Why was "the Tree" placed in the center of the garden (orchard)

[SteVen]

The forbidden tree was placed where it had to be confronted often.

Why was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
placed in the center (midst) of the orchard (garden) of Eden?

Interestingly, Adam and Eve had to be deceived to "eat thereof".

It seems they had no intention of eating from the forbidden tree.

What was going on here?

Whether you take the story as literal or figurative, it begs many questions.

]

 

[Mr E]

The forbidden tree was placed where it had to be confronted often.

Why was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
placed in the center (midst) of the orchard (garden) of Eden?

Interestingly, Adam and Eve had to be deceived to "eat thereof".

It seems they had no intention of eating from the forbidden tree.

What was going on here?

Whether you take the story as literal or figurative, it begs many questions.

]

It's an interesting story. Rather than slicing in parts as literal or figurative, I prefer to consider it as having two settings-- one heavenly-- as that is certainly the main focus-- where they were in direct communion with God. God is spirit, and to be with Him is to be in spirit-- so too must this garden of God be spiritual, where He can walk in this orchard of His delight in the cool of the morning.

Yet- as humans-- we tend to think in physical, human terms- and our minds leap to the earthly plane. It's not one or the other-- but both. The principle is 'on earth as it is in heaven.' All below is a likeness of that above- so in a sense, the things above are reasonably represented by those physical things below. The spiritual reality is too foreign to be properly considered or comprehended-- so we have associations given to us in just the way we still try to describe abstract things-- like tastes or feelings. 'I feel like I'm on a roller coaster.' It tastes like a combination of orange and pineapple.' Try to describe a dream without ever using words like "like." You cannot, because dreams are spiritual in nature and the associations you must make to tell the story will be physical things.

But there's the garden of God, and in the middle of it-- these trees.

Scripture tells us that God took the man he had formed and put him in this garden to work it. Some translations might read- to care for it and maintain it.... the KJV says to dress it and keep it. The Hebrew is more direct. It says Yahweh enslaved the man to work the garden on God's behalf. If that sounds harsh- I'll refer you directly to the Hebrew. Yahweh created you and tasked you with gardening.

According to the telling in Genesis 2-- first the man was formed before there was even a blade of grass, or any plant. First came the man-- then came the garden. And it wasn't the man who planted the garden-- It was Yahweh- the elohim who planted the garden and he took the man he had already formed and putting him in service, tasked (required) him to take care of that garden. It becomes a much different story than what you might be accustomed to hearing-- but it's all right there in Genesis 2.

And Yahweh said to the man-- You can eat of any tree, but of those two in the center-- don't eat of the one. He was never told he couldn't eat of the tree of life-- indeed, he was meant to, and doing so, he would live forever. It was just the one tree that he was forbidden to eat the fruit from.

You can look at the story from both perspectives-- the spiritual realm, and the earthly realm. But you can only look at one at a time.

Which would you prefer to consider first?

 

[SteVen]

You can look at the story from both perspectives-- the spiritual realm, and the earthly realm. But you can only look at one at a time.

Which would you prefer to consider first?

Let's start with the spiritual realm. I'm not really familiar with that view.

My understanding was that God was walking with Adam in the cool of the day in the physical realm that he (God) had created.
The cool of the day seems to be a reference to the rotation of the planet in relation to the sun. The physical universe.
Would there be a reason to do that in the spiritual realm? To escape the heat of the day? Caused by what?

Furthermore, God spoke to Moses and others in this earthly realm. What would prevent him from speaking with Adam?
Especially before the Fall?

Let's also discuss the significance of the trees. The text doesn't seem to indicate that Adam was aware of the Tree of Life.
Which does appear again in Revelation. Plays a MUCH more important role there. Leaves are for the healing of the nations.
Not sure what's up with that. God didn't want Adam to eat (inferring fruit) from the Tree of Life after the Fall.
Then in Revelation it is the leaves (medicine) that is significant. ??? Say what?

]

 

[Mr E]

My understanding was that God was walking with Adam in the cool of the day in the physical realm that he (God) had created.
The cool of the day seems to be a reference to the rotation of the planet in relation to the sun. The physical universe.
Would there be a reason to do that in the spiritual realm? To escape the heat of the day? Caused by what?

