it” OR “touch it” which of course was not so. 

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