“The LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. Out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Genesis 2:5,8-9
God has given much honor and authority to the man Adam. All of the earthly creation was under his dominion and rule. The man, and the wife God created for him, enjoyed the intimate fellowship of their Creator and Father. Every need and desire were perfectly met within the boundaries of the Garden Paradise they called home. Nothing is withheld from their hand except one thing.
Now to understand why this is necessary, we have to remember that God is a God of perfect order and design. In order to maintain order and design, there must be laws that govern it, otherwise creation returns to lawless, formless chaos. So, God establishes boundaries and statutes for all His creation and when it operates within those defined ordinances, it operates according to His will. It remains good.
It is well for us to remember also, that God created the beings of both heaven and earth with a will of their own, with the ability to think and act independently of Him. He did this because He is also a God of perfect love. Love is true and authentic only when it is given freely. Anything else is coercion at best or, tyranny at worst. And that is not the character of God. He had to provide that humanity would have the freedom to choose Him and His goodness of their own volition.
He did not do this blindly. Aside from the fact that God is omniscient, meaning that He knows all things, He also is aware that this liberty has already produced a rebellion in the realm of heaven. But even now this rebel will serve Him, albeit in a much different capacity than what he could have anticipated. The devil is still God’s devil.
Let us visit the Garden more closely.
Eden is a rather unimaginable place. It is a location where heaven and earth meet. It is a place that knows no want or lack. Every possible need or pleasure is at hand and satisfied within its confines. The man and woman enjoy the wonder of every creature from land, sky and sea. They are enveloped in the glory and goodness of God that surrounds them day and night, and I believe this is the very reason they are naked and not ashamed, because they are literally clothed in it. There is no knowledge of fear or danger. No knowledge of evil.
Only one thing is required for them to remain in this state of existence, one thing necessary for the unity of the kingdoms to endure cohesively; and that is that the will of man must be in accord with the will of God. Anything else is an act of dissidence; an act of treason.
But man must have the ability to choose it for himself.
“The LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.’” Genesis 2:16-17
God has given the man one commandment. Not ten. Not six hundred.
Just One.
And He has clearly defined the boundary and the consequence for violating that boundary. There is absolutely no mystery involved.
Eat of this tree and live. Eat of that tree and die.
I’d say it was pretty simple, wouldn’t you?
The Tree of Life or the Tree of Death.
God is not withholding the knowledge of good, because everything that Adam and his wife know up to this point is nothing but goodness. They are immersed in God’s goodness.
What they do not know is evil. They do not know sin. They do not know death and spiritual darkness.
And to remain in that state all they have to do is to believe God.
Think about that… all that is required of them is to trust God and to obey His word. That is all the knowledge they needed.
The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil would be Adam’s proving ground. It would test his allegiance toward God. All the Serpent had to do to ruin Adam, and the whole human potential within him, was to make him doubt the Father’s goodness.. All he had to do was convince them to believe a lie.
The seeds of doubt can produce the most diabolical fruit. It seems as though even now the devil hasn’t had to come up with a better strategy. The old one still works.
The heart of the gospel is the message that Jesus came to do what Adam ultimately failed to do, which was obey the will of God. And He came to do it for you and me as well.
“For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” John 6:38
“I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.” Psalm 40:8