-Tree of the knowledge of good and evil-

       Because YHUH had declared the “end from the beginning” (YashaYAHU/Isaiah 46:10), it is always profitable to meditate on the generations of the creation and remember what took place to bring us to where we find ourselves today. When Adam ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, YHUH’s first question to Adam was not what we might have expected. He did inquire about Adam eating of the tree, but before asking about that, He asked something completely different first.

       “And they heard the sound of YHUH Alahym walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and His wife hid themselves from the presence of YHUH Alahym among the trees of the garden. And YHUH Alahym called unto Adam and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ and he said, ‘I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid myself.’ And He said, ‘Who made you know that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?’”

-Bereshith/Genesis 3:8-10

       The first question that YHUH has for Adam after he has confessed to being afraid is “Who made you know that you were naked?” Since Adam avoided the question by blaming the woman, and then the woman in turn blamed the serpent, we never get a straight answer. So let’s ask the same question again, how did Adam gain the knowledge that he was naked? The quick response is to state the obvious, he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That sounds like a good enough answer but what does it mean to eat of that renowned tree that is spoken about so often? Stepping back for just a moment it would be fruitful to see what knowledge YHUH Alahym thought necessary to reveal to Adam before the man ventured out on his own.

       “And YHUH Alahym commanded the man, saying, ‘Eat of every tree of the garden, but do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day that you eat of it you shall certainly die.’”

-Bereshith/Genesis 2:16-17

       What an amazing revelation can be found in these two verses, our FATHER simply wants us to trust in what He has commanded us. Adam was instructed that he could eat of every tree but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. So within the first commands of YHUH Adam was not supposed to understand good and evil but instead he was to simply rely on YHUH to be his FATHER and give him what he needed. This is where we see the Anointed-One is leading us to walk as He explained,

       “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become as little children, you shall by no means enter into the reign of the Shamaym.”

-MattithYAHU/Matthew 18:3

       ~A child is born with complete trust in their parent, they don’t think about food or clothing. When it is cold the parent puts a coat on the child without them even having to ask. When the child needs anything the parent knows even before the child may know. The child doesn’t concern themselves with where the food or clothing comes from but trust in what their parent gives to them or tells them. In this innocent condition, the child is fulfilled by the desire to please the parent. Found within this wonderful unity and trust between parent and child is a shameless life without condemnation. For the parent loves the child as they love themselves, and the child knows only what they have received from the parent. This pattern can be found in Adam’s condition before he believed something other than the Word of His FATHER.~

       "And they were both naked, Adam and his wife, yet they were not ashamed.”

-Bereshith/Genesis 2:25

       Adam really had no concept of right and wrong at this point. The only understanding that he had access to was the Word that his Creator, YHUH Alahym, had given him. Once again going back to a small child, they don’t comprehend right and wrong at all. They only know if a thing is pleasing or displeasing to their parent. This is the only entree they have into knowing what to do or what not to do. Innocence makes a child naturally trust what their parent tells and gives to them. If we will trust in YHUH Alahym we will find ourselves in the same condition as Adam was in the beginning, unashamed.

      “They looked to Him and were lightened, and their faces were not ashamed.”

Tehillim/Psalms 34:5

       Each of us begins life with a complete trust in our parents but if each of us were honest with ourselves we would readily admit that at some point we all began to look somewhere else for our understanding of the world. And if we were ever more forth right we would confess that a lot of times by doing that we were wrong and whatever our actions where at that time turned out badly because we did not trust in the advice that they tried to freely give. This is basically where Adam and all his descendants find themselves as they judge their world and life based on their own awareness and not the knowledge of our FATHER in Shamaym (Heaven).

       The knowledge of good and evil may not be something that one can avoid. There are plenty of scriptures to point out that we should be very aware of that which is good and evil but most of us have missed a step in the true revelation of our relationship with the Father… and I think it is well worth going back to the beginning to recapture this lost and forgotten treasure of innocence. Discernment into good and evil may be necessary in a corrupt and darkened world but this knowledge is secondary to an innocent trust in our FATHER. Adam walked naked and unashamed before YHUH Alahym because our FATHER had said nothing about it being wrong. Only by the knowledge of good and evil did they become ashamed even though YHUH had not spoken a word concerning their exposed condition.

       For many of us as we age in this natural world we begin to return to the foundation that was given to us our parents. We start out accounting that they know everything, and then at some time or another stop trusting in them, and then finally arrive back to the same reckoning we has in the beginning. To apply this principle to our true FATHER in Shamaym, will begin to rebuild the relationship He desires for us to have with Him.

       To find your own knowledge outside of the knowledge of YHUH is to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It really doesn’t matter what this knowledge is, in the case of Adam it was nothing more than realizing he was naked. The conclusion that Adam made on his own after eating of the tree was that being naked was wrong. Three things took place in order for this to happen. 

One, he found out that he was naked. 
Two, he believed that being naked was wrong. 
Three, in order to believe that being naked was wrong, he had to exalt his own new found knowledge above that of YHUH. 

This knowledge was not based on the information that YHUH gave to Adam but came from within himself without the FATHER. Once this has taken place the result is that one will no longer have complete trust in their FATHER.

       By repenting of our own understanding of “self” and then returning to our FATHER by following in the footsteps of the SON, we enable Him to unite us back to His will and begin to make us into His image as He designed for us from the beginning. When YHUH the Anointed-One proclaimed that He was “the Way” it was not a metaphor. He walked in the will of His FATHER in Shamaym and not after His own will and understanding. He is “the Way”, if you have seen Him you have seen the FATHER. They are one, Unity completed, as the FATHER is, so the SON is also in the image of the FATHER.

We are to be His Body on the earth, created to do His will and not our own.

       Summation

        The only knowledge that we are designed to be partakers of is that given to us from our Father in Shamaym. Adam’s expedition into the knowledge of good and evil manifested itself in three ways.

• 1.   He gained the knowledge that he was naked. That knowledge was not part of the information that YHUH Alahym deemed necessary for Adam to understand. 

• 2.   He became ashamed of the condition that YHUH Alahym created him in. Adam’s knowledge caused him to be ashamed, even though his Creator never spoke a word to make him believe that there was anything to be ashamed of.

• 3.   He exalted his own knowledge and understanding of his world above that of YHUH Alahym. Adam became his own mighty-one instead of becoming the image of the Creator as he was intended to be. 

       By exalting self and the knowledge of self above the knowledge given by our FATHER, we in essence become the image of the wicked-one that exalts self above all else.

       The Ben of Adam came and revealed that by doing the will of our FATHER in Shamaym we would have nothing to fear. And by obeying His design for our existence we could be partakers of Life-Eternal. It is not for us to determine what is good or evil but to trust that by doing the will of our FATHER we will be complete in our journey.