The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil: The Forbidden Fruit

Lately, I realised God has been teaching me a lot using trees. First, it was the Fig tree, now it is the tree from the very beginning, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Well, I always have this problem of starting something but not ending it. Many times, I told myself I would read the bible from the first book to the last, from cover to cover. I would begin well reading the first few books and always give up soon after. Hence, the Book of Genesis, being the very first book, was read through many times and the creation story became so familiar to me to the point of over-familiarisation.

But once again, God taught me something new from this book, something new from a familiar passage. And I would like to share this we all who reads.

Gen 2:16,17 - 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.”

This was the commandment the Lord gave to Adam concerning this tree. Initially, this commandment felt like some chinese mythological tale in which the Jade Emperor would issue a decree of banning anyone from eating the forbidden fruit in the imperial garden. But God isn’t like the Jade Emperor who issues decrees without purposes. I believe that this commandment God gave to Adam had a purpose and principle hidden behind it.

What then is the meaning of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil? Why was it’s fruit forbidden? What does it signify to eat of its fruit?

The answer can be found in Gen 3:22. “Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”

Was God utterly selfish? Was it because God didn’t want men to be powerful like him and thus made the fruit forbidden? Was there something at stake at God’s side that he couldn’t risk that if men ate of the fruit, it would jeopardise his power?

No.

From this passage, it is clear that the forbidden fruit signifies something that for man have it, it would be bad, but for God to have it, it would be good. What is it?

It is the independence of determining what is good and what is bad. This is eating of the forbidden fruit.

Having tasted of the forbidden fruit, we see in our world today how man’s independence of determining what is good and bad has ruined us. It was totally devastating for man to have independence, to define rights and wrongs, to do whatever is right in their eyes. And because of this, many lives are lost because man thinks war is justified, abortions are justified, revenge killings are justified, all because man thinks these are right, in their own eyes.

The devil says in Gen 3:5 that “For 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.”

This is effective lying. Yes, after tasting the fruit, we became like God, knowing good and evil, but we are still different. God is an independant being. He has the right of defining good and evil. But we are beings dependant upon him. We don’t have this right, except to leave the knowledge of good and evil to him and rest and trust in him. But we chose to claim his right as ours and hence our dependence on him was cut when the forbidden fruit was eaten and we are perishing.

The very first sin committed here was not some ‘grave’ sin like murder or adultery. It was the sin of wanting the supreme pleasure of being God, rather than submitting to him. The essence of the fall is finding more pleasure in ruling our lives so that we get praises, rather than beholding God’s life, so that he gets our praises. We want to be God. We love our rights and our accomplishments. We love to be in the centre of everything, as if we are God.

Gen 3:7a - “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked.”

The result of trying to be like God is this: shame!

We realise it is such a shameful thing when we look at ourselves in the mirror. We see our wreakage, our bodies breaking down, showing signs of decay. No matter how much we try to hide it by going for facials, going to the gym, putting on make-up, we can’t hide the fact that we don’t last forever! Cutting the dependence from God leads eventually and inevitably to death because we are dependant upon him. We are fallable, weak creatures and yet, we think we deserve praise like God, we try to define our rights like God, we think we can be independent like God, we try to be like God! Now, this is shameful!

I realise how much our fall is like the Devil’s. Satan fell because he wanted to be like God. Oh how much we are like him!

But I thank God that restoration has come from Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came into the world to make a way for all those who has committed insurrection against God to have forgiveness, acceptance and justification.

Just as the hymn says:

Upon that cross of Jesus
Mine eye at times can see
The very dying form of One
Who suffered there for me;
And from my smitten heart with tears,
Two wonders I confess:
The wonders of His glorious love,
And my unworthiness.

We need to confess our unworthiness, our wretchedness of wanting to be like God when we are not and we need to confess that his glorious love has come to restore us back to him that we may return to dependance on him, praise him and him the glory and honour that we have once taken away from him for ourselves.