Audio
Tablet Ten
"And out of the ground made the Lord
God to grow every tree
that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the
tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the
tree of
knowledge of good and evil." (Genesis 2:9)
<1>However, because man would be in the
manifested world (dual nature of creation as positive and negative,
good and bad, etc.) and would be able to choose good or
evil ("...knowledge of good and
evil"),
God had to create moral
codes which would guide man and are according to Universal Laws.
<2>Man's happiness and growth increases by following
God's Laws (disciplines). Choosing his own ways ("the
tree of
knowledge of good and evil") against
God's ways (Will) will result in the loss of "the
tree of life."
<3>To choose His Laws is to accept His Will. That is the path of
submission. <4>Only such a path wins His
Grace, and it is
Grace that enables man
to follow the Laws to salvation.
Grace is the Law!
"And a river went out of
Eden to
water the garden; and
from thence it was parted, and became into four heads." (Genesis
2:10)
"The name of the first is Pison: that is it which
compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;" (Genesis
2:11)
"And the gold of that land is good: there is
bdellium and the onyx stone." (Genesis 2:12)
"And the name of the second river is Gihon: the
same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia." (Genesis
2:13)
"And the name of the third river is Hiddekel:
that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth
river is Euphrates." (Genesis 2:14)
<5>These verses refer to the earth as it was
planned, or it means creation has come from One fountainhead --
un-manifested universe ("And a river went out of
Eden to
water the ground...")
-- then this same river is divided into four primal elements
(consciousness and
three gunas) in
creation ("...and from thence it was parted, and became into four
heads").
"And the Lord
God
took the man, and put him into the garden of
Eden
to dress it and to keep it." (Genesis 2:15)
<6>Now everything seemed ready for man to be
created to live on earth. He should dress it and keep it well. So
man is responsible for what he does to the earth.
"And the Lord
God
commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest
freely eat:" (Genesis 2:16)
<7>Man would be allowed to utilize it for his
progress and enjoyment.
"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil, thou shalt not
eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely
die." (Genesis 2:17)
<8>However, he can utilize it according to
God's (nature's) Laws. He cannot indiscriminately and selfishly use it. There are limits
("...of the
tree of
knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it:...") and
proper ways to use it.
<9>If he oversteps those boundaries, the
tree of life
(immortality) will be taken away from him ("...for in the day that
thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die").
<10>Death here means both physically and
spiritually. Disobedience to the Laws (sin)
creates
karma. This will
result in the separation of the
Soul (man,
atman) from
God, this is spiritual
death.
<11>Also
karma results in physical death.
<12>However, with going to
God humbly, and with
confession, repentance, prayer, and learning the lesson, His
Grace
can be won. Then one will be forgiven and become one with Him again
(in His
Grace). <13>That
is the way to escape death, to reach salvation.
<14>Through
sin
man dies and will be
born
again and again in order to learn his lessons and follow His
Laws. Then he again becomes immortal, by His
Grace.
<15>That argument about
God's Laws and trying to
replace them with man's laws and understandings is what makes man go
astray, "eating of the tree of the knowledge." <16>That
is to say, "My (our) will, not Thine."
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