Tree Of Knowledge

At the time when the LORD God made the earth and the heavens -- while as yet there was no field shrub on earth and no grass of the field had sprouted, for the LORD God had sent no rain upon the earth and there was no man to till the soil, but a stream was welling up out of the earth and was watering all the surface of the ground -- the LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being.

Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and he placed there the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground the LORD God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The LORD God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it. The LORD God gave man this order: "You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die." (Genesis 2:4-9, 15-17)

I’ve always thought I should eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil so I would be better able to make the distinction from right and wrong – to form my conscience, for example.  But, the LORD God said I’m doomed to die if I eat from it?  What?!

Therein lies the dilemma.  The authors of Genesis understood that too many people choose evil.  They know the difference, and they choose wrongly.  So, ignorance is bliss.  Innocence is desirable, but that is ideal.  Reality is we all choose evil in one form or another.  The Devil knows we all will choose to eat from the wrong tree so he/she can tempt us to follow him.

In this marvelous, mythical story, God did not want Adam and Eve to sin. God knew ahead of time what the results of sin would be. God knew that Adam and Eve would sin and would then bring evil, suffering, and death into the world.  We all do.  We willingly choose to throw ourselves out of Eden.

Deacon David Pierce