Genesis 2:16,17
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.’
God made trees. “It is good,” the Lord said. Trees bring life, health, homes, borders and beauty. God made man to care for the trees and the animals. But we all know that certain plants and trees are toxic to humans. Don’t eat poinsettia leaves! It would seem that some trees have spiritual value also. One tree is called the tree of life but another was called the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Eating from that tree brought death. It is not for us but for God to determine good and evil.
I have often pondered why God would create something that he would refuse his creatures to eat. Have you ever made something you did not want your children to eat or touch? Perhaps there was a cake for an upcoming birthday and you did not want it eaten. Perhaps the time was not right because the cake is eaten after opening the presents. Then again you may have known that one of your children was gluten intolerant and so eating the cake would make them sick. It might have been that the cake had poison in it to catch the cockroaches. Do you remember your mother telling you not to drink vanilla? Even though it smelled sweet, its taste was bitter. We hear warnings that some foods when eaten are addictive and can lead to bad habits and dependencies. All this is to say that there are many reasons that we can be warned not to do something that appears good. It may not be that God created the tree to test humans to see if they would obey.
I find it comforting that from the beginning God spoke into our reality, telling us not to do something because it will not bring life but death. Later God spoke on Mt. Sinai and gave us rules again. Don’t kill. It only leads to death. Don’t steal. Don’t disrespect. God tried to protect us and we have resisted being limited. We read to not let the sun go down on our anger and yet we know wars, killings, and murders create agony for many. Oh Lord, have mercy!
Perhaps you need to sit quietly and ask the Holy Spirit to shine his flashlight on your heart to see if there is some seed of rebellion growing in your heart. There may be some forbidden fruit that you are craving. Now is the time to confess and resist. God is not playing games with you. I suspect he is protecting you from death.! He cares. He sees the big picture and can fairly decide what is good and what is evil. Thank goodness
“Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil”
Genesis 2:16,17
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.’
God made trees. “It is good,” the Lord said. Trees bring life, health, homes, borders and beauty. God made man to care for the trees and the animals. But we all know that certain plants and trees are toxic to humans. Don’t eat poinsettia leaves! It would seem that some trees have spiritual value also. One tree is called the tree of life but another was called the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Eating from that tree brought death. It is not for us but for God to determine good and evil.
I have often pondered why God would create something that he would refuse his creatures to eat. Have you ever made something you did not want your children to eat or touch? Perhaps there was a cake for an upcoming birthday and you did not want it eaten. Perhaps the time was not right because the cake is eaten after opening the presents. Then again you may have known that one of your children was gluten intolerant and so eating the cake would make them sick. It might have been that the cake had poison in it to catch the cockroaches. Do you remember your mother telling you not to drink vanilla? Even though it smelled sweet, its taste was bitter. We hear warnings that some foods when eaten are addictive and can lead to bad habits and dependencies. All this is to say that there are many reasons that we can be warned not to do something that appears good. It may not be that God created the tree to test humans to see if they would obey.
I find it comforting that from the beginning God spoke into our reality, telling us not to do something because it will not bring life but death. Later God spoke on Mt. Sinai and gave us rules again. Don’t kill. It only leads to death. Don’t steal. Don’t disrespect. God tried to protect us and we have resisted being limited. We read to not let the sun go down on our anger and yet we know wars, killings, and murders create agony for many. Oh Lord, have mercy!
Perhaps you need to sit quietly and ask the Holy Spirit to shine his flashlight on your heart to see if there is some seed of rebellion growing in your heart. There may be some forbidden fruit that you are craving. Now is the time to confess and resist. God is not playing games with you. I suspect he is protecting you from death.! He cares. He sees the big picture and can fairly decide what is good and what is evil. Thank goodness
On the Way to Wonder 