Genesis 2:9-11

F. Chapter 2:9 –  And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

1.     Trees are used throughout scripture to represent physical characteristics of living beings. 

·       Psalm 96:12 – Let the field be joyful , and all that [is] therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice

·       Isaiah 44:23 – Sing , O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done [it]: shout , ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel

·       Isaiah 55:12 – For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap [their] hands.

·       Jeremiah 11:19 – But I [was] like a lamb [or] an ox [that] is brought to the slaughter ; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, [saying], Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered .

·       Jeremiah 17:8 – For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and [that] spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh , but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

2. In light of these verses are the “trees” discussed in 2:9 literal or figurative?  Lets take a closer look at the types of trees in the garden of Eden before we answer.

3. Lord God made to grow every tree (out of the ground) with two noteable exceptions that were there “also”:

a.      Tree of Life

                                                                                                                i.     Revelation 2:7 – He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.

·       This looks like the same tree of life referenced here in 2:9

                                                                                                              ii.     John 6:51 – “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of this world.”

·       We have some similarities between the bread of life and the tree of life

·       But there are also differences: bread v. tree, tree of life IN the paradise of God v. bread of life came down from heaven, etc.

                                                                                                            iii.     What is the “Tree of Life”,   Lets examine through other scriptures to try and determine what this tree is.

-        Proverbs 3:18 – She [is] a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy [is every one] that retaineth her.

·       She = Wisdom - חכמה chokmah, identified in Proverbs 3:13

·       Wisdom is a “tree of life”

·       Proverbs 3:19 – The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.

·       John 1:1-3 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

·       By Wisdom God founded the earth, by the Word all things were made.  Word = Wisdom…Word = Tree of Life?

-        Proverbs 11:30 – The fruit of the righteous [is] a tree of life; and he that winneth souls [is] wise.

·       Revelation 22:2 – In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, [was there] the tree of life, which bare twelve [manner of] fruits, [and] yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree [were] for the healing of the nations.

·       Ezekiel 47:12 – And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.

·       Psalm 1:3 – And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

·       Galations 5:22 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 

·       When eating the “bread of life” are we actually physically eating?  Well we know that the bread of life is Christ which is also the Word of God.  When we “eat” the Word of God what exactly are we doing?

o      Romans 10:17 – So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

o      Revelation 10:9 – And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take [it], and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.

o      Hearing, Reading = Eating

·       So the question then is eating of the tree of life the same as eating the bread of life?

-        Proverbs 13:12 – Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but [when] the desire cometh, [it is] a tree of life.

·       Desire - תאוה ta'avah – (feminine noun) desire, wish, longings of one's heart, thing desired, object of desire

·       Hope - תוחלת towcheleth, (feminine noun) expectation, hope

·       It is not the “hope” that is deferred, but the object hoped for.

-        Proverbs 15:4 – A wholesome tongue [is] a tree of life: but perverseness therein [is] a breach in the spirit.

-        Daniel 11:7 – But out of a branch of her roots shall [one] stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail:

·       Isaiah 4:2 – In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth [shall be] excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

·       Isaiah 11:10 – And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

·       Jeremiah 23:5 – Behold, the days come , saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper , and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

·       Jeremiah 33:15 – In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.

·       Zechariah 3:8 – Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they [are] men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.

·       Zechariah 6:12 – And speak unto him, saying , Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying , Behold the man whose name [is] The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:

·       Ezekiel 15:2 – Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, [or than] a branch which is among the trees of the forest?

·       John 15:5 – I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

·       I think its obvious that we have Christ likened to a Branch and a Root, but is that the same as the “tree of life”?

b.     Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil

                                                                                                                i.     How could a God who is 100% good put something that contains knowledge of evil in His garden?

·       If it was put there before it contained evil perhaps?

                                                                                                              ii.     What is this tree and why is it there?

·       Looking at 2:9 as a stand alone verse in the context of this chapter it appears that it should be taken exclusively literal, but are there other verses in scripture that may change our approach?

·       Ezekiel 31:6-9 – All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations.  Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters.  The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chesnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty.  I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that [were] in the garden of God, envied him.

o      We have the description of a tree, a special tree that was in the garden of God.  Can we make the leap here that this is one of the two “special” trees mentioned above?

·       Ezekiel 31:10-11 – Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height;  I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness.

o      If this is one of the two trees, it doesn’t sound like it has the qualities as the tree of life, so then what or who is this tree?

o      What could it be other than Lucifer?

                                                                                                            iii.     What purpose does it serve?

·       “…All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations…”

o      Knowing that the whole passage is allegorical, one could make the connection that this is the established authority God gave Lucifer in Ezekiel 28:14, this is what the “anointed cherub that covereth” was covering.

o      What are the other options?

                                                                                                            iv.     What does it mean to have knowledge of Good and Evil?

·       Deuteronomy 30:19 – I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, [that] I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

o      Isn’t this the same choice that God set before Adam & Eve in the garden

o      Life = blessing, Death = cursing

·       Proverbs 18:21 – Death and life [are] in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

o      Cursing and blessing = Death and Life

o      Fruit of death or the fruit of life

·       James 3:10 – Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

o      Blessing and Cursing = Life and Death

G. Chapter 2:10 – And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted and became into four heads.

·       River – The Persian Gulf

·       Distinguishing the difference between Eden and the garden

H. Chapter 2:11 – The name of the first is Pison: that is which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.

·       Pison –mentioned once in scripture, Josephus identifies it as the Ganges, but there is much dispute as to which modern day river this is if any since it may be indistinguishable after the flood.

·       Havilah – “stretch of sand” or “cicle” mentioned 6 other times in scripture, 2 of which reference a geographical region, the other 4 reference 2 different men, 1 being the son of Cush (one of Ham’s offspring) and 1 being the son of Joktan (descended from Shem).