Articles
The Two Trees In the Garden Affect Us Today…and for Eternity!
Barbara L. Klika, MSW, Undershepherd, Life Coach
February 2020
The two trees in the garden are ancient history yet also still visible in our daily lives, too. As I continue to mentor and coach people I see this scenario playing out repeatedly. The Tree of Life makes many obvious appearances throughout the Scriptures, connected with wisdom and purity; soothing, and bringing forth righteousness. If we seek our Heavenly Father, to walk in His ways, we are seeking the Tree of Life. Ultimately, those who walk in His ways will be rewarded with the opportunity to return to that Tree of Life in the New Jerusalem. The second tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is only obliquely referred to throughout the Scriptures after its first fateful appearance. But references to seeking knowledge outside of His plan for us are many, all attached to undesirable behavior. Here is a representation of verses traveling through the Word on this matter.
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Genesis 1:1 KJV
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1 KJV
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.
Genesis 2: 9 NKJV
…And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" 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, or you
will die.'"
Genesis 3 NKJV
The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die! "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." 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.
Genesis 3 NKJV
So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the
flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.
Genesis 3:24 NKJV
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will
of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your
name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to
them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Matthew 7:21-23 NKJV
The Tree of Life is singular. It represents one way to live, His way. In unity with one another in Him, the Father AND the Son (John 17.) Remember that “good” is always defined as what HE views as good and righteous, not the same things that human beings may consider good. The source and motivation coming from Him indicates its state of being good. Any other source, power or motivation may appear good to our eyes but it is counterfeit.
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is dual. Essentially, it pits the way of life of looking to Yah for all things against the concept of knowing good and evil for oneself, and not needing to look to Yah. The “good” that comes of it is counterfeit to the good of the Tree of life. (Philanthropy comes to mind…perhaps doing good with intentions to be recognized for it, or to obtain tax relief.)
The serpent, whispered to Eve under that second tree and created doubt about the goodness of God in withholding this information. It held up self-sufficiency as desirable. By insinuation and craftiness, it brought separation/division between the Creator and the crown of His creation. It continues that plan today.
Serious students of the Word soon notice that concepts repeat themselves throughout the Word. He is essentially telling the same story over and over, in different settings, often emphasizing our need to follow Him and reject self sufficiency. As recently noted in a previous article, He has declared that His ways are righteous (Psalm 23.) When we follow His ways, which are the same from the beginning, we follow His path, which in Hebraic understanding is a cycle, not a straight line as we view with Western eyes. All of life is ordered in cycles; days, weeks, months, years follow one another in a spiral as it were…each “round” has both similarities to what went before, as well as new aspects. The understanding we gain as we go around each cycle in our life, builds on what went before, just as the Word helps us develop deeper insight and understanding as we go on. Messiah often used the metaphor of seeds, as well, which goes along with the metaphor of the trees, and the nature of growth through seasons. Everything that comes later is rooted and grounded in what has gone before….and a good tree brings forth good fruit, which a bad tree cannot do…and even more importantly, a good tree cannot bring forth bad fruit. (Luke 6:43, Matthew 7:17-18)
What we in the West call the Old Testament is the foundation, the root, provided to us through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit by the Creator of all things. What we call the New Testament is in one sense, a record of the testimony of those who witnessed the fulfillment of what was prophesied to come...our Messiah, the Son of God, (Who Was God and IS God) born of a virgin, coming on purpose to make a way for us to be able to return to our Father. All that is in the NT is rooted and grounded in the “Old.” If it is not, it is not of Him. Yeshua, Himself, said so in various ways.
Yes, we have gained in progressive understanding of what was written: the shadow proclaiming the substance that was to come. But if we think that the substance is different and doesn’t really match the shadow we first could see, we are in effect, thinking that apple seeds will grow an orange tree! The progressive understanding must always be rooted in what He has said has been... He is omnipotent, omnipresence and omniscient…and He said that He doesn’t lie or change (Malachi 3:6; Numbers 23:19.)
I see it as the whisperings of the snake, beneath that second tree of duality, that is insinuating that there is something wrong with what our God has declared to be His good teachings on how to live righteously before Him. It is, itself, the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that causes many to believe that the Foundation of Truth laid out by our Father in what is called the Old Testament has somehow been cast down and away and is no longer valuable…except maybe for a few choice verses.This common teaching casts doubt on the character of our God, and creates a sly, subtle separation/division in perception between the Father and the Son: between the OT and the NT. This casts too many adrift into a sea of confusion where so many denominations/interpretations prevail. And our adversary loves division and confusion!
I grieve already for anyone who expects to be admitted into the Bridal chamber with our Prince of Peace, Yeshua, only to be told that they were not recognized because they were without His Law. Someone wrote the editor a while back fearing that I was bewitching people. I suggest that the confusion that our Father has allowed to continue for a LONG season, for His purposes, was really the subtle bewitching of that serpent so long ago, working craftily yet today.
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life,
and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Revelation 22:14
Which tree will you choose to eat from?
TwoTreesTodayWCNfinalFeb20200.pdf