INDEPENDENCE DAY, July 4, 2011 [Monday],
Dear Fellow Travelers,
The following is some of what the Scriptures have to say not only about the two people God placed in the garden, but also about the two trees He placed therein: Then the Lord God formed man of the dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. And the Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. And 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” . . . Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. And 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 shall surely die . . . Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Indeed, has God said you shall not eat from any tree of the garden?’ And the woman said to the serpent, ‘From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die’ . . . When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings (selected verses from Genesis 2 & 3; NASB; emphasis mine).
The following is a quote from Craig Barnes book, “Searching for Home: Spirituality for Restless Souls,” page 13-14: It is striking that the creation narratives make a point of telling us that this forbidden fruit was in the midst of the garden and not off in some forgettable corner. This means we were created to live with an unavoidable reminder that home was never meant to be perfect, whole, or complete. That’s God’s idea of a good creation. What was missing from the good garden was meant to serve as our altar of prayer, where we could bend our knees and confess that we were mere creatures who were never meant to have it all, but were dependent on our Creator, who alone is whole and complete. That pristine, sacred communion was precisely what made the garden so good.
Let’s think about this often missed but terribly important detail: God purposely placed the forbidden fruit tree in the middle of the garden, right where Adam & Eve would see it all day and be tempted by its relentless attractiveness. They could hardly pass by it without being drawn by its power. Without their even being aware of it, the Tree of Life was becoming less and less attractive and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was increasing in its attractiveness.
At this point, it is important that we remember that God does not tempt us to sin—period. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death (James 1:15 NASB).
Obviously, God was NOT tempting Adam & Eve to sin; instead, He was encouraging them to righteousness. He was making them aware that, even in this good and perfect Garden, they must live in absolute dependence upon Him (the fleshing out of righteousness), and not themselves (the fleshing out of religion). Interestingly, after providing them with perfect instructions, He gave them the freedom to choose which road they preferred—dependence or independence—and He did so knowing they would choose independence. In other words, their choice was within the parameters of God’s providence.
Enter the serpent—Satan, himself
As you know, Satan IS the deceiver, the one who tempts us to sin, and he is relentless in his mission. Adam & Eve would not escape his prowess; sadly, they became his first two victims.
The following is what Satan said in his effort to deceive Adam & Eve: Indeed, has God said, “You shall not eat from any tree of the garden? . . . You surely shall not die! God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:1b, 4-5 NASB). As you know, his ploy worked and this first man, along with his wife, chose independence over dependence.
To the untrained eye, it appears that this “forbidden fruit” made this Good Garden anything but good—imperfect and incomplete. The mindset probably went something like this: there is something more, something better, and God is keeping it from us, but we desperately want it!
Hold on a minute, however, and take a more careful look: this “forbidden fruit” is exactly what made this Good Garden perfect. You see, there is no perfection outside of dependence upon Him. Surely, Adam’s and Eve’s choice to pursue the route of the “knowledge of good and evil” evidences this.
As you remember, this “forbidden” fruit was not an “apple of gold” that God was hiding from them, the eating of which would make them like God and, thereby, complete what was missing. Instead, it was a system of rules that would generate a lifestyle of independence from God, a lifestyle that said, “We not only can know what is good and evil, but we can also perfectly perform the good and avoid the evil and, thereby, please You by our works”—legalism, the fruit of independence, at its finest hour!
Yes, most of us know, now, that God was not trying to hide some good thing from this first couple by placing this forbidden fruit tree in the middle of this Good Garden; instead, He was giving them an opportunity to avoid the most tragic of mistakes—attempting to live life independently of Him.
Sadly, most of those who attend Christian churches today live (because they have been taught to do so) as if the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is firmly planted right in the center of their sanctuaries, and, sadly, it is just as attractive today as it was in the garden, even more so. It is because we really do believe that we can make it on our own, maybe with a bit of God’s help along the way, but for the most part we can go it on our own.
Now, I really want you to “see” this, so please look carefully: as long as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil stood in the Good Garden, the garden was imperfect by God’s design, or so it seems; after all, He purposely placed it there. However, as strange as it might seem, that piece of imperfection—believing that we not only can know good and evil, but also believing that we can perform the good and avoid the evil—is the very thing that drives us to that which is perfect, namely, Jesus—the Tree of Life. This is what Paul had to say about that: Therefore the Law has become our tutor [child trainer] to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor” (Galatians 3:24-25 NASB; brackets mine).
Paradoxically, this tells us that the forbidden fruit tree had a prefect purpose after all because it accomplished God’s purpose—the leading of His elect to a life of utter dependence upon Him, and this is a very good thing—a perfect thing!
It is kinda’ funny how God places the very things we try so hard to hide from other Christians—things that cause them to stumble—right out in the middle of everywhere, so they will stumble, yet, not so as to fall headlong, but into His embrace and security.
The steps of a man are established by the Lord; and He delights in his way. When he falls, he shall not be hurled headlong; because the Lord is the One who holds his hand”
(Psalm 37:23-24 NASB).
This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (John 6:29 NASB).
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