JAN 17

Genesis 2:9-17
Memorise Revelation 22:2
“The tree of life… and the tree of knowledge of good and evil”

Amongst all the trees spread throughout the Garden of Eden, two trees in particular were singled out for mention – the tree of life, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. These two trees were deliberately placed there by God as a test for Adam. God gave very specific instructions: “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” (Genesis 2:16-17). Thus Adam had a choice before him. He could either choose to obey God, and then gain eternal life, or he could disobey God, and receive the judgment of a certain death.

Within the names of the two trees, we see a spiritual symbolic meaning in both. The tree of life represents the eternal life that Adam could have had, if he had obeyed God and not eaten of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. We see this in the response of mercy that God had when he set Cherubims at the entrance of the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve were evicted from it, for the reason He gave was “lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” (Genesis 3:22). The tree of life will be seen again in the New Heaven and the New Earth, where it will bear forth 12 fruits, a different one each month, and it will be for the “healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:2).

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil, speaks of the experiential knowledge of sin that Adam and Eve had, after they disobeyed God. Not that there was any inherently wicked in the fruit itself. However, because of the prohibition that God had made against eating it, it then became symbolic of the knowledge of good and evil that they had after they fell.

And so we all know the choice that Adam and Eve made. In taking the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they went against God’s commandment. Thus rejecting the offer of eternal life, they fell into sin and condemnation. Their eyes were opened and they plunged into a life of sin. Yet we know that amidst this condemnation, we can have hope through the Lord Jesus Christ! We can be partakers of the tree of life once again when we see it on the banks of the river of life in the New Jerusalem!

Thought: What if Adam had chosen the tree of life instead?

Prayer: Lord, I thank You that despite our sin, You have given us Thy gracious promise of eternal life!