BBC: Genesis 2:8-9
And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. - Genesis 2:8-9
There are three distinct things to assess from the text. The first is that God "made to spring up" the trees that had been created on the third day (Gen 1:11-13). That the order seems confused should not remove the confidence we have in the text and instead should demonstrate some of our literary simplicity.
The second thing is the God did not work in creation to make this "good" only for His eyes. But instead He crafted creation to be attractive and desirous to man. That Eve sees the fruit as desirous (Gen 3:6) seems to be the natural response to what God created. How then is she held accountable for her actions? Because the commandment stands against the abuse of the flesh. We should never think that God solely commands us against what we should detest. But God has created many beautiful things to be desired properly. Knowing this the church would be less legalistic of their approach to modern morality. Then we can find agreement with Paul's teaching in the New Testament (Rom 14:20; 1 Tim 4:4).
The final thing to see is the importance of the trees themselves. That such trees are both symbolic and historical should be obvious. That any fruit could give full life apart from Christ is a dangerous thought. That any fruit itself imparts knowledge held only by God is foolish. That both of these trees remain the source of these through our obedience is a more faithful understanding. That one of these trees is provided again stand to demonstrate the symbolic nature of the trees (Rev 22:2). That the tree is found associated with rivers, fruit and God's presence should not be overlooked. For the similar thing is being communicated in Genesis. God's presence was in the garden with man. But so was the commandment that could bring death. In the kingdom to come there will be no more a commandment leading to death.
*The Bible Blogging Commentary is a slow and simple treading of the Scriptures. No quotes from other theologians and no explicit Greek/Hebrew lessons.*
