Welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the Book of Genesis. This is study #14 of Genesis, chapter 2 and we are going to read Genesis 2:16-17:

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.

I will stop reading there. We often focus our attention on the command not to eat of that one tree that God called the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” There is a reason why we focus our attention on that tree. It is the same reason that Adam and Eve were focused on that tree and that is because the Law of God singled it out and separated it, making it different from all the other trees of the garden.

However, God said something concerning all the other trees: “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat.” Adam and Eve did not concentrate their focus on that part of God’s statement, the allowance that God had given when He said they may eat freely of every other tree in the garden, except this one. That means the overwhelming majority of trees could be eaten of and there must have been numerous trees. We do not know exactly what kind of fruit the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” bore because God does not give us that information, but it would have been a tree that bore one kind of fruit and that left all kinds of trees available from which to freely eat – apples, oranges, figs – and they would all have been good for man to eat.

Yet, Satan took the opportunity that the Law of God presented because the Law placed that one tree off limits and Satan directed man’s attention to that particular tree and away from all the other trees, as it said in Genesis 3:1-2:

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which JEHOVAH God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

So they were aware of what God had said and what He permitted them, but notice how Satan, in his deceitfulness, gets her mind focused on that which they cannot have. It says in Genesis 3:3-7:

But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened…

Now they know “evil” through the experience of disobeying God and rebelling against Him. We often focus our discussion on how they disobeyed God and ate of the tree and that is because our minds also often go in that direction. We focus on that thing that is guarded by the Law of God: “Thou shalt not…”

First of all, God commanded the man, “God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat,” and they could have walked around the garden and eaten of this tree and that tree. There were numerous trees whose fruit they could eat. The Law of God that stated they could not eat of that one tree was a test for mankind. We can look at this corporately, as the Garden of Eden does identify with the corporate entities of national Israel or the corporate church, but we can also look at this individually. This is how it works with individual people. God places certain things off limits. At that time, God’s Law was concerned only with that tree and we know of no other Laws that were given to mankind at the very beginning, but then God expanded His Laws and there are many more Laws, which means there are many more things that are “off limit.” For example, “Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not lie.” God’s Laws placed restrictions on man and man continued to focus his attention on what he is not to do. And this is where Satan continued to be the beguiler and deceiver and operate in much the same manner he did at the beginning: he directs man’s desire toward that which God has placed off limits. Satan directs man’s attentions away from the abundance of things that are permissible today to mankind. Man has very little interest in things that are permissible, lawful, just and right. Man’s desires do not go that way. Man constantly wants that which has been deemed contrary to the Law of God and that is where man’s desires tend to go. Man feels deprived and empty unless he can have this one thing that he desires that is off limits. If only he could have the fruit of the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Man always wants to know the “evil” and he desires to partake of that which is wrong and evil. For example, man wants there to be abortion. He wants an open marriage. He wants to marry and divorce as often as he wants or he wants two men to marry or two women to marry, as if it does not matter. Actually, it does matter because the significant thing about all these things is that they go against the Law of God and that is why they become an objective for man to overturn or go around or do away with the Law. He must experience “evil” and man is not content with the knowledge of the evil he has already experienced, but if there is a law or a limit, he wants to break it. He wants to know the “knowledge of good and evil” and that is what motivates him deep in his dead soul and his fallen condition. It is to go against the Law of God and follow his own lusts and desires and to rebel against God. That is what man became after failing the first test that God set up in the Garden of Eden.

Let us take a look in Galatians, chapter 5, where God lists the works of the flesh. It says in Galatians 5:19-21:

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Here are all the things that God commands against and, basically, that defines the “works of the flesh,” which is that which God commands against. That is what man does and desires to do and that is why we are so familiar with these things because they are evident everywhere. They are evident in our own lives, especially before we became a child of God. They are evident in the world around us. Now notice what it says in Galatians 5:22-23:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

We see much less of these things in the world. We hardly see them to any degree, at least insofar as their Biblical definitions. Notice what God says after listing these good fruits of the spirit: “against such there is no law.” There is no law against “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” There is no Law of God against these things, just as there was no Law against eating of all the other trees in the Garden of Eden. If Adam and Eve wanted to eat of one tree on one day and another tree the next day, I am sure they could have gone from day to day for quite some time. There would have been different flavors and they were all good. All would have been well between God and man and goodness would have reigned continually on the earth. Everything would have remained perfect as it was in the beginning.

But, there was just that one tree that was “marked” by the Law of God and it said, “Thou shalt not eat of it.” The eye of man’s mind turned to that which he cannot have and which he was commanded not to do by God. God is the Creator. God is the Lawgiver. If God says, “Thou shalt not,” that is all the creature needs to know. He does not need to know the reason why. He does not need to know anything more about that tree or about that Law except that God has said, “No.” God is perfect and just and right and God has man’s best interest at heart, so if God said not to eat of that tree, it is all that man needs to know. He does not need to know the reasoning or the purpose; he only needs to know God’s Law. God’s Law was clear. They were not to eat of that tree. It was not for them, but this was man’s rebellion and sin when he usurped the authority of God’s Law and transgressed as he went beyond what God had decreed. Man sinned. It was a terrible sin. God had given them a multitude of trees and all the fruit they could ever want to eat. They had all the knowledge of “good” they could ever hope to possess and they could have continued to have “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance,” and all these wonderful attributes to enjoy forever more, but it was not enough for the man. It was not enough for the woman. There was something they did not “know.” There was that mysterious tree of the “knowledge of good and evil.” They felt they needed to know. They wanted to know, so man broke God’s Law and transgressed the covenant and God did what He said He would do. God cursed the man and man died in that very day in his soul existence and he became dead in trespasses and sins.

Let us look at a couple of other verses in the New Testament. It says in Philippians 4:6-8:

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

God is giving the same commandment to people today as He did back in the Garden of Eden, in Genesis 2:16:

Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat…

So, the Lord says to you and me and to all His people, “Think on things that are honest, just, pure, and lovely and of good report. Think on these things.” Think about those things and do those things. You know, sin can be committed in thought, word and deed. Likewise, those good things which are allowed can also be done in thought, word and deed. We can think good things. We can speak good things. We can do good things, according to that which God allows. How many good things can we think? How many good things can we speak or do? There is no limitation, is there? There is no Law against such things and we are permitted by God to indulge our minds in all the good things we can ponder and meditate upon and we are even allowed to speak of them. We can talk of good and just and honest and right things and we can do them. This is what God permits for each person.

When someone becomes a child of God he learns the Law from God’s Law Book. God sets restrictions and commandments and He places some things off limit. God’s Law says, “Thou shalt not think adulterously. Thou shalt not think evil against thy brother or neighbor. Thou shalt not work on Sunday; it is not a day for your own pleasure,” and so on. We learn the Law of God and the individual often feels more and more restricted or confined in what they can do. They can do less and less, as far as the world is concerned and sometimes that leads a person to feel sorry for himself: “Oh, poor me. Poor me. I have learned about God’s Laws and I did not know many things in God’s Law before now, so I could enjoy myself and have fun. I could involve myself in many pleasures, but now I cannot do those things or think those things or say those things. I am like someone in prison.” The world would agree with you and they would say, “Hey, buddy, get a life! Come join us, again, in our revellings and drunkenness and all the things we’re free to do!” Yes, but all the world is free to do is to transgress and bring more wrath upon themselves and a greater experience of the curse with which they have already been cursed. We can fall for that trap and snare of man; the leading of Satan is to get you and me to look toward that which is off limits and to desire it and go after it and step over that line and transgress the Law and to enjoy greater knowledge of evil.

Just read today’s paper or listen to tonight’s newscast and you will see just what the knowledge of evil has done for mankind. Look around you. You know it personally. And look around at some of your family and friends and neighbors that enjoy the things that are off limits on a daily basis? Are any of them truly happy and at peace? Are they experiencing true joy? No, it is all a delusion. It is all a lie. It is all based on deceit. We can see this from Adam and Eve. After they took of the fruit of the tree, were they happier? Were they now fulfilled people? Were they completed somehow because they now had experienced the knowledge of evil? No, because right from the start nothing but evil things and misery entered into their lives. They realized their nakedness. They were driven out of the garden. Now man had to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow and the woman would give birth in anguish. Spiritual death came upon them and then later on physical death came and Adam died at the age of 930 years, rather than living forever. Adam could have been alive today, over 13,000 years later, if he had obeyed God. Yet, look how short his lifespan became. He was cut off at the age of 930 years, being a man that had been created to live forever.

What good was there in their sinful disobedience of God? God know best. God’s Laws are always right and good and they are best for man and we do not have to know the reason for His Law. We only have to know God’s character and that is why He would only give good Laws and we are to obey and submit ourselves in a humble way under the mighty hand of God. Did Abraham know why God commanded him to take his only son Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice? No. All Abraham knew was that God was good, right and just and all He would command would, therefore, be good. He was about to bring the knife down upon His son in obedience, but God stopped him.

We will pick this up in our next study. There are some interesting aspects to the command to “freely eat,” which also relates to the corporate body. Lord willing, in our next study we will spend some time discussing this.