God is spirit and not a man. He doesn't physically walk. Just as He doesn't actually breathe. These are the kinds of associations I'm referring to when I talk about spiritual things that we can't describe apart from tagging unfamiliar spiritual concepts to familiar physical things. Technically it's called anthropomorphism, and it's the way we have to think about things that can't be described in any other way. It can be done also by assigning human characteristics to non-human elements, objects, animals and so forth. We do it all the time, and we do the opposite as well. He's dumb as a post.... and we also engage in zoomorphism in it's many forms-- Innocent as a lamb, gentle as a dove, ferocious as a lion.

It's not physical. As I said-- you can look at one or the other. If you want to understand the spiritual side-- then you have to dwell there a minute and consider that spiritual realm as the only context. The physical reflection, while similar- is not the same. On earth "like" it is in heaven-- but that has to be considered separately. So forget about the rotation of the planet or the sun for the moment. God walking with Adam at 'the breezy time' in the garden God planted is all heavenly. It's neither earthly, nor out in space. It's spiritual. It's not bound to our understanding of physical nature, rather we have to consider it in the context of something almost entirely unfamiliar-- the spiritual nature. For Adam to be conversing with God-- Adam has to be in His presence. In spirit. It's not that God became a man and walked with Adam in a physical garden. Purge that idea for a moment.

Furthermore, God spoke to Moses and others in this earthly realm. What would prevent him from speaking with Adam?
Especially before the Fall?

God spoke by means of the spirit. Spirit through spirit. Some call these spirits- angels, or messengers-- Like the angel of the Lord that spoke to Moses through a burning bush. Good dream bro.

Before the fall-- "Adam" was a spiritual being in a spiritual realm that included a garden for God (who is spirit) to repose and where Adam could commune directly in the breezy time.... why breezy? It's ruwach.

Let's also discuss the significance of the trees. The text doesn't seem to indicate that Adam was aware of the Tree of Life.
Which does appear again in Revelation. Plays a MUCH more important role there. Leaves are for the healing of the nations.
Not sure what's up with that. God didn't want Adam to eat (inferring fruit) from the Tree of Life after the Fall.
Then in Revelation it is the leaves (medicine) that is significant. ??? Say what?

Here's a difficult part, and this is why I insist you have to be mindful of the setting. This understanding is layered.

In that spiritual realm- God is the Father- Adam the son. Both are spirit. (Spirit gives birth to spirit). We are not considering the flesh (physical) at all here or yet. It's spiritual in a spiritual sense and realm. God is spirit, Adam is spirit, the garden is in that same spiritual realm-- everything is spiritual. It's from this realm that Adam (and Eve) are eventually banished for a specific offence--- but first the trees.

Recall that the whole purpose for this spiritual man (Adam) was to work this spiritual garden and care for these spiritual trees. Really think about that. God created a spiritual son whose purpose was to take care of, and protect the trees. He was to work the soil, maintain the trees, make them fruitful (fruit producing) and to attend to these spiritual trees-- to attend to them, maintain them, and to protect them. That was his assigned job.

What's a spiritual tree? Well, we have spiritual fruit defined for us in this way (Galatians 5)

The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit.


It's spiritual fruit from a spiritual tree. And you have to consider it as such-- not physical in this understanding.... spiritual. The whole setting.

If you are ready to discuss the physical realm-- then this spiritual tree has a physical counterpart. What would that be?

Ask-- What kind of physical tree is it that can produce love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance?

 

[Mr E]

The only seed-bearing trees that produce fruit like that are from a single genus.

The Family Tree.

Distinctly different. Moving away now from the spiritual realm, it becomes obvious that in the physical sense-- it's humankind that these spiritual trees are represented by. This understanding brings Jesus' parable of the seeds into proper perspective.

 

[Mr E]

If you can accept, or even entertain the idea that 'the trees' seen in that spiritual realm are representative of humans in the earthly realm below-- you've got a chance. It's significant, because then it might begin to make sense that God sends His (spirit) son to tend and protect those "trees" below. It's also very significant in that it's humanity that becomes the proverbial apple of His eye-- the center of His concern and we are not just some random speck of dust floating in an endless universe, where we evolved from bacteria in a swamp, and a monkey's uncle.