The Absence of Awe
and the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, . . . Genesis 3:6 ISR
Saw – Are you able to see what’s good? Can you look below the skin of something and see its true nature? Maybe you can, I can’t. I’ve spent some time in the wilderness. I often come across beautiful plants with apparently wonderful fruit, but I would be foolish to “see” it as food unless I knew that it would not harm me. When I was growing up, we had a mountain ash in our backyard. It produces amazing red berries. But my mother sternly warned me, “Don’t you eat those. They’re poison.” They looked good, but they weren’t. As far as I can tell, no human being can simply look at a plant and determine it is good for food. So why is Havvah able to do so?
The answer, of course, is that she can’t do this either. When she sees that the tree is good for food, she is projecting a previous evaluation. That evaluation doesn’t come from her. It doesn’t come from careful testing of the fruit. It comes from trusting the word of the serpent. Havvah is deceived before she even looks. By the time she looks, she has already decided to believe the serpent’s statement. The truth is that this fruit was the most poisonous substance on the planet, but the actual nature of the fruit was not the issue here. The issue was her decision to not trust God’s word.
Doesn’t it seem absolutely incredible to you that Havvah would trust the serpent? I mean that it is simply not believable that this woman whose very existence is the direct result of YHWH’s action, who lives in an absolute paradise, who has unmediated interaction with the Creator, could have even entertained the possibility that God didn’t speak the truth. Does that seem reasonable to you? How are we to explain this complete collapse of relational awareness?
We don’t have to look very far to find the answer. Even in paradise it is possible to be indifferent to the wonder of being. In fact, lack of awe may be the genesis of sin. When I stop being completely amazed at the very existence of the cosmos, at my very being within it, when that sense of overwhelming presence ceases to permeate who I am, then the possibility of my own self-determination arises within me. Suddenly I become far more important than all the evidence supports. I have intimations of divinity, and that is enough to allow me to turn from the face of my Creator and question whether or not His word is really “good for me.”
What did Havvah see? It’s quite impossible that she saw that the tree was good for food. What she saw was the possibility of becoming better than what she was called to be. What she saw was an alternate reality where she decided what was good for food. Havvah was tempted to add to the wonder of the world by ignoring the mystery of being.
Each of us stands before the Tree. Each of us must decide, “Is this tree good for food?” We are surrounded by the Presence of all that we are not. We can stand in awe of it or we can determine to add our own little bit of creation. We can be shaped by the power of His might, or we can attempt to shape a world stamped with our mark. It just depends on what we see.
Topical Index: saw, food, good, Genesis 3:6, awe, ra’ah
There are as many reasons given for Havvah’s failure in the garden as there are peanut chunks in a jar of crunchy peanut butter. However, one tiny statement you make that, for me, points to one of the top reasons on a long list is, “…or we can determine to ADD our own little bit of creation.” Everyone blames Havvah for believing the lie – but why did she believe that deception? She allowed the priority of YHWH God in her life to slip below the priority that she held for her self.
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, LORD;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, -first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.
High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.
What a wonderful prayer- LORD, that I (too) may receive my sight! What is our mission? What is our (high) calling? It is the same as His: -“to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” (Acts 26.18) “to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness” (Isaiah 42:7)
There is nothing better for our “vision” than tears. Physically or spiritually. And G-d hears tears. Just as a mother is tuned to the tears of her children, our ABBA’s hearing is fine-tuned to hear the cries of His children: “LORD, -save us.” His mission is the same:- “to seek and to save that which was lost.” He is our LORD, -and He changes not.
My apologies in advance for a long (winded) post today, but I would like to share a personal witness, -if I may.
I had open-heart surgery in December of 2005, an aortic valve replacement. I have a metal heart valve that “clicks” like a metronome, -giving new meaning to “with every beat of my heart.” Am I in touch and in tune with my own mortality and fragility? lol!- Yes, I am. Am I awake and aware, my next heartbeat and my next breath are the gift of G-d? lol!- Yes, I am.
My father, (who lives in South Florida) sent me a box of oranges as a gift. I remember sitting at the table, -I sliced the orange in two and was in the process of devouring this luscious fruit. Something a bit strange “occurred.” I was weeping. Weeping while eating an orange. Do you find this to be a “bit strange?” lol! Me too! -Why am I weeping, when all I am doing is eating an orange? Oh my friends!- because of the “wonder of it all!” (I’m tearing up while writing these words!)
Such gratitude to be alive! I shouldn’t be here, y’all. I should be dead, except for these two words: “But G-d.” But G-d Who is rich in mercy.. – People,- He did it. Oh such peace, oh, such joy, such wonder, such “salvation.” May I say it and know it?- Blessed be the Name. Amen.
