Blinded by the Light
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. Genesis 3:7 NASB
Opened – Your eyes are opened! What do you see? If you were in the Garden, you would see that when your eyes were opened the world changed. It was no longer “home.” Suddenly you would realize that you were the alien in Paradise. Why? Because in Paradise everything works according to the purpose of the Lord’s design, and now you don’t. Now you are working according to a substitute operations manual, a manual of your own design. Once you had a straightforward purpose given to you by God Himself. Now you are conflicted because there is another way of doing, a way you created for yourself. Once you were blind to that alternative reality because of the light of His glory. Then something happened and your eyes were opened.
Notice that the verb is passive. You didn’t deliberately decide to open them. Someone else or something else opened them for you. The idea is backwards, upside-down, wrong-headed. Before sin our eyes were not opened. But that doesn’t make any sense. Before sin we saw only the glory of the Creator unsullied by disobedience. Before sin we were whole, pure, radiant, responsible and transparent. This is what we think of when we describe “seeing.” But according to the text, this former state was our condition when our eyes were closed. How can it be that opening our eyes makes us blind to God’s grace?
Pey-Qof-Chet, the Hebrew word for “open the eyes,” is the pictograph, “Word (speak) behind fence (separation).” Perhaps the idea behind “opening the eyes” is really connected with listening to a word from the other side of the fence. There is a rare occasion in the text where paqah means, “opening the ears” (see Isaiah 42:20). It reminds us of the way Yeshua used the word in his teaching. If obedience is listening and obeying the external word of YHVH, perhaps sin is listening to the word of someone on the other side of the barrier YHVH’s erects for our protection. Perhaps opening the eyes in the Genesis story is really about hearing and following another voice. And when our eyes are opened to words from beyond the fence, we suddenly become aware that we are out of place, no longer transparent, no longer at home in the Garden. We “see” differently because the light of clear conscience is no longer present to us.
I don’t think this is simply a matter of loss of innocence. Being naked and knowing it doesn’t imply sinful collapse of relationship. After all, people can still be naked today, know that they are naked, and have healthy relationships. These metaphors convey much more serious identity shifts. It isn’t loss of innocence that matters but rather the loss of untainted trust. Now we must exert ourselves in order to stay in alignment with the word from this side of the fence. Now we are painfully aware that there is another voice speaking to us, a voice from “behind” us, from a place we cannot “see,” that finds collaboration within ourselves. Now we are susceptible to designing our own future. We have had our eyes opened to the possibility of taking charge of the blind spot of tomorrow, and in so doing we become blind to the God we need to trust today.
Rabbi Sacks suggests that sin is crossing a forbidden boundary, straying outside the fence. It is “an act in the wrong place, a failure to honour the boundaries and constraints that form the deep structures of the universe.”[1] Sin isn’t just making the wrong choice. It is also being in the wrong place. It is attempting to live in the blind spot of tomorrow by my own efforts. Havvah “saw that the fruit was good.” But, of course, that wasn’t possible in the world of today. Today the fruit is forbidden. Only in the projection of a future under my own control does the fruit become good. Only when my eyes are opened to what no man can really see do I choose to listen to a word from elsewhere.
Topical Index: open the eyes, paqah, innocent, sin, boundary, Genesis 3:7
[1] Jonathan Sacks, To Heal a Fractured World, p. 143.
TRAVEL NOTE: As you know, I am in South Africa now. I will be participating with a group here in the Festival of Sukkot. It is quite likely that I will not have any internet access for the next several days. But not to worry. I see that you are all perfectly capable of carrying on without me (hurray!). I will miss you but I will be back. Skip
Skip, Hag Sameah Succoth. Moadim l’simcha. Arnella and I
thank you and bless you for your words, works and wisdom. Shalom.
