Expert: Rev Philip Dacre - 10/15/2006

Question
WHY DID GOD PLANT THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL  IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GARDEN KNOWING THAT MAN WOULD EAT FROM THE TREE AND WOULD FALL

Answer
God didn't know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Adam would eat of the tree, if He had, that would mean that God knew and even planned for many to reject Him and end up in hell.  This would contradict II Peter 3:9 which says God doesn't want any to perish.  

God doesn't know the future in the sense people normally think He knows it.  If He did, nobody would have free will.  Throughout the Bible readers are asked to choose.  Example: Joshua 24:15, "But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve."  If it's all a done deal and we're just rats running a preset maze, there's no free will.

God knows the future only in the sense that He can see every  probability.  He has plans to deal with every eventuality so that He can work things for good for His people and achieve His objectives.  Instead of being able to see the future as you might read a book--the words already printed and fixed for all time--God sees every possible future for every potential person, plant and animal in the universe at every moment now and until the end of time.  The future isn't fixed, if it were, there'd be no free will and no choice.

God didn't know Adam would eat of the tree, He knew it was a probability he might.  The possible futures were:  Adam alone eats from the tree; Eve  alone eats from the tree; Adam and Eve both eat from the tree, or neither of them eat from the tree.  God had a plan for each of those possible futures, but He'd hoped neither Adam and Eve would eat from the tree.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was placed in the middle of the garden to give Adam a way to prove his love for God.  Adam had one rule and one way to prove he loved God--obey the rule.  If Adam couldn't choose NOT to love God by demonstrating his obedience, then what use would his love be?  It would be as if you were the only woman or man in the world--could you truly believe a person loved you?  Not unless there were others to pick from and one picked you above all others, only then would you know for sure that you were truly loved.  For God, persons prove their love for Him by obeying Him.

Marilyn