The Tree of Life and The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil

Kevin E. Jesmer       7-20-20

Genesis 2: 8-9, “Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”

Genesis 2:15-17, “15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (NIV)

In this chapter we discover two trees planted by God. In the middle of the Garden was the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God granted Adam and Ever eternal life in the Garden. He also maintained the right relationship with mankind. He helped them to taste to goodness of freedom. These trees also came with a warning. Adam and Ever were not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for if they did eat from it, they would surely die. There is so much to learn about God through these trees and their placement in the Garden. Praise God that he wants to maintain the proper relationship with us.

First, Adam and Eve were blessed with eternal life in the Garden of Eden. There was the tree of life. The fruit of this tree is described in the book of Revelation. In the Kingdom of God, the fruit from the tree of life will be for the healing of the nations. We can assume that the fruit of this tree would bring healing to Adam and Eve. They were free to come to this tree and eat from it every day. I would love to have this tree in my back yard. They had eternal life because death is caused by sin. Up to this point there was no sin in the Garden and therefore no death. It was more than just no death, there was constant healing going on too. Therefore, eternal life was more than just living forever. It was high quality, satisfying, abundant living.

Second, God granted them freedom in the Garden. Verse 16 says that they were free to eat from any tree in the Garden. They had freedom. It was God’s gift to them. They could eat from the millions of trees. The nuts and the berries and various fruits were in abundance and could be freely eaten. It was a vegan paradise. Adam and Eve could really enjoy their freedom. They engaged in meaningful work, tending the garden and making it even more fruitful, for the glory of God. They could take a swim in the clear waters. Then they could have a refreshing cup of juice and a fruit and nut salad. But apparently God puts some breaks on their freedom.

Third, God wanted to enhance the flavor of their freedom. He set limits to it. In verse 17 he stated, “but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” This command means that Adam and Eve were given a choice, and with that choice there were severe consequences. To understand this point, think about if they were only given freedom to eat things that were delicious but their choices were benign. Their choices would have no significant consequences. Really, who cares if you had a citrus salad, or a berry-nut harvest salad? Day after day, these types of choices don’t make much difference. It is not significant. But if we have a choice to make that has some abundant blessing if we choose right and very serious consequences if we choose wrong, then the flavor of our choices is heightened. It is like adding a little Cheyenne pepper to your pasta. Adam and Eve could rejoice in their obedience to God and his commands.

Fourth, God wanted to maintain the right relationship with Adam and Eve.  There is a definite relationship that God has with them. God is God and we are not. He is the Creator; they are his creatures. He is the provider. They are the benefactors. He is the commander. They are the ones called to obey his word. He is the lover. They are the beloved. He is their God and they are his precious children. He is the owner. They are his possession. He is the all-powerful, all holy God. They are the weak one’s dependent on him and prone to sin. He is from above. They are from below. He is self-originating, self-sustaining and self-perpetuating. They exist because of him and depend on him for their very existence. Can you think of any more aspects of their relationship? This relationship is lifegiving. Having the proper relationship with God is vital for our sense of wellbeing and happiness.

Maintaining the relationship is really difficult. It is very fragile if left to our own human devices. Adam and Eve could not maintain this “vine and branch” relationship on their own. Think about how easy it would be for Adam and Eve to completely forget about God. They could just go here and there, hiking, swimming and eating off the land and never even think about him. They would lose their thankfulness. God could easily become like a nice, quiet roommate that occasionally they would sense his presence wandering in the Garden, but nothing more. That is how many relate to Jesus, as a really nice, quiet roommate that seldom interferes with their lives. But that is not the kind of life-giving relationship that God wants and we need.

Mankind needs God’s help to maintain the proper relationship with him. God does this by his grace. In the Garden, God put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, with its absolute command, right next to the tree of life. Every time they would come to the tree of life and eat of it’s delicious fruit, they would glance over and see the ominous tree of the knowledge of good and evil and remember God who gave such a powerful command. They would remember who God is and who they are and freely choose to obey God.  In this way, God made a way to maintain this life-giving relationship that God wants with his people. He wants the right relationship with his creatures, for our benefit and for his glory.

Fifth, setting limits on mankind’s freedom shows us that God cares about us. For those who know child psychology, they learn that a child trusts in the parents to set safe limits. They are confident that their parents are monitoring their behavior and they will be quick to step in if there are any safety issues. Good parenting involves being trustworthy and consistent in setting healthy limits. The child who can sense this is the child who ventures off to explore his world, because he feels his parents are right there with him. When Adam and Eve recognized the limits, they also recognized God’s love and they could trust God to be with them as they worked the Garden and took care of it.

Sixth, mankind needs a stiff lesson in God’s judgement to remain right with God. God warned Adam and Eve that if they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would surely die. God was not joking. God is holy, truthful and just. He is not just this quiet roommate who pays the rent and never bothers you. If they disobeyed God, they would be sinning against their Creator. Their vine and branch relationship with God would be cut off. They would be disconnected from their life source, God himself. They would die spiritually and then they would die physically. They would not enter into eternal life. How terrible this would be. It must never happen to Adam and Eve and that is why God was so serious. They needed to have a holy fear of God.

As you can see, we can learn so much from the two trees that are in the middle of the Garden. We learned, first, Adam and Ever were blessed with eternal life in the Garden of Eden; second, God granted them freedom in the Garden; third, God wanted to enhance the flavor of their freedom; fourth, God wanted to maintain the right relationship with Adam and Eve. Maintaining the relationship is really difficult. Mankind needs God’s help to maintain the proper relationship with him. Fifth, setting limits on mankind’s freedom shows us that God cares about us; and sixth, mankind needs a stiff lesson in God’s judgement to remain right with God. May you be blessed with a joyful, lifegiving and fruit bearing relation with God as you live by faith.

I thank God for concerning about my relationship with him and helping me to maintain that relationship. I am in desperate need for God to maintain the proper relationship with him. On my own I could not maintain my relationship. I would wander off to unholy things, unhealthy emotions and fruitless things. My thoughts and emotions would be off kilter. I would lack the joy of life and the joy of salvation. But there is one thing I can rejoice in and have confidence in, Christ would never leave me nor forsake me as his own. He will be my shepherd all the way to kingdom of God. He will maintain my vine and branch relationship with him.  Some of the inner turmoil I may face is just times of God divine discipline, drawing me closer to him, growing my faith and molding my personality to be more like Christ.