Why the forbidden fruit?

Originally posted on February 02, 2006 – by Andre Piet

On a Bible forum, someone asked the question: why did God actually place the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the good garden of Eden? Wasn’t God taking a risk by doing so, etc.? A number of responses came in to this question, and the conclusion that was drawn was: “So actually (in short) that tree was there so that we could prove our love to God!”

Well intended, but with this conclusion the most important truth was once again overlooked. For God certainly knew “what frame we are,” and that man would eat from the fruit. It was inescapable. God did not need that proof at all. That’s not the point. Man is not central – God is. He placed the tree in the garden not so that man could prove his love for God, but precisely the other way around: Gód wanted to prove His love to humanity!

Knowledge of good and evil are always linked. Like day to night and male to female. They are contrast pairs that derive their meaning from their opposite. By eating of the fruit that God had forbidden, man would gain knowledge of evil in all its many forms. But precisely against this backdrop, God would prove His all-surpassing love, and in doing so introduce man to the ultimate good!

Or, as Paul wrote:

“Yet God is presenting this love of His to us, seeing that, while we are still sinners, Christ died for our sakes.”
Rom. 5:8

With God, NOTHING ever goes wrong!

Delen: