When God created Adam and Eve, He made them in His own likeness. After creating the whole world, He placed them in the garden and gave them a clear command.
In Genesis 2:16–17, it says, “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’”
When we look closely at this command, we see how God presents it. He allows them to freely eat from every tree in the garden. Only one tree is restricted—the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
God does not present this tree as something highly elevated or different in appearance from the others. It is simply one tree among many. The instruction is clear: they should not eat from it.
This shows how God viewed it. The tree was there in the garden just like the rest, but with a moral boundary attached to it. The focus was not on the tree itself, but on obedience to His word.
Now, when we come to Genesis 3:1–3, we see how Eve expresses her understanding. She says, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
Here we can notice a difference.
God’s original command was that they should not eat from the tree. He did not say that they should not touch it. But in Eve’s response, she adds this detail—“nor shall you touch it.”
This shows that Eve did not fully express the command exactly as God had given it. There is a slight change in how she understood or repeated it.
When we compare these two passages, we can see that God’s words were simple and direct. But Eve’s understanding, or at least her expression of it, included something more than what was originally said.
This difference may seem small, but it is meaningful.
It teaches us that it is very important, as Christians, to understand God’s word clearly and accurately. We must see things in the light of what God has truly said, not based on our own additions or interpretations.
When Eve did not fully hold to the exact words of God, it created a gap in understanding. And that gap opened the way for her to fall into sin.
The issue was not about touching the tree. The command was about not eating from it. But the misunderstanding shows that she was not fully aligned with what God had actually said.
This gives us an important lesson.
We must be careful to understand God’s word as it is. Not to add to it, and not to change it. Because even a small misunderstanding can lead us away from the truth.
When we see things from God’s perspective, we understand His will clearly. But when we rely on our own understanding, we may miss what He truly meant.
Eve’s experience reminds us of the importance of holding firmly to God’s word, just as He has spoken it.
