Which Tree, Which Law, Which Man? This is the question every human must answer for themselves. The first thing we have to answer is WHICH TREE?
Genesis 1:27 (NIV) So God created man in His Own Image, in the Image of God He created Him; male and female He created them.
Genesis 2:9 (NIV) And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground–trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the Tree of life and the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:15-17 (NIV) The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”
Genesis 1:28 (NIV) God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
The human race was created in the Image of God and provided with everything they needed. The Lord gave each person a purpose and only two God-given commands to follow to have life and joy. Those 2 commands were to “be fruitful and increase in number” and “do not eat from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Those appear to be pretty easy commands to keep but as you and I know the human race went into “the ditch” ruining the journey for the rest of us.
Genesis 3:1-6 (NIV) Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the Tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'”
“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the Tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
THE SIN CYCLE BEGINS
Isaiah 59:2-3 (NIV) But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His Face from you, so that He will not hear. For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things.
Today, you and I are faced with the choice of “Which Tree?“ Our minds every second are judging good and evil, right and wrong, light and darkness. Our limbs are bent toward eating from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil again and again. Of course, this is the tree of choice that got us into this mess in the first place. When Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the simple commands and lifestyle God set up for them were destroyed. Adam and Eve literally placed themselves and each of us on a path of self-destruction where fear, doubt, confusion, shame and pain reigned (Genesis 3). However, the greatest tragedy was that now people set up their own guidelines for life from their place of fear, chaos, sin and death (Genesis 4).
Genesis 4:1-2 (NIV) Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man.” Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.
DEATH AND MURDER REIGN INSTEAD OF LIFE
Genesis 4:11-12 (NIV) “Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” (God’s Word to Cain after he killed his brother out of jealousy and envy.)
Romans 1:28-29 (NIV) Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice…
Everything good comes from our Good and Gracious Lord. When we set up our own standard of good and evil, we are living by the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
We kick ourselves out of “God’s garden” for this and death reigns. Shame, guilt and fear accompany our setting up our own moral creed apart from God’s definition of goodness.
Genesis 3:24 (NIV) After He drove the man out, He placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the Tree of life.
THE TREE OF LIFE
In the midst of all these bad choices and eating from the tree of death or the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil, there is some “Good News”. The Tree of Life still exist for you and I. Today, we are given life from the right Tree, God‘s Tree of Life.
Revelation 2:7 (NIV) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
THE LOVE CYCLE OVERCOMES THE SIN CYCLE
By eating from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil and setting up our own standard of right and wrong, we live under a curse. I hate to say that but it is the Truth. Also, no one can keep God’s laws by their own actions as seen in Genesis 2-4. Mankind was given 2 commands and only one “do not” but he dropped the ball (or should I say fruit). So we are under a curse without the Tree of Life. Jesus embraced the tree of life for us so that we could be done with the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We were done with setting up our own standard of good and evil when Jesus said “It is finished.”
Galatians 3:13 (NIV) “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
Jesus is the Tree of Life and we cannot obtain life in any other place (John 14:6).
Revelation 22:1-3 (NIV) Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the Tree of Life, bearing 12 crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His servants will serve Him.
All of God’s Love to you,
Gary and Debbie Landon
