The Prohibited Food

When mankind first came to live upon the earth, the Great God saw fit to walk abroad among them frequently and permitted them to hold converse with Him on matters relating to their duties and their welfare. At one time, the discourse turned on the terrible consequences of disobedience, which caused punishment to fall, not only on the transgressor himself but also on the entire human race.

The man could not comprehend the mystery and sought for enlightenment from God. In order to help him to understand, the Great God said unto him, “Go and retire for seven days to meditate upon this matter. At the end of the seven days, I will again visit the earth. Then come and seek me, and we will discourse further. In the meantime, also go into the forest and hew down the giant tree which I point out to you, and beware of cutting down any other trees, at your own peril.” And He pointed out a large tree in the middle of the forest.

The Great God soon ascended into heaven, and the man went forth to meditate and cut down the giant tree, as he had been commanded.

At the expiration of seven days, the man came to the appointed place, and the Great God came to meet him. He asked him minutely about his work and his meditations during the week of retirement, but the man had gained no further knowledge nor received any new light. So the Great God, to help him, began to question him. Their discourse was after this manner:

“Have you cut down the tree as you were commanded?”

“Behold, its place is empty. I have cut it down.”

“Did you follow my command in all respects? Did you abstain from cutting down any of the other trees?”

“I abstained from cutting down any other trees. My axe only came down upon the one tree pointed out to me.”

“What are all these trees and shrubs that I see scattered about then?”

“These were broken and uprooted by the weight of the great tree as it fell.”

“Behold, here are some trees that have been cut down with an axe! How did this happen?”

“The jungle was so thick I could not reach the giant tree without first cutting a path for myself.”

“That is true. Therefore, learn from this parable. The man is so great that, if he falls into transgression, others must suffer with him.”

But the man still marvelled, and his mind remained dark. The Great God, in His infinite patience, told him to ponder further upon the parable of the giant tree. So the Great God walked abroad for a time, and man was left alone to contemplate. When He returned, He found the man still puzzled and unable to comprehend and once again, He questioned him.

“What took place in My absence?”

“Nothing of importance that I can think of.”

“Why did you cry out as if in pain?”

“It was for a very trivial cause. An ant bit me in my heel.”

“And what did you do?”

“I took a stone and killed the ant and the whole nest of ants.”

“This also is a parable. Just because one ant bit you, the entire ant-nest was destroyed. Man is the ant and if man transgresses, he and all his race must suffer.”

Yet the man did not comprehend anything. At which point the Great God granted him another seven days to retire and to meditate upon the parables of the giant tree and the ant.

Again the man came to the appointed place at the end of seven days seeking to receive fuller knowledge and understanding. The Great God had not yet appeared, so the man took a walk in the forest to await His coming. As he wandered about aimlessly, he met a stranger carrying a small pouch in his hand out of which he was eating some food. Now this stranger was a demon, but the man did not know it.

“Where are you going?” asked the stranger affably after the manner of the country.

“Just to walk for my pleasure,” replied the man. “What food are you eating?”

“Only some cakes of bread which I find very tasty. Take some and eat!” And he passed the pouch to him.

“Your offer is kindly made, but do not be offended that I refuse to accept your bread, for it is decreed that we shall live on rice alone.”

“Even so, surely to take a morsel just to taste would not be wrong.”

This time the man did not resist but accepted a cake of bread and ate it with enjoyment, after which the stranger departed, taking his bag of cakes with him.

The man had scarcely swallowed the strange food when he heard the voice of the Great God calling to him from the skies, saying:

“What have you done, oh man? You know the decree that rice was provided to be your only food and yet you have carelessly transgressed and partaken of the strange food of the tempter. From now on you and your race shall be tormented by the strange being whose food you have eaten. By eating his food, you have given him dominion over yourself and your race. To escape from his torments, you and your race must give up your substance to appease him and to avert his wrath.”

Thus, too late, the man began to understand, and ever since then, the days of men have been full of sorrow because man yielded to the tempter’s voice instead of submitting to the decrees of the Great God.