The Serpent

 

I couldn’t help admiring the creature walking ahead of me.  Pleasant thoughts of our time together came as I followed her through the Garden.  “She is beautiful, magnificent, spectacular; the unique creation of all His creatures…truly a gift from the Lord.”  Her long flowing main wafted back and forth across her back as we walked in the afternoon warmth, then settled down in a favorite spot to rest and just bask in the day.  My mind drifted as she leaned against me…

 

It had been many evenings and mornings since the Lord had brought her to me…days of wonderment and enjoyment.  He had brought her after that odd but very refreshing sleep.  And, that was after those days I’d spent looking at all the beasts of the field and birds of the sky!  They were amazing creatures…big, small, furry, hairy, hairless, and many scaly-skinned.  Some were lovable and some not so much, especially the toothy ones with the big claws!  The Lord asked that I name them all, and I did.  It was easy, and most of the time it was fun.  Just their appearance suggested their names… and the words for those names just came to me. 

 

The birds and other flying creatures were challenging to name; not because of the number, but how they came to me.  Almost all flew. But, some of the birds could only walk…which seemed very odd. Why give them wings then not give them the ability to fly? Anyway, those that flew came to me in every way conceivable.  Some came in gracefully and gently handed near me.  With all the claws leading the flapping wings, I seldom gave them opportunity to land on an arm.  The scaly ones created the most excitement and sometimes were a challenge to get back into the air.   They were typically big guys; but then there were the minute ones that literally buzzed as they came in.  Some mid-air collisions seemed unavoidable but we had no accidents.  The blind hairless ones, that weren’t birds at all, somehow avoided creating chaos as they waited their turn for names.

 

After I’d finished naming the beasts and birds we could talk easily about the Lord’s creatures when before it was often confusing to me.  He’d be pointing out the ways of, say, the large creature that often swam in the nearby Pishon; the one with the big mouth and tiny tail.  But I’d be thinking about a different creature I’d seen wading in the Garden’s rivers.  The one that towered over all the others and whose tail could crush any of them, including me! I called him “Behemoth.”  Behemoth could be troublesome when he tarried in the Pishon.  He certainly was much too big to swim in it.  He had caused water to back up into the Garden more than once!

 

Anyway, as I lay resting in the late afternoon stillness that last day of naming, the Lord told me that my job was to live in His garden, cultivate it, and keep it; and, I was to freely eat of its produce.  He pointed out two unique trees in the Garden, one whose fruit I could eat and one that I could not.  He gave me a particularly puzzling warning about the tree whose fruit I could not eat – the one He called the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  He said, “…in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.”  I asked Him what “die” meant.  He said that it meant that I would lose the life I knew with Him; that our fellowship would be broken, and I would return to the dust of the ground.  I love Him and decided right then that the last thing I wanted to do was to lose Him.  Losing Him was a very unpleasant thought so I decided not to think about it.  After all, it was only one tree in the midst of my Garden that held many, many trees that bore all kinds of delicious fruit!

 

I came back from my thoughts as Woman snuggled closer in a cool wind that gently flowed around us.  She was captivating; intoxicating.  She dozed. My thoughts began to drift again...

 

One day soon after our talk about the two trees, the Lord told me that it was not good for me to be alone.  “Alone,” I thought.  I wasn’t alone, or at least, it didn’t seem that way to me.  “What do you mean, Lord?” I asked.  He said that of all the beasts I’d named, not one was found that could be a suitable helper to me.  I thought about all the beasts and remembered nearly all were relatively limited compared to me; most unable to pick up a tool, except in their mouths.  I had found the elephants particularly helpful in moving large stuff but all the small details I had to take care of personally.  Tending the Garden was mostly on me because of their inability to help.  I did get some help from the wonderful monkeys The Lord had created, but it was a challenge to teach them every little task until they understood what needed to be done.  It was particularly frustrating not being able to just tell them what needed to be done. 

 

Anyway, one evening we were talking about the need for a helpmeet and the next thing I knew I was waking from a wonderfully refreshing sleep!  The sun was casting its morning beams across the Garden and, as I leaned up on one arm, I realized I was sore…sore all over; as if I had wrestled with Behemoth’s tail!  I heard the sound of the Lord walking in the Garden and next to Him was a creature I had not named, nor had even seen during the naming days; a beautiful creature that looked something like me but different in very pleasant ways!  They walked toward me, and clearly the creature was intrigued with me by the look in its eyes.  I was captivated by the beautiful flowing mane and beauty of its body! Whereas my body was muscular and even angular at places, its body was smooth, curvy, and appeared to be soft.

