We examine the providence by which God, having created man, led him into the Garden of Eden and placed the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden.
Reading Passage: Genesis 3:1–7
“… When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate …”
Memory Verse: James 1:15
“When desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is full-grown, it brings forth death.”
Reference Verse: Genesis 2:17
“You shall not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it you will surely die.”
“The LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘From every tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for on the day that you eat from it you will surely die.’” (Genesis 2:16–17)
Those who do not know the great love of the Creator God or the deep and mysterious providence of His cultivation of people ask, “Why did God place the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and make man go down the path of destruction?” They think that if God had not placed that tree, people would have lived happily in Eden forever.
But the God of love would never have deliberately set the tree there to lead people onto the way of death. Then why did God place the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the center of Eden, and why was the living being Adam bound to go the way of death?
- Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
God created the first man, Adam, as a living being—a living spirit—and let him live in the abundant Garden of Eden. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and a river of the water of life flowed there. Seeing that it was not good for Adam, a living spirit, to be alone, God made the woman Eve as a helper, and the two became one (Genesis 2:18–25).
This was not because Adam himself felt lonely; rather, God—who had been alone for ages—considered Adam’s situation beforehand and bestowed His love, and it was God’s providence for the future cultivation of mankind.
Adam and Eve, as living spirits, enjoyed to the full what God had given and lived richly in Eden. Yet there was one thing God forbade: they were not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden. By placing the tree of the knowledge of good and evil at the center of Eden, God established order between the Creator God and man, His creature. What, then, happened?
- Adam and Eve, Tempted by the Serpent, Commit Sin
As long ages passed, Adam and Eve failed to keep God’s word in mind and ended up eating the fruit. Satan, who was seeking an opportunity to oppose God, tempted the wife Eve through the serpent, the most crafty of the wild animals; and in the end her husband Adam also disobeyed the word of God.
In Genesis 2:16–17 we read that God commanded the living being Adam, “From every tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for on the day you eat from it you will surely die.”
But in Genesis 3:1 the serpent asks the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” She replies, “The fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden—God said, ‘You shall not eat it or touch it, or you might die.’”
God had clearly said, “On the day you eat from it you will surely die.” Yet the woman altered God’s word and answered, “You might die.” Then the serpent tempted her more boldly.
“You will certainly not die,” it said, completely denying God’s word. And it added, “For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4–5).
Thus, when Satan—through the crafty serpent—stirred up desire, the woman saw the fruit differently than before. It looked good for food, delightful to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise. She took and ate it, and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate (Genesis 3:6).
Some say, “They ate because there was evil in them.” But before they disobeyed, Adam and Eve had no evil at all. They simply had free will, by which they could choose to eat or not to eat.
As long ages passed, they failed to keep God’s word in mind; and when Satan tempted through the serpent, they ended up eating the fruit. By disobeying the order God had established, evil entered. In other words, man—created as a living spirit—did not possess evil from the beginning; rather, by eating the fruit through free will, sin was constituted, and from that point evil began to enter.
- The Wages of Sin Is Death
Romans 6:23 shows the law of the spiritual realm: “The wages of sin is death.” How, then, did death come upon Adam and Eve, who committed the sin of disobedience? God had clearly said, “You will surely die,” but after their disobedience Adam and Eve did not die immediately; they lived long and had many children. Therefore, the death God spoke of does not simply mean the physical death when breath ceases, but spiritual death.
Originally, man was created with a spirit that could commune with God, a soul governed by the spirit, and a body that is the tent of spirit and soul (1 Thessalonians 5:23). But when they broke God’s command, the human spirit that had communion with the God who is Spirit died. Because their spirits died through sin, they could no longer commune with God, and were finally driven out from Eden—the spiritual realm—into this earth—the physical realm.
From that time the sufferings of mankind began: the woman’s pain in conception greatly increased; she would bear children in toil and have desire toward her husband and be ruled by him (Genesis 3:16). The man, having sinned, would eat the produce only by lifelong toil upon the cursed ground (Genesis 3:17). In the end, Adam and Eve became those who return to a handful of dust. Thus the descendants of the fallen Adam were also born as sinners and went the way of death, the wages of sin (Romans 5:12).
What, then, of the serpent that, at Satan’s instigation, deceived Eve? God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle and more than every beast of the field; you will go on your belly, and you will eat dust all the days of your life.”
Here, dust refers to man, who was created from dust (Genesis 2:7), and the serpent signifies the devil, Satan (Revelation 20:2). God’s word that the serpent would eat dust means that those who live in darkness become the food of the devil, Satan.
Not only people of the world but even God’s children, if they do evil and commit sin, come under the work of the devil (1 Peter 5:8), and trials and afflictions come. Moreover, the devil deceives those who say they believe in God yet do not firmly hold to His word, leading them onto the path of death.
- The Reason God Placed the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
God did not place the tree in the very center of the garden in order to make people eat and go down the path of destruction. Rather, it was God’s astonishing providence to let them learn relativity.
Most people suppose that the living beings Adam and Eve were very happy in Eden. However, because they had not experienced relativity, they did not know true happiness and love.
Though they enjoyed many things in the abundant Garden of Eden, they had not obtained them by their own sweat and toil, and so they did not know the preciousness and gratitude for what God had given. Thus they fell to the serpent’s temptation and committed the sin of disobedience by eating the fruit.
Only after being driven out into this world and experiencing tears, sorrow, pain, misfortune, and death could they clearly realize what true happiness and unhappiness were. Then they came to know how valuable the freedom and abundance of Eden—where God had led them—really were.
Only by experiencing relativity can one become a true child of God and exchange love with Him forever. Therefore God gave man free will and placed the tree of the knowledge of good and evil at the center of Eden. He did not prevent man from picking and eating the fruit according to free will, but through the cultivation of people He ordained that they experience all the joys and sorrows of life in this world.
After being driven out of Eden, the fallen Adam and Eve experienced relativity. Thus they realized what true love, joy, and thanksgiving are, and came to love and revere God from the center of their hearts.
In this way, God placed the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the middle of Eden and, through the first humans Adam and Eve, fulfilled the providence of the cultivation of people so that human beings might understand God’s love and enjoy true happiness.
Plus
“Free will”:
The power and ability to control and govern one’s actions and decisions by oneself. It is the ability and privilege God has given to people so that they may choose and act for themselves.
Relativity:
The principle by which true love, joy, and gratitude can only be known by also experiencing sorrow, pain, and loss. It is God’s way to help His children know the real value of His blessings.