Why A Tree? A Philosophical Discussion on the Garden of Eden

The Garden of Eden is a flagship symbol of Christianity that is often the topic of heated debate. One of the most common complaints I hear is is on the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. To help explain (to some degree) why God chose a tree, I lay out the following philosophical points:

1. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was made to create free will.
2. A tree is not inherently sinful, so it is compatible with God’s scheme of original purity.
3. A tree symbolizes an action producing fruit after its own kind.

The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was a part of the Garden of Eden, formed during the Biblical 7 Days of Creation. God created the vegetation on the third day. (Gen. 1:9-13)

The trees of importance are first mentioned in Genesis 2:9:

“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.”

(It should be noted that Chapter 1 is the day-by-day account and Chapter 2 of Genesis is a broader overview of creation.)

After God created the garden, He placed man in it. (Gen. 2:8).

When God had finished with His creation, he said that it was “very good.” (Gen. 9:31)

Now God had warned man about The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil:

“The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” Gen. 2:16-17

We learn later that this warning of “death” included both a physical and spiritual death (Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:21). The physical, of the body. The spiritual, of separation from God.

Moving back onto the topic of the tree, I begin with a theory:

God created man with the capacity for free will.

In order for man to have free will, it requires the ability to make a choice. Here, the ability to choose God or not to choose God. Such a concept is reiterated in scripture:

Joshua 24:15

15 If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

James 4:7-10

7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

So the tree was, in essence, a modus of free will. It gave man the ability to choose God, or reject Him.

Now!

What people tend to have a problem with is that this arrangement appears arbitrary. Why did God make this choice in the form of a tree? Why couldn’t God have waited until man committed murder or rape or something of moral gravity to initiate “rejection?”

The answer to that is located right at the beginning of Genesis.

At the end of chapter 1, God sees everything he made as “very good.” Naturally, because God rested from creation on the 7th day, this would include the Garden of Eden and its trees.

What God made has to be “very good” because God cannot dwell in sin.

As it was, God was dwelling directly with man:

Genesis 3:8

“They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden…”

God could walk with man because there was not sin in his creation (it was very good). God does not like to be around nor tolerate sin. (See Habakkuk 1:13; Genesis 6:5-6; Proverbs 6:16).

The tree was used as the gateway for free will because it would keep the Garden of Eden pure. Man’s thoughts were not turned toward wickedness yet. Satan had emphasized this in his plea to Adam and Eve:

“For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good andevil.” (Gen. 3:5)

Nothing in the Garden was inherently sinful – the tree, as part of the garden, was therefore not an element of sin, which is why it could exist.

With this in mind, we see how God used the singularity of 1 choice (to eat from the tree) as His means for free will. Man did not know good from evil. However, He did know God’s command (Gen. 2:16), and the ability to reject God’s command was the sin – not the tree inherently.

So while some may complain that the use of a tree is silly, it was just a medium God chose to use. The symbol of the tree has an appropriate connotation for the act though, because of its “reproductive” properties. A tree gives off fruit with seeds and produces more after its own kind. Likewise, an act of sin was a seed planted that produced fruit (death) after its own kind.

To emphasize:

Romans 6:23

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Again, resolving the issue:

1. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was made to create free will.
2. A tree is not inherently sinful, so it is compatible with God’s scheme of original purity.
3. A tree symbolizes an action producing fruit after its own kind.

The Garden of Eden