Welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the Book of Genesis. Tonight is study #10 of Genesis, chapter 2 and we are going to read Genesis 2:8-10:

And JEHOVAH God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made JEHOVAH God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

In our last study we pointed out that the Garden of Eden, which was created at the beginning of the world, was an outward representation of the kingdom of God on earth, just as Israel would later be that representation. The Lord established that nation as His holy people. Following that, in the New Testament age the churches and congregations became God’s outward representative to the people of the world. During that time when someone wanted to learn about God they went to a church. The churches had the Bible. Israel had been given care of the oracles of God and, so, too, the Garden of Eden had the “tree of life.” We know from the Book of Revelation that the “tree of life” points to Jesus Christ.

So within the Garden of Eden was the Lord Jesus Christ, the “tree of life,” just as God was present with Israel, as typified by the presence of the Ark of the Covenant. The spirit of God was also with the New Testament churches and congregations. That was why when God later brought judgment upon the churches, it was such a horrible thing because the Spirit of God departed and came out of the midst of them. It was liking losing the “tree of life.” When the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant, it was like losing the “tree of life.” The presence of God indicates life. While the tree of life was in the midst of the garden, Adam had life and while the Ark of the Covenant was with Israel, they had care of the oracles of God. They had life, but in a slightly different way than Adam had life. While the Spirit of God was in the midst of the churches they had life. When God’s Spirit left the churches, God used the figure of the two witnesses lying dead in the streets – they had lost life.

This is the figure God uses in Genesis, chapter 2, when He says, “The tree of life also in the midst of the garden,” or God’s presence. Christ is the essence of “life” and He was typified by this tree in the garden which God had established to represent His kingdom on earth.

There was also another tree in the Garden of Eden. It says in Genesis 2:9:

… the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

God established two trees in the garden. One was the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” and the other was the “tree of life.” We know that the tree of life identifies with Christ, but what does the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” identify with and what made it different from other trees? It had a mysterious name, but was that tree different than any other tree? Did it grow differently? Did it have a different kind of fruit than any other tree? The Bible does not indicate that this was the case. This tree was basically like the other trees. It grew out of the ground. It had fruit, although we are not told what kind of fruit, but there is nothing in the Bible that indicates it was a more special fruit. It was just the name that God gave it and what God attached to it. A little further on in this chapter, it says in Genesis 2:15-17:

And JEHOVAH God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And JEHOVAH God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

There was the difference. No other tree had a Law tied to it. Of no other tree did God say that if he ate of it he would die. It was only this tree that God called “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Adam and Eve could have freely eaten of any other trees, as much as they wanted and as often as they wanted. There would be no penalty of any kind and no violation of God’s commandment and we do not read of any other commandments. There was open access concerning every other tree and plant in the Garden of Eden, but of this one particular tree God said, “Thou shalt not eat of it.” We recognize the language here, do we not? Look at the Ten Commandments and the similar language in Exodus 20:3-4:

Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image…

It says in Exodus 20:5:

Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them…

Then it says in Exodus 20:7:

Thou shalt not take the name of JEHOVAH thy God in vain…

Also, it says in Exodus 20:13-16:

Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

The phrase “Thou shalt not” is used over and over, as it says in our verse in Genesis 2:17:

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

This was the difference. This was the distinction of that tree – God had attached His Law to it. He commanded that they not eat of that one tree. Why not? That is what made the tree so mysterious and so interesting to Adam and Eve. We do not know how long the commandment stood in regard to that tree because we do not know how long it was from creation to when they were tested through the serpent and fell into sin, but there was certainly a period of time when the commandment stood. Adam heard God’s Law concerning the tree. Eve knew about it and her husband more than likely told her. Satan in the form of the serpent came to Eve and brought up that tree and focused the attention on that tree. It was a tree that was already outstanding in their minds because God had called attention to the tree with His Law: “Thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” God had also given the tree that mysterious and curious name of the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Satan used the Law of God to bring temptation in an evil way. People can use the Bible in evil ways. They refer to Scripture and to the Law God has given, but then they present their own ideas and doctrines and understanding about them. They do the same thing Satan did. Satan referred to the Law of God concerning that tree and, yet, he twisted and perverted the truth in order to deceive.

It was God’s program from the very beginning to establish an outward representation of His kingdom on earth, the Garden of Eden, and to place His Spirit within the garden. God communicated with man in the garden. God’s presence was signified by the tree of life. But when God establishes an outward representation of His kingdom, He also establishes a testing program. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was that testing program. God had planted all the trees and made them to grow, but God singled out that tree and called it the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” God gave the tree that mysterious name. God then gave the Law in regard to that tree only: “Thou shalt not eat of it.” There can be no other purpose than to test Adam and Eve. He tried them to see if they would be obedient. Would they keep God’s Law? This is exactly the same test that God would later give to national Israel. It is exactly the same test that God would much later give to the New Testament churches and congregations.

For instance, let us go to Deuteronomy, chapter 28 where God speaks to Israel. It says in Deuteronomy 28:1-2:

And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of JEHOVAH thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that JEHOVAH thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of JEHOVAH thy God.

