The Rule of God’s Word
The single most dominant theme of both the Old and New Testaments is the kingdom of God. In the New Testament it’s impossible to miss this emphasis. Jesus spoke more about the kingdom of God than every other subject combined.
But what of the Old Testament? Is it as clear? Right from Adam’s creation and placement in the garden, God gave a clear instruction that Adam could eat from any of the trees in the garden except one – the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. What does the term “the knowledge of good and evil” mean?
In Hebrew culture the “knowledge of good and evil” usually meant moral knowledge – the point at which a child could discriminate between good and evil (right and wrong), and so become morally responsible. This is confirmed in Deuteronomy 1:39 and Isaiah 7:16. So Adam and Eve were to be perpetually like children in their dependence on God to determine what was right and what was wrong for them. God of course did this to protect them. He wanted them to trust Him implicitly.
For Adam and Eve to remain rightly related to God, they had to remain rightly related to God’s word to them. Failure to obey God’s word to them would be failure to obey God. They were safe and secure as long as they implicitly kept God’s word. God ruled their lives without over-ruling their ability to choose for themselves. He simply asked them to let Him make the decisions – something they ultimately rebelled against, and with the direst of consequences for all mankind.
Our relationship to God today is equally determined by our relationship to God’s word. Let God rule your life. How? By letting His Word rule you.
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