Why the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge?

Christian Questions Bible Podcast

This may sound like an oversimplification, but we’re going to say it anyway: God is intentional. He always knows what He is doing and what it will eventually lead to. While this knowledge should serve as a great comfort to us, it can, because of our limited and imperfect minds, have the exact opposite effect. We may see things in the Bible that on the surface just don’t seem to click. We start wondering, why would God do it THAT way? That doesn’t make any sense! Take the two trees mentioned in the creation account. Both the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil were placed in close proximity to each other. They were both in the center of the Garden of Eden. Why two trees? Why have one for eating and the other just to avoid?

The Planet Earth project

Understanding the role the Tree of Life played in the Garden of Eden is relatively simple. God’s creation of Adam and Eve was the absolute high point of His whole Planet Earth project. They were created in His image, which meant they were created to be reasoning beings who would have authority over earth. Along with these wonderful gifts also came the ability to live eternally on earth. God made this ability real by giving them the Tree of Life, which had been placed in the middle of the garden. Eating the fruit of this tree regularly would apparently keep their physical health at the perfect level God had originally given them.

Eat from one but not from the other – why?

Comprehending the role the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil played is a bit harder to grasp. This tree was also placed in the middle of the garden with strict instructions to NOT partake of its fruit. The uniqueness of this command made this tree stand out from the rest of the entire garden environment. Everything else in that garden, including the animals, was there as perfect contributors to a perfectly designed ecosystem. So, how then did this Tree of Knowledge fit in? It too would be part of the ecosystem, but on a very different level.

In God’s wisdom, He specifically placed this Tree of Knowledge near the Tree of Life as a teaching tool. After all, to live for eternity would require wisdom, experience and maturity, all of which needed to be learned. We all know what happened, as Adam and Eve disobeyed God. The result was they lost their right to eternal life. At face value, this Tree of Knowledge experience can easily look like a complete failure. However, the exact opposite is true. Check out our December 2, 2024 podcast, “Why the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge?” for more. We dig below the surface and discover many lessons from both these trees not only for Adam and Eve, but for us as well. There is much more to learn here than meets the eye!