I think that, over time, I have had most of the above observations likewise pointed out to me, or acknowledged when I asked, by the people in my life (all of whom I love dearly) that are participating on some level in the occult. They can see the Garden experience as relevant also. Most of them agree with the narrative as being accurate. The only point of contention is in the summary. The occult is all about divination; controlling the future, the NEXT fraction of an instant in time and space, by SEEING behind the fence; by tuning the ears to listening to the hidden projections from behind the fence. And, to them, that is what it is all about. They tell me they LIKE their ‘third eye’ being opened, they LIKE knowing the hidden knowledge, they like the taste of the fruit. They are thankful that we got smart enough to eat it, and that the snake was right, and that there is another way to get the ‘Light’ back. The only thing they can see to disagree with is that the whole experience was a “Fall”. That, they just cannot understand. They would eat the fruit, too. Sigh.
And so God ‘opened’ the eyes of these two creatures, activating the creatures ‘free will’, their potential for choice, which was only ‘potential’ before that act. Not unlike removing a batteries ‘protective cover’ prior to use, the potential is released. A light is lit in the universe. Electrons ‘flow’; decisions of choice are made. The creature is released on the adventure, the journey, the purpose for their existence. John Polkinghorne made an interesting observation when he writes, “It is an act of love that not only can creatures be themselves…But they are allowed also to make themselves. That world is a greater good then a ready made world, but it is a world that also has an inescapable shadow side to it.” Potential is only that and nothing more; a static piece of useless art, kept from its’ purpose, dusty, sad and wanting. The ‘ground’ of choice is required before the creature ‘flows’ and so completes their purpose in creation. And so they have their being in the ‘tension’ of ‘I ought’ and ‘I ought not.’ A bulb becomes a flower, wax and wick become a candle and potential gives rise to humanity. The next chapter in life’s ‘book’ is intentionally left blank by the Creator. Potential released will become the words written on those pages.
Almost. God didn’t “activate” their free will since they clearly had the ability to choose BEFORE the event occurred. What was activated was the EXPERIENCE of consequences when choosing other than what God instructed them to do. They saw the world as alien because they no longer were perfectly fit for the purposes God intended. The tree does not represent choice. It represents the existential reality of disobedient consequence.
“The tree does not represent choice. It represents the existential reality of disobedient consequence.”
The existential reality of disobedient consequence . . . death!
The existential reality of obedient consequences . . . life!
Choose this day life rather than death . . . by exercising free will, choice.
To get to a point, like Yeshua, that understanding enough(?) about YHWH that free will is no more. That is, knowing Yeshua and YHWH such that WHY would we ever choose otherwise and thus determining there is NO other choice but to obey. Can I get to the place that I can entertain only the choice to obey because I SEE what life is all about, that is, obedience to Torah?
That, it seems, is what paradise truly is. Walking in the Garden with YHWH ever yielded to his will.
Nike – just do it! If failure happens, stop, turn around and step back in the garden.
I can imagine (somewhat, I suppose) being in the presence of King Yeshua in the new Jerusalem. Being so near to him that his mere proximity prohibits any want or desire to disobey. Just his presence would warrant banishing any personal disobedient urges.
Would that I endeavor to grasp that closeness now and not wait until the new Jerusalem event.
I would.
When Adam ate the apple, Adam blamed Eve, Eve blamed the snake and the Snake didn’t have a leg to stand on.
“Rabbi Sacks suggests that sin is crossing a forbidden boundary, straying outside the fence.”
The words of Rabbi Sachs paint a vivid picture! The pictographs for hen and hesed both have that chet (fence) in place for our protection. There is a fence around life (hen) and there is a fence supporting the door (hesed). Sin does not require that we actively climb the fence — there is a door through which we can just saunter. It’s the way of little resistance, the flow of the world that looks right because everyone is doing it. But hesed is the supporting fence by the door that warns us and helps us find our way back.
Yesterday I took the bait and strayed outside the fence, but hesed helped me find the way back this morning to put it right. This TW was confirmation for me that putting things right was returning to life-giving side of the fence. Thanks Skip.