If they obeyed, they would be blessed. What was the situation with Adam? If he had obeyed and if he had not eaten of the tree, he would be blessed. He would not die. He would not sin. There would be great blessing upon him for keeping the Law of God. Of course, we know this was a special circumstance. Originally, Adam stood in good standing in relationship to the Law God had given and no later generation of man ever stood in that kind of relationship with God. The similarity is that God established a people (like the nation of Israel) to be his representatives. God gave them many more Laws than He gave to Adam, but God placed His Law in Israel, just as God’s Spirit was within Israel. They had the “tree of life,” therefore, and they had the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” They possessed the commandments of the Law of God.

What if they did not obey God’s commandments? It says in Deuteronomy 28:15-16:

But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of JEHOVAH thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.

It goes on to list curse after curse. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and did not hearken to the commandment of God concerning the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” God cursed them. They had failed the test. They were no longer to remain in the Garden of Eden. They were cast out of Eden and Eden would no longer typify God’s representative on earth. It became a cursed place.

Israel of old was cursed when they did not obey God and keep His commandments. It is a very similar idea. Finally, God’s Spirit left Israel, just as God took away the access to the tree of life in the Garden of Eden. They no longer had access to the tree which means that they no longer had “life.” The Spirit of God departed.

Then God established the New Testament churches after He divorced national Israel when the veil of the temple was rent in twain. Israel was cursed, as figured by Christ cursing the fig tree. Significantly, God had typified national Israel as a tree, as it says in Matthew 21:17-21:

And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there. Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

Jesus cursed the fig tree, just as God cursed the man and woman. He cursed the earth and the Garden of Eden became cursed. Israel became cursed because of disobedience, but the New Testament churches think, “Oh, we are not like Israel. We are different.” Actually, they fail to understand that God has done this same thing since the very beginning of creation by setting up testing programs by way of His Word. He did so in the Garden of Eden. He did so with Israel for almost 2,000 years. Then He set up the New Testament churches and congregations and entrusted them with His Word, the Bible. They became the caretakers of the Word of God. They had the Spirit of God dwelling in their midst, typified by the “daily” or typified by the light of the candlestick. In the Book of Revelation, God warned them in regard to that candlestick, as it says in Revelation 2:4-5:

Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

This carries a similar meaning and this was said to all the churches. It is addressed to the church at Ephesus, but after each address Christ stated that this was a message to all the churches: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” It was a warning God gave concerning all the churches. The Lord gave another warning in Romans, chapter 11 where the Apostle Paul made this statement in Romans 11:13:

For I speak to you Gentiles…

Here, it is like speaking to the churches. Israel was the Jews. The churches were typified by the Gentiles. There were some Jews that came in, but, primarily, the churches were made up of Gentiles, the peoples of the nations of the world. Again, it says in Romans 11:13:

For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:

Then speaking to the churches, it goes on to say in Romans 11:17-22:

And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

If God spared not the natural branches, which was the corporate body of national Israel, it says to “take heed lest he also spare not thee,” the New Testament churches. Note that it says, “if thou continue in his goodness.” It is a conditional statement. It is not guaranteed. It does not mean you will certainly stand, but it means there is a condition for you to remain in His goodness. What is the goodness of God? It is His Word. To continue faithfully obeying the Word of God is the condition. If Israel had continued faithfully and obeyed the Word of God, they would have continued. Adam and Eve would have continued if they had faithfully obeyed the Law of God in regard to the tree. So, too, the churches would have continued indefinitely if they had faithfully obeyed the Word of God: “If thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.” This was the direct warning from God that they would be cursed and they would be like Israel before them. They would no longer be God’s holy people and His outward representation to the people of the earth. God would leave them as He left Israel. God would leave them as He left the Garden of Eden. He would curse them as He cursed Israel. He would curse them as He cursed the Garden of Eden.

This is exactly what God did at the end of the church age. He came to visit, we read in Revelation 2, in order to see if they had repented, as He had given them space to repent. They did not repent, so God cast them into great tribulation. You can read about that in Revelation 2, verses 20 through 22. God judged them. He did the same thing that He had done with national Israel because they committed the same error. They were disobedient. They did not hearken to the Word of God. They were high minded and the churches are still high minded today. They think they are still the people of God and they think God would never cast them off. Even national Israel today still thinks they are the people of God and that God would never cast them off. Yet, God did so to both outward representatives of His kingdom.

Today we stand in a time when God is not using any corporate body. He is not using the churches. He is not using national Israel. Individually, the things we read in the Bible concerning God’s testing program and the presence of the tree of life still stand in regard to each one of us. We are each being tried. It is no longer a corporate test, but an individual test. Where do we stand personally in relationship to the Word of God, the Bible? God gives us His Law personally and the Law of God is always the test of the knowledge of good and evil. Will you keep His Law or will you fail to keep it? For the people of God, they will keep God’s Law because God has given them a new heart and a new spirit and in their resurrected soul they maintain His Word perfectly and they can never be cast away. But if you are not saved, you do not have God’s Spirit and you will certainly fail the test.