What was the purpose of putting the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden?
This is a question I have heard quite often. Some seem to think that the Lord is responsible for the sin of Adam and Eve because He provided the means for them to disobey Him. Let’s read Genesis 2:9, “And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” Now let’s read Genesis 2:16-17, “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
It might be said, that for men, there is no true obedience without the possibility of disobedience. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was not put in the Garden of Eden to tempt man to sin; it was put there to give man the opportunity to obey the Lord. Adam and Eve were free to do anything they wanted, except eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They were expressly told in verses 16-17, “Of every tree in the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it…” Though Adam and Eve lacked knowledge of good and evil before eating from the tree, that doesn’t necessarily mean they had no understanding of obedience and disobedience. They knew to obey the Lord, but they chose to disobey Him.
The Lord loved Adam and Eve. Although He knew that they would eat of that tree, He certainly did not want them to do that. In verse 17, the Lord told them the consequence for eating that tree. “…in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Upon eating the fruit, Adam and Eve immediately died spiritually and began to die physically. However, after eating of the fruit, they learned something about God that they did not know before. They learned that He was a God of immeasurable love. The Lord said to the serpent in Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” A promised seed, a promised conqueror to defeat Satan! This was the first prophesy of the coming of Christ. Adam believed God. He believed that the Lord offered forgiveness and life. Genesis 3:20 tells us, “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.” Adam called his wife ‘the mother of all living’, not ‘the mother of all dead.’
Today, the Lord is still giving us the choice to come to Him for salvation from our sins. 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 says, “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” All who come to the Lord in faith that He is the Son of God who died for our sins, shall be saved! Romans 10:9 tells us, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” The Lord said in Deuteronomy 30:19, “…I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life…” Dear friend, will you choose life? Will you choose to put your faith in the Lord Jesus and receive forgiveness of your sins and inherit eternal life? The choice is yours to make, but the desire of the Lord is clear…’choose life.’ (172.4)