Why did God tell Adam not to eat from the tree of knowledge? Isn't knowledge good? Why is the Bible so hard to understand? Everyone has their own interpretations. Who do you believe?

 

Well, for starters, It was not called the “Tree of Knowledge”.

There were actually two special trees planted in the middle of the garden, placed there intentionally as a test, whose fruit held forever consequences for the first two human beings.

A tree that would make one live forever with out dying. This tree was “of life”; it was only good.

The second tree was not of life, rather to eat of it meant certain death; it was a tree “of death”; not good.

So the choice to eat from the two trees was a matter of life and death; of good and evil. The commandment of God permitted the former and strictly forbid the latter.

Since the second tree brought death it was not the tree of the “knowledge of good” (knowledge is good but not all knowledge is inherently good) but rather the second tree was of the “knowledge of good AND evil”—and the difference between the two.

The first two humans could have learned of the difference between good and evil without becoming evil in the process. by rejecting the temptation to try to become “gods” and suffering the consequences; consequences that plague us to this day.

What is hard, then, to understand is not the Bible but why human beings are so slow to believe God and take him at his word. He is good. knows what is best for us, wants only what is best for us, wants us to have the dignity of making our own choices. and has proven his love for us by going to the most extreme lengths to help us out and save us when we make bad choices.