Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Bad

The wisdom literature is traditionally defined as the books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, & Job.

Each book appears to be in total opposition of one another but somehow works in perfect harmony.

Biblical wisdom books address this question. How do I navigate now knowing good and evil in a way that leads to life and not death?

Each wisdom book positions the reader from a different & unique perspective as sitting in the Garden of Eden in front of the two trees.

The tree of good and evil, leading to death

The tree of life, leading to life.

The Bible Project beautifully depicts these books using a set of characters. I want you to personify your perspective on life via these characters.

Proverbs: The young visionary professor

She has an answer for everything and is absurdly optimistic. She knows the right thing to do in every situation and she’s an incredible person to go to for advice.

Ecclesiastes: The jaded middle-aged man

He has seen a thing or two. And know that there isn’t a perfect formula to living the “good life.” He often says life and everything in it is “meaningless’”. Which is very misinterpreted. The word “meaningless” better translates that life is confusing, an enigma, something I can’t fully grasp but I know there’s something to it. It’s like smoke. I know it’s there. I can see it, but the second I try to grab it, the smoke disappears. The second he tries to grab at life with his proverbs, it falls through his hands and disappears.

Job: The old weathered man who’s experienced life

He sits silently, patiently, without concern. He’s experienced the optimism and success of Proverbs in his younger years. He’s seen the disasters and enigmas of Ecclesiastes in his middle years. And now lives content, knowing in his heart he doesn’t understand in his mind everything about the fabric of wisdom. He’s finally content with God being in control.

There’s also Song of Solomon but no chance I’m getting into that wisdom book with y’all, sorry.

To truly understand wisdom we must understand who God is, what’s his heart, and what happened in the garden of Eden.

We are beginning a series on wisdom. What is wisdom, how do we find it, and how do we live the “good life?”

But first, the garden of Eden. The Bible depicts Adam and Eve in moral infancy. Like children. They don’t quite understand what is good and bad yet. They don’t full grasp all concepts of wisdom. But for the time being they trust their Father in heaven to give them Godly wisdom as they eat from the tree of life.

This garden narrative is a contrast of wisdom.

Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil

The Garden of Eden’s tale of two fruits is a prophetic story of wisdom we reenact every day.

The garden of Eden describes these two trees:

The Tree of Life - by eating of it God says you will live forever

The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil - by eating of it God says you will surely die

?Why would Adam and Eve die by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Because it was a decision driven by how they want to live life.

What was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?

Knowledge = da’ath. It’s the noun from the root word yada’

Da’ath’s 3 meanings:

General knowledge - head knowledge or intellect

Practical knowledge - Proverbs - do this and you’ll live a good life

Spiritual discernment - Knowing God and his will or ways

It’s a tree of general, practical, and spiritual knowledge.

Does God want us to be uninformed? The tree in the garden provides general, practical, and spiritual knowledge. How could that be sinful?

Now the word evil. Evil may have too much weight behind it. The word for evil used is Ra, meaning bad.

I could say this coffee tastes bad or it’d be bad to dump my coffee on your head.

I could make a bad decision but that doesn’t mean it was morally wrong. I could dump a fresh latte down the drain but that wouldn’t be evil. It would be a bad decision. Or I could dump it on your computer which would be morally wrong.

Ra could be moral or opinion-based

Now the word good, or Tov. When you put good next to evil it sounds morally heavy. Now understanding the context may not be so weighty, good could mean many things.

5 Stones Coffee in Kirkland makes good coffee

You may disagree, you’re wrong but it’s not a moral decision although it may feel like it

It is good to not sleep around before marriage.

That isn’t just a good idea, it is most definitely a moral one

Tov could be moral or opinion-based

So it’s the tree of the general, practical, and spiritual knowledge of what good is and what bad is.

That sounds an awful lot like wisdom. Actually, the implication is just that!

Genesis 3:6 “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate…”

Wise = sakal = act wisely, to prosper, to have success

discernment for success-oriented understanding

It’s cognitive and strategic—perceiving how the world works and acting accordingly.

Eve sees the tree as something that will make her insightful—not necessarily godly. She’s grasping for autonomous wisdom—wisdom without relationship or dependence on God. That’s the heart of the fall.