 

The Lord brought the creature to me.  He said, “Yes,” and answered my question before I got it out. “You are very sore, but it will pass.  As you slept yesterday, I took bone of your bones and flesh of your flesh and fashioned a helper suitable for you.”   At that statement, I instinctively looked myself over.   “Was I all still there,” I thought?  Chest, arms, and legs all accounted for but not really all there!  I wasn’t as massive as when I’d fallen asleep!  “Yes,” He said again, “you’re okay, but you might want to go a bit slower for awhile as your muscles adjust.  Your helpmeet is from you and you’re to remember this day.”

I was trying to grasp what the Lord was telling me, and looked back and forth between Him and the creature.  I couldn’t speak because I didn’t know what to speak!  There was too much coming at me, too fast. He motioned toward the creature with a slight nod of His head and asked, “So, Adam, what are you going to call her?”   “Gez,” I thought!  “A name!  He wants me to name this one, too?" But, I no sooner had that frustrating thought then it came to me.  “Woman.”  I said to Him, “I’ll call her Woman because you took her out of me.”  He smiled. She moved toward me; close enough to touch my face, which she did, and then said, “You are Adam.”  In that statement I knew the Lord had been talking about me.  He left us alone then.

 

That was many wonderful days ago.  We talked about everything, and particularly about the Great Command He had given.  “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”  We didn’t even know how big the earth was! But it didn’t matter, really.  What we could see told us we had our "work" cut out for us!

 

I told Woman of the Lord’s creation; about the animals, the Garden, and the heavens.  I told her of the two trees in the Garden and the Lord’s warning about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I had often wondered about that tree and “evil.”  I thought about it so much that I had finally nicknamed the tree “Trevil.”  Why would I not want to do what the Lord wanted me to do?  It made no sense to me.  The fruit of Trevil was pleasant to the eye.  Like all the other fruit, including the fruit on the Tree of Life.  However, He had not restricted any of the other trees from me, nor had made any further comment about Trevil.

 

But Trevil was the one that I thought about often.  I thought I was pretty smart.  After all, I had named all the beasts and birds!  He was saying I didn’t know about good and evil and, clearly, He didn’t want me to know.  He didn’t want me to know really badly because of the warning he had given.  But, on the other hand, He had put the tree in the Garden.  He didn’t have to do that.  I would never have known that I didn’t know if He hadn’t put the tree there.  The more I thought about it, the more I thought about it.

 

Woman and I walked, and we talked, and we tended and ate from the Garden; and we shared in wonderful evenings. She asked many questions and I was amazed at the creature that the Lord had made and given to me.  I daily thanked Him for this gift beyond gifts.  Her questions sometimes were logical and questions I had already asked the Lord; questions about all those things that affected each day after I arose and tended the Garden.  But she also asked questions and commented on things in odd ways.  She had a different way of looking at things which often surprised me.  I would be enjoying the antics of some of the birds that frequented the Garden, and she would muse about how they raised their young.  I would ask her what she was thinking.  She would ask me how I felt.  She had this uncanny ability to “guess” what I was thinking. I seldom had a clue what she was thinking.  She really did “complete” me as The Lord had said!

 

Woman asked many questions about the Garden and its rivers, and had a soft spot in her heart for Behemoth!  She had the creature eating out of her hand and had even trained it not to dam up the Pishon when it played in its waters.  We walked the Garden and discovered together all the provision the Lord had given.  It was overwhelming; so much food; so much beauty! We tasted many of the fruits of the Garden but it would be a long time before we got to them all!

 

Eve was curious about the two special trees the Lord had provided in the center of the Garden; and particularly Trevil.  She said it seemed odd to her that I would nickname the tree, as if it were a pet.  One evening she said that it seemed to her to be much too serious an issue to be taken so lightly; to be spoken of by a nickname.  She said (almost with a serious tone) that maybe I should at least address it as Mr. Trevil.

 

Woman often wondered out loud why the Tree of Life was needed.  I told her that was my thought exactly. After all, we were alive already, right?  The Lord had said the fruit of the tree was good for healing, but we were never sick.  Besides, eating of the tree of life would be final based on what the Lord had said.  We would be in this life forever, whether we liked it or not.  Perhaps, we needed to “settle in” a bit to make sure we liked life…leave our options open…exercise our free will on this one.  I decided to avoid both trees.

