The First Deception

One of the most effective strategy in lying is to mix is with enough truth with a sprinkle of lies. It can also be called twisting the truth, but the effect is clear - it leads people way from the truth. This was how the enemy tricked man into disobedience, by presenting the truth then slightly casting doubt on just one small portion of truth - "Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

A second point is more difficult to explain - what is wrong with knowing good and evil? Why is God trying to prevent us from knowing good and evil? Since the Renaissance, or the The Enlightenment, knowledge is put on  a pedestal by some. It seems that scientific pursuit is flying against the face of God if it turns out that God does not want us to have knowledge.

But in fact, it was not just any knowledge, it was the knowledge of good and evil referred to here. But what is wrong with knowing Good and Evil - surely God wants us to know that? Yes. I think the key point here is the disobedience in wanting to know good and evil without depending on God to teach us or show us. The sin is in disobedience, rebellion and seeking our own independence rather than dependence in God.

So is this just a test set by God? Can God simply choose this test to be on any other tree He decided that man should not eat? No - there is a practical reason for not eating the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. By eating and knowing good and evil, we can now choose to do evil things even though we know it is evil. Another consequence is thinking that we know good and evil, and not reliant on God, we can also make mistakes in the interpretation of good and evil. Hence the knowledge of Good and Evil is a dangerous thing if it comes from ourselves and not from God.

Genesis 3
¹ Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
² And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; ³ but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 
⁴ Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. ⁵ For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 
⁶ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it waspleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they werenaked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.