Explaining Events In The Garden

Q

Is there an in-depth explanation of why the serpent would not have enticed Eve to eat of the Tree of Life instead of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil? It seems to me that by eating of the Tree of Life first, it would have canceled the result of death from eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Also, if at once realizing the effect from eating of the “knowledge” tree, shouldn’t they have immediately been desperate to eat of the “life” tree to nullify the curse?

A

Remember, Adam and Eve were created immortal, so eating from the tree of life first would not have had a preventive effect. Also, the only tree from which they were forbidden to eat was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In order for them to be disobedient they had to eat from that tree (Genesis 3:1-6). Once they did they were no longer immortal and were subject to the consequences God warned them about . This was the serpent’s objective.

From their subsequent actions we know their first concern was covering their nakedness (Genesis 3:7), and their second one was hiding from God (Genesis 3:8). And from Genesis 3:22 we know that God acted to keep them from eating from the tree of life before they could do so. This verse tells us that eating from the tree of life would only have been a partial solution because it would not have completely nullified the consequences of their disobedience. It would only have made them immortal again. Their knowledge of good and evil would have remained, and as we can see this knowledge resulted in humankind being infected with a sin nature, making it impossible for us to live in God’s presence.

God determined the partial solution to be worse than leaving them in their mortal state, because as mortals they could be redeemed, divested of their sin nature, and ultimately restored to immortality. It would require the shedding of His own blood to accomplish this but it was a price He was willing to pay because it was the only way to completely restore them to Him. And that was His objective.