the tree because it would be bad for them in a particular way. His lack of an explanation was a call to obey out of love and trust in God for who he was in himself. So the command sought not merely behavioral compliance but also a particular attitude and relationship to God. That relationship was what the serpent immediately attacked. In Genesis 3:1 the serpent said that God had forbidden them from eating the fruit of any of the trees of the garden—which he had not. Then in Genesis 3:5 the serpent
Page 53