 

But Trevil kept nagging at me.  Whereas the tree of life gave us something we didn’t really seem to need, at least not yet, and maybe didn’t want; Trevil promised to give us something we apparently didn’t have.  I had examined the tree and looked closely at its fruit.  The fruit was colorful and had a very pleasant aroma.  I had seen some of the animals that frequented the garden pulling off some of the fruit and eating it.  None of the creatures that ate the fruit seemed to be sickened by it and I had seen some return for more.  Woman didn’t seem to be as bothered by Trevil as I was.  She said there were plenty of wonderful fruits throughout the Garden and we didn’t need Mr. Trevil.

 

My thoughts returned to Woman next to me; a strand of her hair blowing gently across my forehead.  The true wonder of Woman was how she made me feel.  Often my emotions would be overwhelmed and there were times under the starry sky that I would even have the desire to pull down the moon and give it to her.  I often had overwhelming emotions such as that, which clearly the Lord had granted for our “oneness.”  I praised Him for her!

 

Her hair wafted back and forth, back and forth, and again that feeling came to me.  Just give her the moon and be done with it!

 

Then...everything changed. 

 

We rose and had wandered into the center of the Garden.  The wind swayed the branches of the trees scattered about the Garden amid the grape and berry trellises I had built.  It was common for us to surprise various creatures as we walked in the Garden, especially as we neared one of its rivers.  I could even now hear the soft flowing sound of the Pishon.  But this day, the Garden’s creatures were nowhere to be seen; not even one of the Garden’s many rabbits were around to be disturbed.  As a matter-of-fact, not even the hum of the bubble bees could be heard!  The was no “buzz” to be heard, only a deep whooshing sound.

 

This day another creature was there.  A creature like none other. It was unlike all the Garden’s creatures. It was not one of those I had named and it was stunningly beautiful.  It was extraordinary! Light reflected off of it so we could not clearly see all of its form.  I had been admiring Woman as she led the way in the Garden looking for some special fruit for our meal when we came to the edge of the clearing.  The creature was perhaps 200 feet from us and hanging in mid-air!  It was held there by a huge set of wings.  They looked to be 15 feet from tip to tip and the creature itself looked to be as tall.  Woman saw the creature first, and gasped.  She whispered, “What’s that?” as I came up beside her.  The light wavered around it - reflected from it, as if it were covered by precious stones…a spectrum of color. As we watched, it settled onto the ground near Trevil.  It was staring at Trevil. It seemed to be humming, a mellow, lyrical sound. I couldn’t remember any one of the Lord’s creatures making music! “The creature was enchanting!  Yes, enchanting!”  That was the word that jumped into my mind.

 

The enchanting creature seemed to be lost in thought as it continued humming, staring at Trevil. But it sensed our presence as we entered the clearing and abruptly stopped.  It turned its gaze from Trevil to us; or rather I should say to Woman.  “Hello!” it said.  “You startled me!

 

I just about jumped out of my skin!  It spoke!  No other of the Lord’s creatures save me and Woman spoke!  I was stunned!  What was this magnificent creature that could make music and speak?

After a moment, Woman spoke, “Please forgive us!  We did not mean to interrupt you!  Please continue your beautiful music!”  

 

“Not at all,” the Enchanter responded. “This is the Lord’s garden and you folks have first place in it.  I am the one intruding.  Please forgive me!”

 

We walked up to the Enchanter and sat down on the closest of one of the many benches I had placed around the garden.  The Creature truly was extraordinary.  It actually was covered in precious stones!  None of the Lord’s creatures came close to its glorious appearance…not even Woman.  It was easily twice our height but it folded its huge wings, then reclined on the ground in front of us, so its eyes were about level with ours. 

 

“You are not intruding,” Woman said.  “Many creatures frequent the Garden for its lovely food and refreshing cool waters.  Please feel welcomed!”  I found myself nodding and smiling but my mind was racing; asking myself question after question.  What is this?  Where did it come from?  Why was it staring at Trevil? Why had the Lord not brought it to me for naming? It was a “beast of the field,” right?  For that matter, why had the Lord not even told me about it?  He had told me about other fantastic creatures I had not seen yet gave a name to.  He had told me about Leviathan!

 

I looked at Woman.  She was totally focused on the Enchanter.  I wondered yet again why the Lord had not brought the creature to me during the naming days.   Such a creature would certainly be important in His Kingdom! The Enchanter spoke.  “I have been observing that tree and been wondering about it.”  He nodded toward Trevil.  I was about to explain about Trevil when Woman spoke. “We can’t eat of that tree!  It is forbidden,” she said matter-of-factly.

 

“Yes,” I confirmed.  “We are not allowed to eat of its fruit.” 

 

Woman went on, “The Lord told Adam that in the day he eats of the fruit of that tree, he will die. We can’t even touch the fruit.”  That caught me a bit by surprise.  Had I said that to Woman?  The Lord really didn’t tell me I couldn’t touch the fruit.