So why would eating from a tree of wisdom lead to death?

This dilemma of two trees is a decision between living by Godly wisdom or worldly wisdom. Doing what's wise in God's eyes or what’s wise in my own eyes.

?Was the tree in the Garden of Eden inherently evil?

In fact, śāḵal, the Hebrew word for wisdom used, is often used positively in the Bible. It can describe prudence, success, or insight. For instance:

Joshua 1:8 — “Then you will be prosperous and successful (tāśkîl)

The Moral Weight Lies in the Context and Posture

What makes the “wisdom” of śāḵal in Genesis 3:6 problematic is not the pursuit of wisdom itself, but how it’s pursued:

Apart from God's command

By grasping autonomy

By redefining good and evil on human terms

❗️The issue isn’t that Eve wanted wisdom. The issue is how she pursued it: by trusting the serpent’s voice over God’s.

Tree of Life

Godly wisdom yields eternal life

“She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed.” - Proverbs 3:18

Tree of the knowledge of good and bad

Wordly wisdom leads to death

“Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” - Proverbs 26:12

Wordly wisdom is a man who is wise in his own eyes

The garden of Eden was a decision on definitions. How will I define wisdom & living a “good life”.

He who controls the definitions wins the debate

Today we live in a world controlled by definitions

What is a woman?

What is gender?

I’m living my truth because my truth is true to me.

This feels right so it must be good.

The Tree of Life defines wisdom according to God’s ways.

Women have XX chromosomes

There are 2 genders: male and female

There is no such thing as my truth, only absolute truth.

Just because it feels good doesn’t mean it is good, otherwise Antifa would have to accept my beliefs and I’d have to accept their beliefs. Or was it good for them to spray us with bear spray while we were peacefully worshipping? Clearly, no.

The garden of Eden was a decision on definitions. How will I define wisdom & living a “good life”.

When we look at making decisions in life how do we define good and bad?

The tree of the knowledge of good and bad clearly shows wordly wisdom tastes good and can be blinding.

If we stick to what God pre-defined as good and bad we can live the “good life”.

If Adam and Eve stuck to God’s definitions of good and bad, they didn’t try to rationalize their own desire for wisdom, they’d never have gotten stuck in a bad situation.

Let’s see a practical application of applying the tree of good and bad vs. the tree of life

Deuteronomy 30 is a literary echo of the Garden of Eden’s tale of two trees. Deuteronomy 30 is the conclusion of Moses’ outline of the law to the Israelites.

Deuteronomy 30:15–18 paraphrased “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.

Tree of life vs. the tree of good and bad

If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today… then you shall live and multiply…

Adam and Eve - be fruitful and multiply

But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish.

The day you eat of the tree you shall surely die

You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess.

Adam and Eve, you’ve been exiled from the garden

You see, even the law is one big code of wisdom. It’s a replay of the garden of eden test.

You see, as we get into this study of wisdom we will find a few things. Wisdom isn’t a set of life rules to memorize as a life hack. That’s what the Pharisees attempted to do!

You can’t memorize Proverbs and just quote it to yourself on a daily basis to live the “good life.”

“We impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.” - 1 Corinthians 2:7, 10

“To tackle this ceaseless tapestry of life’s enigmatic design with the invisible fabric called wisdom that life is woven with, we must see, know, and accept God’s heart. Only then will that invisible fabric become visible.”

The Garden of Eden, the wisdom books, and even the law is all fulfilled and complete in Jesus. If you want to grow in wisdom but neglect Jesus you will only feast of the tree of knowing good and bad which ultimately leads to death.

To grow in wisdom we must see, know, and accept God’s heart for the world and his people. We must see what God sees as good and bad. Even when it doesn’t make sense.

What does it practically look like to seek God’s heart instead of just God’s answers?

Be open, pray with one another.

Costi Hinn’s 5 P’s of decision making

People - Godly advisors in your life

Passion - What passion has God created you with?

Providence - God’s leading, things that could only happen with God

Prayer - Prayer to the Lord

Principles - Principles of God’s word