CHAPTER XV.

THE FORBIDDEN FRUIT; OR, THE BROKEN RULE.

QUESTION XV. _What was the sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created?_

ANSWER. The sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created, was their eating the forbidden fruit.

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ON Thursday, the very day of the next exercise, Mr. and Mrs. Dermott were suddenly called away to attend the funeral of an aged relative. They were absent until Saturday; and much to the children's disappointment, they concluded to postpone the lesson until Thursday of the next week.

When the answer had been repeated, Mr. Dermott asked his wife to give an account of the trees in the garden of Eden.

"We read in Genesis," she said, "that God created every tree that is pleasant to the sight, which I suppose means beautiful plants or flowering shrubs, such as roses, magnolias, and jessamines; or those that emit fragrance, or in any other way delight the senses. He created also every tree that was good for food, whether of the pulpy fruits, such as oranges, lemons, and apples; or of the kernel and nut kind, such as dates and nuts of different sorts. I suppose these also include all running vines, bearing melons, &c., and all esculent vegetables.

"Walter, can you tell me the names of two trees which stood in the midst of the garden?"

"Yes, sir. The tree of life, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil."

"Which tree was forbidden to our first parents?"

"The latter one."

"Among all the fruits which they had eaten, had they ever tasted of the tree of life?"

"I don't know, sir."

"Probably not; for after they had eaten of the tree of knowledge, God said, 'Behold, the man has become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever; therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken,' and he placed 'a flaming sword, which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life.'

"Many writers consider this tree an emblem of that life which man should ever live, provided he continued in obedience to his Maker. And probably the use of this tree was intended as the means of preserving the body of man in a state of continual vital energy, and an antidote against death.

"What other command did God give respecting the tree of knowledge, beside forbidding them to eat of it?"

"He forbade them to touch it," answered Helen.

"Why did God forbid them to eat of it, or even to touch it?"

"To try them, and see whether they would obey him."

"Do you not think there was some other reason?" asked Mrs. Dermott, of her husband. "It would seem God thought man really had acquired undue knowledge."

"It is exceedingly difficult to understand exactly how much is here meant. Some writers think the sight of the tree was always to remind man that there was a bound set to his knowledge; that there was one thing God had seen proper to deprive him of. Others think that the tree possessed a particular property of increasing knowledge, a physical influence, having a tendency to strengthen the understanding, and invigorate the faculties.

"Who tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit?"

"The serpent."

"By what other names is he called in the Bible?"

"Satan."

"Yes, and Apollyon or Abaddon. He is also called the father of lies, and the roaring lion who goeth about seeking whom he may devour. By what arguments did he prevail with her to eat?"

"In the first place," answered Mrs. Dermott, "he charged God with a lie. She had said, 'God has given us every tree but this. If we eat of this tree, he says, we shall die.' But Satan said, 'That is not true, and God knows it is not. He wishes to keep you ignorant. I am sincerely your friend, and I tell you that if you eat of this tree, you will become as gods, knowing good and evil.'

"O, what a wicked serpent!" cried Walter. "I should have thought Eve would have known better than to believe him."

"What three reasons induced her to disobey God, and to eat of the tree? You may read, Anna, from the Bible."

"'And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat.'"

"Alas! How many children are tempted to their ruin by the appeal to their senses! Some become intemperate and gluttons from their inordinate love of eating; others, from their overweening fondness for dress and display, are carried into the vanities of the world, and thus lose their souls."

"I once heard," continued the gentleman, "of a poor peasant in England, who, on one occasion, met with a company of persons that disbelieved the Bible and the sacred truths it contained.

"'They argued and reasoned,' said the poor man, 'until they shook my belief. But all the time I knew I was in error, only I was so ignorant I could not answer their objections.

"'At length one of them asked me, "How can you be so foolish as to suppose that God would destroy Adam and all his descendants just for eating an apple?"

"'I had often reflected upon this weak objection raised by unbelievers; and I instantly answered, "It was not that our first parents ate a particular kind of fruit; it was, that they had disobeyed God. It was, sir, that they broke the rule."'"