We read in Genesis 2:8-9, God placed the man he created in the Garden that was in Eden. God filled it with every kind of tree that is edible and delightful. At the same time, He also placed two different trees in the middle of the garden. Those are named as the ‘Tree of Life’ and the ‘Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.’ In 2:16-17, God has commanded the man that he could eat from any tree except the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil. If he eats from it, he shall die. It’s a test but not merely a moral test. It is a choice given to humans. Well, what’s that about?
We can consider the Garden of Eden as a Temple where God and humans live together. Eden is also the centre of life in the narrative: it is the fertile land and gives birth to the water of life that flows through the Garden and goes outside of it, dividing up into four tributaries, to bring life to the rest of the earth. The term Eden also means delight and pleasure. No wonder the same word has become synonymous with ‘paradise.’ In other words, it is a place where heaven and the earth meet together. At the centre of this temple, the presence of God is so intense which is described with the Tree of Life. Eating this fruit leads to ‘eternal life’ (Gen. 3:22). If we notice the wordplay in Genesis 1-3, we notice that humans and trees are defined in the same words – being fruitful, life-generating and bearing seed.
The Tree of Life here does not have any magical power rather it radiates God’s own life because God is the source of all life. This is to say, humans are free to eat it and share in the life of God. The essence here is about more than becoming immortals. It is about expressing God’s own life on the earth. Humans have the freedom to be partners with God by sharing His own transforming life. However, there is also another tree that tests their faith – the Tree of Wisdom. Knowing good and evil refers to moral autonomy. This tree too appears delightful to the eyes just like any other tree in the garden but it’s a false tree of life from which humans are told not to eat.
Humans are forbidden to eat from this Tree of Wisdom. This is because God intended humans to share in His life and rely on God’s definition of good and evil 'to rule over the earth.’ This doesn’t mean God is intending humans to be like mere puppets, following His instructions alone. That’s not the thing here. God gave humans His image and His breath, not to be puppets but to be creators themselves. They could create the world as they like. But it is simply about depending on God’s definition of good and evil.
To be right, God has hidden something from them: it is they would become like divine beings if they know good and evil (see Gen. 3:22). Therefore, this is a matter of trust. It is whether humans would consider God as reliable, trustworthy and true even if they were not revealed to all the facts that God knows. They are supposed to express their faith despite the things that are not made known to them. As long as humans rely on God’s wisdom and do not choose to define good and evil on their own, they express the life of God on the earth. The day they choose to depend on their own wisdom i.e., the day they eat from the false tree of life, they will be cut off from the life-giving power of God.
This is a test – it is a choice between life and wisdom. Here in the narrative, it is God who defines good and evil (Gen. 1:31; 2:18). If humans choose to rely on God’s definition of good and evil, they could create the world that radiates God’s own life in and through them. They could use the authority of God (image of God) to rule the world by partnering and cooperating with Him. The Kingdom of God could be expressed through them as they continue to exhibit God’s own creative power and wisdom.
But there is also an alternative life before them. They can push God out of the scene and choose to do what is good in their own eyes. They can gain wisdom and use God-given authority to recreate the world as they like. Well, that sounds good, but it breaks humans from life-support. Humans can no longer partner with God in ruling the world. While immortality is the gift of God, death is the consequence of humans’ own definition of good and evil. Humans can no longer remain as agents of God’s own life and power but simply become agents of sin and death. In simple words, the life that the Tree of Wisdom offers is a kind of life that would finally lead them to death as humans set up their standards of living.
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