 

“Indeed,” the Enchanter replied. 

 

I looked at Trevil.  It was loaded with fruit in spite of the animals that had frequented it, and the aroma drifted to us.  I thought Woman and I were the only intelligent creatures on the planet.  I was about to inquire of the creature regarding this when it spoke again.  “Indeed, has the Lord said that you may not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?”  He went on, “You know, the fruit is good and can make you smart like The Lord.”  He was speaking directly to my beautiful Woman instead of me, not taking its eyes off of her.  I couldn’t really blame it.  She was very pleasing to look at.  But, something was going on here!

 

“Yes,” Woman responded.  “We cannot touch or eat of the fruit.” 

 

What IS going on here? This creature, this Enchanter, is speaking to Woman as if I didn’t exist and clearly Woman is enthralled by it! It is talking about the Lord’s command not to eat of the fruit of Trevil in a questioning way!

 

The Enchanter got up and walked over to Trevil, then pulled a fruit off of it and took a bite!  I was dumbstruck!  It actually reached up, pulled off a piece of fruit and bit off a juicy chunk!  Watching animals take of the fruit was one thing.  Watching this obviously intelligent creature who knew the warning pull off a forbidden fruit and eat it was something quite different.

 

“Indeed,” the Enchanter said, taking another a bite!

 

My mind reeled! The Lord had told me not to eat the fruit and now this obviously intelligent being was eating it.  Did the command not apply to him?  Did he not care?

 

“Indeed, did The Lord say you could not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?  But, you know that He knows in the day that you eat it, you will be like Him!”

 

My mind was in total confusion!  “This was not the Lord!  This intelligent creature had just eaten of the forbidden fruit.  Will he die now? He said we would be like the Lord if we ate of it!  Was he like The Lord because he ate?  Did he know good from evil, like The Lord?  He wasn’t The Lord, was he?  What was going on here?”

 

I thought, “Like Him!”  I had forgotten that the Lord had said that.  I had been so focused on the warning that I had not even given thought to what it might mean to be “like Him.”  Now that’s an incredible thought!  What would it be like to be like the Creator?  To have the knowledge He has…the kind of knowledge it took to create creation!

 

I saw Woman move toward the Enchanter.  “Yes,” she said.  “We cannot eat of that tree.”  She looked over to me clearly seeking confirmation of the Lord’s command.  She had not been told directly by the Lord.  She had only heard it from me, so she was seeking assurance - almost pleading that she was not permitted to take of the fruit.

 

I remained motionless and gave her no response.  “To be like the Creator!”  The Lord had told me, not her, not to eat of the tree.  I could blame her!  I remained motionless and expressionless.  Some of the fruit’s juice dripped lightly from the Enchanter’s hand.  Woman frowned at my lack of response and turned back to the Enchanter.  “You know, the Lord said in the day we ate of the fruit we would die.  But you haven’t died.”  Woman was watching the Enchanter and looking at the fruit in its hand.   The Enchanter said nothing.

 

Then Woman reached out and took the fruit from the Creature and turned back to me, her eyes inquiring of mine.  I thought over and over, “To be like the Creator…to be like the Creator; to just speak things into existence!  I could be like Him!”  Woman examined the fruit carefully, looking it over and around and smelling it.  The juice from the fruit dripped off her hand…and then she licked it!  “Wait a minute!”  I started to speak.  But she wasn’t listening.  She took a bite! 

 

“Adam!  It is wonderful!  It’s absolutely delicious!”  She walked over to me and held the fruit out.  A drop of its juice ran down her wrist; fell to the ground. Her beautiful flowing mane wafted in the breeze and the aroma of the wet fruit filled the air.  She had taken a bit of the fruit of Trevil! She had violated the Lord’s command!  Now what?  The Lord had told us, me, not to eat the fruit of Trevil lest we die! But the Enchanter didn’t die! The Woman didn’t die!  Nothing had changed about either of them!   “She ate the fruit before I could stop her, Lord,” I rehearsed.   How could the Lord have denied me this wonderful fruit?  “A fruit pleasant to the eyes, good for food, and good to make one wise.” How could he have denied me? I took the fruit.  Woman was fine!  The Woman He had taken from me to complete me was fine.  If I didn’t take a bit, what would become of us?  Would I lose Woman?  I didn’t want that!  And - to be like Him!

I took a bite and my gaze rose to meet the Enchanter’s.  I could see him clearly now - the Serpent smiled.

 

We were naked.

 

I heard the Lord walking in the Garden.