THE TREE IN THE GARDEN

This is a story that contains many Biblical truths and some Biblical fiction – perhaps.

Genesis 2:9

Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

God told Adam that he could eat the fruit of any of the trees in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam was warned that if he did eat from the tree, that in the day he ate from it he would surely die.

The serpent was the craftiest of all the beasts in the garden. The serpent deceived Eve saying that if she ate from the tree in the middle of the garden she would not die. She was told that if she ate the fruit from the tree that her eyes would be opened and she would be like God knowing good and evil. She ate the fruit and gave some to Adam who also ate.

After eating, their eyes were opened. When God discovered that Adam and Eve had disobeyed Him, it began a physical death and a spiritual death, a separation from God.

Genesis 3:22,24

Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.”

So He drove the man out; and at the east of the Garden of Eden, He stationed cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.

Near the time when Jesus would be born, there was an innkeeper in Bethlehem. The inn was built but he needed a stable. He was approached by a man who said he knew where there was a tree, one tree, which could provide enough wood for his stable. He couldn’t imagine that there was one tree that would be that large. The innkeeper was shocked when the man said that he would give him the tree at no charge and help him transport it back. He said he had a large wagon that would hold all of the lumber from the tree.

It was a long journey and the innkeeper was asleep as they approached their destination. When he was last awake, they were traveling through the wilderness.

They were very near and only the driver could see an opening in the large flames that shot in every direction and high into the sky. There were small angelic beings that guarded the entrance. When they saw who the driver was, they stepped aside and allowed entrance.

Once inside, the innkeeper awoke to see the most magnificent garden imaginable. They proceeded to the center of the garden where there stood a tree much, much larger and taller than the innkeeper had ever seen before.

The inkeeper was astonished and asked what kind of tree it was. He was simply told that it was a fruit tree that is very rare. He asked if the fruit was edible and how it tasted. The man replied, “Yes, it is edible, the taste is heavenly. The fruit has all been picked in preparation for the tree’s next purpose.”

The innkeeper asked, “Why would anyone cut down such a magnificent tree?” The man replied, “There is a very good reason and one day your will understand.”

The tree was cut down, cut into lumber and transported back to Bethlehem. It was used to build a stable, a stable in which Jesus would be born, and a manger in which Jesus would be placed upon His birth.

After the tree was cut down, it sprouted new growth from the stump. The tree had been cut down. However, there was still life in the tree. It took several years, but eventually the tree matured enough that it again began to bear fruit.

About thirty years after Jesus was born, he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, eating nothing. While in the wilderness, Jesus was tempted by the devil. When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him.

When Jesus had completed the forty days in the wilderness, neither eating nor giving in to any of the devils temptations, He left the wilderness.

When Jesus came to a certain point, there was a flaming sword with flames shooting in every direction and high into the sky. As he approached, He was greeted by cherubim that he knew and a man, an angel, who went with him through the entrance into a garden – the Garden of Eden.

They walked further into the garden to the center, where a tree was growing with much fruit. Jesus reached out His hand, taking some of the fruit to eat.

Jesus said to the man with Him, the angel, “This is the only tree on earth of this kind, but there are many in heaven.”

From that time, Jesus began about three years of ministry. When His ministry was complete, Jesus was tried and sentenced to be crucified.

The inn in Bethlehem was old, as was the innkeeper. The stable was torn down and the lumber was sold to a man who was taking it to Jerusalem. When the man came through the gates of Jerusalem, some Roman soldiers who had been sent to find some wood to build three crosses spotted the wagon loaded with lumber. When they saw the lumber, they determined that it would be perfect or building crosses.

The old rugged cross, the tree that Jesus was nailed to, was the tree of life.

In the garden were two trees that man was not to eat from. One tree, the one that Adam and Eve ate from, brought death, separation from God. The other tree, the tree of life, bore Jesus, who died for us and shed His blood for us as a sacrifice, restoring our relationship to God, providing life – eternal life.

Steven A. Green