Two Trees
“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’” Genesis 2:16-17 (ESV)
If you don’t want a toddler in the cookie jar, you don’t set it in the middle of the kitchen table. You put it on a high shelf, behind a closed door.
This is why Genesis 2:9 has bothered many readers for a long time: “And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
Then God speaks the only prohibition in the garden: “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17).
If God didn’t want Adam eating from that tree, why plant it where Adam would walk past it every day? Why not tuck it in a far corner? After sin entered, God posted cherubim and a flaming sword at the east of the garden “to guard the way to the tree of life” (Genesis 3:24).
God could have easily posted a guard beside the tree; He just didn’t do it beforehand.
Scripture never answers the question in so many words, but three important lessons run through the story.
First: Genuine Love Requires a Choice, Not a Command
Jesus said in John 4:23-24 the Father seeks people who “worship in spirit and truth.” Worship that is commanded and can’t be refused is programming, and God wasn’t after a garden full of robots. His command opened with generosity: “You may surely eat of every tree.”
Moses later put the same offer to Israel in Deuteronomy 30:19: “I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life.”
A trap hides, and this tree stood in plain sight. Its presence told Adam that his yes to God was a real yes.
Second: The Middle Belongs to the Heart
Jesus taught in Matthew 6:21, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” and King Solomon warns in Proverbs 4:23, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”
Genesis 2:9 puts the tree of life at the center, and in the next chapter Eve repeats the command, saying the forbidden tree is “in the midst of the garden” too (Genesis 3:3).
Both trees stood where Adam couldn’t miss them.
One meant receiving life from God’s hand. The other offered what the serpent promised: “you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5).
The question was who would sit at the center of Adam’s heart. For plenty of us today, the center is a smartphone, a bank balance, a job title, or a calendar. Whatever holds the middle of your life is the tree you’re eating from.
Third: God Made the Test Obvious
Praising how God reveals Himself through words in Psalm 19:11, David writes, “Moreover, by them is your servant warned.” God warns before He judges, and He warned Adam plainly: “you shall surely die.” That tree was a daily sermon, and every pass by it said, “Trust Me, not yourself.”
Knowledge itself wasn’t the killer. Adam had already shown real insight when he named the animals in Genesis 2:19-20. The killer was reaching for wisdom apart from God.
James (Jesus’ brother) describes how man falls into this trap, writing in James 1:14-15, “each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”
Eve followed that path step by step: “the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise” (Genesis 3:6). John names the same three pulls: “the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life” (1 John 2:16).
Sin rarely shows up looking ugly. It shows up looking good, pleasant, and wise, in plain view.
The Tree is Still There
God still doesn’t hide the tree. For you or me, it might be money, a private habit, pride, or a grudge we keep feeding. He leaves it in sight because He wants a chosen yes, the same invitation Joshua gave Israel: “choose this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15).
Adam, who was “with her” at the tree (Genesis 3:6), took the fruit. Jesus went to another garden and prayed, “not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). Then He was crucified, and John records that two others died “one on either side, and Jesus between them” (John 19:18). Once again, the middle.
Peter calls the cross a tree: “whom you killed by hanging him on a tree” (Acts 5:30).
Christ took the tree of the curse so that He could hand back the other one: “To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7).
Reflection: What sits in the middle of your garden today, and what does it promise you? Where is God asking you to choose life this week, out in the open, with nothing hidden?
May God always guide your path.