A series of 12 brief OT studies concerning the Seed of the Woman
The scene has changed so dramatically. Only yesterday all had been well, but then the Chief Musician arrived, and we thought perhaps it was the prelude to one of his worship times. He had been a regular visitor to the Garden over the years, and we had always been included in times of worship. He was a strange being, both human and yet more than that. His wings set him apart from us, as well as the congregation of angels who surrounded him for worship. But as I was saying, there was something different about his face today, almost as though he was brooding over some problem, and being alone for a change, we wondered what it was all about.
The Lord had asked us to be at the Trees of Life and Knowledge today. We seldom went anywhere near them because of the warning God gave me when He first brought me into the Garden. There was always so much to do, so much to enjoy, so many daily encounters with angels, that we never really gave the Central Trees much notice. They stood there side by side, majestic in appearance, with their fruits in various stages of maturity, the Life Tree with yellow and the Knowledge Tree with red fruits.
The Lord said that He was going to meet with us to explain what He meant by “knowing good and evil”, and we assumed that the Worship Leader, whom the Lord called the Covering Cherub, had been called to join us for this teaching occasion. But when he appeared he seemed to be in some perplexity. We stood and watched. Eventually he spoke, and addressed my wife, but it wasn’t so much a question he posed as to ponder the very subject we had gathered to hear from the Lord.
“I wonder”, he said, with long gaps between his thoughts, spoken in a sort of serpentine whisper. “I wonder, . . . . Could it really have been like that? . . . . . . Was that really what the Lord said? . . . . About eating the fruits of that tree?”
Eve was quick to apprise him with what she knew. “The Lord said we mustn’t eat from that tree.” She was pointing to the Tree of Knowledge. “We mustn’t even touch it, because we might die.”
Looking back I can’t think what was the matter with me, because I should have corrected her. Although she had not been present when the Lord first gave me this prohibition, I had passed it on to her correctly, but the Musician’s words were having an effect on us both, as though to dull our senses. Eve had added something. The Lord never said anything about touching the Tree, and then she changed the certainty of death into a contingency, a possibility. . . . . But I didn’t say anything, and the Musician suddenly emerged from his own reverie, and spoke with authority.
“You will certainly not die,” he said with sudden emphasis. . . . “God knows that when you eat from that tree you will receive inner vision to know the meaning of good and evil, as God does Himself.”
Oh, so that was why he came to meet with us today, we thought, to prepare us for the conference. My wife looked at the red fruit and it was very attractive, and based on the Musician’s words, she took a couple and gave one to me. We ate and it was wonderfully tasty . . . . . . . but then something awful happened, and instead of our eyes being opened, we lost our clothing of light and felt embarrassed in his presence. Casting aside the remainder of the fruit we dashed into nearby bushes to hide. The Musician followed us but stood in the open. We grabbed a few of the huge leaves from a fig tree, and began to tie them together with strands of ivy. It was difficult, and we were in a hurry, but finally managed, and we emerged from the bushes covered in these ridiculous clothes.
It was then that we heard the Lord’s voice from near the two Trees, asking where we were, for He was expecting us to be there. We walked over to Him, and He looked very solemn, and began questioning us. I blamed my wife, and she blamed the Musician. And the Lord turned on the Musician with a look of intense anger. “Because you have done this, you are cursed. Everything you try to do from now on will result in disappointment. The woman will become your enemy, and this enmity will be maintained in her seed. He will break your head, but you will only be able to hurt his feet.”
The Musician disappeared, and we were left standing alone with the Lord, who eventually made tunics of soft chamois leather for us to wear. Watching the slaughter of our best pet sheep overcame us with grief, and we had to learn a completely different lesson that day. But there was a distinct promise contained in the Lord’s words. Our son would overcome the Musician in due course. It was the only thing left to hold on to.
