Why Did God put the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil? - Part 1

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The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." (Genesis 2:15-17)

One of the most asked questions, by both Christians and non-Christians, doubting the goodness and the wisdom of God, is this—“Why did God put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Eden?”

Looks like if there is any person who is blamed more than anyone else—He is God. The dilemma about the existence of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil has troubled many, thereby accusing God of being unfair. Some even take this as an excuse to disbelieve in the God of the Holy Bible. By the way, if someone doesn't want to believe in God, he cannot be convinced by any reasons, however reasonable; he still clings to excuses to disbelieve. But anyone who wants to believe in God, provided that he finds honest answers, such a person is not far from the truth and understanding about God.

Therefore, I urge the reader to give careful thought to the following reasons, guarding oneself from being emotionally judgmental.

Knowing the Nature of God
Before we go further, I believe it is quite significant to comprehend the nature of God. Most of our misconceptions are the result of our ignorance about the right knowledge of God or our refusal to believe who He is and what He claims to be. To share briefly, the following is what the Holy Bible reveals about who God is:

• The LORD is upright...there is no wickedness in Him. (Ps. 92:15)
• The Lord is righteous in all His ways. (Ps. 145:17)
• God is light [holy]; in Him there is no darkness [unholiness] at all. (1 Jn. 1:5)
• His [God's] works are perfect, and all His ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He. (Deut. 32:4)
• What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! (Rom. 9:14)

We learn from the Holy Scripture that God’s nature is perfect. He does no wrong. All His ways are upright. As the theologians say—He is impeccable and infallible. So, it is important to note that if our foundational knowledge about the nature of God and His attributes is imperfect, we often misconstrue and misinterpret the just works of God.

Understanding the Purpose of Man’s Creation
Another crucial thing to understand is about the purpose of man’s creation. Man is God’s unique creation. He has been created for the glory of God as a morally free being. For this reason, man is concerned about virtues like goodness, kindness, love and justice against vices like pride, hatred, corruption and illegalities, although there are differing opinions about how these are exercised.

We don’t find animals thinking, desiring, discussing and debating about such virtues and vices. We don’t have laws for animals and neither do we put them behind the bars for breaching them. But we hold man responsible and accountable for his actions, for he is created by God as a morally free being, though sadly he is now in a fallen state and unable to live a morally perfect life.

Now think about these questions:

1) When God made man as a morally free being, should He not give him the freedom to live a moral life? Don't you think that the fact about God creating man as a moral being by default requires freedom?

2) If God should give man the freedom, should He not give him the freedom of choice to obey Him, which also means a choice to disobey Him? Remember, God did not create man as merely a free being, like animals; He created man as a morally free being, giving him moral standards against immoral acts. And what is that moral freedom if there is no choice involved either to obey or disobey?

3) If God must give man the freedom to obey or disobey Him, should He not provide him the opportunities to make such choices voluntarily and without coercion?

Without the above elements, don’t you suppose man would not be a morally free being, but simply a robot—thinking, feeling and acting by a fixed system, not by voluntary choices? The very fact that we question about God—His goodness and wisdom in putting the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—shows that we are free beings with voluntary choices, either to trust Him or to disbelieve Him. People have the freedom either to love or to hate, to accept or to despise God because of this freedom.

And here is a last question to think about:

4) If God ought to give man the freedom to voluntarily choose to obey or disobey His standards, then man is morally responsible for his actions. So, should there not be consequences for making moral choices—rewards for obedience and punishment for disobedience? Or else, does it make any sense whether we obey or disobey?

Indeed, the question about why God put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil comes because of the pathetic consequence man had to face because of his choice to eat the forbidden fruit from this tree. [continued next page...] |  1 of 3