THE MYSTERY OF THE TREES

I have often puzzled over the account of the Fall in Genesis 3. It’s a weird story if we take it literally. It’s no wonder sceptics question the truth of Scripture and read the story as a myth. Some of us simply ignore ordinary good common sense and believe the details as though they actually happened.

There is much in Scripture that is figurative, symbolic and makes no sense if taken literally.

Is this practice of interpreting everything literally a valid way of understanding the Bible? If so, then we must read every parable Jesus told as a literal story, and miss the deeper spiritual truths He was teaching.

One of His purposes for teaching in parables was to separate the casual hearer who had no intention of responding from the earnest listener who desired to have more of the truth. 

“He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, “ ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,  and ever hearing but never understanding;  otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’  … “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.  Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”

Mark 4:11-12, 24-25 NIV

Hebrew people interpreted according to function, not form: for example, God hid Moses in the cleft of a rock and covered him with His hand. However, God is Spirit. He does not have hands, wings, feathers etc., according to the descriptions of Him in the Bible. To take this action of God literally would contradict who He is.

So, how do we interpret these details? Hebrews would ask the question, “What does a hand do? “, not,” What does a hand look like?”

What if the fruit trees in the Garden of Eden were not literal trees but something else with far bigger implications? What if they are symbolic of a theme that runs through the whole Bible?

“Fruit” in Scripture is often used of the consequences of words and actions, e.g.,

“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives.”

Proverbs 11:30 NIV

“The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

Proverbs 18:21 NIV

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness…”

Galatians 5:22 NIV

God often used word pictures that people could understand to illustrate the deeper truths of His dealings with people.

Take, for example, Daniel’s prophetic visions about beasts representing kingdoms. God actually identified them as kingdoms in His explanation of the visions.

“I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me. I approached one of those standing there and asked him the meaning of all this. “So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things:… “He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it.”

Daniel 7:15-16, 23 NIV

Is it possible that the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” in the Garden of Eden also represented a kingdom – the one over which Satan had control?

“Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes: “‘Who can be compared with you in majesty?  Consider Assyria, once a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches overshadowing the forest; it towered on high, its top above the thick foliage…. “‘Which of the trees of Eden can be compared with you in splendour and majesty? Yet you, too, will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth below; you will lie among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword. “‘This is Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the Sovereign Lord.’ ”

Ezekiel 31:2-3, 18 NIV

Ezekiel 31 is an interesting chapter about God’s judgement of the “trees” of Assyria and Egypt. Here, trees obviously represent the kingdoms of Assyria and Egypt.

THE WAR OF THE KINGDOMS

One of the great themes of the Bible is the war between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan which began in heaven.

Satan and his fallen angels rebelled against God, God’s angels made war in heaven against them, overpowered them and banished them to the earth.

“Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.”

Revelation 12:4, 7-9 NIV

What is the difference between these two kingdoms?

God’s rule is about relationships and is governed by love. In His kingdom, the governing principle is “God in the centre” and “others before self”. This makes for unity and harmony in every relationship. God’s Kingdom is unified because it governs every believer from within by His Spirit. His kingdom is about power to rule over self.

Satan’s rule is dominated by “me in the centre” and “self before others” no matter how much damage it does to relationships. Satan rules over “kingdoms” because his principle of self first operates in every system or “kingdom” that controls the world. His kingdom is about power to rule over others.

There is a close parallel between Adam’s temptation in the Garden and Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness.

In the Garden, where Adam and Eve enjoyed all the benefits and blessings of life under God’s rule (they “ate the fruit” of living in the kingdom of God), Satan intruded and lured them by deception into believing that it was better to live under his rule in his kingdom.

Adam chose rebellion against God, chose to eat of “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”…and to be part of the kingdoms of Satan where he ( Adam, thought) he could make his own rules. Of course, Satan didn’t reveal the small print in this deal. He works by deception. Once Adam had made his choice, there was no turning back. Adam became the devil’s slave and could only do what Satan demanded in his kingdom.

… and the whole human race is still eating the fruit of that choice.

So, Adam DID die, emotionally, spiritually and physically.

The prize in this war would always be people. God wanted a family of sons and daughters just like Jesus, who would live together forever under His loving rule in peace and harmony. They would manage the earth for God under His direction so that His nature of ECHAD, unity in diversity, would be reflected in the whole universe.

For the devil, the prize was also people, not to bless but to destroy.

Satan tried the same tactic with Jesus.

Satan actually offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in exchange for worship because he wanted to wrest control of the universe from God and control of all the people through deception. If Jesus accepted his offer, He would lose His title and role as Lord.

Jesus never fell for Satan’s lies for one simple reason. He had been sent by the Father to fulfil the law and to die as a law breaker so that He could reconcile fallen man to God. What was the law He came to fulfil?

“One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”   “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’  The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’  There is no commandment greater than these.”

Mark 12:28-31 NIV

Put very simply, God in the centre, others above self. And Jesus lived it perfectly.

Now, let’s go back to the garden.

If my interpretation is accurate according to the whole scope of Scripture, the story in Genesis is a vividly symbolic picture of Satan’s battle to get control of what was most precious to God – man.

The tree of life represents the kingdom of God where the life of God, expressed through His love, keeps everything functioning in perfect harmony (good = functional), creating an environment for His human family to live in all the blessing He had for them.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil (functional versus dysfunctional) represents Satan’s kingdom, where everyone, enslaved by selfishness and greed, does his own thing, creating chaos, ruin, and death. Satan’s plan was to gain control by enslaving the whole human race so that God’s plan of a family like Himself would come to nothing.

What would be the outcome of this war? God predicted it in the Garden.

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Genesis 3:15 NIV

His plan involved sacrificing the dearest treasure He had to offer, His Son. God literally put all His eggs in one basket to achieve His goal.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”

Isaiah 9:6-7 NIV

“The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.”

Revelation 11:15 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 twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”

Revelation 22:1-2 NIV

“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.”

Revelation 22:14 NIV

“And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.”

Revelation 22:19 NIV

In the end, because God is God, the “tree of life” overcomes “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”. Through the seed of the woman, God’s kingdom is established forever.

“But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favour with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

Luke 1:30-33 NIV

So, what happened in the garden, Adam’s foolish choice to change allegiance and move from God’s kingdom of light and life to Satan’s” dominion of darkness”, was reversed by Jesus’ obedience, sacrificial death, and resurrection. The “tree of life” has once again become the kingdom and dwelling place of redeemed mankind.