And now, I live. For the second time around,- I am alive again. Things are a bit different these days..I have been given a gift:- the gift of a beating heart..- Be still..and listen.. “click, click, click”- reminds be of the crocodile on Peter Pan. Why wife sat up in bed and inquired- “what’s that ticking sound?” lol!- that’s me, Honey! The kids in the backseat of the car- “We hear you ticking dad!” Would you believe me if I said- “that’s a good thing!” lol!- It is!
Not only have I been given a new heart- I’ve never known a heart like this before! My surgeon said, “you’ll feel 25% better..” My friends- I have the heart of a teenager! I laid awake for two nights after surgery -wondering, what is this huge thing in my chest? Kapow!-Kapow!-Kapow!- giving life-blood to me. It is the gift of G-d. And for this- I give Him praise. I am alive (again) because of the mercy(s) of ADONAI. Thank you for allowing me to testify. -He is LORD, – of the telescopic and the microscopic. Amen.
Thank you for sharing my brother, and I declare with you Baruch HaShem!
Great testimony, Carl! Many years ago, I went through and counted how many times in the English version of Scripture, divine intervention was described by the words “but God.” I no longer remember the number, but it was something I needed to know at the time. I needed a “But God” experience! Obviously, you have been there, too!
“His mercies are new every morning.”
Skip, are you saying that maybe we should be content in being and not try to make something more happen of our own making? That we should just allow YHVH to do what HE will in us.
I have enjoyed your teachings on the Ezer, but still working on this one.
I don’t mean to suggest that we should not make life better. That is the desire of Man and it is the intention of the Creator. The issue is HOW do we make life better. God has prescribed a way of righteous behavior and every act of righteousness improves life, so we should know what His commandments are and do them. But, of course, we are also freely choosing moral beings and often we go our own ways, deciding for ourselves what “improvements” need to be made. That is the issue with Havvah and it is our issue. To do what we think needs to be done without the purposes of YHWH is sin, even if it sure looks like something that will improve life. Who decides?
“Doesn’t it seem absolutely incredible to you that Havvah would trust the serpent?”
Hi Skip,
To borrow one of Carl’s favorite expressions, I’m LOL.
Historically, it has been fairly easy for me to trust my “internal serpent,” the old yetzer hara.
So I feel pretty close to Eve, that child of God who does what she wants.
My translation states:
“Then the serpent said to the woman: “No! you will not die! God knows in fact on the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.””
I think the serpent is telling Eve some truth, that she will know good and evil.
And how many of us would not prefer to be more powerful, “like gods.”
Than lowly, humble, servants?
Then, in Judaism, we have our “yetzer hara” to contend with.
(Hebrew: יצר הרע for the “the evil inclination”).
Which is fundamental to being human, as I understand it.
Unfortunately our free will leads us into sin, pain, and suffering.
But suffering can lead us back to God.
Hopefully, with some wisdom.
“I think the serpent is telling Eve some truth, that she will know good and evil.”
Hi Michael,
I’ve read an interesting book, Steve Arterburn’s THE GOD OF SECOND CHANCES. Here’s a portion of that about TRUTH:
“The most dangerous kind of lie comes clothed in the name of truth and sold as religion. … To believe a lie, we must first stop believing the truth. …. The most effective lie is often the one that travels the shortest distance from the truth.”
I agree with you that suffering can lead us back to God, but it is a choice of attitude that WE must make. I can become BITTER or I can become BETTER as I go through difficult times. And the more I surrender myself to His purpose, the more wisdom I gain.
“And the more I surrender myself to His purpose, the more wisdom I gain.”
Hi CYndee,
Yes, I agree 🙂
Great post!
Currently, I am studying proto-Semitic script, that’s how linguists call the Hebrew script of before 1000 BCE (roughly: time of David and before). That script seems the transition from pictures to letters. The original meanings of many old Hebrew words can be recognized in the pictures.
Recently, I came across the Hebrew word chokhmah = wisdom; according the proto-Semitic pictures it is literally something like: ‘celebrating the boundary(-ies) of our power(s)’ (there’s a multiple, but to which it refers, is not fully clear to me yet).
If we acknowledge and celebrate the limits of our own power or might, and trust in God’s power and love, we are acting wisely. Chawwah believed the lie that there was something valuable beyond the God-given limit… that was not wise…
Celebrating the limits of my power… made me think. As Paul said: “when I am weak, I am strong.”
I can do so only because I know God is lovingly in control – indeed a great reason for awe and celebration!